When Men were Men
Day 2 of our trip to the northeast started out in Louisville, Kentucky. We drove about an hour from our motel near Jasper, Indiana, to attend the Midwest Church of Christ. Some of the friendliest folks you would ever care to meet and a congregation filled with the Spirit and certainly not afraid to let the preacher know that they agreed with what he preached. From there, we went downtown to the Louisville Slugger factory, where they make bats for the major leaguers. At the factory/museum, they had a display showing some of the bats used by former big leaguers and current hall-of-famers. What struck me is that the bats of legends like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth were considerably heavier than the ones used by players today. Ted Williams, the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, swung a 42 ounce bat. The last bat ordered by Babe Ruth weighed 52 ounces! It took “real men” to swing that kind of lumber.
David of the Old Testament hung out with a different kind of “real men”. 2 Samuel 23 finds David and his army encamped in a stronghold in a cave in the Valley of Rephaim. Verses 8-17, tells us a story of David's mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, who slew 800 Philistines, Eleazar son of Dodai and Shammah son of Agee, who both took on the Philistine Army single handedly. But their physical strength and prowess are not what made them mighty men. David longed for a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem. “So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David.” (Verse 16).
Wow! What an act of sevanthood! Because of their love for David, and their dedication to the Lord, they did the unthinkable. They left the safety and security of their stronghold and fought their way through the garrisons of the Philistine army, all to bring their leader a cool drink of water. Not because David commanded it (or even dropped some really big hints), but simply because he longed for it.
Maybe it is not the strength of a person’s arms or back, or their skill with weapons or tools, or their stamina, or knowledge, or wisdom, or desire, that make them mighty in God’s eyes. It is the size of their heart, and the strength of their love, and the depth of their devotion, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for needs of others that God holds in high esteem.
Lord, help me to become the mighty man that you long for me to be.
David of the Old Testament hung out with a different kind of “real men”. 2 Samuel 23 finds David and his army encamped in a stronghold in a cave in the Valley of Rephaim. Verses 8-17, tells us a story of David's mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, who slew 800 Philistines, Eleazar son of Dodai and Shammah son of Agee, who both took on the Philistine Army single handedly. But their physical strength and prowess are not what made them mighty men. David longed for a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem. “So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David.” (Verse 16).
Wow! What an act of sevanthood! Because of their love for David, and their dedication to the Lord, they did the unthinkable. They left the safety and security of their stronghold and fought their way through the garrisons of the Philistine army, all to bring their leader a cool drink of water. Not because David commanded it (or even dropped some really big hints), but simply because he longed for it.
Maybe it is not the strength of a person’s arms or back, or their skill with weapons or tools, or their stamina, or knowledge, or wisdom, or desire, that make them mighty in God’s eyes. It is the size of their heart, and the strength of their love, and the depth of their devotion, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for needs of others that God holds in high esteem.
Lord, help me to become the mighty man that you long for me to be.
posted by Carl Wheeler at 2:43 AM
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