“Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land? Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away,” 1 Chronicles 19:1-4.
I am seeking to set forth the parallels in this passage with the kindness of God toward sinners, displayed in the Gospel message sent to those who “were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,” Romans 5:6.
We have considered the greatness of the King, even the Lord, who sent the Gospel condolences and the spurning of the kindness by those to whom the expression of love was sent.
The chief manifestation of the rejecting of the Gospel is the humiliating of God’s servants.
History tells a sad and horrific tale of the sufferings of the servants of the true God.
Mention is made of this byPaul in his epistle to the Hebrews.
“And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth,” Hebrews 11:36-38.
The ‘Dark Ages’ was a time of great persecution of the people of God. The Roman Catholic Church is stained with the blood of many tens of thousands of men, women and children, whom it deemed were only worthy of destruction.
God has appointed a day when their blood will be avenged! Heaven will sing on that day! The hurting of His servants is counted by Him as a hurting of Him. (more…)
