Be Careful Who You Listen To

Note from today’s Bible reading: Psalm 50; 53; 60; 75; 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20

When the king of Ammon died, his son Hanun succeeded him (2 Samuel 10:1). Once David heard of this, he said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me” (2 Samuel 10:2).

David then sent servants to Ammon to console Hanun out of respect for his father. Yet this gesture of kindness was met with suspicion by the princes of Ammon. They said to Hanun, “Do you think that David is honoring your father because he has sent consolers 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).

Rather than recognizing David’s action as a sincere act of respect for his father, Hanun listened to these foolish advisors. Instead of welcoming David’s servants, he humiliated them and sent them away (2 Samuel 10:4). This led to war between the two nations, resulting in Ammon being defeated and losing the Arameans as their ally. However, had Hanun rejected the foolish counsel of his princes, all of that could have been avoided, and his relationship with the king of Israel could have been strengthened.

So be careful who you listen to. Just because someone offers advice does not mean it would be wise to take it. Taking bad advice will often put us in a worse position than the trouble we were trying to avoid.