Today’s
Scripture Reading (April 27, 2019): 2
Samuel 10
World War I American fighter ace, Eddie Rickenbacker, argued that
“courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you
are scared.” Going into a battle that you are sure that you can win does not
take courage. Courage is required only if
there is doubt about which way the battle
might go, or whether you will be able to survive the experience. Living life
takes courage because there are generally very few sure things. And I
have to admit that there have been things that I have left undone because I was
too scared to follow through. In our most honest moments, I think that that is
an experience that we all share.
Joab and his brother Abishai are preparing to go up against the
Ammonites who had become a threat to Israel. The Ammonites, realizing that they
had dishonored Israel and that Israel might respond to their actions with force,
had hired some mercenaries to help them in the coming battle. Joab planned to divide Israel’s forces with
part of the army facing the mercenaries and the rest of the army facing the heart of the Ammonite army.
And at this moment, Joab
takes time out to talk to his brother. Each brother is going to lead a separate
part of the army, and Joab wants to
outline the responsibility of each brother, but then he stresses three things
to Abishai. First, he tells him to fight bravely, or with courage. There is no
assurance of winning here. The two brothers were about to place themselves in
danger. Both brothers were afraid, but that did not change what it was that
they needed to do. The fight was necessary, and they needed to battle their
fear to carry out the mission.
Second, Joab stresses the reason why courage was needed. The people of Israel and the cities
were depending on what they were about to do. If they decided not to follow
through with the mission, if they allowed fear to stop them, it was these
people who would pay the price for their failure. Joab stresses that the fate
of the people must be at the forefront of their minds.
But third, Joab gave these words of assurance. “The Lord will do what is good in his sight.” Joab
and Abishai were responsible for planning
for the encounter, for fighting with
courage, and for remembering the people
that they served. But ultimately, the battle
was in the hands of God. I think Joab believed that if he did his part, and if the
cause was just, then God would move in
their favor.
And if we do our part and act
courageously, acting even though we are scared, and our cause is just, we hope that God will move in our favor.
I believe that he does.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 19
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