THE LORD DOES GOOD IN HIS SIGHT

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Haven’t his envoys come to you only to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?” So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maakah and Zobah. They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.

On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in His sight.”

Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak the commander of their army.

When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him.

So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.

1 Chronicles 19

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been in the midst of a situation and wondered, “Lord, what in the world are You doing in this circumstance?”

I mean, there are some experiences we have that can take us down some uncertain paths with twists and turns that we never imagined might occur. As a point and case, look at the way things played out for David as he simply wished to pay his respects for the death of the Ammonite king Nahash.

As we look at the scripture from Chapter 19 of 1 Chronicles, we find David sending a delegation to express sympathy to Nahash’s son Hanun who had ascended to the throne after his father’s death. We read where Nahash had been kind to David and so David saw it fitting to reciprocate that kindness to Hanun.

It seemed easy enough right?

But as we read on we see where Hanun’s commanders came to him suspicious of David’s motives and were able to convince the young king that the expression of sympathy was actually just a cover for something sinister as David was really just sending men to spy, sizing up the lay of the land in advance of an attack. If only Hanun had turned to God for counsel as we have seen David do, he would have been advised properly.

But that didn’t happen. Hanun listened to his commanders and took action, seizing David’s envoys, shaving them (a parallel passage – 2 Samuel 10:4 – tells us that half of their beards were shaved off) and cutting off their garments at the buttocks before sending them away. Imagine how these men must have looked. Half their face shaved while the other not. Bare buttocks exposed after the garments were cut. It was the utmost embarrassment for any man of the era.

Well, obviously David was not amused as to how Hanun had exchanged evil for the good he extended. He advised his men to stay in Jericho and let their beards grow back out before returning. No need for them to return home and extend the humiliation into their hometown. We sense that news of David’s displeasure must have traveled back to Ammon because scripture tells us that the Ammonites realized they had been obnoxious and angered David, something that was unwise given that the Israelite army was the most powerful force at the time.

And so the Ammonites prepared for what they viewed as an inevitable battle with part of that preparation trying to bolster their forces by hiring men from Aram. We read where they sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maakah and Zobah. They also hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his troops. As this opposing force advanced toward David and the Israelites, the Ammonites drew up in battle formation at the entrance to the city, while the other Aramean forces were in the open country. On hearing of this advancing, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.

Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him, he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He then put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. Before the fighting began, Joab made a pact with his brother: If either of them faced strong resistance from the forces they were fighting, the other brother would come to the rescue. They then did something that was even more important than acknowledging that they would be there for one another. They acknowledged that God would be there for them both. Look at these final words from Joab:

“Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in His sight.”

I don’t know about you but these words are incredibly inspiring. Joab and Abishai were going to battle against not just one but two armies. It had to be a little harrowing and it was definitely dangerous. Many were going to die and they might be counted in that number. Nonetheless, Joab and Abishai knew they were fighting in the name of the Lord God Almighty and they knew that the Lord would do what was good in His sight. It was this truth that gave them the confidence and courage to forge ahead, no matter what would lie ahead.

We need to draw power and encouragement from this as well. For as we enter into life each and every day, we will face uncertainties that will rise up to oppose us, maybe not as formidable as an entire nation’s army but nonetheless harrowing, challenging, and sometimes downright scary. It is in these times, times that we need to be brave and strong and wonder how we can make it through, that we must remember the words of Joab, knowing that the Lord will do what is good in His sight.

The scriptures reassert this truth in several places. Consider the following:

- In all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28

- It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13

Truly, the Lord is interested in ensuring that what is done in His sight is good, whether He does it Himself or He does it through someone who loves Him and is faithful to His purposes. He has done it, is doing it, and will always continue to do it. We need only have faith and trust Him to that end, waiting with patience for Him to work things out in accordance with His perfect will and way.

Joab, Abishai, and David did and God delivered them to victory. Know that He will do the same for anyone else who places their hope in Him.

I pray you are counted among that number.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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