March 2025: 'Courage and Trust' - 2 Samuel 10

We all love a story of victory against the odds. We love a film or a book where the odds are stacked against the good guys, yet they emerge victorious anyway. Scottish patriots love to remind people how the odds were stacked against Bruce and his army at Bannockburn!

In 2 Samuel chapter 10 we read about a situation where God’s people were surrounded. The odds seemed to be against them. The Lord’s chosen king David is now on the throne and he hears of the death of Nahash, king of the ammonites and decides to treat his son Hanun with kindness. He did this for the sake of Nahash who had treated David well. So, David sent men to console him. Hanun assumed the worst of David, humiliated his servants by shaving them and cutting their garments so they were exposed.

The ammonites then move to attack David who responds by sending Joab and the host of the mighty men. As they line up for battle, Joab sees they have enemies both in front and behind. Having given some practical instructions, he makes this wonderful statement,

‘Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.’ V 12

This is surprising, coming from Joab. He was not always known for his godliness. As Dale Ralph Davis puts it, ‘What bothers us is not this theological note but that Joab is the author of it.’

Whatever one makes of Joab, it is a wonderful statement of truth. In the midst of this terrible battle, they were to take courage and do their best and trust God to do what is right. It is not difficult to see how this sentence applies to our lives as believers today. Few of us will have to fight physical battles but we will face battles of other kinds. Perhaps we are facing an illness for which we have prayed constantly, been to the doctor and can only pray and trust God to do what is right.

It could be when facing opposition for our faith. Perhaps there is some kind of pressure to compromise or even to deny Christ. In those moments we are to be courageous and remain faithful to him and the Lord will do what seems good to him. Perhaps you have a big decision ahead of you and are not sure

which direction to take. You can do what seems best according to scripture and the Lord will do what seems best to him.

This truth also applies to our evangelistic and outreach efforts. Sometimes it requires courage and stepping out of our comfort zones. We can do so courageously because we know that God is with us and that he will do what seems best to him.

In every area of our life let us be sure that we are depending on God, drawing strength and courage from him, and trusting him to do what is best.