The Folly of Suspicion: When Kindness is Met with Contempt Text: 2 Samuel 10:1-5
Introduction: The Clash of Kingdoms
We live in an age that prides itself on cynicism. To be suspicious is to be sophisticated. To be trusting is to be naive. The modern man, particularly the political man, operates on the assumption that every motive is suspect, every kindness is a calculation, and every gesture of goodwill is a Trojan horse. This is not seen as a sad commentary on our fallen nature; it is celebrated as shrewd realism. But what happens when this acid of suspicion dissolves the bonds of basic human decency and international decorum? What happens when a kingdom is governed not by wisdom, but by the paranoid whispers of foolish counselors?
In our text today, we see a collision of two starkly different worldviews. On the one hand, we have David, the king of Israel. He is a man of covenant, a man who understands the weight of history and the importance of honor. He remembers a kindness shown to him in the past and seeks to repay it to the next generation. This is the logic of the kingdom of God: grace begets grace, and kindness is a debt to be cheerfully paid forward.
On the other hand, we have the court of the Ammonites, a viper's nest of suspicion and pagan realpolitik. They cannot conceive of a kindness that is not a clever disguise for aggression. Their worldview is flat, materialistic, and godless. Because their own hearts are bent on treachery, they assume treachery in others. They project their own corruption onto David and, in doing so, invite a catastrophe upon their own heads. This is the logic of the kingdom of darkness: fear begets fear, and suspicion is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This passage is not just an ancient war story. It is a profound lesson in the nature of honor, the poison of foolish counsel, and the devastating consequences of misjudging the character of God's anointed. It shows us that how we interpret the actions of others reveals more about us than it does about them. And it demonstrates, in a painfully graphic way, that to dishonor the messengers of a king is to declare war on the king himself.
The Text
Now it happened afterwards, that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. So David said, “I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed lovingkindness to me.” So David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon. But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. Then they told it to David. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”
(2 Samuel 10:1-5 LSB)
Covenantal Kindness (v. 1-2)
We begin with an act of royal diplomacy, rooted in a personal history.
"Now it happened afterwards, that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. So David said, 'I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed lovingkindness to me.' So David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon." (2 Samuel 10:1-2)
The story opens with a transition of power. Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, dies. We are not told in the Old Testament what specific kindness Nahash showed to David. It may have been during David's time as a fugitive from Saul, when any enemy of Saul would have been a potential friend to David. Whatever the deed, it was significant enough for David to remember it and to feel a debt of honor. The word for "lovingkindness" here is the rich covenantal term, hesed. This is not mere sentimentality. It is loyal, steadfast love. It is the kind of love God shows to His people. David is acting out of a deeply theological and covenantal worldview. He understands that relationships between men and between nations are built on such loyalties.
David's action is proper, kingly, and honorable. He sends a delegation of high-ranking officials, his "servants," to offer official condolences. This is standard diplomatic protocol, even today. It is an act of goodwill, an olive branch extended to a new king, establishing a foundation of peace and mutual respect. David is not being naive; he is being righteous. He is operating according to the law of God, which requires that we deal honorably with our neighbors. He is seeking peace and pursuing it, as the Scriptures command.
This is a picture of a godly leader. He does not let past enmities dictate all future relationships. He remembers kindness and seeks to repay it. He takes the initiative in building bridges. This is the strength and security of a man whose trust is in the Lord, not in political maneuvering. He can afford to be gracious because he serves a gracious God.
The Poison of Suspicious Counsel (v. 3)
David's honorable intentions collide with a wall of cynical suspicion in the court of Hanun.
"But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, 'In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?'" (2 Samuel 10:3 LSB)
Here we see the tragic influence of foolish counselors. Hanun is a new king, likely young and insecure. And into this insecurity, his princes pour the poison of paranoia. Their argument is a classic example of what we call "the hermeneutic of suspicion." They cannot see the gesture for what it is. They can only interpret it through the dark lens of their own godless worldview. They ask, "Do you think David is honoring your father?" The literal rendering is something like, "Does David honor your father in your eyes?" They are appealing to Hanun's pride and his fear. They are telling him he looks like a fool if he accepts this gesture at face value.
Their logic is simple: power is the only reality. David is a powerful, expansionist king. Therefore, any action he takes must be a power play. Kindness is just a tactic, a clever ruse to spy out the city's defenses for a future invasion. They cannot imagine a motive higher than raw, strategic self-interest because that is the only motive they know. As the proverb says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes" (Proverbs 12:15). These men are fools, and their counsel is folly.
Proverbs warns repeatedly about the danger of wicked counselors. A king is known by the company he keeps and the advice he takes. Rehoboam would later lose his kingdom by listening to the foolish counsel of his young friends over the wisdom of the elders. Hanun is about to make the same kind of catastrophic mistake. He listens to the cynics, the whisperers, the men who see a conspiracy behind every handshake. And in doing so, he seals his nation's doom.
Calculated Humiliation (v. 4)
Acting on this wicked counsel, Hanun commits an act of outrageous, calculated dishonor.
"So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away." (Genesis 1:3 LSB)
This was not a petty insult. This was a profound and deliberate act of public humiliation, designed to inflict the maximum possible shame. In the ancient Near East, a man's beard was his glory, a symbol of his masculinity, his honor, and his maturity. To shave a man's beard was to treat him like a child or a slave. To shave off half of it was to make him a public spectacle, an object of ridicule. It was a grotesque mockery of his manhood.
But Hanun didn't stop there. He also cut their garments off in the middle, exposing their buttocks. This was an act of extreme degradation, forcing them into a state of public nakedness and shame. This was not just an insult to the men themselves; it was a direct and unambiguous insult to the king who sent them. In dishonoring the ambassadors, Hanun was spitting in the face of King David. It was a declaration of contempt. It was, in effect, a declaration of war.
This is what happens when a culture loses its fear of God. It loses all sense of decency and honor. Shame becomes a weapon. Humiliation becomes a tool of statecraft. We see this spirit alive and well today, in the shamelessness of our public discourse, in the gleeful degradation of opponents, and in the celebration of all that is base and dishonorable. The Ammonites were simply ahead of their time.
David's Gracious Response (v. 5)
The news of this outrage reaches David, and his response is both compassionate and resolute.
"Then they told it to David. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, 'Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.'" (2 Samuel 10:5 LSB)
Notice David's first concern. It is for his men. He understands the depth of their shame. The text says they were "greatly dishonored." David doesn't rebuke them or dismiss their plight. He sends a party to meet them, to comfort them. He feels their shame as his own. This is the heart of a true shepherd-king. He cares for his people.
His instructions are practical and merciful. He tells them to wait in Jericho, on the border of his kingdom, until their beards have grown back. He does not want them to endure the further humiliation of returning to Jerusalem in their shameful state. He gives them a place of refuge and time to heal, both physically and emotionally. He covers their shame. This is a picture of grace. While the Ammonites expose and mock, David covers and restores.
But make no mistake. This quiet, compassionate response is the calm before the storm. David's mercy to his men does not negate the justice that is due to the Ammonites. By telling them to wait until their beards grow back, he is also marking the time. He is essentially saying, "Wait there. I will deal with this. When your honor is restored, you will return to a kingdom that has vindicated that honor." The insult was public, and the response would have to be public as well. The war that follows in the rest of this chapter is the direct result of this act of foolish, pagan insolence. Hanun and his counselors thought they were being clever and tough. They were actually being suicidal.
Conclusion: Honoring the King's Messengers
This story serves as a stark warning. The Ammonites misjudged David because they did not know his character, and they did not fear his God. They interpreted his kindness as weakness and his grace as a trick. And for this, they paid a terrible price.
There is a greater King than David, and He too has sent His messengers into the world. The Lord Jesus Christ is the great King, and He sends His servants, preachers of the gospel, to every nation. The message they bring is one of reconciliation and peace. It is a message of hesed, of covenantal lovingkindness. God offers to comfort us in our lost state and make peace with us, His enemies.
But how does the world often receive these messengers? It treats them with contempt. It mocks their message. It shaves their beards and exposes them to public shame. The world, in its cynical wisdom, hears the offer of grace and says, "It's a trick. It's a power play. They want to control us." The world dishonors the servants because it dishonors the King who sent them.
Jesus Himself warned his disciples of this. "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). "He who listens to you listens to Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me" (Luke 10:16).
The story of the Ammonites is a preview of the final judgment. There is a day coming when the beards will have grown back. There is a day coming when the King will act to vindicate the honor of His name and the honor of His servants. The foolish counsel of the cynics and the scoffers will be exposed for the suicidal madness that it is. Every insult will be answered. Every act of dishonor will be brought into the light.
Therefore, our task is to receive the King's messengers with honor. Hear the gospel not with the suspicion of an Ammonite prince, but with the faith of a repentant sinner. Do not misinterpret the kindness of God as weakness. His patience is not indifference; it is an opportunity for you to repent. For the day is coming when the embassy of peace will be withdrawn, and the armies of the King will advance. And on that day, it will be far better to be one of David's shamed servants, waiting in Jericho for restoration, than to be one of Hanun's clever counselors, cowering behind the walls of Rabbah as the judgment of God descends.