Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 20.
When the king of the Ammonites died, David sent some of his servants to Hanun, the son and successor of the deceased king, in order to comfort him and show him kindness. However, Hanun was convinced by his princes that David’s servants were there to spy out the city and overthrow it (2 Samuel 10:1-3).
“So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. And the king said, ‘Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and them return’” (2 Samuel 10:4-5).
Hanun, based on false assumptions about David’s intentions, humiliated these men. Upon realizing this, he could have admitted wrongdoing and sought to make things right. But instead, he became defensive, causing the situation to escalate.
“Now when the sons of Ammon saw they had become odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. The sons of Ammon came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the city…” (2 Samuel 10:6-8).
Once the fighting started, it did not go well for the Ammonites.
“So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him. When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city” (2 Samuel 10:13-14).
What started out with Hanun embarrassing a few men, resulting in a military defeat to the Israelites and a loss of an ally in the Arameans (2 Samuel 10:19).
We may, through our words or actions, humiliate and embarrass others. Although the consequences are rarely as monumental as this example, we should still learn from Hanun’s sin and his mistakes in handling it. When we hurt others, we should not become defensive and cause the situation to become even worse. Rather, we should recognize our fault and humbly seek forgiveness from the one we have wronged. Remember Jesus’ instruction on this point:
“Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering” (Matthew 5:23-24).
When we have wronged someone, reconciliation should be a priority. We must take the initiative to try to make amends.
Tomorrow’s reading: Psalm 65-67, 69-70
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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