Don't retreat. Advance!

Scripture reference: 2 Samuel 23:8-12

What do you do in the face of opposition? Or when nothing seems to be going in the way you intended? I’d like to share with you some of the lessons that I’ve learned from some of David’s mighty men, who although having lived thousands of years ago, have surprisingly similar struggles and challenges that we might find relevant today. At first glance, the record of David’s mighty men might seem to be only a list of boring, hard to pronounce, names. However, their exploits have been recorded in the Bible for us to dig out the lessons which God desires for us as believers to apply in our walk with Jesus.

The two men in this passage who stood out to me were Eleazar and Shammah. First, Eleazar’s approach to battling with the Philistines was certainly unique. Even when his hand grew tired, it seemed to stick to his sword! Imagine that! Fighting against the enemy (our spiritual enemies) is never easy and can be very tiring. Eleazar refused to give up or give into the temptation of throwing down his sword and walking away. He still continued to hold onto the sword and persevere in faith. He defied the Philistines. When the enemy came at him, Eleazar did not stand back and let the enemy walk all over him. He went forward! As followers of Jesus, how much more must we hold onto the Sword of the Spirit (the word of God)! The only way we can walk is to go forward and never to retreat. We do not have an armour to protect our back. Only by going forward will you conquer. The passage repeats a phrase twice: “the Lord gave them great victory.” Eleazar fought until when the rest of the Israelite army returned, there was nothing left to do but for all the men to plunder. Eleazar trusted God to help him to overcome the enemy. In the natural realm, it would’ve looked like utter stupidity. One man versus an entire army. How on earth is it possible for one man to defeat the highly skilled Philistines with all their latest iron chariots and weapons? In fact, the Philistines were the people who didn’t allow the Israelites to own any iron weapons or sharpen their weapons. The only metal workers were Philistines. (See 1 Sam 13:21) But it was not only Eleazar. It was Eleazar plus God against the Philistine army. And the Israelites won.

The next mighty man I’d like to focus on is Shammah. This man made a stand in the middle of the field while fighting against the Philistines. I found it significant that they recorded him standing in a field of lentils. Maybe he was fighting for a food source that the Israelites spent many months tending to and the Philistines might have launched a surprise attack to raid their food supplies. No detail is left out by the Bible. I think that there could possibly be another reason why the “field of lentils” is so important. This might have been recorded down in the eternal word of God for everyone to read about the legacy that Shammah left behind. God records down all the battles that we take and where we fight. He writes down how we fight. For Shammah, it must have taken much courage to stand up against a well-trained army. Whenever Shammah looked at lentils for his dinner, he would immediately remember the victory God had brought him. And since God had helped him in the past battle, he might have found it easier to trust God for the next battle. Like Eleazar, he made a stand when the army retreated. He went on the defensive when the enemy was trying to take away the promises God gave to the Israelites (the fruit of the Promised Land). He did not shrink back.

Remember your previous battles and remember how God came through for you last time. May I encourage you to go forward no matter how hard the circumstances of life may seem to be for you. Let us be believers of faith who do not shrink back from the promises of God but instead fight with the Word of God and persevere in prayer. God desires us to stand firm on the victory that Jesus has already won for us. We are always on the winning team and are born to win. There is no room for us to retreat when we are surrounded by the One who fights for us.

One day, you might find yourself reading the details of your own battles against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the book where God records the victories of those who overcome.