Occasionally someone in scripture makes a huge mistake. In I Chronicles 19, an Ammonite king named Hanun commits such a blunder.
Hanun's father Nahash died, leaving the kingdom to his son. David, out of respect, sent a delegation of his men to Hanun to express his sympathy. Hanun and his advisors, however, took the visit by David's ambassadors not as a friendly gesture of compassion, but as a sinister attempt to spy out their kingdom in advance of an attack. They decided to send a message back to David. "So Hanun seized David's servants, shaved them, cut off their garments in the middle at their hips, and sent them away" (vs. 4). Oops.
It doesn't take long for Hanun to realize that he had just ticked off a powerful king by humiliating his delegation. He recruits mercenaries from the Arameans to come fight against Israel with him. Unfortunately for both the Arameans and the Ammonites, God is with his people, and the Israelites emerge victorious from a series of battles. David's victory is so complete that it breaks the alliance between his enemies. "So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites any more" (vs. 19).
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