撒母耳記下10:1-19

 

10:1 此後，亞捫人的王死了，他兒子哈嫩接續他作王。
10:2 大衛說：「我要照哈嫩的父親拿轄厚待我的恩典厚待哈嫩。」於是大衛差遣臣僕，為他喪父安慰他。大衛的臣僕到了亞捫人的境內。
10:3 但亞捫人的首領對他們的主哈嫩說：「大衛差人來安慰你，你想他是尊敬你父親嗎？他差臣僕來不是詳察窺探、要傾覆這城嗎？」
10:4 哈嫩便將大衛臣僕的鬍鬚剃去一半，又割斷他們下半截的衣服，使他們露出下體，打發他們回去。
10:5 有人告訴大衛，他就差人去迎接他們，（因為他們甚覺羞恥），告訴他們說：「可以住在耶利哥，等到鬍鬚長起再回來。」
10:6 亞捫人知道大衛憎惡他們，就打發人去，招募伯‧利合的亞蘭人和瑣巴的亞蘭人，步兵二萬，與瑪迦王的人一千、陀伯人一萬二千。
10:7 大衛聽見了，就差派約押統帶勇猛的全軍出去。
10:8 亞捫人出來，在城門前擺陣；瑣巴與利合的亞蘭人、陀伯人，並瑪迦人，另在郊野擺陣。
10:9 約押看見敵人在他前後擺陣，就從以色列軍中挑選精兵，使他們對著亞蘭人擺陣。
10:10 其餘的兵交與他兄弟亞比篩，對著亞捫人擺陣。
10:11 約押對亞比篩說：「亞蘭人若強過我，你就來幫助我；亞捫人若強過你，我就去幫助你。
10:12 我們都當剛強，為本國的民和上帝的城邑作大丈夫。願耶和華憑他的意旨而行！」
10:13 於是，約押和跟隨他的人前進攻打亞蘭人；亞蘭人在約押面前逃跑。
10:14 亞捫人見亞蘭人逃跑，他們也在亞比篩面前逃跑進城。約押就離開亞捫人那裡，回耶路撒冷去了。
10:15 亞蘭人見自己被以色列人打敗，就又聚集。
10:16 哈大底謝差遣人，將大河那邊的亞蘭人調來；他們到了希蘭，哈大底謝的將軍朔法率領他們。
10:17 有人告訴大衛，他就聚集以色列眾人，過約旦河，來到希蘭。亞蘭人迎著大衛擺陣，與他打仗。
10:18 亞蘭人在以色列人面前逃跑；大衛殺了亞蘭七百輛戰車的人，四萬馬兵，又殺了亞蘭的將軍朔法。
10:19 屬哈大底謝的諸王見自己被以色列人打敗，就與以色列人和好，歸服他們。於是亞蘭人不敢再幫助亞捫人了。

 

In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. ² David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

⁶ When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁷ On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.

⁹ Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. ¹² Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

¹³ Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁴ When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. ¹⁶ Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

¹⁷ When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸ But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹ When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them.

So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

 

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    在歷史的是件讓我們看見說話的確要小心，尤其是在國王身邊的人！就像大衛本來是派臣僕去祝賀亞捫王的登基大典，他的心意是：「我要照哈嫩的父親拿轄厚待我的恩典厚待哈嫩。」

 

    但是哈嫩旁邊的亞們人首領卻向哈嫩說：「大衛差人來安慰你，你想他是尊敬你父親嗎？他差臣僕來不是詳察窺探、要傾覆這城嗎？」

 

    可見這些說話的人別有用心，是要製造事端！哈嫩竟然傻傻地聽信這些人的話，便將大衛臣僕的鬍鬚剃去一半，又割斷他們下半截的衣服，使他們露出下體，打發他們回去。這樣做真的是羞辱了大衛，可是更傻的事竟然不道歉，還招募伯‧利合的亞蘭人和瑣巴的亞蘭人，步兵二萬，與瑪迦王的人一千、陀伯人一萬二千。

 

    於是就這樣產生了戰事，然而這些烏合之眾那是以色列軍隊的對手！亞蘭人被打敗以後，亞捫人也散了！然而亞蘭人打敗了又不甘心，於是又發生了戰爭！但是最後還是以色列得勝，亞蘭人只好乖乖臣服以色列！

 

    而從這些事件我們看見，和平事要付出代價，不是軟弱怕事表面的和好就是和平！真正的和平是靠主剛強，正如以色列的元帥約押說：「我們都當剛強，為本國的民和上帝的城邑作大丈夫。願耶和華憑他的意旨而行！」

 

    同樣教會要在這個社會成為耶穌基督的見證也是如此，我們既然認為誤用情慾是違反聖經的教導，我們就要反對哪些鼓吹性開放的運動，而不是反對那些弱勢的人！我們要弄清楚我們真正要反對的是罪惡的事件不是人，才能拯救被罪惡轄制的人！