Gospel Reflections #1074: The ways of man are not the ways of God

2 Samuel 10:1 ‘After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.’

This is a crucial verse marking the beginning of a historical turning point, where King David’s kindness (sincerity) was trampled upon, leading to a major war later on.

In the previous chapter (Chapter 9), we were presented with a beautiful scene in which David fulfilled a promise made to his former close friend Jonathan by showing ‘kindness’ to his son Mephibosheth.

The phrase ‘After this’ in verse 1 of Chapter 10 marks the dividing line where the tone of the narrative shifts dramatically from ‘peace and kindness’ to ‘misunderstanding and war’. The Ammonites were a people situated to the east of Israel (in the vicinity of present-day Jordan).

The king who died here was a man named ‘Nahash’, who had once been a fierce enemy of King Saul, but is said to have shown kindness (such as forming an alliance) to David whilst he was being pursued by Saul.

To repay this favour, David sends a delegation of goodwill to the new king, Hanun, in the following verse.

The new king Hanun, who appears in verse 1, perhaps because he was young and inexperienced, took the advice of those around him at face value.

Hanun, in a paranoid misunderstanding, interpreted the envoys sent by David out of pure ‘sincerity’ as ‘spies sent to reconnoitre the country’.

This single verse marks the trigger for everything that followed: David’s goodwill was rejected in the worst possible way, leading to a protracted and bloody war that drew in the Ammonites and, subsequently, the Syrians.

When Satan takes control of people’s hearts, he instils in them feelings of envy and suspicion, causing them to misinterpret even the most sincere intentions.

Yet God turned Satan’s work to good.

Had the envoys succeeded in brokering peace, Israel would have been forced to form an alliance with a treacherous pagan nation.

The ways of man are not the ways of God.

Let us, too, avoid becoming overly preoccupied with the immediate circumstances and keep our focus fixed on God.

Even when we fall, God provides us with the opportunity to rise again.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.