1 Chronicles 19: 1 – 19
Creative Insults
19 It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. 2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So, David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him. 3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” 4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 Then some went and told David about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.” 6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maacah, and from Zobah. 7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also, the people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. 8 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. 9 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array before the gate of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 10 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 11 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon. 12 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.” 14 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. 15 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So, Joab went to Jerusalem. 16 Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. 17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in battle array against them. So, when David had set up in battle array against the Syrians, they fought with him. 18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand-foot soldiers of the Syrians and killed Shophach the commander of the army. 19 And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. So, the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore.
How do you like it when someone insults you? In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5 our Master and King Jesus Christ teaches us, “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
Some people have told me that they will do as our Lord and Savior directs, but after they get slapped on the other cheek, then they will respond in like manner. I heard various ways people would give others a touch of their own medicine.
I want to give you things that as a son or daughter of our Great and Holy God Yeshua ways you should not revert to. Check the following list if you have done likewise in dealing with nasty people.
Creatively insulting someone is one way of delivering a quick comeback that settles a score or puts someone back in their place. Whether it's someone who uses insults constantly or is someone who doesn't know where to draw the line on making fun of you, a creative insult can stop the annoying behavior in its tracks.
1. Think before reacting. If you insult someone without taking a moment to gather your wits, you'll probably just be plain defensive or come across as confused. When you insult them, take a small amount of time to think about it. Not too much or they'll catch on, but a long pause is just fine. If you're short on ideas use a previous insult and modify it. Chances are, they won't catch it.
2. Take a few deep breaths (draw your breath in noisily if it helps), concentrate on what needs to be said and draw on your pre-rehearsed comebacks.
3. Create some insults in your free time. Think up appropriate ways to insult the different people who might insult you. If you have a starting point, the rest will come easier.
4. Ignore the person(s). If you don't take their insults seriously, they won't be able to insult you seriously.
5. Don't react. Instead, just smile and laugh it off. It will make the person wonder what they're doing wrong.
6. Don't swear or resort to "Your mom!" or any other variants such as "That's what she said!" You can use "your mom" jokes to make them be quiet when they are coming up with a comeback to stop them, but they're not creative and people have become used to ignoring them.
7. Revert the insult to the one insulting you. If you have a point of pride, and they tried to hit it, realize that it is because of their insecurities. If you then talk about how their insult would apply to them more than you, they are removed of this crucial power and you have pointed out that which is evident––they're projecting their insecurities onto you.
8. Don't get mad. Find their points of pride and insult them on it. If they come up with a comeback, chuckle a bit then say, "It's a bit too late for sarcasm, but thank you." You must remain grounded in your apparent idea that they were complimenting you, they won't believe it, but it will make it harder for them to insult you effectively.
9. Make fun of them. If you do catch a flaw in their argument, point it out and mock them for it. Once again, it is all about removing their power and therefore increasing yours.
10. Interrupt them when they insult you. If you stop them from insulting you, they will get frustrated and try harder. If so, interrupt them and pick apart their insults.
Accept that you won. If they are frustrated, you have essentially won. Frustration is the equivalent of an arm bar in martial arts, you haven't won yet, but you're about to. this point is critical. You have the choice to either apologize at this point or continue and send them into a swearing or crying wreck.
In today’s lesson we are going to learn about a creative insult. I do not think that anyone can smile as to the action this king did to the messengers of David. In the long run this king and his people had to pay a heavy price for their unique insult.
It would be wrong to see David as an aggressive king who constantly sought to take over the territories of his neighbors. In most, if not all, cases, when he invaded he was probably responding to their initial belligerence, and we have a good example of that here. His intentions towards Hanun, the son of Nahash, were entirely good. It was Hanun’s advisers who turned it into an all-out war.
David’s initial approach to the Ammonites was with the best of intentions. He wanted to comfort Hanun over the death of his father. But his fame had grown, and Hanun’s advisers were unwilling to believe in his honesty. They could only see his approaches as an attempt to spy them out. So, they insulted and humiliated his messengers.
19 It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place.
The passage begins by giving the background to what follows. All arose because of the death of the current king of Ammon, Nahash, who was seemingly on good terms with David, possibly because Nahash had wanted to get back at Saul. When as a young man he had besieged Jabesh-gilead, offering them cruel terms of surrender (the Ammonites were only half civilized, half desert tribesman), it was Saul who had delivered Jabesh-gilead and had sent Nahash and his army packing (1 Samuel 11.1-11). We do not know how he showed kindness to David, but it may well have been when David’s mother had found asylum with the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22.3-4). The Moabites and Ammonites were allies. Now Nahash had died, and he had been replaced by his son Hanun. The end of a long reign was often the time when men began to think about how the current situation could be altered, and whether a coup could be attempted, especially if they were egged on by others, and this would explain the edginess of Hanun’s advisers.
2 Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So, David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land of the people of Ammon to comfort him.
News of Nahash’s death reached David who immediately determined to show his sympathy and offer friendship to Hanun, because Nahash had previously shown kindness towards him. We have no indication of what this kindness was. It may have been related to his time when he was a fugitive from Saul. On the other hand, it may simply indicate that they had maintained good relations during their respective reigns, with each helping the other.
So David sent messengers of consolation to Hanun, and his messengers accordingly entered the land of the children of Ammon.
3 And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Did his servants not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?”
The fierce tribal chiefs of Ammon, however, far from being grateful, sought to persuade their new king against David. The death of Nahash had increased their ability to influence the throne.
Thus these princes, possibly taking advantage of his innocence, suggested to the new young king that what David was doing was not genuinely showing honor to his dead father, but simply spying on them and assessing their capabilities with a view to an invasion. It is doubtful if they really thought this, for there had been a fairly long period of peace between Israel and Ammon
4 Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
The result of their urgings was that the new and rather naive king, no doubt egged on by his princes, decided to show David what he thought of him by adopting a creative insult and humiliation. The king agreed to have David’s ambassadors taken captive and shaved them (shaved off half their beards - 2 Samuel 10), and cut their robes so that their buttocks were revealed, and then sent them away. This was a deliberate insult of a most serious kind. To a Near-Easterner to have the beard shaved off was looked on as a major insult, and indeed warranted a death sentence on the culprit. Men would rather die than had their beards shaved off. And to shave off only half their beard added to the insult. Furthermore, to have the buttocks bared was equally shameful (Isaiah 20.4). The ambassadors thus arrived back in Jericho feeling utterly shamed and humiliated, and in doing it to his ambassadors Ammon had in effect done it to David.
5 Then some went and told David about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”
When David heard what had happened to his messengers he sent messages of sympathy and support to them at Jericho and told them that they could wait there until their beards had re-grown. Only then need they return to court. Meanwhile the insult to David himself was so great that retaliation was inevitable. Not to have acted would have encouraged all Israel’s neighbors to attack them because of their seeming weakness. No king could have held his head up after such treatment if he did not do something about it. So, as the Ammonites clearly recognized with some possible regret, an aggressive response to the insult would only take a matter of time.
6 When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maacah, and from Zobah.
It would not have taken much intelligence for the Ammonites to realize that having deeply insulted David they must expect repercussions. That must surely have been their intention. It therefore suggests that what follows was already pre-planned. For the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to the Aramaeans (Syrians) and their allies seeking for their assistance. It was a kind of tribute. In return they wanted to receive chariots and horsemen, and no doubt back up forces of footmen.
7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also, the people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle.
The Aramaeans did immediately respond. It gave them their opportunity to test David in battle without invading Israel, or Israel invading them. After all they had already experienced defeat at his hands (18.3-6). But what they had certainly not anticipated was the skill of David’s highly trained forces, and such a resounding defeat of their own forces. To put it in the way that the writer puts it, they had failed to recognize that YHWH was with Israel (18.6, 13).
The Ammonites hired thirty-two thousand chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his people. According to 2 Samuel 10, which does not mention the chariots, thirty two thousand footmen were provided, composed of twenty thousand footmen provided by the Aramaeans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, a further thousand by the Aramaean king of Maacah, and twelve thousand by ‘the men of Tob’.
8 Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.
As soon as David heard of the hiring of the Aramaean mercenaries he mustered his army and sent ‘Joab and all the host of the mighty men’ to the land of the children of Ammon, to avenge the insult to his messengers, and to him.
9 Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array before the gate of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.
Once the Israelite army approached, the warriors of the children of Ammon ‘came out’ from their various cities and stood ready to do battle at the gate of the city at which battle was to be joined. That would enable them if necessary to retreat into the city. We are not given the name of the city in either account, but it may be that it was Rabbah, their capital city Meanwhile the Aramaean units had congregated out in the countryside. Israel were thus faced with the prospect of having to fight on two fronts at once.
10 When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. 11 And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in battle array against the people of Ammon.
Immediately summing up the situation Joab divided his forces into two. He himself took the best trained and most effective units to deal with the more seasoned Aramaeans (Syrians and others), while he gave to Abishai the remainder of his forces, which put themselves in array in order that they might meanwhile keep the less trained Ammonite tribesmen at bay. He did not want to meet the Aramaeans and at the same time be attacked from behind.
12 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be of good courage and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
Then he instructed his brother to face up to the Ammonites, probably without attacking them unless necessary, while also keeping an eye out so that if Joab and his forces seemed to be failing he could send troops to assist him. Meanwhile he would do the same for Abishai if the Ammonites did attack.
After this he gave a noteworthy instruction that was all important. It was to the effect that they should be of good courage and play the man, for the sake of their people and for the cities of their God, and then he committed the result to YHWH. Here would be the secret of their success. His very words suggest his awareness of the seeming superiority of the forces that were arraigned against them.
14 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.
Then Joab and his elite forces advanced on the Aramaeans and dealt with them so effectively that the Aramaeans fled before them. David’s highly trained forces, led by his mighty men, were too much for the Aramaeans.
15 When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So, Joab went to Jerusalem.
As soon as the Ammonites saw that the Aramaeans had been put to flight they panicked, and fled before Abishai, seeking refuge in their city. At this point Joab, recognizing that they had not seen the last of the Aramaeans, decided to leave the Ammonites cooped up in their city (possibly with containing troops surrounding it) and returned to Jerusalem, no doubt to warn David of what the situation was and to prepare for a major war with the Aramaeans. The Ammonites could wait.
16 Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them.
Recognizing that his forces had been put to the worse by Israel Hadarezer gathered together, along with the remainder of his own forces, reinforcements from Beyond the River (from the Aramaeans in Mesopotamia proper). This was going to be the real test for David and his men. This powerful army then made for Helam (according to 2 Samuel 10), and were personally commanded by Shobach, Hadarezer’s commander-in-chief (who is mainly mentioned because he will shortly be slain).
17 When it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in battle array against them. So, when David had set up in battle array against the Syrians, they fought with him.
Once David learned of this major force approaching northern Transjordan he gathered all his forces and, crossing over the Jordan, went out personally to meet them. Setting his forces in array, battle was joined.
18 Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand-foot soldiers of the Syrians and killed Shophach the commander of the army.
The result of the battle was that the Aramaeans were totally defeated and fled before Israel, with David (he and his men) killing Shobach the Aramaean commander-in-chief and destroying seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand horsemen.
19 And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants. So, the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore.
The result of David’s string of victories was that all the kings who had been vassals of Hadarezer switched their allegiance to David, accepting him as their overlord, becoming his vassals and paying him tribute. And the result was that the Ammonites no longer had allies to look to and were left to rue the day having insulted David so grievously.
