Facing Giants (Part 2)
“These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. 9. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: 10. He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil” (II Samuel 23:8 – 10).
“We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.”
Chapter 23 of II Samuel gives a list of David’s mighty men. It is a thrilling chapter and always inspires me as I study these individuals. In verses 9 and 10, we see a man named Eleazar. His courage and persistence is a challenge to us as we face our giants. Let’s notice a few things from his example.
First, notice that it simply states in verse 10 that he “arose.” This is an important step in facing our giants. In the previous verse, all the others had either run away or were done with the battle. Not this mighty Eleazar. He understands the error of defeat and he arises to the challenge. This is one of the first steps that we must take in facing our giants—we must take action. We can not sit idly by and let the devil have his way in our lives, in the lives of those in our family, and in the lives of those around us that we influence.
Secondly, he did not just arise, but he smote. When facing a giant, we must face the giant with courage, determination, and persistence. Eleazar was probably influenced by the King that he served, King David. Stories of David charging after Goliath when the others in the army sat in fright more than likely inspired Eleazar to go after the enemy with “gusto.”
Third, this passage says that he smote the enemy until his hand was weary and clave unto the sword. This gives the idea that he was not going to quit. Many a person today has in their hands a TV remote, a video game controller, or some form of recreation. This man’s hand was knitted to his weapon of battle. Does this bring some imagery to your mind? It does to me and encourages me to be a man that spiritually has his hand conformed to my weapon, the Word of God. May it be said of members of Fairhaven Baptist Church that we are a people who know our weapon, and it is always in our hand.
Last, this man’s courage is an encouragement to us. Eleazar wrought a great victory. God does not grant victory if we are not willing to be earnest and steadfast in the fight. It may be that your giant is getting the best of you because you have become weary in the race. Stay at the fight and face your giant. God is in the business of taking down giants!