David The Warrior
II Samuel 22
33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great.
37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.
38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.
40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.
41 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
————————————
There are a couple images of David that, for some reason, we have a difficult time reconciling.
First, his description: I Samuel 16 — The good looking shepherd.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
Second, his actions: I Samuel 17 — The killer shepherd: a lion, bear and Goliath.
32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. ——
David could play the harp and … kill too — when he had to. David had a tender side and a tactical side. The reality of both were in the same man. But although the Bible paints an exacting portrait of the true David, we can’t quite seem to come to terms with it.
Why?
That would take a while to reflect upon. Suffice it to say, briefly, the tactical David doesn’t always fit neatly into the present day portrayal of Christian manhood. Let me just come out and say it —
Normative Christianity has forsaken its fighting spirit in exchange for a metro, acceptably insipid, model of neutrality.
Our need today is for more men after the model and mold of David — the harp playing shepherd AND … the bow bending tactician. We need to resurrect the long mislaid vision of David the Warrior.
We can readily envision him sitting on some pastoral country side strumming a harp more so than him pulverizing his enemies to dust. The same hands that gently played a harp brutally crushed his enemies.
When faced with the hatred and wrath of his enemies, David didn’t fold, buckle under, or quit. Rather, he stood and fought back. Sure he had his weaker moments. But even then, with God’s help, he got up and kept going. He knew God was his strength and that any improvements or future victories would only come through Him (v.33).
The reality of David’s life is to be our reality as well …
He was hated.
He had enemies.
He wasn’t accepted by everybody.
He was, through it all, a man after God’s own heart.
And we, ourselves, need to learn to be OK with the same for ourselves. To hope otherwise is not realistic. It’s not the Biblical pattern, the Biblical norm.
——————————
We believers are facing an increasingly hostile citizenry. More-and-more we, because we view the world through the lens of Scriptural knowledge and truth, are looked at askance. We are getting marginalized , and ostracized, as a fringe of which to be wary. Biblical truths, that were once highly revered and respected, are now seen as obstacles to the ever decadent wishes and desires of our country and the world.
The truth is …
God, Yeshua, the Word of God, and the people of God are getting in the way … and people don’t like that. The lines are becoming glaringly distinct.
Therefore …
We need to take a page from David’s life as our rule of faith and practice. We have, in a nutshell, all we need as presented in chapter 22 of II Samuel. We just have to change our perspectives. We’re no longer in a time of peace — we never were, really. We simply allowed ourselves to live under said delusion.
No more …
We are being called upon to set up a line of defensive action in the struggle for Biblical truth. We need to move from strumming our harps to breaking bows of steel with our arms. We need to let God teach us to be men of war — the men of war He always meant for us to be. Furlough is over.
We have engaged The Borg.
——————————
Today, while pursuing the image of David The Warrior, I came across a podcast. Disclaimer: I don’t know much, at this point, about the podcast. But, I have to admit I liked what I saw. I’m going to give a link to it. Warning: it’s not going to be anything like what you might be expecting. But … I found it refreshingly honest and encouraging. The perspective, I believe, is pretty much spot on.
Click on this Link — Take the meat and leave the bone :-) —
We need men poised for war like David The Warrior. That’s my main point. That’s my hopeful purpose.
The Apostle Paul, a couple thousand years ago in Ephesians 6, gave us our orders. We’ve already signed up. We’ve gone through boot camp. It’s time for battle.
Our Orders:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;