“Sometime later, when the king of the people of ‘Amon died, his son Hanun became king in his place. David said, ‘I will show grace to Hanun, the son of Nachash, as his father showed grace to me.‘ So David sent his servants to pass him a message of comfort concerning his father.”-2 Samuel 10:1
Let’s get our bearings on where we’re at.
So Nachash, the king of the people of Amon, has died.
In a gesture of peace, David decided to show goodwill to his son Hanun.
But that didn’t go over very well.
Why?
Well, it turns out some deep historical animosities were stretching way back into the past.
Let’s take a look at two pieces of evidence supporting this, one from Scripture, and one from the Dead Sea Scroll of Samuel.
First, here’s an excerpt from Scripture:
“Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, ‘Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you.’ But Nahash the Ammonite replied, ‘I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.‘”-1 Samuel 11:1-2
And here’s an excerpt from the Dead Sea Scroll:
4QSam: “Now Nachash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nachash, King of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-Gilead”.
The Hebrew residents of Jabesh-Gilead (a tiny city east of the Jordan) were made up of members from the tribes of Gad and Reuben.
However, they were also closely related to Saul’s tribe of Benjamin.
That’s why Saul felt duty-bound to rescue Gad and Reuben from Nachash.
This is the historical backdrop of what we’re reading about here in 2nd Samuel Chapter 10…
And this explains Hanun’s hostility toward David.
Hanun, like many young leaders, wanted to prove himself.
So what better way to do it than pick a fight with his nation’s arch-old enemy?
But David didn’t wanna fight.
We’re not told why.
Maybe he wanted to bury the hatchet between their nations.
Or maybe he didn’t wanna stretch his military resources too thin.
Either way, when Hanun’s father, Nachash, died, David saw this as a chance to make peace.
So he decided to offer a hand of friendship.
2nd Samuel 10:2 says David wanted to show “grace” to Hanun.
In Hebrew, the word is CHESED, which means kindness and loyalty.
To achieve this end, David sent some messengers to bring a message of “comfort” to the new king.
The Hebrew word for comfort is NACHAM.
But it can also mean “regret” or even “repentance.”
In this case, “comfort” might not be the best translation.
The gist of what David wanted to communicate to Hanun was…
“Hey, with your father’s passing, why don’t we take this as an opportunity to let bygones be bygones?”
Plus, come to think of it…
A leader’s funeral is the perfect time for reconciliation.
Everyone is in a reflective mood and more open to change.
At least that’s what David was hoping.
But his expectations were shattered.
So here’s the takeaway for today.
I’ve kind of already touched on this earlier.
But it bears repeating.
Sometimes despite our best intentions…
It’s NOT in our best interest…
Nor God’s Will…
To reconcile with our enemies.
There could be a divine reason why our enemies are our enemies…
And should stay that way.
Ya, feel me?
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
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