God Will Do What Is Good Series

In 2 Sam 10 the king of the Ammonites, Nahash died and his son, Hanun (hey nun), ruled in his place.

• David wanted to show kindness to the new King, so he sent a delegation to express his condolences to Hanun for the loss of his father.

• Unfortunately, this good gesture was suspected. Hanun was swayed by his princes into thinking that David's intention wasn’t good.

• “The delegates did not come out of sympathy but to spy on the land.” Wrong assumption!

Reminded me of another similar situation when a King listened to wrong counsel - King Rehoboam (Solomon’s son) in 1 Kings 12:6-11.

• Solomon died and the people appealed to the new King to lighten the harsh labour and the heavy burden that they were carrying.

• 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.

• 7 They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."

• 8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, `Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"

• 10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, `Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'-tell them, `My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"

That decision split the Kingdom into two.

• If we do not consult God today, we are left with guesses. We suspect one another’s intention, we are suspicious of one another’s motives.

• The devil will be happy to be a part of all these misunderstandings and to divide the body of Christ.

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

Maybe your answer is YOURSELF. Don’t. Prov 3:5-6 says, don’t lean on your own understanding.

• Do you know that you can be leaning on your own understanding and yet not know that you are leaning on it. That’s what we call in one word, PREJUDICE.

• We are called to “trust in the LORD with ALL your heart and to acknowledge God in ALL our ways”, only then will God make our paths straight – show you what is right.

King Hanun believed what his nobles say and acted upon it. He mocked and humiliated the delegates.

• Obviously David was very angry when he got to know what happened.

• Knowing that they had offended David, the Ammonites called for support from Syria (the Arameans) and prepared an offensive.

• They gathered thousands of soldiers from Beth Rehob, Zobah, Maacah and Tob (10:6).

All this sounded foolish to me, considering the fact that it started with a presumption.

• David meant well. He wanted to show kindness. It could well be a good and cordial meeting.

• But whatever that got into the minds of the nobles, and the King, destroyed all possible good.

Prov 18:15 “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” The discerning and wise SEEK the TRUTH.

• Don’t let anyone fool us. Don’t let Satan deceives us. Get to the Word and understand the truth.

• In all situations, seek to understand the truth. Don’t assume. Don’t presume.

• Don’t be fooled by what WE THINK. Be led by what God says, the truth.

David was forced to defend himself. He did not pick a fight; that fight came to him.

• When he learnt of the military build-up, he has no choice but to prepare his army.

• He sent his commander JOAB (his nephew) and all the mighty men against the Ammonites and their allies.

As it developed, when Joab reached the site, he found the Ammonites stationed at the city gate to protect it, and the rest of the Syrians troops gathered in the open field.

• The Israelites were sandwiched in the middle, and so Joab decided to divide his army into two forces.

• One led by himself against the Syrians and the other led by his brother ABISHAI against the Ammonites.

This was what JOAB said - 2 Sam 10:11-12

“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. 12Be 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.”