Wednesday, May 05, 2004
2 Samuel 10 - The foolishness of Hanun
The great war between Israel and Ammon and their Aramean mercenaries was occasioned by the great foolishness of Hanun, king of Ammon. What caused this folly? Fear. What did Hanun do? Launch a pre-emptive strike. What was the result? The humiliation of the enemy. How did Ammon’s enemy respond? With war: the very thing that the Ammonites had feared in the first place.
The United States has been acting with the foolishness of Hanun since the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Nahash, the king of Ammon died, and David sent envoys to convey his condolences to Hanun, the new king and Nahash's son. It was here that the evil slipped in:
2 Samuel 10:3 the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, "Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"
I suppose, in the terms of the "national security state," that the suspicions were reasonable. A continuing theme throughout the biblical history is that policy that would, from a practical geo-political point of view, be considered reasonable is condemned as foolish or unfaithful. In this case, the foolishness is on the part of Hanun, and is simply reported without comment. I am adding the judgment on it.
The foolishness consists in this: not only does Hanun accept the suspicions of his advisors as fact, but he acts with an arrogant disregard for consequences. The story would be unbelievable, if it weren't for the fact that we are seeing it repeated almost daily.
2 Samuel 10:4 So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away.
This was an act calculated to humiliate. The word "humiliation" is probably the word most frequently used by Palestinians to describe the actions of Israel in the occupied territories and by Iraqi civilians to describe the actions of the U.S. in their "liberated" but occupied country. What did Hanun think? That by humiliating the enemy he feared that that enemy would respond with reason and kindness?
NIV 2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David's nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.
Hanun and his advisors suddenly “realized” that their policy had backfired! Time to escalate. So they hired mercenaries. So far, the actual hostility was entirely one-sided -- only Ammon had acted, and its actions were entirely motivated by fear. But, predictably, Israel responded in kind, seeing that they were now faced with a genuine military threat. Ammon's fears were self-fulfilling:
2 Samuel 10:7 When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors.
So the disastrous war began. This is the cycle of arrogance, fear, and escalation. It is too late to pray to God to deliver us from such foolishness. Perhaps we could still pray to be spared the consequences of it.
The United States has been acting with the foolishness of Hanun since the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Nahash, the king of Ammon died, and David sent envoys to convey his condolences to Hanun, the new king and Nahash's son. It was here that the evil slipped in:
2 Samuel 10:3 the princes of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, "Do you really think that David is honoring your father just because he has sent messengers with condolences to you? Has not David sent his envoys to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"
I suppose, in the terms of the "national security state," that the suspicions were reasonable. A continuing theme throughout the biblical history is that policy that would, from a practical geo-political point of view, be considered reasonable is condemned as foolish or unfaithful. In this case, the foolishness is on the part of Hanun, and is simply reported without comment. I am adding the judgment on it.
The foolishness consists in this: not only does Hanun accept the suspicions of his advisors as fact, but he acts with an arrogant disregard for consequences. The story would be unbelievable, if it weren't for the fact that we are seeing it repeated almost daily.
2 Samuel 10:4 So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half the beard of each, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away.
This was an act calculated to humiliate. The word "humiliation" is probably the word most frequently used by Palestinians to describe the actions of Israel in the occupied territories and by Iraqi civilians to describe the actions of the U.S. in their "liberated" but occupied country. What did Hanun think? That by humiliating the enemy he feared that that enemy would respond with reason and kindness?
NIV 2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David's nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.
Hanun and his advisors suddenly “realized” that their policy had backfired! Time to escalate. So they hired mercenaries. So far, the actual hostility was entirely one-sided -- only Ammon had acted, and its actions were entirely motivated by fear. But, predictably, Israel responded in kind, seeing that they were now faced with a genuine military threat. Ammon's fears were self-fulfilling:
2 Samuel 10:7 When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army with the warriors.
So the disastrous war began. This is the cycle of arrogance, fear, and escalation. It is too late to pray to God to deliver us from such foolishness. Perhaps we could still pray to be spared the consequences of it.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
2 Samuel 9 - Kindness
I complained of the lack of overflowing justice and righteousness in David's actions in the last chapter as David committed a variety of atrocities against his enemies, and in the following chapter we have the beginning to the story of David's sin with Basheba and her husband Urriah. So, what are we to make of this chapter, in which David does kindness to Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan?
The cynic can see in it a ploy similar to David's treatment of his former wife Micah. In his attempt to cement his claim upon the throne of a re-united Israel, David brought Saul's daughter back into his home. Evidently, there was no love remaining between them; and she who had once loved David now openly expressed her contempt. Here, David brings Saul's grandson into his household. This means that he lives in Jerusalem, under David's eye, rather than at his ancestral home. This cynical view may be justified because of his ambiguous role during the rebellion of Absolom (2 Samuel 16 and 19).
There is, regardless of the truth of David's heart in regards to Mephibosheth, an lovely thing in what David says as he proposes to act favorably to him. Twice, he asked,
2 Samuel 9:1 "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
but the second time, employing the poetic parallelism that is so familiar from David's psalms, he says:
2 Samuel 9:3 "Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
And when he is finally able to address Mephibosheth, his first words are:
2 Samuel 9:7 "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness..."
In this, David's words reached deeper into the truth than perhaps even he knew. This is the kindness of God, that reaches to potential enemies with the words, "Do not be afraid."
The cynic can see in it a ploy similar to David's treatment of his former wife Micah. In his attempt to cement his claim upon the throne of a re-united Israel, David brought Saul's daughter back into his home. Evidently, there was no love remaining between them; and she who had once loved David now openly expressed her contempt. Here, David brings Saul's grandson into his household. This means that he lives in Jerusalem, under David's eye, rather than at his ancestral home. This cynical view may be justified because of his ambiguous role during the rebellion of Absolom (2 Samuel 16 and 19).
There is, regardless of the truth of David's heart in regards to Mephibosheth, an lovely thing in what David says as he proposes to act favorably to him. Twice, he asked,
2 Samuel 9:1 "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
but the second time, employing the poetic parallelism that is so familiar from David's psalms, he says:
2 Samuel 9:3 "Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
And when he is finally able to address Mephibosheth, his first words are:
2 Samuel 9:7 "Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness..."
In this, David's words reached deeper into the truth than perhaps even he knew. This is the kindness of God, that reaches to potential enemies with the words, "Do not be afraid."
