Year 7, Day 327: 2 Samuel 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

2 Samuel 10 fills us in on some more of the political milieu of the time of David.  The king of the Ammonites dies, so David sends a delegation to great the new king.  David is a good warrior, but he knows that the battle that costs the fewest resources is the battle that is never fought.  If he can start out the reign of this new king by seeking peace, it may set a trend for the rest of the king’s life.

However, the Ammonite king gets bad advice.  Isn’t funny how one little turn of bad advice can really mess us a whole life?  The Ammonite king’s advisors hint that David may have sent the gift with a hidden agenda: as spies.  Honestly, it isn’t an unreasonable thought.  I could see a king doing such a thing as spy out a new king’s political position before his power is fully established!  While not unreasonable, it is still bad advice.  Lesson one from today is to realize that bad advice can start out sounding quite rationale.

The king then acts on that bad advice.  He acts upon something with no proof.  He humiliates the gift that David sent him.  It is one thing to be suspicious, it is another thing to act upon it through a rash decision.

Naturally, this upsets David.  David sets out his army to conquer those who rejected him.  Long story short, the Ammonites rely on mercenaries, and the mercenaries take the money and run when the battle proves tough.  The Ammonites are defeated.  This new king finds himself a vassal (or worse) shortly after becoming a king simply because he chose to act on bad advice.  That’s a huge lesson to learn.

What I really like about this story is how the vassals of the conquered army line up to make peace with David.  These kings act under good advice.  When someone more powerful than the person to whom you are submitting comes along, make peace with that person!  That is just rational.

That same thinking is one of the key tenets of my faith, by the way.  God is the biggest power out there.  Why would I not seek peace with Him?  Why would I not pursue a forgiving relationship with the biggest power on the block?

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