Well, good evening, everyone. Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 10, found on page 359. It's been a few weeks since we've been in the life of David, but if you remember before Christmas, we studied the chapter before, looking at David's loving kindness to Mephibosheth. And this evening, we're looking at another example of his loving kindness. So 2 Samuel chapter 10, let's listen to God's word. It happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun, his son, reigned in his place. Then David said, I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. And so David sent by the hand of his servants comfort. comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the people of Ammon. And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanon their lord, do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out and to overthrow it? Therefore Hanun took David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away. And when they told David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return. And when the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, The people of Amman sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and the Syrians of Zuba, 20,000 foot soldiers, and from the king of Mecca, 1,000 men, and from Ishtab, 12,000 men. Now when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men. And then the people of Amun came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And the Syrians, Zuba, Beth Rehob, Ishtob, and Maka, were by themselves in the field. And when Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel's best and put them in battle array against the Assyrians. And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. Then he said, if the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me. But if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 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 so Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai and entered the city. And so Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem. When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together. Then Hadeser sent and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the river, and they came to Helam. And Shobak, the commander of Hadeser's army, went before them. And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him. Then the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen off the Syrians, and struck Shobak, the commander of their army, who died there. And when all the kings who were servants to Hadeser saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. And so the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore. Amen. May God bless us through reading of his word. Well, we are at the start of a new year. And with a new year, there is always a hope for change. We have this hope of it being a new start, that things are going to be different this year, that I'm going to be a better person. And we look at the world with rosy optimism that this year is going to be better than last year. and yet the reality is far from different. We are less than two weeks into the new year. That optimism has gone. Look at the news. Many people in Los Angeles are starting a new year without a home. They're disgruntled over their leadership. Even on New Year's Day, at 3 a.m. in the morning, we had the events in New Orleans, where this man motored down 14 people in his pickup truck, and he left many others injured. So right from the start, there is this reminder of evil in this world. And then we have all that is going on in our own lives and in our jobs and in our own families. And so our hope is clearly not found in January 1st. It's not found in a date. No, it's found in Christ. He is the one who enables us to have a new start, a new beginning because of his love and kindness. In our passage today, we see a new beginning. It's not a new year, but it's a new king. The nation of Ammon has this new king. Now, there's always much excitement when a new king or a new queen comes on the throne. And yet, hope is not found in this new king. Instead, hope is found in another king, in David, for he offers his love and kindness. And yet, his love and kindness was rejected. David points us to Christ who demonstrated his love and kindness even to his enemies, and yet we also see rejection. That's a reminder to us that only in Christ can you have a new start because of his love and kindness. But if you will not accept it, you will be judged unless you kiss the Son and know his peace. So children, I encourage you to draw a picture of David's men, these messengers, with half of their beards cut off. So firstly, Christ provides you with his love and kindness, verses one to two. So in the previous chapter, we considered David's love and kindness to Jonathan's family. He honored the covenant that he had made with Jonathan, and this resulted in him showing love and kindness to Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth. And we considered the extent of that love and kindness. It wasn't simply that David didn't kill Mephibosheth, which would have been the normal response of a new king to any of those of the previous royal family. They could have easily stepped in and taken the claim to the throne. No, David protected Mephibosheth and he provided for him. He provided lands for him. He provided servants to work the land. And David invited him to eat at his own table. And so in essence, David is making him his son, that he would know the same privileges and rights as his children. Well, we see another episode here of David showing love and kindness to another son. And this time it was to someone outside of Israel. And it's also surprising. He shows love and kindness to Hanan, the new king of Ammon. And so these two chapters, these two examples of David extending his love and kindness is to demonstrate that this was a guiding principle for David. Both domestically and in his foreign affairs, he showed loving kindness. Now, we often think of the great sins of David, and we will be considering that next week. But these two chapters are here for us to know David, to know him as this generous king who is quick to show loving kindness to those inside and to those outside of his kingdom. Now, why would David show Hanun loving kindness? Well, Hanan's father was a man named Nahash, and he must have helped David in some way. Possibly when David was on the run from King Saul, Nahash had provided a place of safety for David. And so David felt obligated to show loving kindness to his son, Hanan. And it wasn't because Nahash was a great guy. For Samuel 11, we get this description of Nahash as a very cruel man. We read, then, Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh-Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, make a covenant with us, and we will serve you. Nahash the Ammonite answered them, on this condition, I will make a covenant with you. that I may put out all your right eyes and bring reproach on all Israel." Not a very reasonable man. And yet David wants to take this opportunity to show kindness to his son. This is good diplomacy, to offer well wishes to the new king that he would know the blessing in his kingship. We saw something similar when Donald Trump was elected president. He received well wishes from a variety of countries, from various world leaders. It doesn't matter what they personally think of Donald Trump. It doesn't matter all the previous comments that they had said about him. They still do their duty and do the honorable thing. But what makes this somewhat different is that Amnon is an enemy to Israel. America's enemies are not reaching out to congratulate its new president. And so this is more than a diplomatic exercise by David to wish Hanan success. Instead, it's love and kindness. He brought words of comfort and support in the loss of his father. And what David is doing is pointing us to what Jesus has done for us. David points us to Christ. Christ has shown us his love and kindness. We also are not that different from Nahash. We aren't demanding others to pluck out their eyes, but we're not as lovable as we like to think. Actually, God describes us as his enemies. We were opposed to him, and yet he showed to us his love and kindness. And how Jesus responds to you and to me, that is how you are to respond to others, including your enemies. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you. You are to show mercy to others. and not simply to people like us. We are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. And here is a glimpse in this passage of the gospel going to the nations. It's a reminder that we are to sow the seed. We are to sow the seeds of love and kindness by sharing the good news of the gospel. Keddie writes, God reaches out even to Hamans of this world, and he will make some of them his saints. Well secondly, notice Christ's loving kindness rejected, verses three and four and verse six. Now this week there was a video spreading around the internet. of the new Nebraskan senator being sworn in by Kamala Harris, and of her husband refusing to shake the hand of Kamala Harris. Now, I'm sure there's more to the story. This man was holding a cane in one hand, he had a Bible in the other hand, so maybe it was just difficult to release his hand. But it does appear that he did not want to shake her hand. There is a common courtesy to respond, to recognize those in authority, give them the respect that is due to their office. That's what's happening with David. While I think David's loving kindness was more than simply a formality, he was being genuine. At the very least, Haman should have shown to David's offer of loving kindness the courtesy that it deserved. Instead, Hanun rejected David's love and kindness. Hanun's advisors are suspicious. They believe that David has ulterior motives, that these men are only present to spy out the city so they could overthrow it. And the result is that Hanun actively rejects David's hand of kindness. He not only removes the men, these messengers, but he shames them. He does this shameful act of shaving off half of their beards. People are very proud of their beards today. Well, back then, a beard was a sign of manliness. And so to remove part of their beard is an insult to who these men are. Even worse than shaving off half of their beards is they cut their clothes in such a way that their buttocks are revealed. This is shameful and it's ridiculous. This is what Hanun thought of David's love and kindness. Very different from the humble and grateful response of Mephibosheth who received David's love and kindness. Now Hanun rejected it, and he also committed this foolish act that then resulted in this international fallout. Verse six, the Ammonites now realize the consequence of their king's actions. They are repulsive in David's eyes. It's better translated that they stink in David's nostrils. So Hanun, in establishing his kingship over the nation of Ammon, he's wanting to demonstrate his own strength. He didn't want to be seen as naive and falling for David's pretend kindness. And so he thought he knew better, but it only damaged his reputation. These are very interesting days politically. Donald Trump, as you know, is becoming president. And even though he isn't president, he's still having a huge influence on other countries. He said he would put a 25% tariff on Canadian goods coming into the country. And straightaway, we see Prime Minister Trudeau visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago Resort. He tries to befriend Trump to prevent this from happening. In doing so, he then appears weak in front of his own people. And so he then tries to talk big that he would stand up to Trump. But the result of all of this back and forth is that he loses the confidence of the Canadian people, of his own party, and so recently has announced his resignation. So how do you respond to Christ, to his love and kindness? Well, that shows your own opinion of yourself, of your own strength. And too often we think too highly of ourselves. We say to ourselves, I don't need Christ, I can do it without Him. I don't need His mercy, I'm not that bad. I don't need Christianity. And so it's very common to behave like Hanun, with foolishness, with arrogance, and reject Christ. No, instead we need to humble ourselves and accept Christ's love and kindness. We also must expect this response from the world when we share the gospel message. The bad news of the gospel is that we are sinners, and many people are simply offended by that message, so offended that they can't then hear the good news of the gospel, that Jesus removes that sin by his death on the cross, that he enables us to come before God. That is the love and kindness of Jesus Christ. shouldn't be rejected. No, we should accept it. So how do you respond to Christ's love and kindness? Do you accept it or do you reject it? Well then, thirdly, Christ covers your shame, verse 5. So how does David respond to these men who were treated shamefully? Well, he's concerned for them. He encourages them to stay in the city of Jericho so they can have rest. He gives them time for their beards to grow back, for them not to have to appear in public without them, so and lose respect. And while there, he would provide for them. He gives them new clothes so their reputations are not harmed. He preserved their dignity. And so we see David responding with love and kindness. What these messengers went through is often what we are called to go through. We are to bring the message of the gospel to this world. And in doing so, you may have to endure shame. The world is not going to appreciate this message. We can also assume that if Hanun reached out to David and said, what I did was dumb, it was wrong, it was shameful, please forgive me, that David would have offered him his love and kindness. David would have covered his shame. But Hanun is so convinced of David's ulterior motives to attack him that he only causes what he thought David was going to do. So it was his own foolishness that led to this war with Israel. He brought it on himself. And why was this? Well, Matthew Henry puts it well when he says about Hannan, "'False men are ready to think of others "'as false as themselves. "'And those that bear ill will to their neighbors "'are resolved not to believe "'that their neighbors bear any goodwill to them. "'Unfounded suspicion indicates a wicked mind.'" Hannan rejects David's kindness and so misses the opportunity for his shame to be covered. Instead, we read of his people seeking support from the Syrians. And we read of four different Syrian groups who they hire to help them in their opposition to David. And you should see that in your map in the handout. So rather than come humbly before David, Hanun and his people, they seek power and help to oppose David. Tim Chalice had an interesting article seeking prayer for Canada right now, and he asked particularly for prayer for Prime Minister Trudeau. He writes, finally, I think it would be good to pray for Justin Trudeau. Nine years ago, he was riding high with the country behind him. Today, his country has turned on him, as have his party and cabinet. And of course, so has his wife, as they have separated. If he is ever going to respond to the Lord's chastening, Perhaps it is now. Trudeau has lost everything. In his shame, will he now turn to God for help? This is the message of the gospel. Christ covers your shame. When you're brought low in your shame, go to Christ and you will know his pardoning, his cleansing. Like these men that David clothed, Jesus will clothe you with his clothes of righteousness. But then fourthly, refusal to repent brings judgment. Verses six to 14. So Hanun, by amassing this army, shows he has no intention of repenting. And so he faces judgment. David appoints Joab to bring his army to fight Hanun. He would not let Hanun get away with this. While Haman's defiance may seem insignificant, David was aware that it was wrong, and if he didn't display strength against Haman, it would only get worse. Not only would Israel lose respect, but this is an attack on God's name. Back in 1982, Argentina invaded the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. And the assumption was that Britain would easily give up these islands without a fight. But Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, and she saw this attack as an insult to Britain's honor, as this was a British sovereign territory that had been invaded. And so Britain swiftly launched a flotilla and retook the islands after a 74-day battle. And the result of this war was the popularity of Margaret Thatcher. She won a general election by a landslide on the back of this victory. Well, David is in a similar position. He will fight for the honor of his country, and more importantly, for the honor of his God. And we read that the opposition was divided in two. The Ammonites, they are at the entrance to their city. Their allies, the Syrians, they were in the field. And Joab, therefore, was fighting a battle on two fronts. And he responds by dividing his army in two. He would control one half of the army, and his brother Abishai would control the other half. But while they had divided, we read that they would be able to support one another, reinforce the other if the attack got too strong. Now the battle details are scarce. The narrator does include, however, Joab's speech to his brother. And it is a powerful speech for we see Joab's view of God. He trusts that God is in control, that God will do what he sees as good in his sight. Now, this is surprising, coming from Joab, who is known as being a hardened, vindictive man who earlier killed Abner in a deceptive and ruthless way. Perhaps Joab, under pressure, shows his own need for God's help. In the uncertainty of the battle, he trusts God's will to be done. And yet he calls Abishai to be courageous. While he knows the ultimate outcome that God's will will be done, God will enact judgment against those who oppose him, including Haman, the actual specifics of how God will do it. Joab does not know. And that's true for us. We're living in a world of much injustice and frustration. It might not seem that Christ is victorious over evil. It can appear that Christianity is losing. But Christ has promised us a victory. And so we can be certain of that victory in the end. The gates of hell shall not prevail against his church. But in the day-to-day battles, we don't know the outcome. We only know the end result. Calvin writes, God does not give particular promises about this or that to his children. We certainly have this point which should firmly persuade us that God will never abandon us and that in the end he will show that our hope in him was not in vain so that our faith will not be frustrated when it rests upon his mercy and his truth. Nevertheless, we must remain in suspense about many things. For instance, when we ask God for our daily bread, it is not that we are assured that he will send us a good harvest or a great vintage. We should leave that in his hands and patiently await what pleases him. When we have an illness, we must rest well assured that he has not forgotten us and that we have such access to him that in the end, we will feel that he has looked on us in pity. The promise of God should be fully sufficient in regards to that. However, when we would like to have the word that today or tomorrow he will restore our health, we do not know, or even in doubt of living or dying. So while Joab knew in the end that Israel would be delivered, he did not know how or when that would happen. Dale Ralph Davis says, there is a strange chemistry here. Taking Joab's words into our dilemmas may make us both more confident and less certain. We are confident that God's will will be done, that Christ's kingdom will be made complete. It doesn't matter the attack. He will succeed. But that does not mean that everything will go our way. In kingdom work, from our perspective, we see many disappointments. There are those who are in full-time service who die young. There are disagreements and divisions in the church. There is a lack of response to the gospel. This is hard, but God has called us to be faithful. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, we heard this this morning, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I think we need to be careful, especially in reform circles, that we don't use this as an excuse. The result is we lack vision and ambition. No, Christ has promised to build his church. We are to expect fruit. We can have confidence in that, but it will be according to his will. Well, the result of the battle is that the Syrians flee, and when the Ammonites see the Syrians fleeing, well, they also fled back into their city. Joab was right to have faith in God, and so he returns, and the army returns to Jerusalem. God had judged Ammon. We can be sure of God's judgment sooner or later on all those who oppose him. Over the Christmas break, we visited the Creation Museum down in Kentucky, and they have this exhibit on Noah and the flood. And they have a number of dioramas of the events of the flood. And there was one that was particularly powerful. It shows the ark floating in the water, surrounded by these various mountaintops. And on those mountaintops, you see these people who are trying to clamber up to avoid the rising waters. It was too late. They're going to die. God had judged the earth by sanding this flood. Those who refused to repent, they perished. And God will judge again. And all who have not repented, they will receive God's judgment for their rebellion. Well then finally notice, kiss the sun and know peace with God. While the Ammonites returned to their city, the Syrians under King Hadadezer would gather at Helam to fight Israel. And notice that he had gathered troops from beyond the river. This is beyond the river Euphrates. And what we have here is the original alliance without Ammon, but now also support from those beyond the Euphrates. Verse 19, we read that these troops are under various kings. Well, verse 17, we see David himself leads the battle. He leads Israel into battle. And in the battle, we read of David killing 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen. He strikes down their military commander. Syria has lost the battle. But notice the outcome of the battle. Syria did not retreat. No, they sought peace with Israel. They would even serve Israel. No longer would they align themselves with the people of Ammon, the Ammonites. David's leadership, as I say, constantly points us to Christ. As David led here in battle, so did Christ. He stepped forward when the soldiers came looking for him in the garden of Gethsemane. He did not hide, but he led the way to triumph. Well, here we have a picture of Christ our King as he is described in Psalm 2. And we're going to sing this after the sermon. The nations rage against God. God laughs. "'cause he knows he can easily defeat them. "'His son will come and judge them, "'break them down like earthenware.'" And then we have this command in Psalm 2. "'Now therefore be wise, O kings, be instructed, "'you judges of the earth. "'Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. "'Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way, "'when his wrath is kindled but a little. "'Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. Well, these Syrians did this. They kissed the sun and so they knew peace with Israel. And likewise, that is how you are to respond to King Jesus. You are to surrender to him and know peace. For in him you can have a new beginning because he offers his love and kindness. So only in Christ do you have this new start because of his love and kindness. But if you will not accept it, you will be judged unless you kiss the sun and know peace with Christ. Well, this past week was President Carter's funeral. And while there are a variety of opinions about Carter, what struck me most in watching parts of the service was his grandson's reading of Romans 8. Here are all these world leaders, all the previous presidents, vice presidents, VIPs from across the world. Men and women who have publicly raged against God by rebelling against Him, by not obeying His commands, by setting up other gods, men and women who have lived according to the flesh, and they were hearing about there being no condemnation for those in Christ, for those who live according to the Spirit, that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ Jesus. This was the offer of God's love and kindness. And may they heed it and kiss the Son and know peace. And may that be true for us all here, that we kiss the Son and know peace with Him. Amen. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the love and kindness that we have in Christ, and we pray for any here who have rejected it, that you would soften their hearts and that you would help them see their need of Christ. Lord, we pray that you would use us to bring your mercy to this world. that we would sow the message of the gospel and Lord that many would respond and they would escape the judgment and know instead peace with you through Christ that they indeed would kiss the sun we ask this in Christ's name amen well please turn and sing the psalm psalm 2a