1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.
2 Samuel 23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.
In 2 Samuel 23, we read the account of David’s mighty men. Many of them were with him when it was not safe, and they all did great and heroic things. Now, there are no heroes without an enemy. There are no enemies without some kind of trouble.
In 2 Samuel 23, we read about a man named Shammah. The Bible says of him in verse 11, “And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.” So the enemy gathered, then friends fled. Verse 12 says, “But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” What we can learn from this is that the might that matters cannot be found in the majority.
There are three things to notice about Shammah. First, he was outnumbered by foes. Second, he was outnumbered by fleeing friends. The third and most important thing about Shammah is that the Lord worked a great victory. So, he stood and the Lord gave victory. So was it Shammah that gained the victory or was it the Lord? The answer is yes. God gave the victory, but he gave it through Shammah.
Excerpted from a devotional written by Evangelist Wil Rice. You too may receive them 3 times a week and/or read his past articles at firstlight@billriceranch.org.
