"Offenses Will Come"
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Avenging an insult. All of us have, at
times, been insulted by someone. I doubt if there is anyone anywhere who hasn’t
been insulted or who hasn’t avenged an insult. Instead of smiling and letting
it go, we’ve all reacted by taking offense and sometimes taking serious offense
to it. Fortunately when someone comes to know the LORD he begins to learn to
overcome those selfish reactions.
I’ve titled today’s sermon “Offenses Will Come”.
You’ve certainly heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys. It may be over as of today, but it began well over a hundred years ago. It was generational feud. And it began with one family avenging the death of one of their family members during the Civil War. The Hatfields fought for the Confederacy and the McCoys fought for the Union Army. Asa Harmon McCoy, a Union soldier, was killed by one of the Hatfields. As you know, the McCoys reacted by taking vengeance. And this one act of vengeance has resulted in, not only a lot of misunderstandings, but a variety of insults over many, many years; many generations.
The great Roman philosopher Seneca once said “It’s better to not see an offense than to avenge it.”
Today, I’d like to turn your attention to a passage of Scripture that will show something you all know; that avenging an insult is not the answer when you’ve been offended. Please open your Bible with me to II Samuel chapter ten and verse one.
II Samuel 10:1 “And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. (2) Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.”
Often when you read your Bible, especially the OT, you come across names of people that you are unfamiliar with. That might be the case here. David, you know. He’s the King of Israel. Hanun, the son of Nahash, you might not know. Nahash was the King of the Ammonites. They lived in a region we today call Jordan. Now the Ammonites, who are they? The Ammonites were descendants of a man named Lot, a nephew of Abraham, the Father of the Jewish nation. Back in Genesis we find this. Genesis 19:38 “And the younger, [the younger daughter of Lot] she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” The Ammonites settled east of the Jordan River in our modern day Jordan. And their capital was the city of Rabbah.
Now sometime in the past, David had been helped by Nahash, the former king of Ammon. His son Hanun is now the reigning Ammonite monarch. Nahash has died. And David, in a desire to express his condolences, sends ambassadors of good will to King Hanun. The problem, though, is this. Hanun’s advisors don’t trust King David. They then persuade Hanun to treat him with as much disrespect as possible; actually to insult him. And how? By shaving off half their beards and cutting their robes off up to the seat; verse three. (3) And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? (4) Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks [literally up to the seat of their pants], and sent them away.” Go on to Page two
I’ve titled today’s sermon “Offenses Will Come”.
You’ve certainly heard of the Hatfields and the McCoys. It may be over as of today, but it began well over a hundred years ago. It was generational feud. And it began with one family avenging the death of one of their family members during the Civil War. The Hatfields fought for the Confederacy and the McCoys fought for the Union Army. Asa Harmon McCoy, a Union soldier, was killed by one of the Hatfields. As you know, the McCoys reacted by taking vengeance. And this one act of vengeance has resulted in, not only a lot of misunderstandings, but a variety of insults over many, many years; many generations.
The great Roman philosopher Seneca once said “It’s better to not see an offense than to avenge it.”
Today, I’d like to turn your attention to a passage of Scripture that will show something you all know; that avenging an insult is not the answer when you’ve been offended. Please open your Bible with me to II Samuel chapter ten and verse one.
II Samuel 10:1 “And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. (2) Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.”
Often when you read your Bible, especially the OT, you come across names of people that you are unfamiliar with. That might be the case here. David, you know. He’s the King of Israel. Hanun, the son of Nahash, you might not know. Nahash was the King of the Ammonites. They lived in a region we today call Jordan. Now the Ammonites, who are they? The Ammonites were descendants of a man named Lot, a nephew of Abraham, the Father of the Jewish nation. Back in Genesis we find this. Genesis 19:38 “And the younger, [the younger daughter of Lot] she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” The Ammonites settled east of the Jordan River in our modern day Jordan. And their capital was the city of Rabbah.
Now sometime in the past, David had been helped by Nahash, the former king of Ammon. His son Hanun is now the reigning Ammonite monarch. Nahash has died. And David, in a desire to express his condolences, sends ambassadors of good will to King Hanun. The problem, though, is this. Hanun’s advisors don’t trust King David. They then persuade Hanun to treat him with as much disrespect as possible; actually to insult him. And how? By shaving off half their beards and cutting their robes off up to the seat; verse three. (3) And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? (4) Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks [literally up to the seat of their pants], and sent them away.” Go on to Page two