The Expositor's Bible: The Second Book of SamuelBlaikie, William Garden
Religion
The Expositor's Bible: The Second Book of Samuel
Blaikie, William Garden
Bible. Samuel, 2nd -- Commentaries
But Hanun not only repelled David's kindness, but charged him with
meanness, and virtually flung in his face a challenge to war. To
represent his apparent kindness as a mean cover of a hostile purpose
was an act which Hanun might think little of, but which was fitted to
wound David to the quick. Unscrupulous natures have a great advantage
over others in the charges they may bring. In a street collision
a man in dirty clothing is much more powerful for mischief than
one in clean raiment. Rough, unscrupulous men are restrained by no
delicacy from bringing atrocious charges against those to whom these
charges are supremely odious. They have little sense of the sin of
them, and they toss them about without scruple. Such poisoned arrows
inflict great pain, not because the charges are just, but because
it is horrible to refined natures even to hear them. There are two
things that make some men very sensitive--the refinement of grace,
and the refinement of the spirit of courtesy. The refinement of grace
makes all sin odious, and makes a charge of gross sin very serious.
The refinement of courtesy creates great regard to the feelings of
others, and a strong desire not to wound them unnecessarily. In
circles where real courtesy prevails, accusations against others
are commonly couched in very gentle language. Rough natures ridicule
this spirit, and pride themselves on their honesty in calling a
spade a spade. Evidently Hanun belonged to the rough, unscrupulous
school. Either he did not know how it would make David writhe to be
accused of the alleged meanness, or, if he did know, he enjoyed the
spectacle. It gratified his insolent nature to see the pious king of
Israel posing before all the people of Ammon as a sneak and a liar,
and to hear the laugh of scorn and hatred resounding on every side.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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