Was reading 2 Samuel 23 this morning. The second half of the chapter talks about David's Mighty Men. These guys didn't mess around and it is encouraging to read about men of courage! I have read an entire book on Beniah, one of the men mentioned in this chapter several years ago called "In a pit with a lion on a snowy day" by Mark Batterson. That is a great account of courage and masculinity at its finest, but it is not the part of the chapter that stuck out to me today.
Today I read about Eleazar, who in a battle with the Philistines stood his ground. When the Philistines attacked the Israelites retreated, but the Bible says that Eleazar stood his ground. So, if you picture this you see that the enemy is coming at you, which is frightening enough, but then you look to your right and your left and you see your fellow Israelites running away.
Eleazar had a choice to make. The natural thing to do would be to retreat with the rest of the Israelites, but something inside of him caused him to make a different choice. As I said before the Bible records that Eleazar stood his ground. You might think Eleazar just wanted to die an honorable death, but it appears he had no intention of dying! Eleazar seems to have killed all of Philistines on his own! It says to fought so long his hand was frozen to the sword, as in he was gripping that sword so hard, for so long his joints kind of locked up and he couldn't loosen his grip. It doesn't say how many he killed but the context of the story seems pretty clear that the odds were not in his favor! We need more men like Eleazar today.
It was not "wise" for him to stay and fight. We have lots of wise sayings and philosophies that lead us to peace and safety. The phrase "live to fight another day" is one of them. Good thing Eleazar didn't follow that one. I'm certainly not throwing wisdom out the door, but I think we need a little less wisdom and little more bravery. Or maybe it is better said, a little less wisdom that is self centered and all about avoiding any risk.
Eleazar defied the odds, and that is what makes him great. Something inside of us loves a story like this. It is inspiring! As of this writing I don't see this physical battle scenario unfolding in my life. But you never know. What I do see though is a culture war, where Gods ways are under attack. So much so, that I much our society retreating as the ways of the enemy are main stream now. Do we retreat? Do we just go with the flow? Or do we stand our ground like Eleazar? God is looking for Eleazars to not be shaken. To stand their ground. To stand for what is right and not be intimidated by what seems to be a battle we are not going to win. The odds are always on your side when you are aligned with God. Stand strong!
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