DAVID'S KINDNESS - 2 SAMUEL 9-10

 

David’s Kindness

2 Samuel 9

With Israel at peace and the administration of the country established in justice and equity (8:15), David could turn to other matters. So, he asked if there were any relatives of Saul to whom he could show kindness. He wanted to do this to honor Jonathan. And so he goes even beyond his oath not to terminate the line of Saul. (1 Samuel 24:21-22) 

He honors his covenant with Jonathan, which included a bond between their offspring. (1 Samuel 20:42) He does this even thought 15-20 years have passed. 

But, David was also likely to be acting out of love for Jonathan, giving him a desire to take care of any of Jonathan’s children. 

David’s servants found a man who had been the servant of Saul and brought him to David. His name was Ziba. He informed David that there was a son of Jonathan who still lived. His name was Mephibosheth. He was crippled.

David brought him to Jerusalem and told him he would show him kindness for the sake of Jonathan. Mephibosheth probably feared that he was brought in for execution. Normally, a regime change results in a purge of the old regime, including any rivals to the throne. 

Instead, David gave him all of Saul’s land, that had evidently been forfeited. (Or, Ziba acted as a steward of the land and paid the profits to David.) And he provided for Mephibosheth to stay at in Jerusalem and eat at David’s table, along with his son, Mica. (12) This was a substantial honor. 

David also instructed Ziba to serve Mephibosheth as he had served Saul. He and his sons and his servants were to farm the land David restored to Mephibosheth. The lands must have been extensive if 35 men were needed to farm it. The profits from the farm would be paid to Mephibosheth. 

Ziba was obviously a man of means if he had 15 sons and 20 servants. (10) Nonetheless, Ziba agreed without hesitation to do what David instructed. (11)

We might see in this story a connection to our own lives. Before we came to faith in Christ, we were his enemies. (Romans 5:10)Yet, God loved us and sent his son to reconcile us to himself. He gave us the gift of eternal life. He lavished his grace on us. (Ephesians 1:8) We are the Lord’s Mephibosheths. 

The Ammonite & Syrian Wars

2 Samuel 10

The Ammonites Disrespect David

10:1-5

David had already subdued the Ammonites. (8:12) When the king (Nahash) of the Ammonites died, David honored him by sending a delegation to express consolation. He did this because the king had paid his tribute and had not rebelled, he “dealt loyally” with David. (1)

However, the Ammonite leaders believed the visit was a ruse to spy on the capital city in order to invade it. So, they mistreated the delegates. They shaved off half their beards and cut their garments to expose them. These actions were meant to humiliate them. 

David was compassionate to his men, having them remain at Jericho until their beards grew out and they would not be embarrassed at home. 

The Ammonites Hire Allies

10:6-8

The Ammonites realized their error. It was a stupid thing to do. So, they hired mercenary Syrians to bolster their army, figuring David would attack them. And, indeed, David sent Joab, the commander, with his mighty men. 

The Ammonites and their Syrian fighters arranged themselves in front of the gate of the city to protect it. They also placed the Syrians in the open country to engage the Israelites. 

The Battle

10:9-14

When Joab saw there were two fronts to fight on, he divided his army. He sent the best men to fight the Syrians in the open country and took the rest to engage the Ammonites with his brother, Abishai, to led them. They agreed to help each other if the enemy prevailed against one of them. 

The Syrians fled. When the Ammonites saw this, they retreated behind the city walls. So, Joab returned to Jerusalem, thinking the battles were over.

David Gets Involved

10:15-18

It was not over, however. The Syrians regrouped and called other Syrians to join them. They came out to confront Israel. In response, David gathered all the fighting men of Israel together and engaged the Syrians in battle. The Israelites defeated the Syrians, and killed many of them, including their commander. 

Peace Is Restored

10:19

After being defeated in battle, the Syrians made peace and became subject to Israel. They also were too afraid to fight for the Ammonites any more. So, peace was restored to Israel. 

At this point, God is still blessing David with victories and Israel with peace. This is because David is still serving God and serving Israel. And because David is God’s Anointed.

Because of that, let’s look at Psalm 2. It is attributed to David in Acts 4:25. We see it as a Messianic Psalm, completely fulfilled by David’s Greater Son, Jesus. But it seems to also apply partially to David himself. For the nations around Israel plotted against him, but God subdued them under David, his anointed king. 

However, the Ammonite war sets the stage for the next big episode of David’s life. And it is a bad one.