Once
Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines
when
the entire Israelite army had fled.
He killed
Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword,
and
the Lord gave him a great victory that day.
The
rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder!
2 Sam. 23:9-10, NLT
Ever get tired
of doing the right thing? Ever feel like you’ve fought against the evil one until
you can’t even raise your sword anymore? The enemies of God are plentiful –
lies, deceit, hatred, abuse, ignorance, apathy, laziness, greed…they surround us
from everywhere to attack our faith and destroy the effectiveness of the Good News
of Christ. Some of those enemies even rise up from inside our ranks, and inside
our own hearts and minds. It takes
stout determination to keep fighting. Battle fatigue is a reality, if you’re
really serious about living the Christian life.
Sometimes
we feel like we’re the only ones
standing for what’s right. Other believers may be distracted, uncommitted, or only
interested in showing up to collect the blessings during times of celebration or worship. They are like Eleazar’s
fellow soldiers who didn’t show up until it was time to collect the plunder.
The Bible doesn’t
say too much about him, but I like Eleazar. He didn’t give up until the job was
done. He fought till he couldn’t fight anymore, and God gave him victory.
Apparently he didn’t worry too much about what the other guys were doing.
There’s no word of him complaining that the rest of the army ran away and left
he and David to do all the fighting. He wasn’t even resentful when they came
back to collect rewards.
My guess is
that Eleazar wasn’t in the battle for the goods, or the fame, or how buff he
would get wielding his sword. I think he fought the way he did because he loved
his king; he loved his people; and he wasn’t willing to give even one inch of
ground to the enemy. No matter what the cost, what the odds - no matter how
tired he got.
That’s the
kind of soldier I want to be for the Lord. I want to stand with my King, even
if all others run from the battle, and fight until I am too weary to even raise
my sword, the Word of God. I will fight for love of our King; for love of the worldwide
body of believers; refusing the let Satan gain any ground. Through prayer and complete
abandonment to my Lord and Savior, I want to be victorious in my personal life,
for my family, for my church, and our community.
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