There Was Again a Battle
2 Samuel 21:15-22
Intro: In this passage, we find a great example of one of life’s simple truths. There will always be another battle.
We just witnessed one of the greatest victories in our lifetime.
The Supreme Court of the United States just ruled that Roe v. Wade is an unconstitutional ruling.
Now states will have the opportunity to ban abortions in their states.
We can rejoice this morning over this victory.
Almost 50 years of murdering babies later, we can rejoice in a victory.
But – we cannot relax. We cannot sit down. We cannot stop fighting.
There will always be another battle.
I. The Persistence of the Battle
- vs. 15 – “…the Philistines had yet war again with Israel…”
- vs. 18 – “…there was again a battle with the Philistines…”
- vs. 19 – “…there was again a battle with the Philistines…”
- vs. 20 – “…and there was yet a battle…”
The battle was in different places.
The battle was with different faces.
But there will always be another battle.
It doesn’t matter how many battles you have fought, there will always be another one.
There will never be a day that we can sit down and retire from the battle.
The battle will come to you. – see vs. 15 “…the Philistines had yet war again with Israel…”
Keep one thing in mind: Goliath has family.
Goliath had brothers. Goliath had sons.
Just because you’ve killed a Goliath doesn’t mean the battle is over!
There are giants everywhere.
Notice:
A. The Will of the Giants – vs. 16 “…thought to have slain David.”
The giants have one thought – kill you.
They hate you and everything you stand for.
B. The Weapons of the Giants – vs. 16 “…he being girded with a new sword…”
This giant was emboldened because it had a new weapon; one that the Israelites had never seen before.
Satan will always be pulling new weapons out of his arsenal.
C. The Weirdness of the Giants – vs. 20 “….on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes.”
We will see things in this battle that we’ve never seen before.
Things that are unnatural; abnormal; unprecedented.
We need to be prepared to fight it regardless of its novelty.
II. The Pressures of the Battle
The Bible says that David “waxed faint.” – vs. 15
David was a warrior, and a fighter.
A. Daily Fight
He didn’t get tired doing what he did best. Or did he?
There is an indescribable exhaustion that comes from fighting every single day.
No rest; no break; no vacation – just war and fighting non-stop.
But that was not all.
David was dealing with a lot of emotional pressure WHILE he was fighting.
There were programs running in the background that in and of itself were enough to stop most people.
Why was David so weary?
I believe it was the result of several elements: not just the battle itself.
It is possible that David’s fainting was a result of:
B. Devastating Famine
- 2 Samuel 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD.
C. Disappointing Failures
- 2 Samuel 21:1 … And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
David was dealing with famine because God was judging them for the past mistakes of the previous administration.
The Gibeonites had made a pact with Israel in Joshua 9 to escape destruction.
The nation of Israel was bound to honor that treaty.
But in disobedience, Saul slew the Gibeonites according to verse 1.
So God was judging Israel for the disobedience of Saul.
Many times, we can wax faint when we see the failures and disobedience of those we look up to and respect.
Their acts of defiance and compromise can take a toll on God’s people.
Seeing people around you that know better doing the wrong thing can be exhausting mentally and spiritually.
D. Demoralizing Funerals – vs. 8-14
David had just buried seven innocent men.
And he had to retrieve the stolen bones of Saul and Jonathan and bury them.
There is nothing more taxing on Christians today than to see their comrades falling in battle.
Seeing people quit on God, get out of church, fall into sin, turn to the world – it is enough to make us all “wax faint.”
III. The Partners in the Battle – vs. 17
The Bible tells us that Abishai “SUCCOURED HIM.”
SUCCOUR: to support; to help
Good thing he had people around him to help him when it got bad.
NOTE: Abishai – first mentioned in 1 Samuel 26:6
Willing to kill Saul to protect and defend David.
Didn’t need to strike twice.
Good thing David surrounded himself with fighters.
Good thing David had taken time to train and invest in others.
There came a day when he needed them.
There came a day when the Warrior man was a Weak man.
There came a day when the Fighting man became a Faint man.
He needed help; he needed to be rescued.
Taught by Joab to watch each other’s back.
2 Samuel 10
- 9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians:
- 10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.
- 11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.
- 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.
One of the things that God showed me in this story is really quite simple: We need each other.
Whatever you do, don’t abandon the brethren during the battle.
I don’t care who you are, and how good of a fighter you are; we need each other.
The strength in numbers is a biblical truth.
Ecclesiastes 4
- 9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
- 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
- 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
- 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
The men surrounding David in verse 17 came to a realization – David cannot fight all these giants alone.
We must step up and we must fight or David won’t be around long!
It’s time for the younger generation to join the battle.
They realized that if David was the only one fighting giants, they wouldn’t have him around long.
They called David “the light of Israel.” Why?
- He showed them WHO to fight.
- He showed them HOW to fight.
- He reminded them of WHY to fight. “Is there not a cause?”
You need to stay close to the warriors and soldiers if you don’t want to become a casualty.
David, the giant killer, almost became a casualty.
David, the fighter, almost died at the hands of a giant.
David, the warrior, waxed faint and was vulnerable to attack.
If had hadn’t surrounded himself with other fighters, the light of Israel would have been extinguished!
You need the church!
You cannot fight the giants in your life alone!