Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20021013.htm

1 AND 2 SAMUEL: GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS IN OVERSIGHT
Part XLVII: Accepting God's Use Of Unsought Conflict For Progress
(2 Samuel 10:1-19)
  1. Introduction
    1. In oversight in a marriage, family, church, business or government realm, the overseer who follows the Lord wants to bring peace and stability to the institution he leads.
    2. However, unsought conflict can arise in such oversight, causing him to wonder if he is in God's will.
    3. However, God allows unsought conflict to arise at times as a vehicle for His progress, and 2 Samuel 10:1-19 details this fact, supplying valuable insight for the overseer as follows:
  2. Accepting God's Use Of Unsought Conflict For Progress, 2 Samuel 10:1-19.
    1. David encountered unwanted conflict with the Ammonites which God used for his advance:
      1. When king Nahash of the neighboring nation of Ammon passed away, David sent ambassadors to express his sympathy to his son, Hanun, for Nahash had helped David in some undisclosed way, 2 Sam. 10:1-2 NIV. David possibly thought Nahash's death gave him an opportunity to build a friendship in this bordering nation for the purpose of Israel's peace, cf. Bib. Know. Com., O.T., p. 466.
      2. However, Nahash had also once been defeated by David's predecessor in Saul for threatening to maim the men of Jabesh-Gilead, 1 Samuel 11:1-15. Thus, Hanun's advisers viewed David's messengers with suspicion, advising David's ambassadors were sent to spy out their land for future conquest, 10:3; Ibid.
      3. Hanun heeded these advisers, and shamefully treated David's men by shaving off half of their beards and cutting off their garments in the middle, 2 Samuel 10:4; Ibid.
      4. Hearing his messengers had been very hurt by this event, David went out to greet and encourage them as they crossed the Jordan from Ammon to Jericho. To shield them from more shame, David told them to wait in Jericho until their beards had grown before returning to their positions in Jerusalem, 10:5.
      5. David's response in ministering to these men showed the Ammonites their deed was equal to a declaration of war, so they hired soldiers from three Aramean realms to help them fight Israel, 10:6.
      6. David sent all of his forces with his commander, Joab to fight Ammon only for Israel to be sandwiched between the Ammonites outside their capital city and the Arameans in the field behind them, 10:7-8.
      7. Joab responded in true faith in God to this challenge, 2 Samuel 10:9-12:
        1. Using tactical wisdom, Joab put his special forces under his own experienced command to fight the Aramean mercenaries in the fields and gave to his subordinate and brother, Abishai, the task of leading the less-experienced soldiers to defeat the Ammonites outside their main city, 10:9-10.
        2. Joab then told Abishai that whichever force needed the greater help, the other would come to its aid in the ensuing conflict, 2 Samuel 10:11.
        3. Having laid out the plan, Joab told Abishai to be brave and trust the Lord, 2 Samuel 10:12.
      8. God then caused Israel soundly to defeat both the Arameans and Ammonites, 2 Samuel 10:13-14.
    2. This victory only led to future conflict and greater resulting victory for Israel, 2 Samuel 10:15-19:
      1. Angered that some of their mercenaries had been defeated by Israel, the Arameans mustered other forces stationed north of the Euphrates River to fight with Israel again, 2 Samuel 10:15-16.
      2. However, God helped David as before, resulting in a great victory for Israel, 2 Samuel 10:17-18.
        1. In confronting the Arameans this second time, instead of fighting only infantry, David had to battle against 700 chariots and 40,000 horsemen, 2 Samuel 10:17, 18b.
        2. However, God was with David as before (cf. 2 Samuel 8:6c, 14c), and he slew the captain of their host in Shobach and caused the Arameans to flee before him, 2 Samuel 10:18a.
      3. Consequently, all the kings that had served the Aramean king, Hadarezer, made peace with David and paid him tribute, so the Arameans decided not to help the Ammonites any more, 2 Samuel 10:19!
Lesson: Though DAVID did NOT WANT war, but even PEACE with the Ammonites, only to be rebuffed with abusive treatment from them, GOD USED the ensuing, UNWANTED wars to ADVANCE His plan of EXPANDING David's kingdom in accord with the Davidic Covenant, cf. 2 Samuel 7:11b.

Application: If UNWANTED conflict FINDS US as overseers, and WE have done nothing wrong, we must ACCEPT it as God's PERMISSIVE WILL to ADVANCE His purposes in our lives for His will!