Making the Worst of a Good Situation: 2 Samuel 10:1-5
When a decision is not clear, care must be taken to not take a bad decision and do everything in our power to make it worse. Everyone knows how it feels to make a decision when we are unsure of the right choice. Sometimes we make an educated decision and hope for the best. Mistakes are easily made. In those situations, though, it is best to make a decision which can be backtracked as best as possible should it turn out to be the wrong choice.
As happens from time to time, a king died. This king was an Ammonite, and David had a good relationship with the king. David sent a delegation to Ammon to express his sympathy regarding Nahash’s death. He is trying to ensure friendly relationships between the kingdoms continue.
Nahash’s son, Hanun, doesn’t mind the approach until his advisors come. They ask Hanun whether David’s delegation is in Ammon to convey sympathy or to spy on the land. They place doubt in Hanun’s mind about David’s intentions.
Of course, it’s not a bad thought. Rulers of every nation have the duty to ensure foreigners aren’t coming within their borders to intend harm. Spies can only be spies if they come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Insurgents can only be insurgents after they gain the trust of the nation they intend to disrupt.
Hanun is young and inexperienced. Nobody can fault him for being cautious. He can be faulted for allowing his advisors to cause him to doubt. Hanun orders the Hebrew delegation to have half their beards shaved off. He has their garments cut off at the waist and sends them home.
This is the problem with human advice. Even well-intentioned people can give bad advice from time to time. I’m not claiming Hunan’s advisors to be well-intentioned, but they could have been thinking of safety. They had a new king; the kingdom would already be transitioning to a new power structure. If there was a time to strike, this would be it. If David was planning war against the Ammonites, sending a false delegation at this moment would be the way to go.
David’s delegation returns home, distressed over their circumstances. Hebrew men were supposed to leave their beards intact and cover their nakedness. Hanun didn’t simply embarrass David’s delegation, he directly assaulted their relationship with community and God.
Hanun listened to bad advice from his advisors. He turned a situation which could have strengthened his relationship to a neighboring kingdom and turned it adversarial. Even if he doubted the intentions of the Hebrew delegation, he could have thanked the Hebrew delegation and sent them home without embarrassing them and attacking their identity. We all make bad decisions. We all act upon bad decisions. When a decision is not clear, care must be taken to not take a bad decision and do everything in our power to make it worse.
