Do you think
David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? (NIV 1984, 1 Chronicles 19:3).
During the days of
Saul there was great enmity between Israel and Ammon. Saul’s decisive victory
over the Ammonite forces cemented his position as king over Israel. We learn in
verse 2 that David held the Ammonite king Nahash in high regard. The text
doesn’t spell out for us why that is, except with a vague reference to some
kindness shown David. It is probable that Nahash may have provided David refuge
during the time he was hiding from Saul. Whatever the case, upon Nahash’s
death, David wanted to show kindness to his son Hanun in return for the
kindness he’d been shown years earlier. Not only was it the right thing to do,
but it should have also served to strengthen the tentative alliance between the
two nations.
When the Israeli
envoys arrived in Ammon they were greeted with suspicion. Hanun’s advisors
encouraged him to deal harshly with this threat, and the order was given for
the ambassadors to be humiliated. Diplomacy demands that when an ambassador is
welcomed, he is to be received as though he were the king himself. Not only
were the envoys humiliated, but David and all Israel were shamed as well by
this despicable act. The resulting conflict would result in Ammon’s
destruction.
Have you ever
suffered a lapse in judgment and questioned someone’s motives who had only your
best interest in mind?
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Is there someone in your
life who deserves the benefit of the doubt?
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