Frozen to the Handle – A Warrior’s Fight
A focal part of this whole blog is found in verse 9, where it says that the Israelites retreated but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. Wow, what a warrior. This is literally fighting to the point that your muscles in your hand make an unbreakable grip to the handle of the sword. He did not lose his grip when he grew tired. His hand became one with his sword and he fought on. Now, that is a warrior. If his story was written today in a movie, they would call him a super hero and Marvel and D.C. comics would be fighting to get him on their side to sell more movies and comic books. This is not some movie character. Eleazar is real!!!
As you can see God put great warriors around his favored one, King David, and those great warriors gave their lives for the Lord. These warriors were so mighty that when David said, “I am thirsty” they broke through the Philistines lines and got a drink for their King. These guys loved King David and their commitment to God using him was beyond compare. THEY BELIEVED!! When we speak of ourselves in today’s lingo we use words to describe ourselves. Words like believers. But, do we truly know what it means to be so totally sold out to the King of Kings? To be a warrior for Jesus is to be one who is willing to fight when all others fall back. To continue to preach the Sword of God, the Bible, to the point that even though we are tired, our life becomes frozen to the Word of God, and we become one with this great sword of truth. Part of the lack of commitment to the gospel is our lack of commitment to God’s Word. God has called us to be His warriors and to take up the sword He has fashioned for us, the Bible.
Like Eleazar we must stand when others fall away. We must continue to fight the good fight 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Protect and value the Word of God and let it be your Sword of battle in a world that has no idea how strong our Lord’s Word is. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Be a warrior and stand strong, for our Lord is going before us defeating all enemies as He goes, but we are part of the battle and we must not fall back, but advance with His Word going before us. We are in a warrior’s fight and it is time to attach the sword, The Word of God, to our hearts and fight on!!!
The Pilgrimage continues….’
David Warren