May 10 - Enduring Persecution, Suffering, and Scorn

2 Samuel 10 Part 3 – Enduring Persecution, Suffering, and Scorn
Pastor Logan – May 10, 2026

2 Samuel 10:4–5 (NET)
10:4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, and then sent them away. 10:5 Messengers told David what had happened, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

2 Thessalonians 1:5–7 (NET) Encouragement in Persecution
1:5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 1:6 For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 1:7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
Retribution and relief for the afflicted.


  • God will give rest/relief (anesis — a loosening, release from tension) to the suffering Thessalonians
  • This relief comes "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven" — it is eschatological, tied to Christ's return

For those who are being afflicted, we may have to wait… Painful…

2 Samuel 10:6–12 (NET)
10:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, they sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob.
10:7 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them. 10:8 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.
10:9 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. 10:10 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 10:11 Joab said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, I will come to your rescue. 10:12 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!”


How does David respond?

1 Samuel 25:13 (NET)
25:13 Then David instructed his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment.

David has developed in the area of OFFENSE.
 
It’s not that it doesn’t hurt, but we respond in a manner that reflects the beauty of Jesus Christ.

Acts 23:2–4 (NET)
23:2 At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?” 23:4 Those standing near him said, “Do you dare insult God’s high priest?”

John 18:22–23 (NET)
18:22 When Jesus had said this, one of the high priest’s officers who stood nearby struck him on the face and said, “Is that the way you answer the high priest?” 18:23 Jesus replied, “If I have said something wrong, confirm what is wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why strike me?”

Baptism Questionnaire from a church in South Asia
  • Are you willing to leave home and lose the blessing of your father?
  • Are you willing to lose your job?
  • Are you willing to go to the village and those who persecute you, forgive them, and share the love of Christ with them?
  • Are you willing to give an offering to the LORD?
  • Are you willing to be beaten rather than deny your faith?
  • Are you willing to go to prison?
  • Are you willing to die for Jesus?

Hanun’s Foolishness
  • His actions were a stench to David
  • Unrepented sin will always lead to greater sin.
  • Unrepented sin will always ask of you something you didn’t intend to pay.
    • 75,000 pounds of silver, 1 talent = 75 pounds, paid 1000 talents (about $100m)

Psalm 32:1–5 (NET)
32:1 How blessed is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven,
whose sin is pardoned!
32:2 How blessed is the one whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish,
in whose spirit there is no deceit.
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin,
my whole body wasted away,
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me;
you tried to destroy me in the intense heat of summer.
(Selah)
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins.
(Selah)

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