Sermons About Good-will
2 Samuel 10 - Dealing with Foreign Folly
2 Samuel 10 falls between some of the greatest Stories of David's life - his kindness shown to Mephibosheth (Jonathan's son) and David's adultery with Bathsheba. In chapter 10 the narrative is a highlight of battles with the Ammonites. David sends an envoy to the Ammonite King express condolences for the death of King Hanun's Father Nahash, whose army had been defeated by Saul in 1 Samuel 11. David must have had some reason for showing loyality (such as covenant made). King Hanun regests David's good will and tries to fight Israel but with no success. If fact Israel's commanders - brothers Joab and Abishai were much more humble in their strategy and saw the Ammonites flee before them. This passages shows our redemption in that we reject the gracious offer of God because we are actually enemies of God like the Ammonites. Winning the battle in ourlives is only found in accepting God's way of salvation. When we reject God's gracious offere we prove incapable of saving ourselves. All our own efforts to save ourselves are futule. Only in Chirst Jesus is there salvation for anyone. May we see that unlike the Ammonites we need to humble ourselves and trust in Jesus and his death for the payment for our sins. For Christians we need to be humble enought (like Joab) to say in our hearts "may the LORD do what seems good to Him" rather than asking God to do what we want all the time. This is the essence of saving faith that endures the difficult times in living.
1 Amens
