We must fight our spiritual battle courageously, because our enemy seeks to shame us.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   The whole Israelite army was in a pinch in 2 Samuel 10. There was an enemy ahead of them, which they knew about, and there was an enemy behind them, of whom they were surprised by. In other words, they were surrounded by them. As Jimmy Buffet would sing, “Fins to the left, fins to the right. And you’re the only bait in town.” The army had no way of escape. Their only option was to fight. So Joab brings his leaders near, and the mighty men of war near, and gives them this speech. Be of Good Courage and fight: Why? Why must these men be of good courage? Because we have an enemy who attempts to shame us. This passage begins with David seeking to extend kindness to Hanun, who had recently become king of the Ammonites, because his father, Nahash had just died. This reminds us of the kindness David showed to another king’s family, King Saul, and to King Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth. David wanted to show kindness to a son of Saul. So the extension of kindness is a theme that runs throughout chapter 9 and 10. And I believe we are to see that kindness is shown to those within the kingdom and those outside the kingdom, but with two very differing results, as we shall see. The way in which David is going to show this kindness is by sending representatives who undoubtedly brought gifts to show honor to the king and his family. But upon arrival, some of Hanun’s princes and advisors began to whisper in the ear of Hanun, saying, “Do you really think David sent these men to comfort you and to pay their respects to your father? That is not their intent at all. They have come to spy out the land so that they can capture it later on.” So Hanun, I guess being a young ruler, and trusting his advisors, and I am sure having heard of David’s feats previously, capture David’s servants, shaved off half their beards, and cut off their clothes at the hip so that they had to walk around exposed. In essence, Hanun shamed these men. But he didn’t just shame these men by physical appearance; these acts done by Hanun brought shame upon these men in a religious sense as well. For a Hebrew man to have his beard cutoff would mean that he was rejecting the law and statutes of God. And to have your clothes cut off in such a way was not only extremely humiliating, it was also a sign that you had rejected the law of God. Israelites were commanded to have tassels at the end of their garments to remind them of the laws and ways and statutes of God, so to have them removed or cut off was a symbol of desecrating the very words of God. Of course, these Hebrew men, by no means, wanted to be seen this way. They wanted to hide and cover themselves for obvious reasons, but also for religious reasons. Following their king’s command was their ambition, but now they had been embarrassed and humiliated. And they had been sent away, back to where they had come from, to show the rest of Israel that this is what the king of the Ammonites thought of all the Israelites. And it was this act that started the wars we will read about. The shaving of beards and cutting off of robes, is ultimately what causes Joab to give his speech calling on his soldiers to be of good courage. Why must we be people of good courage who fight? Because we have an enemy who seeks to shame us and humiliate us and paralyze us and destroy us. Even when we are seeking to do the good, he seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan has no regard for our intentions. He hates your godly goals and motivations, and wants nothing more, if he can’t seduce you, then he will settle on shaming you. He wants to cut you off from that which makes you holy. So what are you going to do? Are we going to let the threat of shame and humiliation keep us from our mission and faithful obedience? Are we going to allow a little clanging of the swords keep us away from doing what God has called us to do? We have been called to lives of holiness! And we know that when you start to really pursue holiness, the enemy and the world will seek to minimize you, humiliate you, marginalize you, demonize you. So what do you do? Do you sink back into a safe, comfortable, zone and just try to hide away? You can’t! Your king has given you orders!