January 25, 2007 - 'The Three'

Genesis1315

Ladies
'The Three'
By John Fischer

How would you like to have friends like this?

“These are the names of David’s mightiest men. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was commander of the Three – the three greatest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill eight hundred enemy warriors in a single battle.

Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendent of Ahoah. 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 …

Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines …

Once during harvesttime, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty – an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, ‘Oh how I would love some of that good water from the well in Bethlehem, the one by the gate.’ So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord. ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ he exclaimed. ‘This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.’ So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the Three.” (2 Samuel 23:8-17 NLT)

OK, so it was a kind of stupid thing to do. Still, wouldn’t you like to be in a group like this with three guys who believed they could pretty much do anything? It’s true that war creates its own camaraderie, but then, we’re at war, too – a spiritual war that is being waged over our souls and our spirits. We cannot make it alone. We need others to stand with us. It might be cool to take on these guys as inspiration for a small group of committed believers. You could call yourselves “the Three,” or “the Two,” or “the Four.” Whatever. Then be careful what you long for around your friends. They might just go out and make it come true!


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