Despite David’s kind gesture toward Hanun…
The existing hate was too deep to overcome.
Hanun’s men advised the new king that David was up to no good.
They said the real purpose of the Hebrew diplomats was to deceive…
And most likely to spy on the Ammonite capital city of Rabbah (currently Amman, Jordan).
Now if the truth be told…
We shouldn’t be too surprised at Hanun’s deep mistrust of David.
When one takes into account how David treated Moab by randomly executing 2 out of every 3 of their soldiers…
The King of Ammon and his advisors had good reason to be wary of a bunch of Israeli diplomats suddenly showing up on their front porch.
So, Hanun’s reaction was to be expected.
He decided to give David the middle finger in the worst way possible.
Since Hebrew men viewed their beards as almost sacred…
He ordered his men to shave off half of them.
Then, on top of that humiliation…
The Ammonites sliced their clothing halfway up until their buttocks were exposed!
In other words, they’d be forced to walk around in public half-naked!
In the Middle East, this was worse than death.
A full-blown declaration of war had just been issued!
When David heard what happened, he sent men to meet his humiliated diplomats.
They were informed to hold off on returning to the City of David.
This may have seemed like a kind gesture…
But there was more to it than that.
As king, David didn’t want shame anywhere near him.
Back then, even looking at someone else’s humiliation was seen as disgracing yourself…
Especially for a king!
So what’s the takeaway?
The takeaway is nothing has changed, folks.
This sort of thing is happening right now in the Middle East as I type these words.
All you gotta do is turn on the TV and look at the never-ending conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
After so much violence, betrayal, and broken promises…
Not only does trusting each other seem foolish…
It would be downright MADNESS!
Ya feel me?
See ya all next time.
Leave a Reply