“Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away,” 2 Samuel 10:4.
David, out of consideration of the kindness shown to him by the late King Hahash, King of the Ammonites, sent messengers with words of comfort and condolence to his son and successor, Hanun, on the death of his father.
However, evil men persuaded Hanun that David’s intentions were far from showing kindness but were evilly motivated.
“And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?” verse 3.
The princes, prominent men in the king’s court, set out to mislead Hanun and slander King David. They succeeded in persuading the king to act most foolishly and in a manner which angered David by shamefully treating his servants.
This stupid act by Hanun, in first of all listening to the slanders of David by his princes, cost him and his allies dearly!
Please remember that, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope,” Romans 15:4.
Repeated
What is recorded in 2 Samuel 11, is something that we see repeated throughout history. It happened to King Darius, when his princes deceived him into issuing a law that they knew would entrap Daniel and give them reason to press for his execution in the den of lions.
The devil has ever been able to prevail on some to launch such a deceitful attack upon the servants of God by misrepresenting their motives for obeying God!
Might I suggest that we are witnessing just such an event in the Free Presbyterian Church at present.
I. DAVID ACTED BECAUSE DEATH HAD ENTERED THE HOME OF A FRIEND.
Death may enter a church through the sinful folly of one or two people. Recall the cry that went up amongst the prophets in the days of Elisha.
“O thou man of God, there is death in the pot,” 2 Kings 4:40. That ‘death’ in the pot was the result of the actions of one foolish and ignorant prophet. He introduced poison to the pot unaware of what he was doing!
“And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not,” verse 39.
The cry was directed at Elisha for him to do something.
“But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot,” verse 41.
The ‘healing’ Word
The danger was averted by Elisha adding ‘meal’ to the poisoned pot. Meal or flour, is the main ingredient of bread, and bread in turn, is a wonderful symbol of the Word of God.
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” Matthew 4:4.
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life,” John 6:63.
What bread is to the body the Word of God is to the soul!
The cure
It is thus that when ‘poison’ enters a church, the answer is the Word of God. Paul applied this ‘cure’ to the corruption that had entered the backsliding church of Corinth.
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth,” 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.
II. DAVID’S ACTIONS WERE MISCONSTRUED BY MEN BENT ON PROMOTING TROUBLE!
In like manner, the applying of God’ Word to the troubles and errors that may be introduced amongst the people of God, is often opposed and that by those who would seek to create a very wrong view of why the Word of God is being applied!
Jeremiah
Jeremiah live amidst a constant attack upon his purpose in preaching the message of God!
What Jeremiah preached WAS God’s Word!
“Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth,” Jeremiah 1:9.
That did not stop him from being accused of every form of evil and harmful objective and underhand scheming!.
“Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire,” Jeremiah 38:2-6.
This is how evil men viewed the preaching of God’s Word of mercy and deliverance. It was said that Jeremiah sought the ‘hurt’ of the people when the very opposite was the case.
Today
That is what is happening today in the Free Presbyterian Church. The application of God’s Word to the errors that have been introduced by foolish men is being represented as slander and attacks on those engaged in such folly.
In truth the very opposite is the case.
Joseph
Was this not what happened to Joseph? His was sent by his father to seek the welfare of his brethren, Genesis 37:14.
They in turn schemed to hurt him and he was sold into slavery in Egypt.
The Lord Jesus
The most graphic example of the application of God’s Word for good being seen as offensive and hurtful, is seen in the life of the Saviour!
Like Joseph, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not,” John 1:10-11.
There was no recognising of the wonderfully gracious purpose of Christ in His preaching and He was thus rejected, to the utter hurt of the rejecters!
“And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended (distrustful, disapproved of) at him,” Mark 6:2-3.
III. THE DELIBERATE INTERPRETATION OF HIS ACTIONS AND THE SHAMEFUL TREATMENT OF HIS SERVANTS ANGERED DAVID.
What Ammonite king did to David’s servants resulted in swift retaliation by David’s armies. This eventually resulted in a great defeat of the allies of Ammon that came to their aid.
“And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem,” 2 Samuel 10:14.
Sadly, the Syrians who had come to the help of Ammon did not leave well alone!
“And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together. And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more,” 2 Samuel 10:15-19.
Folly
This all stemmed from the actions of two servants of David being deliberately misrepresented and being falsely accused of having motives very different from their truly kind and unselfish reasons for their mission.
Paul’s words are still true.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting,” Galatians 6:7-8.
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
2nd November 2026