Narrator (3:51)

The man showed me loyalty when he might have chosen vengeance. Now that he's gone, I want to repay his kindness.

David (4:00)

Joab shifted in place.

Joab (4:02)

Are you concerned that may seem opportunistic? Prince Anun may see our gifts as insulting.

Narrator (4:09)

And if we do nothing, what message does that send? We beat Ammon by the sword, but we kept peace with him through kindness.

Joab (4:18)

Nahash was reasonable.

David (4:20)

I fear his son Hanun is much less so.

Narrator (4:23)

We'll find out.

David (4:25)

David turned to a company of messengers.

Narrator (4:27)

And added, go, bring gifts. Show honor to the son of Nahash. Let him know that should he need a friend or a sword, Israel stands with him.

David (4:39)

The emissaries departed bearing wine from the hill country, gold threaded cloaks and spices from Geshur. But when they reached Rabbar, the capital of Ammon, they found no mourning, only stone and silence. The streets were dry and the people were gaunt. It had been a hard season for the Ammonites, and their new king bore the weight of failure poorly. Hanun, son of Nahash, sat uneasily on his throne. He was not his father's son in wisdom or in strength. When the emissaries came before him, they bowed low, presenting the gifts as custom demanded. Hanun said nothing. His fingers drummed on the arm of his chair. Around him sat his council, old men with crooked backs and snake bitten tongues. One leaned in and whispered through yellow teeth.

Narrator (5:41)

Do you see how they bow, my king? Spies wearing the masks of mortars. If David meant to honor you, he'd have stayed far from our gates. He sends these dogs to sniff our walls and weigh our weaknesses.

David (5:58)

Hannon's frown deepened.

Joab (6:01)

Spies? You think me blind, my lord?

David (6:07)

We mean no harm. We come in peace.

Joab (6:10)

Silence.

David (6:12)

Hanon snapped. He rose from his throne with the jerky rage of a child denied a toy.

Joab (6:18)

You wear fine cloaks and bear silver tongues, but I see through them. You've come to mock me, to measure my coffers and map my walls. I'll not be made a fool in my own hall.

David (6:32)

He clapped his hands. The guards came swiftly, swords drawn. David's men turned to flee, but they were seized before they could reach the doors. Hanun descended the steps of his throne. His eyes gleamed with cruelty.

Joab (6:49)

Strip them.

David (6:51)

The guards forced the emissaries to their knees before the court of Ammon. The men were held down with vicious glee. The guards carved through the right half of each beard, leaving the left untouched. A beard was more than hair. It was honor to mutilate. It was to brand a man a slave. But Hanun was not finished.

Joab (7:17)

Cut their robes from waist to knee.

David (7:20)

Steel meant cloth. The men's robes were slashed, bearing their nakedness. Bloodied and exposed, they were paraded through the streets of Rabbar. Stones were thrown, rotten food. Laughter. Hanun followed behind them, shouting so all might hear.

Joab (7:44)

These of tribute are over. I owe him nothing. Shave his beard, too.

David (7:56)

He spat in the dirt, and the gates of the city were thrown open. The messengers, half shorn and humiliated, were cast out into the dust. But they didn't return to Jerusalem. Too ashamed to show their faces, they hid in Jericho, nursing wounds deeper than flesh. The cottage near Jericho was small, tucked beneath the shadow of trees. It was twilight. Inside the hovel, David's four servants sat cloaked in shame. They had traded their torn garments for plain tunics, but nothing could cover the wound of humiliation. A man's beard was his dignity, and theirs had been sheared like sheep. Then came the knock, quiet at first, then firmer. The men froze. The door creaked open. They each drew their blades. A hooded figure stepped into the flickering firelight and pushed back his cowl.

Narrator (9:03)

Hello, my brothers.

David (9:05)

It was David. The blades dropped to the floor as the four men collapsed to their knees, eyes brimming. My king, forgive us.

Joab (9:16)

We've failed you.

David (9:18)

David shook his head, stepping forward with a face carved from sorrow.

Narrator (9:24)

You did nothing wrong. They mocked my name through you. This shame is not yours to carry.

David (9:32)

The men wept openly now, clutching at his robe. Then one spoke through clenched teeth. Hainan has raised a host, my lord.

Joab (9:43)

He says he will do to you.

David (9:45)

What he did to us. David's mouth curled slightly, though no joy touched his eyes.

Narrator (9:52)

Did he now?

David (9:54)

The King of Israel stood in silence for a long time. Then he turned back to the door.

Narrator (10:01)

Rest. Remain here until your beards grow back. None in Jerusalem shall see you dishonored.

David (10:09)

But know this. I have not forgotten.

Narrator (10:13)

Neither has the Lord.

David (10:15)

He turned to the door. Joab stood waiting beyond it, arms folded, sword on his hip, his wolfish grin faint beneath his beard. Told ya. You did. What do we do now?

Narrator (10:31)

I will not suffer the Ammonites a day longer. Gather the men. You and Abishai will march at the front. I'll pay my visit once you've breached.

David (10:41)

Joab bowed his head low, a satisfied glint in the his eye. It will be done. Joab and Abishai rode at the head of Israel's army. David watched them ride out from the eastern battlements. He said nothing. He had suffered much in his days. He had been the son no one counted, the bard whose songs were silenced. The warrior dismissed. The anointed hunted like prey. He had endured the scorn of giants, the wrath of madmen, and the loneliness of caves. But he had never, never tolerated harm to his own. Hanun, son of Nahash, had not merely insulted a king. He had laid hands on the sheep of the shepherd. And there is no fury like that of a shepherd when wolves come near. It was not yet dawn, and the eastern wind blew dry and hot across the valley of Medebah. In the grey light before the sun, Joab stood atop the ridge with 600 of David's finest. These were not boys who played at war. These were David's mighty men. Down below, the Syrians waited. They were mercenaries, paid in gold and blood, but gold buys only so much courage. Joab turned to his captains.

Joab (12:15)

We move on the horn. No quarter, no prisoners. Let them taste what David's hounds are made of.

David (12:23)

The ram's horn sounded and the line surged forward.

Joab (12:28)

Forward.

David (12:30)

The mighty men galloped into the valley, roaring as one. It was a stor, wild and screaming. The Sirians braced for it, but they.

Joab (12:42)

Weren'T ready for what came spears and shields.

David (12:48)

The line shifted, drawing into a triangular wedge, the sharpest point of it where Joab himself ran first into the storm. They crashed into the mercenary line with such fury that the earth itself seemed to groan. Steel clanged against bronze, wood splintered, and men screamed. The Syrians began to break. Joad's triangle formation stabbed through the line like a knife through red parchment.

Joab (13:18)

Drop spears. Swords out in unison.

David (13:22)

The spears were buried in bellies and throats. Then swords were drawn, short, curved, and eager for work. The formation opened into a half circle, surrounding the enemy like a ring of wolves.

Joab (13:38)

Forward. Slash.

David (13:41)

Each man advanced as one, slashing through the soldier's wall, then, stepping back, their shield blocked any retaliation.

Joab (13:51)

Second break.

David (13:54)

The men slashed again as one, failing more than 400 in one burst. Then they were back again.

Joab (14:01)

Shield. Ram.

David (14:04)

Each man stood shoulder to shoulder and pressed forward against the enemy, stabbing under and over as they advance. It was a calculated, gory, beautiful sight to behold. David's mighty men, under the command of Joab, were a unified weapon of slaughter. When nearly half the enemy had been cut down, Joab released them.

Joab (14:30)

Be free, boys. Attack. And don't hold back your fury.

David (14:36)

It was a brutal and terrifying slaughter. Blood soaked the valley floor. The Sirians tried to hold but they had no reason to die. Coins had bought them, not cause. They crumbled and their commanders shouted for retreat. They scattered like leaves in the wind. Not one of Joab's men had fallen. A mile south, nearer the city gates, the earth shook beneath the tread of Ammonite boots. Hanun rode at the head of his host, tall on a warhorse draped in black, his armor shot like oil.

Joab (15:18)

I want more than victory. I want shame. Drag them by their beards, strip them of their pride, break them and then slay them.

David (15:35)

Tens of thousands followed him. Well armed, well fed and overconfident, they thought the Syrians would press from the north. They thought the hammer would crush David's mighty men. Instead, Abishai came from the shadow of the hill. Abishai's company fell on them like fire in dry wheat. No horns, no warning. The blades of Israel sang as they struck. The Ammonites reeled. They fought back, but without momentum, without unity. Abishai struck fast and hard. The Ammonites faltered, clinging to the hope that the Syrians would turn the tide. But when Haran look and saw the mercenaries retreating in disgrace, his heart turned to ice.

Joab (16:26)

Retreat. Retreat. Back to the city. Into the gates. Run.

David (16:32)

Panic spread. The Ammonites fled in droves, throwing down spears and trampling each other to escape. Hanun disappeared behind the walls of Rabar, his voice lost among the screams. When Joab and Abishai returned to Jerusalem, they were bloodied, but with smiles. David met them in the hall of stone.

Narrator (16:59)

Report.

David (17:00)

The Ammonites ran. Not one of ours fell. The Lord has shown favor.

Narrator (17:07)

Let the record show Israel does not take humiliation lightly.

David (17:13)

Hanun hired the Syrians to fight alongside him. They ran, but only because they didn't expect such a showing from us. We've received word that King Hadezer of Syria is mobilized now against us.

Narrator (17:28)

The full force of Syria's army is not to be underestimated.

David (17:32)

Their commander, Shobar, is the most feared warrior in the East.

Narrator (17:37)

He's said to be a giant, like a liar.

David (17:41)

I guess it's good that the giants lair will be marching with us into battle. David stepped forward into the shallows of the Jordan. The river took him to the waist. It bit at his skin like steel, but he welcomed the cold. His ancestors had crossed the Jordan to win the Holy Land. But now David was crossing to keep it. The entire army had crossed, and there beyond the plain lay Helarm and the Syrian army. They were not scattered like the bands of Amalekites or drunken Philistine levies. No. The army of Hadadezer had come prepared for war. Rows of chariots stretched like a sea of iron across the field. Horsemen mounted on beasts clad in bronze. Drums beat slowly from within their ranks, the rhythm of a war machine too large to be turned. David and his commanders sat atop their horses at the crest of the hill. They looked down at the enemy below, a host twice thrice their size. Uriah shifted in his saddle. So many, it's as if every sword across the Euphrates has come to meet us. And it looks like a storm is approaching. David's eyes were fixed on the horizon, his face unreadable. The breeze toyed with his curls and rustled the hem of his cloak. We are the storm. He turned, his horse rising high in the saddle.

Narrator (19:17)

Take heart, my brothers.

David (19:19)

David's voice cried, his voice carrying across the plain like thunder.

Narrator (19:25)

We do not fight for gold or.

Joab (19:26)

Land, but for the name of the living God. We fight for his people and he fights for us.

David (19:34)

A roar rose behind him. Swords ran against shields. Hearts swelled with fire. And without another word, David drove his heels into his mount and surged forward headlong, straight to the teeth of the enemy. He rolled like a storm, his war cry ripping through the ranks. Behind him came the fury of Israel. The Syrians ran with veracity to meet them in the middle. The earth groaned beneath them as 40,000 Syrian horsemen surged toward them. David drew a deep breath, the world slowing for a moment. He was the king now. He didn't fight for survival, but for the pride of Israel.

Joab (20:23)

Charge.

David (20:25)

The king was the first to strike, his sword slashing through the skull of a Syrian horseman. He swung through the battle like a fire through dry brush.

Joab (20:37)

Don't relent. Not until you secured the future of your children. Fight, my brothers. Fight.

David (20:45)

Uriah was beside him, protecting David's flank. The enemy surged on every side. David, still on horseback, drove through the Sirians into the center of the fray. Through the haze, David stood, a tower of a man in a cloak of hammered bronze. It was Shobat, commander of Syria. He looked like a mountain with a sword. David rolled furiously, but apparel hit his horse's thigh, sending David flying through the air. He hit the earth hard. The breath ripped from his lungs. Before David could rise, a boot like a battering ram slammed into his ribs and hurled him like a stone. He spun, tumbled, rolled, and coughed blood. The strike came from Shobar, the king of rats. Shobar's blade fell like lightning down on David. The king rolled, just barely. The steel buried itself in the dust beside his head. David Scrambled to his feet, sword in hand, and faced him. The tomb circled.

Joab (21:57)

I'll feed your carcass to my crow.

Narrator (22:03)

I've heard threats like that from giants larger than you. Let's see if you meet the same fate, shall we?

David (22:09)

Shobach charged and struck again, One blow to David's shield, then two, three, each one like a hammer. David parried and dodged, sweat stinging his eyes, his arms trembling from the sheer force of the blows. He couldn't win by strength, so he waited. Shobach kept swinging. With the force of 10 men behind his arm, David parried. Ro stood back and watched. Shobach came again, sword sweeping wide. David ducked under and rolled behind, eyes searching, neck, back, side, armor everywhere. Iron upon iron. But there's the opponent. David saw the narrow space just beneath Shobach's helm. David stepped back and pulled his sling from his belt. His fingers were numb and his breathing was ragged. He placed the stone, wound the leather tight, and spun. Shobar raised his blade to charge. David copped his hips, rolled his shoulders back, and released the sling. The stone whistled through the air. It struck his cheek with a crack like splitting timber. The commander stumbled, hand to his cheek, dazed. David didn't wait. He was already moving, already shouting as he jumped and drove his blade downward into the seam of chain and flesh. The sword sank deep into Showback's sternum. Showback gasped, shuddered, then fell. His mouth hit the dust. His helm rolled from his head. David staggered back, panting, blood dripping from his jaw, his blade, his boots. He looked to the sk and let out a cry of victory, a cry like thunder, a cry that sent fear rippling through Syria's ranks. Israel surged around him, emboldened by their king's fury. The Sirians broke their lines, shattered their will collapsed, they turned and fled, thousands of men abandoning swords, shields, and pride as they ran for their lives. By nightfall, the kings of the east had bent the knee. They sent word of peace. Trembling before the man who had slain their commander and scattered their armies, David the shepherd king returned to Jerusalem not just as a warrior, but as a legend made flesh.

Yael Eckstein (25:06)

As we've seen over and over and over again as we've traveled with the chosen people. Our Bible heroes aren't always perfect, and we see that again in today's story. King David sent his messengers on a condolence call to the new king of Ammon upon the death of his father. And it was a congratulations call from one king to another on assuming rulership. But by doing so, King David neglected the commandment in the Torah to not extend kindness to the nation of Amon forever. Now. This commandment was given because of the Ammonites mistreatment of the chosen people as we trudged through the desert after the exodus from Egypt, Moses offered to buy bread and water from the Ammonites, but they refused to sell it to the Israelites. Our sages warn that being compassionate to evil people often leads us to not have compassion for the good people. This is a very important lesson for the chosen people then and in Israel today. And I think that it's an important lesson for all of us as this spiritual warfare is growing. If a nation continues to do evil things to us, then showing compassion towards them is a misplaced mercy, which they interpret not as compassion, but as weakness. But there's another lesson in today's story. Humiliation can sting as deeply as any wound, sometimes even deeper. Why is it that when we are mocked, our very sense of self begins to unravel, even if we haven't been attacked physically? There are so many people around the world who would try to belittle God's chosen people today. Many people who, through their words and their actions, make the same statement. Israel doesn't belong here. There's no place in the world for a Jewish homeland. But in the Bible, as is the same today, those who look to disgrace and defeat the chosen people ultimately find themselves on the losing end. Nelson Mandela once said, you mustn't compromise your principles, but you mustn't humiliate the opposition. No one is more dangerous than one who is humiliated. That could have been written about the king of the Ammonites, couldn't it? About the men who whisper venom in the ears of kings? About any of us, really, when we let fear drive us to disgrace others. But in today's story, David shows us a different path. He protects the shamed. He allows time for healing. And when it's time to respond, he does so with strength, not cruelty. He doesn't mirror the world's behavior. He rises above it. So what about you? Have you ever felt the sting of shame? Have you ever been misunderstood, mocked, or made to feel small? If you have, then this message is for you. Your value is not decided by those who insult you. It's decided by the one who made you. If you've been hurt, if you've been humiliated, let the story of David remind you, restoration is real. God sees, he knows, and he is not idle. He will act in his time, in his way, and it's always for your good.

Production Team (28:46)

You can listen to the chosen people with Yael Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey.com app today. This prey.com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellevager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People with Yael Eckstein. Edited by Alberto Avila Narrated by Paul Caltofiano. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Jr. Rosanna Pilcher and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith Written by Aaron Salvato, Bree Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin Van Etten, Caleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more prey.com productions on the prey.com app available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed the Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.

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