When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maakah and Zobah. – 1 Chronicles 19:6

Today's Scripture Reading (June 6, 2022):  1 Chronicles 19

Diplomatic mistakes can be costly. When John Kennedy came to power in 1961, he inherited a plan for regime change in Cuba. The idea was to send a small group of mostly Cuban exiles to attack the Island nation and kill or send into exile the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. Kennedy inherited the plan, but he decided to go through with it. Making the situation even worse, Kennedy chose not to support the invasion with U. S. air power. The reality is that most historians really don't think that U.S. planes could have changed the outcome of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The soldiers sent to invade Cuba were ill-trained and ill-prepared for the well-entrenched Cuban military. But maybe the worst thing about the Bay of Pigs Fiasco was that it was a moment of embarrassment on the world stage at a moment in the Cold War when the United States was trying to project strength. The invasion's failure made it apparent that the United States was not up to the task of fighting against the powerful Soviet Union and was likely the single most relevant reason for the Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, happened in 1962. And it might just be luck that we did not experience the world's first nuclear war in late 1962 or early 1963.

David had sent his emissaries to Hanun and the Ammonites to strengthen the bond between the two nations in the Middle East. But Hanun wanted to make his own statement and decided to embarrass David's Ambassadors. He took the men captive, shaved off half of their beards, and then cut off their robes at the buttocks, an action that was designed to embarrass the ambassadors and their King, David.

The author of Chronicles argues, "when the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David." But it is hard to imagine that Hanun could have committed his aggression and insult against David's representatives and not understood that the action would make him "obnoxious to David." We don't know if Hanun understood how big a diplomatic blunder he had made with his treatment of Israel's ambassadors or if it was a plan or an attitude that he inherited from his predecessor. But we do know that the mistake was expensive. Hanun had to hire mercenaries to help defend his nation from Israel. And by arming himself, he may have furthered the diplomatic error because Israel would have no choice but decide that Hanun and the Ammonites were a threat to the nation. As a result, Israel was forced to ready its soldiers for a fight with the very neighbors that they had tried to greet in peace.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 20