Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. [2 Samuel 10.1-4]
What is the value of a relationship? For the Ammonites, it was critical.
As soon as Nahash died, his son Hanun succeeded him on the throne as King of the Ammonites. Nahash had an excellent relationship with David - one of trust and respect. But Hanun?
What we should understand is that just because Nahash died does not mean all his commanders went away. In all likelihood Hanun's commanders were mostly the same people. All of these commanders then would have been keenly aware of Nahash's relationship with David. It is entirely possible - even probable - that these commanders never did agree with Nahash's relationship with David. "They" did not know David and therefore did not trust him. Everything to this point that had taken place between Nahash and David only made them suspicious.
So, exit Nahash...
Now that Nahash is no longer in the picture to encourage and promote peace with Israel, these commanders took advantage of Hanun's inexperience (or perhaps Hanun never trusted David either) and they mistreated David' ambassadors. We must remain mindful that the timing of this is all contemporary to Nahash's death. It was all fresh - so the deep feelings of mistrust between Nahash's commanders (and possibly Hanun) were not new - but now Nahash was not there to temper their emotions. What a mistake they made!
Trust is a precious thing. It is a shame to violate it. However, we know also from other Bible stories that misplaced trust is dangerous.
If we were going to draw any conclusions from this story today, it might be to ask ourselves, "who do we trust, and why do we trust them?"
Father, help me to evaluate who I trust as far as humans go... Help me to understand that David and Nahash had reason to trust each other - they had history of such. Also, help me to review my relationship with You so that I can see that I have every reason to trust You!
