Kindness Spurned

2 Samuel 10:1-19

Happy Father’s Day! Father’s Day, a day to celebrate dads and the influence they have had on our lives. A day to honor them with our time and gifts to try to thank them for all they have done for us. But too often, even in our churches, we always miss a dad. He is always quiet, never seen, working without much notice. But, He teaches us kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control, and love. Though quiet, he has a gentle strength. Though never seen and working silently, His actions roar with His power. Too often, we forget to honor the best dad of all. You see all over social media people proclaiming to have the best dad of them all. But this dad never gets any accolades on Father’s Day. Yes, we should honor our father as we are commanded to in Scripture, and not just on his respective Sunday. But we often honor our earthly fathers at the expense of our heavenly Father. He loves us with an everlasting love. The heavens declare His glory. The skies proclaim His handiwork. If we do not sing His praises, the rocks will. So, be sure to sing His praises today, and tell of all His wondrous deeds as you honor your earthly fathers today!

It is not lost to me that the newest dad in the church is the one teaching today. I do not have any great words of wisdom for specifically for dads, but I will tell you what I am learning and hopefully it will encourage you. I am sure for many of you, you have encountered a lot of this already, but sometimes it helps to be reminded. It has been pressed on me lately just what a great Father we all have when I compare myself to Him. I do not know what background each of you came from. Some of you may have had a poor relationship with your father, or you may have had no relationship at all.  But as believers, we all have a Father that is greater than any earthly father. Many times, when I am dealing with my children, whether just being with them, or disciplining them, or singing with them, or reading to them, I am constantly reminded of how Heavenly Father deals with us. I am reminded that He longs for my time with Him. He longs for me to talk with Him and to sing to Him. He disciplines me with a far greater love than I ever could discipline my children. He truly knows what is best.

But, Dads, do not let that discourage you. Keep on keeping on. As Fathers, we are tasked with making sure that our children are taught the word of God constantly. But remember that your life speaks hundreds of times louder than your words ever can. I have heard that the teen years are rough. I have only ever experienced mine, so maybe they are not that bad?? But that is the time that experts say your presence is even more necessary.

Even when you think your children are not listening. Even when everything is “why” or simply a grunt, your presence in your children’s lives goes farther than you will know right now. Remember when you thought your dad was about the stupidest person to ever walk the face of the earth, and you were certain that no one else was more old-fashioned that he was? What is your opinion of your Dad now? He is pretty wise, isn’t he? As a boy, I spent many summers with my dad’s parents while my mom worked on an advanced graduate degree. When we would sing during church services, my grandfather always held his Bible tightly to his chest as though he was hugging it. I never said anything to him, but in my mind, I kept asking why he did not put his Bible on the pew beside him like a normal person. It was not until after he passed that I realized why he held it so tightly. He so loved his Heavenly Father that he was truly hugging his Bible because he could not physically hug him. His Bible had to be rebound after he passed to keep it together. His life was a prime example of a Bible falling apart is a sign of a life that has it all together. Dads keep teaching the Word. Keep living the Word. Let us be an example to our children and to others.

History repeats itself. I doubt there are many of us who would argue that point. Man really doesn’t change without a force acting on him to change his behavior. This is what make Scripture so relevant throughout all of history. Despite the claims of men like Carl Rodgers or Abraham Maslow, man is not “basically good.” If Rodgers could not find any evil inherent in human nature, he really did not look hard enough. We are going to see today how man is distrusting of others. If all men were basically good, why do we not trust someone we just met? In our passage today, David sent ambassadors to another king in a time of mourning, and instead of trusting the ambassadors, the new king thoroughly humiliates the ambassadors because he thinks they are up to no good.

Last week, we saw David reach out in lovingkindness and mercy to one of Saul’s descendants. His actions defied logic. Even today, if a monarch had taken over from another dynasty, he would make sure that no one in that line existed who could make a claim to the throne. David does the opposite. And not out of seeking more honor for himself. I believe David did what he did to Mephibosheth as a way to show honor to his late friend, Jonathan. In our passage today, David reaches out to a man whose father had just passed away. I have been to 3 funerals in the last 12 months for people who I did not personally know. But I was reminded that end of life services are not for the dead, they are for the living. I went to these services as a way to reach out to my friend who lost a loved one. In our passage today, David sends ambassadors to a neighboring kingdom as a show of diplomacy. But the ambassadors are treated horribly, and a war is started.

Let us ask God’s blessing on our time, and then get see what He has for us today.

This is 2 Samuel 10. I am going to read the whole chapter and then come back to it for key verses as we go through it.

In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David's men came to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn't David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away. When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."

When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David’s nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight."

Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the River; they went to Helam, with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer's army leading them.

When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them.

So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore. – 2 Samuel 10:1-19 NIV

We can break this chapter up into three points:

1)            In verses 1-5, we see David’s loyal kindness met with foolish insult

2)            In verses 6-14, in the face of open war, Joab has courage based on a reliance on God

3)            In verses 15-19, there is increased rebellion that results in victorious submission.

I.)            Loyal Kindness Met with Foolish Insult

So, in verses 1-5, David extended kindness to Hanun, new king of Ammon after his father Nahash died. The word translated “kindness” in verse 2 in the NIV, comes from the Hebrew word checed meaning “mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, or favor." This word is used repeatedly in Hosea. God commanded Hosea to go take a wife from among the harlots. She repeatedly left Hosea and her children, but God used her as an example of the children of Israel as He sent Hosea to redeem her from her ways. Every night we read Elise a chapter from a book titled The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Her premise throughout the book is that Every Story Whispers His Name, which is, in fact, the subtitle. She describes checed as God’s Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. It is an overabundance of love and mercy poured out for no reason.

David decided that he would show checed to the new king of Ammon as a way to send his condolences. David said he would do it because Nahash had showed the checed to him. Some scholars believe he was king of Ammon during Saul’s reign and was a bitter enemy of Saul but may have been friendly toward David since Saul hated David. You know how it goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But, this lovingkindness from David was met with foolish insult by Hanun.

He listened to his advisors who didn’t trust David or Israel, and decided they should embarrass the ambassadors. If they truly thought they were spies, why didn’t they just kill them? But for whatever reason, they decided to shave off half their beards and cut of their robes at the hips exposing these men. A beard in those days was a statement. It was a symbol of honor. So the ambassadors headed back to Israel half naked and literally wanting to crawl under a rock for a few months. David told them to stay at Jericho, the first city they came to, until their beards had regrown. They did not want to be seen at the royal court with half a beard or no beard at all.

In showing this lovingkindness toward Hanun, David portrayed outwardly what God had shown to him inwardly. David recognized that he had been the lowest of the low as the youngest of his family and a shepherd, but God had raised him up to be the king. He wanted to extend this same kindness to others. We do not deserve the love of God. Our best is as filthy, disgusting rags, but yet He still shows mercy toward us. While we were still sinners, with no thought of turning to Him, He died for us. He pursued us who had shoved our fist in His face and said we know better than the Creator God of the universe.

Hanun’s response was motivated by fear and suspicion. He did not trust David. Compare that to John’s portrayal of Jesus in John 1:

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. – John 1:10-11 NIV

Contrast Hanun’s response with Mephibosheth’s response. Hanun attacks the ambassadors of David. An ambassador is a representative of someone. These were not David’s lowest servants. These would have been men who held a place in the royal court. To attack them was to attack David. But how did Mephibosheth respond? In 9:8, he responded to David’s outpouring of checed by saying “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?” Dogs were unclean to a Jew. To see a dead dog for them was like us seeing a dead squirrel in the middle of the road. We just ignore it. But David saw him and reached out to him. He tried to do the same to Hanun, but he attacked David.

How have we responded to the multitudes of God’s loving kindnesses to us? Man has always rejected God. Our sin comes out of lack of trust. We do not trust that His good is good enough for us. We don’t trust that He knows what he is doing. We breathe His air. We live in bodies He made. We walk on His beautiful planet with just the right distance between us and the sun to not freeze or burn up. We see by His light. We eat of His abundance. He sent His only Son as Savior. He took our wrath. He died the death we deserve. Is God in any of my thoughts any day other than Sunday? How can I return loyal love to God? Or do I ignore Him and shut Him out?

II.)           Open War Faced with Reliant Courage

We are going to see a progression through this chapter much like that of man over history. Man rejected the lovingkindness of God. Then realizing he was wrong, He began to fight against God. In verses 6-14 of our passage this week, Ammon raged open war against Israel, but we will also see a reliant courage displayed by Joab and his brother.

It is interesting to note that David didn’t attack Ammon for their atrocious treatment of his ambassadors. They realized that they were offensive toward David, and the Ammonites went and hired mercenaries to resist David. Out of fear, they hired about 33,000 soldiers to keep David at bay. They knew their insult was inflammatory. My dad has a saying that fits this situation perfectly. He says, “the hit dog always hollers.” If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one you hit will always yelp. If a person is guilty, they will always do something to let you know they did it. The Ammonites were guilty, and without provocation, went and hired an army to “defend” themselves. David did not do anything until he heard about the Ammonites hiring mercenaries. Then he moved to defend himself.

So David sent Joab to defend Israel. Joab and the army met the Ammonite coalition near a city. The Ammonites stayed in the city, while the Aramean troops were in an open area nearby. (Depending on your translation, you may see Syrian. They were the same people group off to the north and northeast of Israel.) So Joab divided his army. He took the best troops and lined them up against the Arameans. He put the rest of the army under his brother’s command directly behind him. But I want you to notice Joab’s statement in verses 11-12.

Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight." – 2 Samuel 10:11-12 NIV

The Ammonites hired this coalition out of fear and distrust. They were afraid of what David might do. We as humans sin because we don’t trust God. Romans 2:4, His goodness leads to repentance. Is God’s good good enough for me? I am not sure I’m going to like what He says is right. I want to do what is right in my own eyes. Our sin drives us to fight against Him more, but it only leads to short term satisfaction. We commit a sin because we think it is a better deal than what God offers us. Now we are guilty. We should fall down and beg for mercy, but our sin and guilt drive us to run and hide and fight. We are afraid to come closer to God. So we run farther from Him and resist Him.

Note that man can’t attack God, so they attack His people. Why do you think there is anti-Semitism? The Jews are His chosen people. The ones by whom His oracles came to man. Why do people attack and persecute Christians? They persecuted Jesus. Who are we to expect anything different? Are we better than our Master? Will they persecute Him but not us?

Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. – John 15:20 NIV

There are two other points from this section worth noting:

I borrowed these two points from a pastor friend of mine who spoke on this passage back in 2014. As I listened to that sermon from almost 6 years ago, the first point struck me as extremely fitting for our country right now, but is true throughout all of life. That first point is the need for help for and from fellow soldiers. Joab told his brother, if your enemy is too strong for you, I will help you. If mine is too strong for me, you are to help me. In Galatians 5, Paul told us to serve one another in love.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." – Galatians 5:13-14 NIV

We are to bear one another’s burdens – Galatians 6:2. If you will remember back to our series on spiritual warfare and the message on the shield of faith. The shield that Paul was probably looking at when he wrote that was a Roman shield. It was specially designed to be able to lock with another shield to protect more than just what one shield could protect. Sometimes just being there and being aware of when the battle is going badly for others is enough. This is practical Christianity. Satan attacks the vulnerable. He prowls like a lion seeking whom he may devour. Lions attack the weak ones at the back of the pack. If we see someone with terminal illness, who recently lost a loved one, a shut-in, someone who lost their job, know that Satan is prowling on their heels looking for opportunity to devour. The better care we can provide, the less vulnerable we as a body are to Satan’s attacks. The more we can help the vulnerable, the more we can keep Satan at bay. Life is war. Prayer meetings, Bible studies, small groups, Sunday School, fellowship times with others are all crucial to staying abreast with each other to know when and how to pray and encourage another saint. We have to be plugged into each other’s lives to know if the battle is too great for them.

This is hard right now with social distancing. But we need to get back into each other’s lives to support and carry burdens. If that means that a couple families meet at a park to fellowship and pray. Or maybe you are comfortable inviting others to your home for a meal, if they likewise are comfortable with that. We need to be plugged in, but showing grace to those who may feel differently about precautions during this odd time. We need to be proactive and creative to get involved. Ask someone today how you can better pray for them, and then pray with them.

Secondly, we should trust in whatever the Lord choses to do. He is the source of our courage in conflict. We know God will win in the end, but we do not know the outcome of the immediate conflict. We are guaranteed that the Lord will do what He deems right. We do not know who will repent, but we give the gospel. We do not know if God will heal our illness, but we pray for healing. We do not know if God will spare the life of a loved one, but we pray for rescue. We do not know what following Jesus may cost us in this life, but we follow Him to death. We just know that God will do right. We know that we belong to Him no matter what happens. We know reliance on him is not the best strategy, it is the only strategy. When it is all said and done it will be worth it all.

Joab’s courage relied on God and trusted that no matter what, God would do what was right. In Daniel 3, we read of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refused to bow down to the golden image Nebuchadnezzar had formed. Knowing that no matter the cost, God’s good is always best, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego continued to refuse to worship this false god until they were thrown into an overfired kiln. They did not have natural gas or propane in those days, so they would have used wood or coal to fuel the fire. Both fuels give off a very distinct odor when burned. The fire was so hot, that the soldiers who threw in the 3 Hebrews were killed by the flames. Verse 20-21 makes it very clear that they were bound tightly and thrown into the fire. The fire burned off the fetters, but left them unharmed. In verse 27 of Daniel 3, we are told that not even a hair on the 3 men was singed, nor did they even smell of fire. I have a wood fired grill, and there have been times that I have opened the lid too quickly only to lose all the hair on the back of my knuckles. The smoke leaves a distinctive odor. And no matter how hard I try, I always smell like smoke after using my grill. If you have ever been around a campfire, you know how quickly it gets on you. But Scripture says that God protected them from the fiery furnace and they didn’t even smell like fire.

III.)         Increased Rebellion Resulting in Victorious Submission

Despite Joab’s clear victory, the Arameans gathered more troops and thought they would try again. David this time gathered all of Israel, and led the army himself. They crossed over the Jordan and attacked. David killed over 40,000 troops and the coalition commander. When all the other kings saw this, they decided that if you cannot beat him, you should join him. So they made peace with Israel and became subject to them.

There is coming a day when we will all be forced to submit. Man has long fought against God. Never winning, but claiming victories. Why do we keep fighting God? There is no danger in submitting to the One who loves you infinitely. This is a prime characteristic of God the Father. He loves with a never stopping, never giving up, always and forever love. Great is thy faithfulness O God my Father!! This has been the history of man. We reject his lovingkindness until it overcomes us. We reject it in our sin, until we finally submit to him on our knees. I want to close by reading the lyrics of a hymn written about 10 years ago titled “I Run to Christ.” I pray that this is our response today. The link will be in the transcript - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_883gdSc64

I RUN TO CHRIST

 

Words by Chris Anderson; Music by Greg Habegger
Tune name: RUN TO CHRIST

I run to Christ when chased by fear
And find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear;
His words and wounds secure.

I run to Christ when torn by grief
And find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks;
Thus joy and sorrow meet.

I run to Christ when worn by life
And find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife;
Fatigue gives way to rest.

I run to Christ when vexed by hell
And find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell;
He roars, but cannot harm.

I run to Christ when stalked by sin
And find a sure escape.
“Deliver me,” I cry to Him;
Temptation yields to grace.

I run to Christ when plagued by shame
And find my one defense.
“I bore God’s wrath,” He pleads my case—
My Advocate and Friend.

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