Reflections on 2 Samuel 10

2 Samuel 10 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Some time later, King Nahash of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king.
   
2. David said, "Nahash was kind to me, and I will be kind to his son." So he sent some officials to the country of Ammon to tell Hanun how sorry he was that his father had died.
   
3. But Hanun's officials told him, "Do you really believe David is honoring your father by sending these people to comfort you? He probably sent them to spy on our city, so he can destroy it."
   
4. Hanun arrested David's officials and had their beards shaved off on one side of their faces. He had their robes cut off just below the waist, and then he sent them away.
   
5. They were terribly ashamed. When David found out what had happened to his officials, he sent a message and told them, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back. Then you can come home."
   
6. The Ammonites realized that they had made David very angry, so they hired more foreign soldiers. Twenty thousand of them were foot soldiers from the Aramean cities of Beth-Rehob and Zobah, one thousand were from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand were from the region of Tob.
   
7. David heard what they had done, and he sent out Joab with all of his well-trained soldiers.
   
8. The Ammonite troops came out and got ready to fight in front of the gate to their city. The Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the soldiers from Tob and Maacah formed a separate group in the nearby fields.
   
9. Joab saw that he had to fight in front and behind at the same time, and he picked some of the best Israelite soldiers to fight the Arameans.
   
10. He put his brother Abishai in command of the rest of the army and had them fight the Ammonites.
    
11. Joab told his brother, "If the Arameans are too much for me to handle, you can come and help me. If the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll come and help you.
    
12. Be brave and fight hard to protect our people and the cities of our God. I pray that the LORD will do whatever pleases him."
    
13. Joab and his soldiers attacked the Arameans, and the Arameans ran from them.
    
14. When the Ammonite soldiers saw that the Arameans had run away, they ran from Abishai's soldiers and went back into their own city. Joab stopped fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
    
15. The Arameans realized they had lost the battle, so they brought all their troops together again.
    
16. Hadadezer sent messengers to call in the Arameans who were on the other side of the Euphrates River. Then Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer's army, led them to the town of Helam.
    
17. David found out what the Arameans were doing, and he brought Israel's whole army together. They crossed the Jordan River and went to Helam, where the Arameans were ready to meet them.
    
18. The Arameans attacked, but then they ran from Israel. David killed seven hundred chariot drivers and forty thousand cavalry. He also killed Shobach, their commander.
    
19. When the kings who had been under Hadadezer's rule saw that Israel had beaten them, they made peace with Israel and accepted David as their ruler. The Arameans were afraid to help Ammon any more.
    

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    God had promised to give David rest from his enemies but the fulfillment of this promise did not result in total lack of military engagements. Rather it came by giving David victory in every engagement and instilling fear of Israel in the hearts of their potential enemies. Chapter 10 gives another example of this involving the Ammonites and Arameans, or Syrians.
    
    King Hanun's father had died and David sent his emissaries to extend his condolences. It was simply a friendly gesture, but Hanun's advisors told him they were probably scouts sent to spy on the city and overthrow it. Rather than merely turning away the emissaries, they mistreated them by shaving off half their beards and cutting "their clothes in half at the hips." (10:4) Not a very wise move! The emissaries were so humiliated David had them stay in Jericho until their beards grew back.
    
    Somehow King Hanun realized he had made himself "repulsive to David" and prepared to do battle with the Israelites by hiring foot soldiers from the Syrians (Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, king of Maacah, and men from Tob). David sent  Joab and all the fighting men only after he heard of this military build up. This leaves us to wonder if he would have attack the Ammonites at alll had they not taken this action. This was another point at which King Hanun might have acted more wisely. Once he realized his first action had made him repulsive to David he might have sent his own emissaries to apologize and seek peace. Instead his actions signaled a declaration of war, particularly when combined with his treatment of David's emisssaries.
    
    When Joab arrived on the scene with his fighting men he found himself facing an army both in front of him and behind, with the Ammonites in front and the Syrians behind. So he divided his men to engage both armies assigning his brother, Abishai, to command the men fighting the Ammonites while he commanded those fighting the Syrians. He and his brother agreed to help the other out should they become overpowered by enemy forces. This turned out to be unnecessary since the Syrians were turned back by Joab's forces causing the Ammonites to retreat into their city when they saw this happen. Joab was satisfied not to pursue the two armies any further and took his men home.
    
    The Syrians were not satisfied to end the matter with a defeat so they regrouped, calling in more of their troops from other areas. When David heard of this he called together "all Israel" and led them himself to go against the Syrians. The Lord gave him a sound victory and the Syrians decided to make peace and become subjects of Israel. Thus, David's rest from his enemies was further advanced. We might note that at no time in Israel's history did the nation seek to expand her territories. God had given her Canaan and that was enough. She was not an aggressive nation but only sought peace with her neighbors which often came at a military price.