From Jerusalem to Amman is about 60 mi (100 km) east, with the Jordan River at the halfway point.
Amman, capital of the kingdom of Jordan, began as a settlement on a small triangular plateau in the foothills of the Ajl?n Mountains. Also called Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon (meaning “Great Ammon”), in the 3rd century BC it was conquered and renamed Philadelphia by Egypt’s King Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Philadelphia was a city of the Decapolis and may have been visited by our Lord (Mk 7:31; see Mt 4:25; Mk 5:20). Here the Ammonites lived, offspring of Lot. They had often been a thorn in Israel’s side, but in the days of Saul, Ammon’s king Nahash threatened to attack Jabesh Gilead. In his first show of strength, Saul’s army attacked the Ammonites, slaughtering and scattering them (1 Sam 11:11). When Saul turned his fury on David, Nahash apparently concluded that the enemy of his enemy was his friend, and, David testified, “Nahash…showed kindness to me” (2 Sam 10:2). But Nahash had died, and his son Hanun ruled in his place. Befitting ongoing friendly relations, David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash,” and so “David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father” (v 2). It didn’t go well. It’s a spy mission, said his princes. They determined not only to reject, but humiliate, David’s emissaries. In the Middle East, a beard is one’s manhood; they shaved off half the Israelites’ beards so they would be forced to shave the other half, and trimmed their clothes to the point of indecency. When David heard, he got their message. Mount up, men! Let’s give Amman our response. When people seek to shame us as believers, don’t take it personally. It’s Jesus they hate. What to do? Answer with your trusty gospel sword. It gets them right in their heart.