The Bible Study Podcast, episode 530. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the kings of Judah and Israel with 2 Samuel 10.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen. I said we had three episodes of Good King David. We have four. I forgot about this particular chapter. We'll get into David and Bathsheba next week. So put a pin in that. But first, David defeats the Ammonites. And as we read this story, I want you to think about how many problems are caused by a leader's foolishness, by thinking that everybody thought the same way that he did, or by taking the advice that everybody thinks the same way.

In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son, Hanunun succeeded him as king. David thought, I will show

kindness to Hanun, son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent a delegation

to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to the land of the

Amonites, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord,

do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy?

Hasn't David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?

So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated.

The king said, stay at Jericho, till your beards have grown and then come back.

When the Amonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David,

they hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Roebob and Zobah, as well as the king of

Makkah with a thousand men, and also 12,000 men from Tob. On hearing this, David sent Joab with

the entire army of fighting men. The Ammonites came out

and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and

Rahob and the men of Tob and Makkah were by themselves in the open country. Joab saw that there

was 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 Abashai, his brother, and deployed them against the Ammonites. Joab said, if the

Aramians are too strong for me, then you were to come to my rescue. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.

Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God.

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