In this episode of Add Bible, we delve into 2 Samuel Chapter 10, exploring the narratives and lessons that arise from King David’s interactions with the Ammonites. Miscommunication plays a central role as we witness how a gesture of condolence escalates into a conflict. Through a personal reflection from his journal, Alan J. Huth shares insightful anecdotes on communication, urging listeners to pause and seek clarity in their conversations to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in 2 Samuel chapter 10, and we will listen to the reading from Faith Comes By Hearing of the 19 verses of 2 Samuel chapter 10. 2 Samuel 10
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After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. And David said, I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me. So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites. But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord,
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Do you think because David has sent comforters to you that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?
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So Hanan took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle at their hips and sent them away. When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return. When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country. When Joab saw that the battle was set against him, both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai, his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said,
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If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 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.
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So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. And Hadad-Ezer sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam with Shobak, the commander of the army of Hadad-Ezer, at their head. And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan and came to Helam. The Syrians arrayed themselves against David and fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed of the Syrians the men of 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen, and wounded Shobak, the commander of their army, so that he died there. And when all the kings who were servants of Hadad-Ezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Syrians were afraid to save the Ammonites anymore.
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In my journal back in 1983, I had one of those great one-liners for this chapter. “‘Misunderstanding leads to war.'” In 2007, I wrote a little bit more about this. David’s kindness leads to war. People are suspicious of goodness. They wonder why someone does something good to them. Maybe because it’s so uncommon it causes suspicion. Instead of receiving David’s kindness, the Ammonites prepared for war and get defeated. David’s motivation, his intention, was honorable. He truly wanted to, as verse 2 said, deal loyally with Hanun, the son of Nabash, as his father had dealt loyally with me. But his words were misconstrued, not taken the right way by those who received them. Now, if you have been married for any length of time, this has probably happened to you. You say something with proper motives, well-intentioned, but your spouse doesn’t take it the way you meant it. Here in chapter 10, it leads to war, and sometimes that may happen in your relationships as well. You remember what happened next in this chapter. They humiliated the messengers. They shaved off their beards. They cut off their garments. So let’s not do that in our marriages and our relationships with others when we don’t quite understand maybe the message that they’re trying to deliver. Rather than go off on the messenger, how about just asking a simple question? What did you mean by that? Give your spouse a chance to restate or retract or rephrase the communication before assuming the worst. Why fight over misunderstandings that can be avoided? My wife Terry and I have been married over 40 years, so we’ve had our share of misunderstandings over poor communications. She has said many times, honey, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And she’s probably right. I could be more careful of how I say things so she could clearly understand what I mean rather than misinterpret and end up in a fight or a war as what happened here in chapter 10. So I have a funny example of how we communicate or how we say things. The late Zig Ziglar, the old motivational speaker, said it this way. He used this example once. He said, you could say, honey, when I look at you, time stands still. He said that’s better than saying, dear, your face can stop a clock. That message might be the same, but it certainly matters how we deliver that kind of a statement, doesn’t it? So I hope out of this chapter 10 of 2 Samuel that we could learn to be careful, not only how we say things, but also how we hear things. And before going to war, at least give your spouse the benefit of the doubt and ask them what did they really mean by what they said. Let’s avoid unnecessary fights, unnecessary disagreements by just clarifying our communication, not only what we say, but what we hear. Lord, sometimes our poor communication, though well-intended, is misunderstood and misconstrued. So help us, Lord, to communicate better to those that we love, our spouses and those we are in relationship with around us. Help us, Lord, to be more careful, not only with what we say, but what we hear, and give the people around us the benefit of the doubt before creating difficulties, before creating wars that we may regret. And Lord, help us forgive one another when we miscommunicate. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Thank you for listening to AdBible. Though the Bible can be read at the speed I’m speaking in about 78 hours, surveys show we don’t read it. How many of you have ever read the Bible cover to cover? How many have tried and failed? I want to encourage you to try it again. I want to share with you what I call the Triple I Doctrine and some powerful reasons to stay in your Bible daily. I begin with a verse from 2 Peter 1.21. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s how we got the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved holy men of God to write it, all of it. Because he did, we can now look at the Triple I Doctrine, the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. But what do these terms mean? Inspired means God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, What does infallible mean? It means no potential or ability to err. Totally reliable. It cannot contradict itself. And Hebrews 6.18 says, And the last one is inerrant. What does that mean? It means it’s technically correct. It’s free from falsehood and deceit. Wholly true. It’s doctrine. It’s history. It’s science. It’s geography. And Matthew 5.18 says, For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. And Revelation 22, 18 and 19 say, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. So the Triple I Doctrine is reason enough to be in God’s Word each day. But in case you need more encouragement, here are three more thoughts. First, improve your spiritual maturity. According to Barna Research, of the seven dimensions in which Americans were asked to rate their faith maturity, Bible knowledge ranked dead last. So if you want to improve your spiritual maturity, stay in God’s Word daily. Number two is develop a dynamic relationship with God. Dr. Woodrow Kroll, former president of Back to the Bible, wrote a book called Taking Back the Good Book. He said, When people tire of reading the Bible, it’s because they read it for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. They read the Bible to gain knowledge, store facts, or pick up a few principles to live by. When you see the Bible as a means to a dynamic relationship with God, you can’t get enough of it because you can’t get enough of Him. And the third thought is to be transformed. Don’t read the Bible to be informed. Read it to be transformed. And I’m going to share a fun little story with you about being transformed by the Word of God. It’s about an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early, sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, Papa, I try to read the Bible, just like you, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do? The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water. The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, you’ll have to move a little faster next time and send him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, I don’t want a bucket of water. I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough. And he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, See, Papa, it’s useless. So you think it’s useless, the old man said. Look at the basket. The boy looked at the basket, and for the first time, he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, But when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. So read the Bible so you can improve your spiritual maturity, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed, not informed. The Bible came to us from the Holy Spirit, directed by holy men of God. The triple I doctrine reminds us it’s inspired, God-breathed, infallible, without error, and inerrant, technically correct, and wholly true. Read it to grow spiritually, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed. I know you’re going to like it and want to share it with others.
In this episode of Add Bible, we delve into 2 Samuel Chapter 10, exploring the narratives and lessons that arise from King David’s interactions with the Ammonites. Miscommunication plays a central role as we witness how a gesture of condolence escalates into a conflict. Through a personal reflection from his journal, Alan J. Huth shares insightful anecdotes on communication, urging listeners to pause and seek clarity in their conversations to avoid unnecessary conflict.
