Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

David had created a truce with the Ammonites, but in 2 Samuel chapter 10, their King has died.  As is usual, when a new monarch listens to his contemporaries, it is a mistake.  They humiliate the Hebrew representatives by sending them back with their beards mutilated and their rears showing through the robs.

The Israelite King is angered enough to return to Ammon and take revenge.  The Arameans join forces against Jehovah’s Kingdom.  Through great strategy, God gives the battle to Joab and his forces.  Both enemies fled and eventually returned to their homelands and remained there for some time.

Have you noticed how little wisdom is shown by people in the Bible? 1 Chronicles 19 is another example of this. The son of the king of Ammon listens to his advisors and sends David’s men away in shame and disgrace. Israel retaliates by destroying the city. Not one of the smartest things they ever did.

Even the Arameans were helping the Ammonites. Joab and the Army showed such wisdom in strategy, they were able to defeat both foes. The wisest thing said in this chapter was that the Arameans did not fight with the Ammonites again when they went to war against God’s chosen people.

King David lists things that he asks Jehovah for the readers of Psalm 20. These include answering us, granting all our requests, sending help, give us the desires of our hearts, and make all our plans succeed. This Psalm includes the famous line, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger