And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.
David sends a friendly embassy to a neighbouring king. The men come home half-shaved and half-stripped. Why did that count as such an outrage? And what does it say about people who cannot believe kindness is kindness?
The beard was not a matter of fashion in Israel. It was protected by law and tied to a man's honour, so tampering with it was an act of contempt.
The Israelites always grew the beard and prized it. The law forbade them to spoil the edges of their beards, Lev. 19:27, and a priest was not to shave off the corner of his beard as a sign of mourning. Lev. 21:5. King Hanun did a deep dishonour to David's ambassadors when he ruined their beards.
Hanun cut away half the beard and half the clothing on purpose. He did not kill the men. He made them a public spectacle and sent them home in that state.
No one could shame a king's ambassadors more than this. They had to cross Hanun's country in disgrace, half naked, mocked, and made a joke. Is it surprising that they were "greatly ashamed"?
The princes had no category for unearned goodwill, so they explained it by their own standards.
The princes of Ammon were suspicious, just as people in false religions are suspicious of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. False teaching never gives honest credit to the grace of God. It pushes instead the legal principle of man's self-righteousness. Its motives are selfish, so it suspects the same selfish motives in others.
Hanun did not think this up alone. His advisers pushed him into it. The slide from mistrust to open mockery was short.
The world has more confidence in the opinion of its counselors than in the message of Christ. These counselors will do anything to turn aside from the gospel those of their followers who show any inclination at all to receive it. The distance between distrust and insult is shorter than we might suspect.
Ambassadors in that world were not resident diplomats but personal representatives, so what was done to them was done to the one who sent them.
Such men stood in the place of the kings who sent them, and people normally treated them with proper respect, whatever the message. David deeply resented the insult done to the messengers he had sent in kindness to Hanun, king of the Ammonites. 2 Sam. 10:1-14. In 2 Samuel 9 the kindness of God found acceptance; here kindness met rejection. In the New Testament the apostles were ambassadors for Christ to a guilty world, urging their hearers to be reconciled to God.
David's first move is not war but shelter. He has the men wait at Jericho until they are fit to be seen again.
Hanun echoes his father's scorn in a milder form. He takes half the beards and half the clothes of David's ambassadors. At Jericho, the place of the world's judgment, they must wait until they have their dignity as men back. Then they return.
Commentators differ here. Some read David's move as pure grace, a last offer of kindness to a hostile neighbour. Others judge the mission itself unwise.
Here David did not take the right course. Ammon was an enemy. Nahash did show David some kindness while he was in exile, but he had also insulted Israel, and he was ready to gouge out the right eyes of the men of Jabesh-gilead. Hanun treated David's peaceful messengers in this shameful way. That showed he was a wicked man like his father, and not worthy of David's kindness.
Nothing in the chapter suggests Hanun knew what he was throwing away.
Hanun refused the last message of grace — and how little he suspected that it was the last. The result is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on through the chapters that follow. It is a judgment without pity, brought on by anger at the insult done to grace.
In the chapter before, Mephibosheth welcomed David's kindness. Hanun does the opposite.
Everyone who has Christ set before him must play either the part of Mephibosheth or the part of Hanun. The first valued "the kindness of God" that David showed; the second refused it, and it ruined him... The man who will not value the love of God's heart must still feel the severity of God's hand.
- Kindness sent. David remembers an old favour and sends kindness, not demands. The offer costs Hanun nothing.
- Kindness suspected. Advisers who see selfish motives in everyone suspected the same in David. Distrust turned to insult fast.
- Kindness insulted. Half the beard, half the garment. It was public shame of the deepest kind, aimed through the messengers at their king.
- Shame covered. David keeps his shamed servants at Jericho until they have their dignity back. War comes later.
- Kindness avenged. The insult to grace brings the judgment. Whoever will not know the love of God's heart will feel the weight of His hand.
And they told [it] to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
David sent messengers in kindness to a neighbouring king, and they came home shamed — half-shaved and half-stripped. This verse records what David did next, and it raises two questions: why did the insult cut so deep, and why did rejected kindness end in war?
The men were not travellers. They were official representatives, and in the ancient world that carried weight.
They were officials sent from one king to another with any important message, or to settle matters of shared interest... Such men represented the kings who sent them. Whatever the message, people normally treated them with proper respect. David deeply resented the insult done to the messengers he had sent in kindness to Hanun, king of the Ammonites.
The men stood for David. The insult to their bodies struck his name.
A beard was not a fashion choice in Israel. Law and custom guarded it, and cutting it spoke of mourning and disgrace.
The Israelites always grew the beard and prized it. The law forbade them to "mar the edges of their beards" (Leviticus 19:27), and a priest must not shave off the edge of his beard as a sign of mourning (Leviticus 21:5). King Hanun inflicted a deep insult when he cut the beards of David's ambassadors.
Hanun cut their clothes too, so the men travelled home exposed as well as disfigured.
No treatment could shame a king's ambassadors more than this. They had to travel through Hanun's land dishonoured, half naked, mocked, and made a laughing-stock. Is it surprising that they were "greatly ashamed"?
David's first move is not military. He deals with his men's shame before he deals with Ammon.
When David heard this he first gave the men a break at Jericho until their beards grew. We are not told how David himself answered this offensive insult aimed at him and at Israel. We are not told either of any move David made to attack Ammon before Ammon began preparing for battle.
One writer reads the stop at Jericho as a recovery of what Hanun tried to strip away:
Hanun shows a milder form of his father's scorn. He takes away half the beards and half the garments of David's ambassadors. At Jericho, the place of the world's judgement, they must wait until they have recovered their dignity as men: so they return.
The trouble started with Hanun's advisers. They told him that David's men had come to spy.
Hanun is not receptive. If he had been alone, his heart might have been touched. He does not drive the messengers away at once, but he is badly advised. The princes of the Ammonites stir up his distrust: "Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to you?" How easily such suggestions succeed when Jesus is not known! These men, they say, are hypocrites; their purpose is to make war against us.
Another writer traces that suspicion to the character of the men who held it:
The Ammonites could not appreciate the grace of David's heart, but only suspected mischief, as the wicked naturally do.
One writer sets this chapter beside the one before it. Two offers of kindness, two opposite answers:
In 2 Samuel 9 the kindness of God was accepted; here kindness was rejected. In the New Testament the apostles were ambassadors for Christ to a guilty world, to urge their hearers to be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:20; and judgement will fall on those who do not obey the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17.
The waiting at Jericho has been taken as a picture of the pause before that judgement falls:
David told the men to wait at Jericho until their beards were grown. The Lord is now waiting until the appointed time, and His patience is salvation. But the judgement, severe and certain, is approaching.
- Kindness sent. David sent his messengers in kindness to Hanun, king of the Ammonites; commentators see in it the grace of David's heart.
- Kindness suspected. Bad advice turned that kindness into a suspected plot; Hanun's princes told him the messengers had come to spy.
- Kindness insulted. Shaving the beard and cutting the garments shamed an envoy as nothing else could. Law and custom made the beard a man's honour.
- Servants sheltered. Before any army moves, the king goes out to meet his shamed men and keeps them at Jericho until they recover their dignity as men.
- Sender avenged. An insult to the messenger is an insult to the one who sent him. Commentators see in the delay a picture of patience that has a limit.
And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah [with] a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.
The Ammonites had just shamed David's messengers, men sent on an errand of kindness. Now, seeing they are hateful to the king, they answer not with an apology but with an arms deal — 33,000 hired soldiers.
David's kindness to Hanun was his last approach. Shaming his messengers closed the door. One writer marks the turn from offered grace to settled judgment:
Hanun refused the last message of grace — and how little he suspected that it was the last. The result is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on into the chapters that follow. It is a judgment without pity, stirred by anger at the insult to grace.
Hiring an army is an admission. The Ammonites despise David enough to shame his servants, and fear him enough to buy protection. The same writer sees that mix in how men treat God's Anointed:
Men insult the Lord Jesus and are afraid of Him. They show themselves to be His enemies. Hoping to escape judgment, they join together to resist Him. "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed… He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision" (Ps. 2:1-4).
The numbers in the verse are large, but they are borrowed numbers. Ammon moves early because it does not trust its own strength:
The Ammonites knew that David and Israel would deeply resent this insult. So they decided to attack first rather than wait and defend themselves. They did not trust their own power to defeat Israel, so they sent to the Syrians and hired 33,000 soldiers to help them. The Syrians may have wanted a chance to avenge their earlier defeat by Israel. These armies gathered against Israel before we read of David taking any action.
The verse names the men of Tob. Older translations make this look like a person, "Ish-tob." It is a region, and it has appeared in Israel's story before:
A state that supplied 12,000 men to the Ammonites to fight against David (2 Sam. 10:6, 8). In the margin it reads "men of TOB." Jephthah fled to "the land of Tob" to escape his brothers (Judges 11:3, 5). It is thought to lie east of Jebel Hauran.
Ammon does not have to persuade these nations. One writer sees why they fit together so well, and how unlike they are to the crowd that once gathered to David at Adullam:
The Ammonites go to their natural allies. The Syrians picture the pride of the world in its many forms. That pride fits perfectly with the twisting of truth we see in the Ammonite. In all error you will find some link with a heart not subject to God. No wonder the men of Tob ("good men," as the world calls them) join this company in numbers. What a contrast to the disreputable crowd that came to Adullam before, to shelter with David! … Just these Adullamites are now the "mighty men" that come with Joab against this array!
David's reply in the next verse is to send the army rather than to lead it, and commentators differ on how to read this. One sees a warning sign in the king who stays behind:
Once again we find signs of weakness in David. Shouldn't he have led his army himself instead of handing it over to Joab? It seems that this life of constant struggle weighed on him a little, and that he thought he could hand the running of the war to others so as to give himself a little rest.
Whatever the size of the hired force, the outcome was never in doubt. The chapter states a principle that reaches far beyond Ammon:
2 Samuel 10 sets before us the general principle of the king's rule in Zion. When people despise the grace shown to them, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only serve to establish his authority in the very place where men try to resist. It is useless to fight against the power of God's chosen King.
- Grace — David offered Hanun kindness, and Hanun threw it back. That refusal, not David's ambition, starts this war.
- Guilt — the Ammonites see they are hateful to David. They do not apologise. They strike first, because they know they are weak.
- Allies — Syria, Maacah and Tob join at once. Pride and error are natural partners in a heart not subject to God.
- Fear — insulting the king and dreading him go together. Psalm 2 shows the nations doing the same against God's Anointed, and heaven laughs.
- Futility — rebellion only confirms the king's authority in the very place it was challenged. Fighting God's chosen King gains nothing.
And David heard [of it], and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.
David sent messengers of kindness to Hanun, king of Ammon; Hanun shamed them and hired the armies of Syria. David answers by sending Joab and the whole army — so why did kindness end in war, and why does the king not go himself?
One writer states the rule of David's reign, and of the reign it pictures:
When people despise the grace the king shows them, his judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only establish his authority in the very place where people try to resist. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
Another writer notes what Hanun did not know about the offer he refused:
Hanun refused the last message of grace — and how little he suspected that it was the last. The consequence is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on through the chapters that follow — a judgment without pity, driven by indignation at the insult done to grace.
Commentators differ on the mission itself. One holds that David acted without asking God:
In this effort David certainly did not follow the right course, for Ammon was an enemy... Hanun treated David's peaceful messengers in so shameful a way that he showed himself a wicked man like his father, and not worthy of David's kindness. If David had asked the Lord, the messengers would have been spared these insults.
Men who insult a king then fear him. The same writer traces that instinct forward to Psalm 2:
Men insult the Lord Jesus and are afraid of Him; they show themselves to be His enemies, and hoping to escape judgment they join together to resist Him. "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed" (Ps. 2:1-2)... The moment is not far off when a confederation of peoples will speak in this very way against the Lord's Anointed.
(The commentator quotes an older wording of Psalm 2; the sense is the same.)
The mighty men David sends are the same crowd that once took shelter with him at the cave of Adullam:
It is no surprise that the men of Tob ("good men," as the world calls them) join this company in numbers: what a contrast with the disreputable crowd that came to Adullam before, to find shelter with David!... Just these Adullamites are now the "mighty men" who come with Joab against this army!
The king's welcome is what turned them into soldiers:
An Adullamite who has known that welcome soon grows into a "mighty man" with a home to fight for: bonds of love like that build muscle and sinew for the battlefield, as everyone knows.
Commentators differ over David's decision. One reads the sending of Joab as calm royal authority:
David heard of the insult and met it calmly; but he handed the matter to Joab, and the vengeance Joab took was certainly welcome to him... Resistance was useless. Their punishment was severe. The power of David's throne stood firm everywhere.
Another weighs the battle by what it failed to achieve:
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory... They are only driven back, not conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; it must all be begun again. David had handed to another man the responsibility God had given to him personally. The Lord teaches him this lesson very gently: David suffers no defeat, yet the Lord's instruction brings him back to the right path.
The decisive victory comes later, when David himself takes the field:
Verses 15-19 record the greatest victory. The king came himself to lead his armies against the mighty enemy, and their defeat followed. It points forward to the day of final victory over the rebellious nations and their leader, the beast (Rev. 19:19-20), when the true King comes to fight against them.
- Grace first. David's messengers came with kindness, not weapons. War began only after Ammon threw that kindness back — though one commentator holds David should first have asked the Lord.
- Refusal arms itself. Ammon insulted the king, then feared him, then bought help. The nations of Psalm 2 do the same against the LORD and His Anointed.
- The king's men. The men sent out are the old Adullam refugees. Belonging to the king made them mighty.
- Delegated battles. Sending Joab wins ground but no fruit. Commentators differ: settled power, or a duty David should have kept himself?
- The King in person. Full victory waits until David himself takes the field. It pictures the day the true King comes to end all rebellion.
And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
Two armies wait for Israel. The Ammonites hold their city gate, and the hired Syrians stand apart in open country. It is a trap. What happens when kindness is repaid with an insult? Can an alliance of nations stop the king God has chosen? The chapter answers both.
David had sent comforters to Hanun, king of Ammon. Hanun's advisors told him the men were spies, so Hanun humiliated them. One writer marks that refusal as the turning point of the whole story.
The last message of grace — and how little Hanun suspected that it was the last — was refused. What follows is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on into the chapters after it. It is a judgment without pity, brought on by anger at the insult to grace.
Kelly traces the misreading to the Ammonites themselves.
The Ammonites could not appreciate the grace of David's heart, but only suspected mischief, as the wicked naturally do.
The Ammonites did not wait to be attacked.
The Ammonites knew very well that David and Israel would deeply resent this insult. So they decided to attack first rather than wait to defend themselves. They were not confident they could defeat Israel on their own, so they sent to the Syrians and hired 33,000 soldiers to help them... The Ammonites came to "the entrance of the gate," but we are not told what city this was. The Syrians were in the field. So Israel faced a formidable army on two fronts.
One front mattered more than the other.
Victory depends on defeating the Syrians, and Joab leads his best men against them... In fact the Syrians are defeated and flee, and the Ammonites with them. The same battles go on today, with the same result: everything depends on the Syrians — a secret the "mighty men" know well.
Tob was a real place, and it had sheltered a fugitive before.
A state that supplied 12,000 men to the Ammonites to fight against David. 2 Sam. 10:6, 8. In the margin it reads "men of TOB." It was to "the land of Tob" that Jephthah fled from his brothers. Judges 11:3, 5. It is thought to lie east of Jebel Hauran.
The name Tob means "good." One writer sets this crowd beside an earlier crowd that gathered to David at Adullam.
We need not be surprised that the men of Tob ("good men," as the world calls them) join this company in large numbers. What a contrast to the disreputable crowd that came to Adullam earlier, to shelter with David!... And those very men of Adullam are now the "mighty men" who come with Joab against this army!
David did not go to this battle himself. He sent Joab, and one writer asks why.
Once again we find indications of weakness in David. Shouldn't he have led his army personally instead of entrusting it to Joab? It seems that this life of constant struggle was weighing on him. He thought he could hand the running of the war to others and give himself a little rest.
This alliance against David is not the last of its kind.
Men insult the Lord Jesus and are afraid of Him. They show themselves to be His enemies. Hoping to escape judgment, they join together to resist Him... The moment is not far off when a confederation of peoples will speak in this very way against the Lord's Anointed.
Another writer draws out the rule behind the story.
When people despise the grace shown to them, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only establish his authority in the very place where men resist. It is useless to fight against the power of God's chosen king.
- Grace offered. David sent comforters, not spies. The Ammonites suspected mischief, because that is how the wicked read kindness.
- Grace refused. Hanun's insult answered a last message of grace. Judgment followed.
- Grace resisted. Refusal became a hired alliance: Zobah, Rehob, Maacah and twelve thousand men of Tob. Ammon held the gate, Syria the open field.
- Resistance answered. Joab sent his best men against the Syrians, because everything depended on that front. When Syria broke, Ammon fled too.
- Resistance useless. Opposition only fixes the king's authority in the place where it is tried. A coming alliance against the Lord's Anointed will fail just as this one did.
And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;
Ammon knew David would resent their insult, so they hired Syrian troops and moved first. Joab marched out to answer them and found himself trapped between two armies.
One writer sets out the force Israel had to face:
The Ammonites knew very well that David and Israel would deeply resent this insult. So they decided to attack first rather than wait and defend themselves. They were not sure they could beat Israel on their own, so they hired 33,000 Syrian soldiers to help them... The Ammonites came to "the entrance of the gate," but we are not told what city this was. The Syrians were in the field. So Israel faced a formidable enemy on two fronts.
Joab splits his army by where he judges the danger to be, and takes that side himself.
Joab went out to meet the Ammonites and Syrians. He clearly considered the Syrians the greater threat. So he chose the best men to go with him against Syria, and sent the rest with Abishai to fight the Ammonites (vs. 9-10). They each agreed to help the other if the need arose (v.11).
Rossier weighs Joab's own words before the fight:
Joab says: "Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him" (vv. 11-12). Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honour of our nation and for the sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
One writer reads the alliance as a picture, then names who Joab's chosen men had once been:
The Ammonites turn to their natural allies. The Syrians picture the pride of the world in its many forms. That pride fits exactly with the twisting of the truth we see in the Ammonite. In all error you will find some link with a heart that refuses to be subject to God. No wonder the men of Tob ("good men," as the world calls them) join this company in numbers. What a contrast to the disreputable crowd that came to Adullam earlier to shelter with David! But "consider your calling, brothers," and you will understand well the reproach that grace has always had to meet. Just these Adullamites are now the "mighty men" who come with Joab against this array!
One writer turns Joab's choice into a standing rule for spiritual conflict:
Victory depends upon defeating the Syrians, and against them Joab leads the best men of his army. We know both sides, and understand the spiritual meaning here. In fact the Syrians are beaten and flee, and so do the Ammonites. These battles repeat themselves to this day, always with the same result: everything depends upon the Syrians — a secret the "mighty men" know well.
David sent Joab instead of going himself. Rossier counts the cost:
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had handed to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally. The Lord teaches him this lesson very gently, for David does not suffer a defeat. But the Lord's instruction brings him back to the true path.
Joab only drove the enemy back. One writer looks ahead to the final victory:
But the final victory waits for David in person, that is, for Christ in the day of His appearing. The pride of the world will not be struck down for good until He comes. When He comes, the day of Armageddon will find it at Helam, the place of "their strength," banded together against Him.
- Insult — Ammon expected David to resent their offence, so they hired 33,000 Syrians and moved first.
- Encirclement — the Ammonites held the gate and the Syrians took the field. Israel faced two fronts and no safe direction.
- Discernment — Joab judged the Syrians the greater threat. He led the best men against them himself, and he and Abishai promised to rescue each other.
- Partial — the enemy fled, but no one captured them. With the king at home, Israel had to fight the same ground again.
- The King — no deputy breaks the pride the Syrians picture. David in person does — which commentators read as Christ at His appearing.
and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.
Israel's army is caught between two enemies — the Ammonites in front, hired Syrians behind — so Joab, David's commander, splits his force in two to face both at once. Commentators read his pledge to his brother Abishai two ways: as soldiers standing by one another, and as a man leaning on his own strategy more than on God.
One writer traces Abishai's part in the fight and how it ended:
In the Ammonite-Syrian battles his brother Joab trusted him with an army to fight the Ammonites, while Joab himself faced the Syrians. They were at a great disadvantage, hemmed in front and behind. Joab urged his brother to take courage and fight bravely, and both the Syrians and the Ammonites fled before them.
Joab also judged which enemy was the more serious one and took that assignment himself:
When Joab went out to meet the Ammonites and Syrians, he clearly considered the Syrians a greater threat. So he chose picked men to go with him against Syria, and sent the remaining soldiers with Abishai to engage the Ammonites (vv. 9-10).
Others apply the brothers' agreement to God's people fighting as one army:
An army without coordinated discipline is destined for defeat. Correct formation in defence or attack is necessary for victory. When the battle is raging it is important to keep together and help one another. It isn't the time to "do things one's own way"… What a difference there would be in the Christian testimony today if followers of the Lord Jesus Christ were presenting such a united front to the many enemies of the Christian faith. Independence, self-will, shameful squabbles, divisions in homes and in local assemblies, divisions that have echoed around the world — all of these together present the sad sight of an army with great resources but no discipline.
One writer asks what would have happened if both brothers had needed help at once:
You can see the man's wisdom here — human care and planning, with provision made for what might go wrong, though not for everything. He counts on one brother helping the other. But suppose both needed help: where was the help then?… His provision did not cover every possibility, yet he had the appearance of depending on God, of strengthening himself in God, and of encouraging his brother… How easy it is at times to copy and repeat the words of faith and humble dependence on God! But only real believers have the confidence of faith that can sing of victory before the fight begins.
Commentators differ over Joab's next words, which call Abishai to courage and leave the outcome with God. One reads them as putting human effort first:
Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honour of our nation and for the sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
Another, while doubting Joab himself, still credits the words:
Though it seems doubtful that Joab was a born again man, his words here (v. 12) are good. He knew it was important to give God His place in the battle, and that God would work His own will. Applying this in a personal way is a different matter.
The enemy ran, yet one writer calls the victory useless and points to David's absence:
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former re-enter their city. They are only beaten back, not conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; it must all be done again. David had handed over to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him himself.
- Absent king. A deputy fights this battle. David handed over a responsibility God had entrusted to him.
- Clever plan. Joab sizes up both enemies, takes the harder one, and gives Abishai the rest. Real skill — but only human skill.
- Mutual help. The brothers promise to back each other up. An army wins by keeping together; self-will and going it alone wreck a testimony.
- Help that could run out. Joab planned for one brother failing, not both. His words sounded like dependence on God; his plan rested on himself.
- Victory without fruit. The enemy is beaten back, not conquered. The whole war must begin again — that is what a battle without the king wins.
Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.
Joab stood with an enemy army in front of him and another behind. He met the danger with a plan, a promise to his brother, and this short speech. The words sound like faith. But commentators disagree about whether the man who spoke them had any.
The trouble began with an insult. The Ammonites shamed David's messengers, then hired soldiers before Israel could answer.
The Ammonites knew that David and Israel would deeply resent this insult. So they decided to attack first rather than wait to defend themselves. They were not sure of their own power to beat Israel, so they sent to the Syrians and hired 33,000 soldiers to help them... Israel now faced a huge force on two fronts.
Joab's arrangement with Abishai — each ready to rescue the other — sets up the speech. One writer draws from it a lesson about staying in rank.
An army without shared discipline will lose. To win, it must hold the right formation, whether attacking or defending. While the battle rages, the men must stay together and help one another. It is not the time to "do things one's own way". See 2 Samuel 10:11-12... What a difference it would make in the Christian testimony today if followers of the Lord Jesus Christ stood in such a united front against the many enemies of the Christian faith. Instead we have independence, self-will, ugly quarrels, splits in homes and in local assemblies, and divisions that have done damage around the world. Together they present the sad sight of an army with great resources but no discipline.
The speech has two halves. First comes the call to be strong and fight for the people and the cities of God. Then comes the closing line: "and may the LORD do what seems good to him." One writer follows that order and hears in it something less than faith.
Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honor of our nation and for the sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
Commentators differ here. Another writer weighs the same words and finds them sound, whatever we make of the man who spoke them.
Though it seems doubtful that Joab was a born again man, his words here (v.12) are good. He knew it was important to give God His place in the battle, and that God would work His own will. Applying this in a personal way is a different matter.
A third writer tests Joab's plan with one question: what if both brothers need help at the same time? He then weighs the pious closing words.
Here we see the man's wisdom: human care and planning, with problems allowed for — yet not all of them. He counts on one brother helping the other. But suppose both needed help at once. Where was the help then?... And along with this plan that did not cover every case, there was the look of depending on God, of strengthening himself in God, and of encouraging his brother... How easy it is at times to copy and repeat the words of faith and humble dependence on God! But only real believers have the confidence of faith that can sing of victory before the fight begins.
Notice who is missing from the battlefield. David sent others in his place, and the victory that follows shows the cost.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former re-enter their city. They are only driven back, not conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; it must all be started again. David had handed over to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him himself.
- Insult: The war starts when Ammon shames David's messengers. Israel is then caught between Ammonites in front and hired Syrians behind.
- Rank: Joab and Abishai each promise to rescue the other. That is the model of an army that keeps together, and a rebuke to independence and self-will among Christians today.
- Words: The call is to be strong, to fight for the people and the cities of God, and then to leave the result to the Lord.
- Test: Commentators differ on Joab. Some find his words good and honouring to God. Others hear only "heaven helps those who help themselves" — a plan that covers everything except both brothers needing help at once.
- Result: Joab drives the enemy back but does not break them, so the whole work must be done again. God had charged the king with this battle, and the king had handed it to another man.
And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.
Joab lines up his men, charges, and Syria breaks. This was the first clash in a war that started with a refused act of kindness, not an invasion. Two questions follow: whose battle was this, and why did the won field leave so little behind?
David sent a message of kindness to Hanun, and Hanun threw it back. That is what put armies in the field. One writer traces the war straight to that insult:
The last message of grace — and how little Hanun suspected that it was the last — was refused. The result is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on through the chapters that follow. It is a judgment without pity, brought on by anger at the insult done to grace.
Another writer treats this as a fixed rule of the king's reign, not just one old quarrel:
When grace is despised by those to whom it is manifested, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only establish his authority in the very place where people try to resist. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
Just before Joab drew near, he encouraged his brother Abishai and spoke of depending on God. Commentators differ on how to read his words. One takes them at face value:
Though it seems doubtful that Joab was a born again man, his words here (v.12) are good. He knew it was important to give God His place in the battle, and that God would work His own will. Applying this in a personal way is a different matter.
Another writer hears something thinner under the words. Joab's plan covered one brother needing help, but not both at once:
You can see the man's wisdom here. There is human care and planning, with trouble provided for — yet not fully. He counts on one brother helping the other. But suppose both needed help. Where was the help then?… His planning did not cover every possibility, and yet he had the appearance of depending on God, of strengthening himself in God and encouraging his brother… How easy it is at times to copy and repeat the words of faith and humble dependence on God! But only real believers have the confidence of faith that can sing of victory before the fight begins.
Another writer puts the same instinct in a proverb we all recognise:
Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honor of our nation and for sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
David stayed home and sent Joab. The verse records a rout, and yet the chapter has to start the war over again a few verses later:
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former re-enter their city. They are only pushed back, not conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; the whole thing must be started again. David had handed to another man the responsibility God had given him to carry himself.
The loss was not the field but the visible sign of God's presence with the man He had chosen:
The Lord did not want Joab and his mighty men, He wanted David. He gave them victory. But there was no visible sign of His presence and power like the one seen when David defeated the Philistines, and the tops of the mulberry trees announced that the Lord of hosts was there… God wants David there himself, so that no one else can claim the victory.
Ammon and Syria joined forces against David. One writer hears in that alliance a defiance still to come:
The moment is not far off when nations will band together and speak this way against the Lord's Anointed. Woe to them! And the moment is not far off when God will mock them and, by His judgment, lift up the One He has anointed King over Zion.
The decisive win comes only later in the chapter, when the king leads in person:
The greatest victory is recorded in verses 15-19. The king came himself to lead his armies against the mighty enemy, and they went down in defeat. It foreshadows the day of final victory over the rebellious nations.
- Cause. Hanun refused a message of kindness. That refusal brought on the war in this verse and the judgment behind it.
- Courage. Joab's rallying words sound like faith. Commentators differ on whether they were faith or only its sound. The test is whether trust reaches past what your own plan covers.
- Command. God gave David this charge himself. David passed it to Joab, and no substitute could carry it.
- Conquest. Syria fled, yet Joab held nothing. A victory without the king leaves the war to be fought again.
- Consummation. When David takes the field himself, the enemy breaks for good — a picture of the day the Lord's Anointed puts down every alliance raised against Him.
And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. And Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
The war in 2 Samuel 10 starts when David's kindness is thrown back in his face. This verse ends the first campaign — the Ammonites run behind their walls, Joab goes home, and the war is not won.
David had sent messengers to comfort Hanun after his father's death, and Hanun humiliated them. One commentator treats that act as the hinge on which everything after it turns.
Hanun refused the last message of grace — and how little he suspected that it was the last. The result is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and continues in the chapters that follow. It is a judgment without pity, brought on by anger at the insult to grace.
So the flight in this verse is no escape. It is the first move in a long judgment.
Ammon did not trust its own strength. It hired an army instead.
They were not confident of their own power to defeat Israel, so they sent to the Syrians and hired a total of 33,000 soldiers to help them. It may be that the Syrians wanted a chance to take revenge for their earlier defeat by Israel.
The hired men broke first.
When Joab and his men attacked, the Syrians quickly fled (v.13). We are not told how many were killed at this point, but the Ammonites saw the Syrians run, became afraid themselves, and fled into the city, which appears to be an Ammonite city (v.14). It seems the victory did not cost much bloodshed, and Joab and his army returned to Jerusalem.
Facing two armies, Joab split his men with Abishai. Each promised to rescue the other. Joab then told them to be strong and leave the result to the Lord. Writers read his speech in opposite ways. One takes it at face value.
Though it seems doubtful that Joab was a born again man, his words here (v.12) are good. He knew it was important to give God His place in the battle, and that God would work His own will. Applying this in a personal way is a different matter.
Another hears in it a religion that puts human effort first and God second.
Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honor of our nation and for the sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
Either way, the outcome was the same. The enemy scattered, and stayed alive behind his gates.
Joab went home with nothing to show for the day.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The Ammonites and the Syrians flee; the Ammonites go back into their city. They are only beaten back, not conquered or taken prisoner. This battle bears no fruit; it must all be done again. David had handed to another man the responsibility God had given him personally. The lesson is brought home to him gently, for David does not suffer a defeat; but the Lord's teaching turns him back to the right path.
Another writer turns this into a rule for Christian warfare.
And in Christian warfare victory must be thorough. It is not enough to break up and scatter your enemies: the stronghold must be completely destroyed. Spiritual enemies are not easy to wipe out, even when they are confused or defeated. You must search out their hiding places. If you do not, the enemy gets his strength back and returns to the war with fresh energy.
David sent Joab and stayed behind. This verse is not the end of that choice.
The children of Ammon must still be dealt with; this task is more difficult, as we shall see. But we will also see the terrible experiences David went through. They came because he never learned, once and for all, the lesson the Lord had so mercifully given him.
Yet Ammon's walls only delayed their defeat.
David heard of the insult and met the matter quietly; but at the same time he handed it over to Joab... Resistance was useless. They were punished severely. The power of David's throne was now settled firmly everywhere.
- Grace refused. Hanun threw back David's kindness — the last he would ever be offered. The judgment it started runs on through the chapters that follow.
- Borrowed strength. Ammon hired 33,000 Syrians because it doubted its own power; when the hired men ran, the men who paid them ran too.
- Half-won. Joab scattered the enemy but took no prisoners. The battle bore no fruit, so the whole campaign must begin again.
- Unfinished work. Scattering an enemy is not defeating him. Left in his stronghold, he gets his strength back and returns to the war.
- Lesson ignored. David handed his own responsibility to Joab. God corrected him gently here, and he still failed to learn — at terrible cost later.
And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.
The battle just before this one looked like a win, but it secured nothing. One writer ties the enemy's comeback to how that campaign was run: David gave the job to Joab.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had handed over to another man the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally. The lesson comes to him gently, for David does not suffer a defeat; the Lord's instruction brings him back to the right path.
They are not just being stubborn. They are looking for stronger help. One writer follows each attempt and how it ended.
No doubt they hired chariots, but it was in vain! And further, the Syrians were called in, but they were no help. They were defeated. Then they tried the Syrians beyond the river. Perhaps they would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel, so much so as to complete the slaughter.
The war had a cause. One writer traces it to the way Ammon's king treated David's messengers.
The war with Ammon started with the insults that Hanun, the king of Ammon, heaped on David's messengers. David wanted to show kindness to Hanun, as his father Nahash had shown kindness to David. Hanun's shameful treatment of these peaceful messengers showed that he was a wicked man like his father, and not worthy of David's kindness.
Another writer reads the whole chapter as one principle at work.
2 Samuel 10 sets before us the general principle of the king's rule in Zion. When people despise the grace shown to them, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only establish his authority in the very place where people resist it. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
The verse shows enemies banding together. One writer sees the same pattern in how people treat Christ, and says it will return on a world scale.
Men insult the Lord Jesus, and they are afraid of Him. They show themselves to be His enemies. Hoping to escape judgment, they join together to resist Him… Events are moving fast in the world. The moment is not far off when a confederation of peoples will speak in this very way against the Lord's Anointed.
What changes in the second campaign is not Israel's army but who leads it. David goes himself, and the result is different.
This was a true and complete victory; a victory so complete that these kings submitted to Israel.
Another writer looks ahead from this battle to a far greater one.
Verses 15-19 record the greatest victory. The king came himself to lead his armies against the mighty enemy, and their defeat followed. It points ahead to the day of final victory over the rebellious nations, led by the beast (Rev. 19:19-20), when the true King comes to fight against them.
The Syrians were not the only ones dealt with in this chapter.
David must have received instruction from such an event. He had shirked his responsibility, but now in the school of God he had learned the danger of this holding back.
- Grace refused. The war began when Ammon's king treated David's kindness as an insult. Despise the king's grace, and his judgment follows.
- Victory half-won. Joab drove the enemy back but never broke him — no fruit, nothing secured, the whole thing to be begun again.
- Responsibility handed off. David gave Joab a task God had entrusted to him personally, so the work had to be done again. The correction came gently: he lost no battle.
- Alliances exhausted. Chariots, then Syrians, then Syrians from beyond the river. Each new source of strength failed. Striving against God's chosen king is useless.
- The King in person. David leads the army himself, and the victory is complete: the kings submit. Commentators see a picture of the day the true King comes against the rebellious nations.
And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.
Hadadezer has lost to David once, but he will not accept the result. He sends across the Euphrates for fresh Syrian troops and puts Shobach, his army commander, at their head. Why does a beaten power keep coming back? And what does it take to end a war, instead of just winning a round of it?
This is not Syria's first clash with David. One writer reads the new army as a try at settling an old score:
Syria was still not willing to admit total defeat. Hadadezer was the Syrian king of Zobah. We have read in Chapter 8:3-8 how David soundly defeated him. He was clearly thirsting for revenge, so he mustered a larger army. He enlisted Syrians from east of the Euphrates River to add to his own large company.
The king's name is spelled two ways in Scripture. One writer takes that difference as deliberate:
Hadad-ezer (elsewhere Hadarezer) is a notable king of Zobah. The difference is slight in Hebrew: drop the small shoulder on a "d" and it becomes an "r." Still, I cannot help believing it was designed. Hadar means "glory, honour," and is the more common form; but Hadad is "shouting, noise": sound, and nothing else. This kind of satire is often found in the changes of Hebrew names. Hadarezer means "glory is help," the first word being perhaps the name of their sun-god.
Ammon started the quarrel, yet the fighting is now decided elsewhere. One writer sees in the Syrian alliance a picture of something broader than one nation's ambition:
The Ammonites turn to their natural allies. The Syrians picture the pride of the world in its various forms. That pride goes hand in hand with the twisting of the truth we recognise in the Ammonite. In all error you will find some link with a heart that is not subject to God.
Helam, the place they gather, has a meaning of its own. One writer reads the scene forward to a final conflict:
The final victory waits for David in person — that is, for Christ in the day of His appearing. The pride of the world will not be truly struck down until He comes. When He comes, the day of Armageddon will find it in Helam, the place of "their strength," banded together in opposition against Him. Human pride will then reach its full height, and the opposition in man's heart will come fully out... Then Shobach, the "shedder" of blood, the commander of Hadarezer's ("Glory-help's") army, shall himself be slain, and war between man and man shall end.
Joab had already driven the Syrians off once. One writer counts that win as worth nothing, because it left the work undone:
Joab wins the victory, but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the Ammonites go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had handed over to another man's hands the responsibility God had entrusted to him personally. This lesson is brought home to him gently, for David does not suffer a defeat; but the Lord's instruction makes him return to the true path.
Shobach's march to Helam shows the work was not finished.
Behind the massed chariots and horsemen stands a small act of contempt toward David's messengers. Writers see a settled principle running through the chapter:
When grace is despised by those to whom it is shown, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only serve to establish his authority in the very place where resistance is attempted. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
- Grace refused. The campaign starts with grace despised. Refused grace does not end the story; it begins the judgment.
- Strength gathered. Hadadezer has lost once, so he reaches beyond the Euphrates for more troops. A beaten enemy will not admit defeat.
- Strength named. The king's name means "glory is help." His commander's name means "shedder of blood." Helam is the place of their strength — human pride gathering all it has.
- King in person. Joab's earlier win only pushed the enemy back, and the work had to be done again. The final victory waits for David in person.
- Strength broken. Shobach falls, and war between man and man ends — a picture, one writer suggests, of the day when Christ appears.
And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.
Joab's earlier win had driven the Syrians back but had not broken them. The Ammonites now called in more Syrians from beyond the river. This time David went out himself, and the commentators treat that one fact as the turning point of the chapter.
Joab fought the first battle of this chapter while David stayed in Jerusalem. One writer reads the outcome as a quiet correction rather than a defeat.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former go back into their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had given another man the responsibility God entrusted to him personally. The Lord teaches him this lesson very gently, for David does not suffer a defeat. But the Lord's instruction brings him back to the true path.
Why was Joab's success incomplete? One writer answers that the issue was never troop strength but who led them.
David hears of their alliance and sends Joab against them, and with him all the army of mighty men. The Lord did not want Joab and his mighty men, He wanted David. He gave them victory. But He did not show His presence and power as He did when David overcame the Philistines, when the tops of the mulberry trees announced that the Lord of hosts was there. Is there not in this absence of David a forgetfulness of the special place God had given him? He was anointed to be the leader of the people. Even Abner could say that God would save His people from all their enemies by the hand of David (2 Sam. 3:18). "By the hand of David" is certainly more than sending Joab to lead Israel in the fight. It is David's presence that God wants, so that no one else can claim the victory.
David's timing matters as much as his presence.
When David received news of this gathering, he did not wait for the Syrians to cross the Jordan and attack Israel. He gathered all Israel to cross the Jordan going eastward, to meet the enemy before they came near Jerusalem (v.17). This gave them no time to plot any special strategy. The battle was evidently not very long. The Syrians again fled. David's men killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen. That was an enormous loss for an army that had never claimed that many before (v.6).
The difference between the two battles shows in what happened afterwards.
No doubt they hired chariots, but it was useless! And further, they called in the Syrians, but they were no help. Israel beat them. Then they tried the Syrians beyond the river. Perhaps they would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel, so completely that the slaughter was total. "And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Syrians were not willing to save the Ammonites anymore."
The chapter closes with a gain that is not military.
David must have received instruction from such an event. He had shirked his responsibility, but now in the school of God he had learned the danger of this holding back.
One writer reads the names in this battle as a picture of a battle still to come.
But the final victory waits for David in person, that is, for Christ in the day of His appearing. The pride of the world will not be struck down for good until He comes. When He comes, the day of Armageddon will find it in Helam, the place of "their strength," banded together in opposition against Him... This is when the beast and the kings of the earth "will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them." Then Shobach, the "shedder" of blood, the commander of Hadadezer's ("Glory-help's") army, will himself be killed, and war between man and man will end.
- Absence. David sent Joab and stayed behind. The victory that followed bore no fruit: it pushed the enemy back but did not break him.
- Presence. God was not short of soldiers; He wanted the anointed king at the head of them, so no one else could claim the win.
- Initiative. David acts himself. He gathers all Israel, crosses the Jordan, and strikes before the enemy can reach Jerusalem or make a plan.
- Submission. Retreat turns into surrender. Hadadezer's servants make peace with David and stop helping Ammon.
- Appearing. The king coming out in person points to Christ. At His appearing He will break the world's gathered strength.
And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven hundred [in] chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.
Earlier in this chapter Joab drove these same Syrians back, but he did not break them. Now they have regrouped east of the Jordan with fresh troops, and David comes out to fight them himself.
The war began with an act of kindness. David sent men to comfort Hanun, the new Ammonite king, and Hanun's advisers told him the men were spies.
The Ammonites could not value the grace in David's heart. They only suspected some trick, as wicked men naturally do... Word of the insult reached David, and he met the matter quietly. At the same time he put it into Joab's hands, and the revenge Joab took was certainly welcome to him.
So the slaughter in this verse is not random aggression. It is the answer to a refusal:
Hanun refused the last message of grace — and how little he suspected that it was the last. The result is a terrible judgment. It begins in this chapter and runs on through the chapters that follow: a judgment without pity, brought on by anger at the insult done to grace.
Joab led the earlier fight in this chapter, and it settled nothing. The enemy ran, but no one broke them. One writer takes that as a gentle correction aimed at David himself.
Joab wins the victory but it is a useless victory. The children of Ammon and the Syrians flee; the former re-enter their city. They are simply beaten back rather than conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be begun again. David had put into another man's hands the responsibility God had given to him personally.
Joab made a stirring speech before that first fight. The same writer weighs what it actually says.
Let us begin by being strong, says Joab. Let us fight for the honor of our nation and for the sake of the cities of our God. This is what we are to do and then let the Lord do as seems good to Him — we will not refuse His help. This is more or less the motto of the world. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Joab's piety does not go beyond this level.
The numbers here are worth a second look. They are bigger than the army the Syrians had put in the field before.
It seems the battle did not last long. The Syrians fled again, and David's men killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen. That was a huge slaughter for an army that had never even claimed that many men. The Syrian commander, Shobach, was among those killed. It seems the Ammonites had faded into the background: they are not even mentioned in this battle, though they had started the whole thing.
The verse names the man who led the Syrian army. A Bible dictionary tracks him through both records of this war.
Captain of the Syrian hosts of Hadarezer. Killed by David. 2 Sam. 10:16, 18. Called SHOPHACH in 1 Chr. 19:16, 18.
Joab's win left everything to be done again. This victory ended the matter.
This was a true and complete victory; a victory so complete that these kings submitted to Israel.
One writer draws from this chapter the rule that governs David's reign.
When those who are shown grace despise it, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only establish his authority in the very place where people try to resist. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
The same writer sees this happening again on a larger scale, aimed at the Lord Jesus.
Men insult the Lord Jesus and are afraid of Him; they show themselves to be His enemies, and hoping to escape judgment they join together to resist Him... The moment is not far off when an alliance of peoples will speak in this very way against the Lord's Anointed.
- Cause. David offered kindness and Hanun took it for a trick. That refusal cost forty thousand lives.
- Delegation. Joab's earlier fight scattered the enemy and settled nothing. David had handed over a duty God gave him.
- Presence. When David came out himself, the same enemy was broken, not just pushed back. Their commander died on the field.
- Submission. A complete victory turned hostile kings into servants. Resistance only ended up building the king's authority.
- Shadow. Nations joining against God's chosen king is not just old history. It is a preview, and the ending will be the same.
And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.
A war that began with an insult ends here: Ammon shamed the messengers David sent in kindness, then hired Syria to fight. Why does submission come only now, and what does forced peace with God's king picture?
The chapter opened with David wanting to show kindness and being suspected of spying. One writer reads the whole chapter as a single rule of government, with this verse as its end point.
2 Samuel 10, the details of which we pass over, sets before us the general principle of the king's rule in Zion. When grace is despised by those to whom it is manifested, the king's judgment follows. Opposition and rebellion only serve to establish his authority in the very place where resistance is attempted. It is useless to strive against the power of God's chosen king.
Ammon's answer was to keep buying stronger help. One writer follows each hire to its collapse.
They hired chariots, of course, but it was useless! Then they called in the Syrians, but they were no help either. They were beaten. Then they tried the Syrians from beyond the river. Perhaps those would do better. The Syrians fled before Israel, so completely that the slaughter was total.
The second half of the verse notes that Syria would not help Ammon any more. That refusal is read as a lesson driven home by defeat.
Hadadezer and the kings under him could do nothing but accept defeat: they made peace with Israel and submitted to their authority, having been taught a serious lesson not to help the Ammonites.
Earlier in the chapter Joab beat these same armies, yet the war went on. One commentator ties that to David sending Joab instead of going himself.
Joab wins the victory, but it is a useless victory. The Ammonites and the Syrians flee, and the Ammonites go back into their city. They are only beaten back, not conquered or taken prisoner. There is no fruit from this battle; it must all be done over again. David had handed to another man the responsibility God had given him to carry himself.
In verse 17 David gathers all Israel and crosses the Jordan in person. The result is measured against the earlier, emptier success.
This was a true and complete victory; a victory so complete that these kings submitted to Israel.
One writer weighs what the whole episode did for David himself.
David must have received instruction from such an event. He had shirked his responsibility, but now in the school of God he had learned the danger of this holding back.
These kings serve David only after the rout, not before. That order matters, because there are two very different ways of submitting to God's king.
Faith alone could lead someone to accept the king while he was still rejected. Fear or self-interest might produce submission to him once his kingdom stands in power.
Another writer turns the same chapter on the reader: kindness offered, kindness refused.
The subject of the next chapter (2 Sam. 10) is kindness shown and rejected, and the judgment that follows. It is the great condemning sin. The kindness of God to a guilty world has been shown. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). What kindness! But hear these solemn words: "Whoever does not believe is condemned already" (John 3:18). If you reject the kindness of God in the gift of His Son, think, oh, think of your eternal doom.
- Kindness refused. David sent comforters; Ammon treated grace as a trick. Writers call that refusal the chapter's first sin. Verse 19 is where it lands.
- Resistance backfires. Hired chariots, Syrians, then Syrians from beyond the river — every reinforcement failed. Opposition only fixed the king's authority in the place where it was challenged.
- Half-measures leave nothing. The first victory scattered the enemy but did not subdue them. It had to be fought again, because the king had handed off his own God-given task.
- The king in person finishes it. David crossed the Jordan himself, and the win held. Hadadezer's kings made peace, served Israel, and Syria would not back Ammon again.
- Submission can be fear, not faith. Faith owns the rejected king; fear and self-interest bow only once power is on display. The kindness of God is on offer now — refusing it is the one thing this chapter warns about.