Beards, Tarry Until

II Samuel 10:1-5

1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.

2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

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It just happened that where I am in my Bible reading is where I am in relation to growing my beard … again. Those that know me know, if there’s anything I’ve been inconsistent with it’s been the growing of my beard.

I have a love hate relationship with beards —

I love them on others but not so much a fan on me. Why that is, I’m not sure. Part of it has to do with the “well-meaning” comments by others. Such as: You look 20 years older with that beard! Or, after I shave it off: You look, literally, 20 years younger! And so I ask, who wants to hear that on a constant basis? Not me.

But I hear some saying … What do you care what others say or think? I agree. But, that doesn’t make it any easier. Plus (along with enduring the comments) my face feels AWFUL pretty much all of the time when I have a beard. It doesn’t just itch, it hurts. And so, the longest I’ve had a beard is six months, twice.

A couple of weeks ago I started growing it again. I went two weeks and shaved it off. I had a good reason for doing that and I knew I was going to immediately start growing it again. But I’ve lost two precious weeks of growth. And now I find myself …

Tarrying until my beard grows out those lost two weeks.

Growing a beard is a consuming process. It takes time to grow a beard of substantial length that will not look unkempt and scraggly. But, it’s not just as simple as that … at least for me.

Once started upon the journey of beard growth and development, other things need to be considered. Like … beard oils and beard balms, of which there are tons from which to choose. — Which one works? Which one doesn’t work?? Which one smells good? Which one doesn’t?? And once that’s figured out, someone tells you about a product that works wonders for them. More to consider. More money to spend. GRRRRRR!!

So, I vacillate between wanting a beard and not wanting a beard. And just when I think I’m all set with not having a beard I end up reading about BEARDS in my devotions, like this morning.

But …

In spite of my negativity regarding my beard growth, I have learned a couple of things about myself.

First: I’ve always been “proud” that I could pretty much make myself do, or not do, something once I set my mind to it. (“Mind over matter” as my Mom would say.) The exception: The beard. It wins every time. At least that’s what I tell myself. Truth is, perhaps, I just give up and quit. And that might be OK if … I shaved it off after having gained the victory. But alas ….

Second: I’m not as patient as I always thought I was. That became very apparent after I realized I’d have to grow two weeks worth of beard again to catch up. That’s no big deal, I know. But, my impatience came to the fore. I don’t want to go through the “growth” process, period. I want the beard and I want it NOW!

Which got me to thinking …

God seems to have ordained the human experience to include the need for learning patience. The Bible repeatedly enjoins us to wait patiently … for numerous reasons. But primarily, God wants His children to learn patience because it’s in that battleground with self we learn our weaknesses and our need for Him to help us.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to learn to become more dependent upon Him, not less. It’s a lesson that we will learn over-and-over until the end of our lives. Like it or not, we’re just like Eve in the garden — we want the apple and we want it now.

Therefore, in love, our heavenly Father tailors specifics that will test us and, at the same time, draw us closer to Him. It doesn’t have to be big things. It doesn’t have to be bad things. It could be as simple as … growing a stupid beard.

What’s your “beard” issue?

We live in a world of instant everything. We no longer have to wait for much of anything. And why wait, it’s all right there for the grabbing? But, have we lost something along the way to instant gratification?

I trow so.

Waiting on God seems like such a foreign concept anymore among God’s people. Success is expected to come easily. Status is expected to come easily. Life is expected to come easily. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. (Link) Why Tarry … Until?

Bible growth and knowledge is expected to come easily. We don’t have to do the personal hard work of struggling with ourselves to ascertain what the Bible is saying in a difficult passage. We have a cornucopia of study Bibles, internet Bible commentaries, and online Bible teachers to help us skip over the growth process of doing our own due diligence. We don’t have to wait and grow in God’s time. We can speed up the process. Why Tarry … Until?

Through something as simple as growing a beard (and failing), I appreciate the fact that it keeps me humble and that it keeps pointing out my need to become increasingly more dependent upon God. I’ll try to remember that the next time I want to scratch my itchy beard! ;-)

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For those interested in the beard topic, I offer the following notes. (I have not attempted to edit or fix them. The bold highlights are mine.)

Notes on II Samuel 10:4-5 —

Adam Clarke -- “The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery. Cutting off half of the beard and the clothes rendered the men ridiculous, and made them look like slaves: what was done to these men was an accumulation of insult.”

John Gill -- “Wherefore Hanun took David's servants,.... His ambassadors: and shaved off one half of their beards; that is, he ordered them to be shaved off; than which a greater indignity could not have been well done to them and to David, whom they represented, since the Israelites shaved not their beards, and were very careful of preserving them; for had it been the custom to shave, they might have shaved off the other half, and then they would not have appeared so ridiculous; and with other people it has been reckoned a very great punishment as well could be inflicted, and as great an affront as could well be offered, to mar a man's beard, or shave it off in whole or in part. The Lacedemonians, as Plutarch relates, when any fled from battle, used, by way of reproach, to shave off part of their beards, and let the other part grow long; and with the Indians, as Bishop Patrick observes from an ancient writer, the king used to order the greatest offenders to be shaven, as the heaviest punishment he could inflict upon them; but what comes nearest to the case here is what the same learned commentator quotes from Tavernier, who in his Indian Travels tells us, that the sophi of Persia caused an ambassador of Aurengzeb to have his beard shaved off, telling him he was not worthy to wear a beard, and thereupon commanded it should be shaved off; which affront offered him in the person of his ambassador was most highly resented by Aurengzeb.”

Notes on beards —

Easton Bible Dictionary -- “The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Lev 19:27; 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel's (Eze 5:1-4) description of the "razor" i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used against the guilty nation of the Jews. It was a part of a Jew's daily toilet to anoint his beard with oil and perfume (Psa 133:2). Beards were trimmed with the most fastidious care (2Sa 19:24), and their neglect was an indication of deep sorrow (Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5). The custom was to shave or pluck off the hair as a sign of mourning (Isa 50:6; Jer 48:37; Ezr 9:3). The beards of David's ambassadors were cut off by Hanun (2Sa 10:4) as a mark of indignity. On the other hand, the Egyptians carefully shaved the hair off their faces, and they compelled their slaves to do so also (Gen 41:14).”

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia -- “Western Semites in general, according to the monuments, wore full round beards, to which they evidently devoted great care. The nomads of the desert, in distinction from the settled Semites, wore a clipped and pointed beard (see Jer 9:26: "all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness"; and compare 25:23; 49:32, etc.).”

Smith's Bible Dictionary -- “Western Asiatics have always cherished the beard as the badge of the dignity of manhood, and attached to it the importance of a feature. The Egyptians, on the contrary for the most part shaved the hair of the face and head, though we find some instances to the contrary. The beard is the object of an oath, and that on which blessing or shame is spoken of as resting. The custom was and is to shave or pluck it and the hair out in mourning (Ezra 9:3; Isaiah 15:2; 50:6; Jeremiah 41:5; 48:37 Baruch 6:31;) to neglect it in seasons of permanent affliction (2 Samuel 19:24) and to regard any insult to it as the last outrage which enmity can inflict (2 Samuel 10:4). The beard was the object of salutation (2 Samuel 20:9). The dressing, trimming, anointing, etc., of the beard was performed with much ceremony by persons of wealth and rank (Psalm 133:2). The removal of the beard was a part of the ceremonial treatment proper to a leper (Leviticus 14:9).”