I love leftovers…usually! Jen’s a great cook, so we eat well. And having leftover tacos like this is great. But we’ve all probably dug some forgotten leftovers out of the back of the fridge and fearfully opened the container before being grossed out by moldy food. Sometimes leftovers just won’t cut it!
God offers real help, real hope, and real salvation. Everything else is just leftovers, and not the good ones!
1 Chronicles 19:1-3 says, “Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father…But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?” They mistreat David’s men and kick them out. I guess I can understand the lack of trust, but that’s an awful way to treat someone who’s just trying to help!
But then things got even worse when the children of Ammon looked for help…in all the wrong places.
Verse 6 says, “And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syriamaachah, and out of Zobah.”
Notice how Israel viewed the battle knowing they had real help: “Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight.” (1 Chronicles 19:13).
They knew Who was in control. They knew they had real help and didn’t have to scrape together whatever leftover help they could find.
And Israel went on to win the battle they didn’t even start.