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Context No. 2222 of 4322 · 2 Samuel

Context · Reflection

2 Samuel 21:15-22: in context

15The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint; 16and Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of bronze in weight, he being armed with a new sword, thought he would kill David. 17But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “Don’t go out with us to battle any more, so that you don’t quench the lamp of Israel.” 18After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giant. 19There was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite’s brother, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20There was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on every hand and six toes on every foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was born to the giant. 21When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, killed him. 22These four were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

In another war with the Philistines, David, once the young giant-slayer, goes down to fight, but now he grows faint and weary. A Philistine giant, seeing his weakness, thinks to kill him. But Abishai comes to David's aid, strikes down the giant, and saves the king. Afterward, David's men make him swear not to go out to battle with them anymore, lest, they say, you quench the lamp of Israel. The one who once fought alone now needs rescue, and is asked to let others carry the battle.

There is a poignant humility in this scene. David had been the giant-killer, the one who struck down Goliath in his youth, the hero who fought at the front. But now he grows faint; his strength is not what it was; a giant nearly kills him, and he must be rescued by another. And his men, loving him, ask him to step back from the front lines, to let them fight, lest he be lost. The mighty warrior must accept his limits, receive help, and let others carry on the battle he once led. It is the humbling recognition that our strength wanes, and that we must, in time, accept help and let others take up the work. This speaks to a passage many of us come to. There is a time when our strength is not what it was, when we can no longer do what we once did alone, when we must accept help and let others carry on the work. And this can be hard to accept, especially for those who were once strong, capable, at the front. Pride can make us cling to what we can no longer do, refuse help, insist on carrying on alone as we once did. David's story shows a better way: to accept the rescue when we grow faint, to receive the help of others, to let them carry the battle, recognizing our limits rather than denying them. Two are better than one, the Preacher says; if one falls, the other will lift him up. There is no shame in accepting help when our strength wanes, or in letting others take up the work we once carried alone. This searches how we handle the waning of our strength and the need for help. Do we accept our limits, receive the help of others, and let them carry on, as David let Abishai rescue him and his men take up the battle? Or do we, in pride, refuse help and cling to what we can no longer do? Bear one another's burdens, Paul says; and part of that is being willing to have our burdens borne when we can no longer carry them alone. This calls us to the humility of accepting help and letting others carry on. David, grown faint, was rescued by Abishai and asked to let his men fight; and we too are called, when our strength wanes, to accept help rather than cling in pride to what we can no longer do, to let others take up the work, and to receive with humility the support of those who would carry on the battle we once led alone.

When my strength wanes and I can no longer do what I once did alone, do I accept help and let others carry on the work, or do I cling in pride to what I can no longer do, refusing the help I need, and can David, once the giant-slayer, who grew faint and was rescued by Abishai and asked to let his men carry the battle, move me to the humility of accepting help when my strength fails and letting others take up the work, receiving support rather than clinging to what I can no longer carry alone?

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