THE THREE

I am fascinated with the little vignettes of a group of warriors in King David’s army known as “David’s mighty men.” There were thirty-seven warriors in this exclusive club who are introduced to us in 2 Samuel 23:8-39 and among them were the toughest of the tough, known as The Three.

At one time, when David was being hunted by Saul, The Three heard him say how much he liked the drinking water from a particular well near Bethlehem. The Three loved their leader, David, and wanted to bless him, so they took it upon themselves to break through the ranks of the Philistines and draw water from that well. When they brought the water back for David to enjoy, he was so overwhelmed by what they had done that he refused to drink the water. Instead, as an act of worship, “He poured it out to the Lord” (23:16-17).

Let me introduce you to The Three:

First, there was Josheb-Basshebeth, who killed eight hundred of the enemy in one encounter (see 23:8). Clint Eastwood, meet the real Dirty Harry!

And there was Shammah. Shammah fought a great battle, by himself, against the Philistines in the middle of a bean patch. A bean patch? Who cares about a field of beans? But this wasn’t just any field of beans—it belonged to the king, and this warrior gave up nothing that belonged to his sovereign! The Lord used his stand and his courage to bring a great victory (23:12).

The third member of “The Three” was Eleazar (23:9-10) and I don’t know why, but I feel particularly drawn to this man.

“And next . . . was Eleazar. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered . . . for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day” (2 Samuel 23:9-10, ESV).

In one sentence we learn three things about this warrior:

1.     “He rose”

When the others turned and ran from the enemy, Eleazar planted his feet and refused to move. He was not frightened or confused by the battle. You cannot “rise and stand your ground” if you don’t have ground to stand on. You cannot build a skyscraper if you do not have a solid foundation. It is incredibly important for every Christ-follower to have a strong foundation to their faith and then when the battle comes, and it will, you rise in faith, plant your feet, and say, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand and I’m not moving!”

2.     “He struck down the Philistines”

Eleazar engaged the enemy in battle and defeated them. He was not afraid of the battle—he used his weapons, and took the fight to the Philistines. We need to be thoroughly aware of all the weapons God has provided for us. Far too many believers today can only play one note on the piano. Some think that just knowing what our weapons are is enough. Many of these believers have never learned to war in the Spirit, never learned to be persistent in prayer, and never learned to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word.

After D-Day, June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army changed how they trained soldiers for combat. Why? Because they discovered that during the invasion, only 20 percent of combat soldiers fired their weapons at the enemy which means, of course, that 80 percent of the combat soldiers did not use the weapons they were carrying! I don’t think it’s much different in the church today; in fact, very likely well under 20 percent of believers are actually firing their God-empowered weapons at the enemy.

You cannot successfully battle the enemy if you don’t know what your weapons are and you don’t know how to use them!

3.     “His hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword” 

In the Hebrew, the word “clung” (this is sometimes translated “froze”) means that his hand adhered to the sword; it was permanently glued to the weapon. In several places this same Hebrew word is used for the welding of metals. This is a powerful picture of a fighting man who became one with his weaponry.

I have to wonder what people say about me when they view me from a distance. Do they say, “He’s a nice guy”? Or perhaps, “What a doofus!” Do I show them anything that mirrors my faith in Christ? Do they clearly see a Christ follower? The holiness movements of years past tried to make this happen through legalistic approaches to dress, personal grooming, and certain habits. I don’t think that’s the answer; that’s like dressing up a pig and calling it a lion.

I ask myself, “Is my life so intertwined with the life of Christ and the path of God’s plan for me that others see that in me? Have I become ‘welded’ to living the Christ-life or do I send out a confusing signal?”