2 SAMUEL 10
David’s kindness to Mephibosheth was accepted, but his gesture of kindness to Hanun was rejected and led to the death of nearly fifty thousand men. Hanun’s counselors were suspicious of David and questioned his motives because they judged David on the basis of what they would have done.
The King’s servants are sometimes treated badly (Matt. 10:16ff.), but they need not fret: their King has everything in control, and some things heal with time. God cares for His own.
Verse 12 is a good illustration of the biblical balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. The same God who ordains the end (victory in battle) also ordains the means to the end (courageous men who do their job well). Faith and works must always go together.