But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the LORD brought about a great victory. – 2 Samuel 23:12

Today's Scripture Reading (September 30, 2022): 2 Samuel 23

In 1812, with a peace treaty with Britain in his pocket, Napoleon decided to invade Russia. It wasn't one of his best decisions. The Russians knew they didn't have a chance to win against Napoleon by directly confronting his army in combat. Instead, they retreated, burning the earth as they withdrew from an area. That meant that the Russian military left nothing behind that could be used by the French to support their army as they advanced into Russian territory. Everything the French soldiers would need to survive as they ventured further and further away from France had to be brought in through the supply lines from home, which would slow the army's advance into enemy territory. To supplement their burning strategy, the Russians used light cavalry to attack the fringes of the French military indirectly in what we would likely call Guerilla warfare today.

But the tactic didn't just hurt the French but also any Russians living in the area. They would have to be evacuated as well because if the strategy was to work, there was nothing that could be left after the Russian Army retreated on which even the local Russians could live. If anything were left, Napoleon's army would have taken it. It wasn't a popular strategy, even from the point of view of the local Russian peasants, but it was a strategy that worked. The Russians retreated for three months before Napoleon decided to leave Russian territory. And by that time, Russian winter was setting in, making Napoleon's retreat from Russia even harder than his advance.

One of David's mighty men was Shammah, the son of Agee. And Shammah's claim to fame was that he was part of a fighting force that met the Philistines in battle, a battle that apparently took place at harvest time when the field was full of lentils. Israel's army retreated from the battle, but unlike the retreat of the Russians during their fight with Napoleon, this did not appear to be a strategic retreat. As they left, they had to know that the Philistines would take the lentils. They could have burned the field to ensure the prize didn't fall into Philistine hands. But instead, Shammah decided to stay and defend the field. I might not be sure of the wisdom of the decision, but it might reflect the importance of the field as a form of nutrition for the people living in the area.

Whether it was a wise decision or not, God honored Shammah's decision, and Shammah defeated the Philistines among the lentils. Shammah may have provided the courage, but the writer of Samuel is clear that it was God who provided the victory. And maybe that is a lesson that we all need to learn. If we are willing to give our courage in front of those who oppose God in this world, then God just might provide the victory for which we are looking.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 108