NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Among David’s three chief mighty men stood Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the Israelites fled from the Philistines. But Shammah took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory. (2 Samuel 23.11–12).

When I travel from one big city to another, I’m struck by the sheer numbers of individuals and families. They are everywhere! And each one has a lifetime of stories and struggles, dreads and dreams, loves and losses. It’s mind-boggling for a finite human like me. I cannot comprehend!

God keeps track of all these humans, some of whom perform mighty deeds, some of whom turn darkly evil, some of whom He converts and saves. He knows them all by name.

I find comfort in knowing it’s not my job to keep track of everyone in the world. In fact, even as a shepherd of the church here in Mandeville, LA, it’s not my job to keep track of everyone in my congregation! I try, but it’s impossible. On Sundays I walk my neighborhood and pray for my congregation by name, and it’s always overwhelming to think of every person with his or her troubles and struggles, because we all have them, and God has not equipped me psychologically, emotionally, or physically to bear the burdens of everyone around me.

Praise God, He does!

However, God has equipped me to fight in my own plot of land. I cannot fight in every plot of land, but I can take my stand in the midst of my own plot and defend it. I can fight beside and for the people to my left and right, front and rear. This is all God has called me to do.

On the one hand, God has called me to fight in His army, and to fight hard. On the other hand, he only expects me to fight the enemies immediately around me. If I make this my focus, I will do well.

If I don’t take up the sword in my own home, I lose. If I don’t engage the enemy in my workplace, I lose. If I don’t fight the spiritual forces of darkness in my own town, I lose. Some people, such as emperors, governors, presidents, etc., can affect the world stage in some ways. But most of us are simply given a plot of land to defend.

There is plenty of fighting to do on my plot of land.

And if I fight hard for Him, I could still be numbered among God’s mighty men.

Warriors harden themselves against the reality of their own imminent death as they take the battlefield. They intend victory, but they understand their own mortality, and if their life should be taken by another warrior, they submit to an honorable death.

But no warrior wants to be killed by someone weaker than he. Recall Abimelech, the bastard king during the time of the judges:

“And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, “A woman killed him.”’ And his young man thrust him through, and he died.” (Judges 9.52–54)

Abimelech the warrior didn’t want “A woman killed him” on his gravestone.

A few decades before Abimelech’s death, another warrior died at the hand of a woman:

“But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.” (Judges 4.21)

Deborah wrote a beautiful song for Israel to sing about this event:

²⁴             “Most blessed of women be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite,
of tent-dwelling women most blessed.

²⁵             He asked for water and she gave him milk;
she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.

²⁶             She sent her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet;
she struck Sisera; she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.

                ²⁷             Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still;
                                between her feet he sank, he fell;
                                where he sank, there he fell—dead.

Now isn’t that lovely? Not for Sisera! What a dishonorable, shameful epithet!

Many Warriors Have Fallen to Women

But many warriors have fallen to women—not so many physically killed, but many have fallen to the wiles and seductions of women.

Samson fell to the wiles of Delilah. Judah trotted along into the house of a prostitute (Tamar). Amnon succumbed to temptation and raped his half-sister.

The greatest warrior of all, King David, fell to a woman who wasn’t even trying to seduce him (as far as we know). He saw her bathing on his neighbor’s roof next door and fell to the temptation.

The wisest of all men fell into idolatry because he “loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love” (1 Kings 11.1–2).

Is it any wonder that Solomon wrote Proverbs 1–9 telling his son to flee from the “forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words” (2.16)? He explains, “for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life” (2.18–19). He heaps it on in Proverbs 5–9, especially.

What Is Man’s Defense?

What is a man to do to keep himself from being killed by a woman?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life… Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil” (Proverbs 4.23–27).

1. SET YOUR HEART towards righteousness before you begin your day. Intentionally decide what kind of person you are going to be today.
2. DON’T GAZE AT A WOMAN. You will see her for sure, but do not let your eyes or your mind dwell on her. Rather, set your gaze straight ahead; don’t get distracted.
3. GO WHERE YOU INTEND. When you find yourself stopping or swerving off your intended path to put yourself in a better place to view a woman, turn your foot away from evil, remind yourself of what you had set your heart to do, and get going.

But let us end on a good note. God created woman to be beautiful and attractive to men. It is no sin to notice that a woman is lovely, and it is no sin to find people attractive; this is a legitimate pleasure God has given mankind—beauty. Godly women are especially beautiful because they shine from the inside out with that gentle and quiet spirit God designed women to have (1 Peter 3.4). Godly women are strong of heart and spirit, and blessed is the man who finds a righteous woman!

“An excellent wife, who can find? She is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31.10). A godly woman will not kill a man; rather, “the heart of her husband trusts in her, and she does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31.11, 12).

Men, don’t give your strength to women (Proverbs 31.3). Don’t be killed by a woman.

Have you noticed the spiritual armor in Ephesians 6 includes a breastplate but no backplate? We do not turn our backs on the enemy; we advance forward swinging the sword of the word of God. The weapons of our warfare are powerful to destroy the strongholds of the enemy (1 Cor. 10.4-5). God calls all Christians, both men and women, to the fight, but He tasks us men with leading the charge.

Switching our thoughts to the physical plane, men should also be ready to fight for their loved ones to protect them. This is controversial because Jesus did say, after all, to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. But Jesus also said there was a time to take up the sword (Luke 22.36), and Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3.1–8 there is “a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up . . . a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

There is a time to fight.

Godly wisdom teaches us when we should fight, how we should fight, and how far we should go in the fight. Often, we want to fight when we shouldn’t, and when we are in a fight, we tend to go too far. Defending yourself against a bully doesn’t mean you should pulverize the bully’s face.

We should never start a fight, for that would violate the principle of living at peace with all men (Heb. 12.14; Rom. 12.18), and we should “repay no one evil for evil” (Rom. 12.17). But if a man strikes or shoots a robber who has broken into his house in the dead of night, he has not started the fight. The robber proved he intended violence when he invaded an inhabited house, and only a fool would flip the lights on and kindly ask the robber if he were just planning on a peaceful visit.

To train in a martial art or in weaponry (gun, knife, staff, etc.) is to train for battle. The word “martial” in martial art means battle—it’s literally a battle art. I love martials arts, in part, because I can train to be more in control in the event of an attack on my family, friends, or person. The more you understand about the battle arts, the more ability you have to decide in your level of response. You don’t necessarily have to break a man’s bones to stop him. You could choke him out or pin him to the ground on his face with a knee in his back while you wait for the police. However, if he is crazy high on drugs and doesn’t respond to pain, you might have to incapacitate him in a more painful way.

Abraham, David, and Moses knew there was a time to fight, and they stepped forward when the time came. They fought for their loved ones and their people. When David ran to kill Goliath, he was finishing the fight that depraved, bully Goliath had started. When the four kings (Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Ela, and Tidal king of Goiim) defeated the five kings of the plains (Bera king of Sodom, Birsha kind of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Zoar), Abraham grabbed 318 trained men (all born in his house), tracked those kings down, and defeated them in order to save the captives, including his nephew Lot (Gen. 14).

Societies remain safe because men willingly stand against enemies.

Our constant battle is with Satan and the forces of darkness, but from time to time we must physically protect our families and loved ones. It’s a duty we should embrace, and we should ready our minds for potential action. Praise God we currently live in such a peaceful society, but even still there are bad actors.

Obviously, we should fight only when we have no other option, but there is a time to fight. Physical altercations interact and intersect with our spiritual battles—they are connected. Again, how will we defend ourselves? Will we hate our enemy in our hearts, or will we fight in such a way as to love them as far as we can? Do we intend to annihilate anyone who would sin against us, or do we temper our responses with mercy? In the moment, we fire at center mass until the target is neutralized, and that might or might not kill the attacker. We do that to protect the family. But if we find him still alive, groaning on the floor, do we put another bullet into his head because of the seething hatred in our heart?

God has called us to live in a sinful world, and we sometimes must make difficult choices. May we learn self-control, may we have the strength to stand against the enemy, and may God save us from situations we cannot handle.

For who is God, but the LORD?
   And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
   and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
   and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
   so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
   and your right hand supported me,
   and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
   and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
   and did not turn back till they were consumed.
I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
   they fell under my feet.
For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
   you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
   and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was none to save;
   they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
   I cast them out like the mire of the streets. (Psalm 18.31–42)