Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” And when all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.
II Samuel 10:12, 19
In today’s chapter, we saw how a king was wrongly advised by the people who surrounded him. Hostility was served by Hanun, the newly installed king of Ammon in response to David’s kindness. To make matters worse, when the Ammonites realised they had misjudged David’s intentions, they refused to admit to their wrongdoing, but foolishly decided to go into war.
James 4:6b says… “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
In this case, the Lord roundly resisted the various formations of Ammon and Syria by granting victory to David and the Armies of Israel.
The account shows how an unnecessary war could have been avoided through humility and a wise choice. David was the one that was wronged, yet he wasn’t going to initiate a response until Ammon went on the offensive.
It is pride that sets people up to respond angrily and defensively when there is a misunderstanding, rather than admitting their mistakes, apologizing and trying to defuse the other person’s anger. Instead of claiming rights and fighting, all avenues should be explored to make peace. James 4:7 further gives us an antidote to war as submitting to God
Obedience to this seemingly simple instruction, means we are taking Joab’s position in verse 12, to allow God do what is good in His sight. The joy of the Lord ultimately replaces the pain that is the outcome when we chose to do what seems right in our eyes, because this person or that person has done something to offend us.