Out of the Trenches, Men - Part 2

Attention! Point men!

      In last month's edition of The Chariot we focused on the spiritual battle in which we find ourselves. Many responsibilities for a man with a family are not too unlike those of a point man of a platoon engaged in a war. He must have many of the same qualities of a trained and experienced combatant if his family is to persevere without spiritual casualties. Sergeant Rock, from the old comic book series of the same name, was the focus of our attention. If you missed last month's newsletter, you may locate it at www.spiritofelijah.com.

      Hopefully, you have led your family to consider the qualities of an ideal warrior. One group of men cited these qualities exemplified in the clip from Sergeant Rock: courageous, teamwork, trained, gives vision, compassionate, knows his enemy, determined, protector, attentive, alert, and decisive. I'm sure you came up with many more. We also noted that Jesus demonstrated all the qualities of an ideal warrior. What a mighty man of valor He is!

      This month, I hope to continue the call to encourage you men to get out of the trenches and fight the good fight. There is a lot to be said for men working together with a common cause outside of themselves. Men can accomplish great things when they unite in purpose and combine their resources and abilities. Presently, a coalition of countries are amassing their resources for a common cause in the middle east. My prayer is God will raise up a unified force of fathers in our country with a common cause: to glorify God by turning their hearts to Him, to their wives, and to their children.

United we stand. Divided we fall.

      Gordon Dalbey made this poignant remark in his book entitled, The Healing of the Masculine Soul , "The man who is out of fellowship with other men with the same vision, purpose, and commitment fools himself in thinking he can grow as God's son all by himself." We need each other if we're to advance in our spiritual lives and move our families forward against the powers of darkness in this world. A testimony from the book of 2 Samuel accentuates this truth.

      As you read through this passage, consider the two principle characters, King David and Uriah. What do we observe? The enemies of our souls.

      "Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem (2 Sam. 11:1)."

Beware an independent spirit.

      When kings go out to battle...David stayed at Jerusalem. The first observation is that the king has been separated from his mighty men. Instead of joining them in the battle, he sent someone else to fight his fights for him. Not that he was actually supposed to be in the thick of it, but at least for the sake of the cause and the morale of the men, the King's presence was important. There was another reason David should have been with his men: to maintain his spiritual alertness and discipline.

      Alone and separated from his men, King David was vulnerable to a lethal attack. He sighted the beautiful Bathsheba, the wife of one of his best soldiers. He succumbed to his selfish lusts and impregnated her while Uriah was on the battlefield. We don't know how he rationalized it, but the implication from the first verse is that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and lacking spiritual alertness. He was not united with his men, but divided from them.

      That happens to many men doesn't it? When a man fails to engage himself in the spiritual battles that a king (of his family) ought to be fighting, he finds himself susceptible to violent attacks from the enemy. How many men do you know who have fallen into sin because they were isolated and independent from men with the vision, purpose, and commitment of the Kingdom of God? Figuratively speaking, King David was in the trenches when he should have been out on the battlefield. He was seeking his own comfort. Had he been united with his men in vision, purpose, and commitment, he might not have fallen.

Beware deception and lying.

      The enemy of our souls not only wants to wound us, but he wants to bury us in the trenches. I'm using the analogy of the trenches perhaps in a different way than is typical. In a battle, obviously trenches are useful. Sometimes, the term "trenches" is used in reference to a man doing his duty in the world.  But the cowards in a battle also use the trenches as their place to cower when they should be on the attack. In spiritual warfare, trenches are not a safe place to be. Sometimes when men have sinned, self-preservation compels them to cover their sin with deception and lying. They dig their trenches even deeper. That is exactly what King David did. He appeared to be concerned for the battle, but was really deceiving himself and those around him.

      "Then David sent to Joab, saying, 'Send me Uriah the Hittite.' So Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked concerning the welfare of Joab and the people and the state of the war (2 Samuel 11:6-7)."

      Was David really interested in the war? Perhaps some, but his real motivation was to cover his sin, to deceive others with regard to his own unrighteousness. He brought Uriah back from the battlefield in hopes that Uriah and Bathsheba would unite and the baby would be considered theirs. But he had miscalculated the warrior spirit in Uriah.

      David told Uriah to go down to his house, but instead, Uriah slept with the servants of the King. The next morning, David inquired of Uriah why he hadn't gone home. Uriah's answer surely pierced him deeply. It certainly showed the contrast between David and Uriah as far as the warrior spirit is concerned. "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? By your life and the life of your soul, I will not do this thing."

      That's what David should have told himself when he saw Bathsheba from his rooftop! Uriah obviously didn't want to lose his warrior's fighting edge. He knew he was to return to the battle, and he wanted to maintain his identity and attitude of a soldier. Although Uriah was separated in distance from his comrades in arms, his spirit was united with them in vision, purpose, and commitment. The king schemed again to get Uriah home to Bathsheba only to be foiled again by Uriah's warrior spirit. He wouldn't compromise his standard. Indeed, Uriah was one of David's "mighty men."

Beware self-preservation and indulgence at the expense of others.  

      Perhaps we should never be surprised at what a man will do to cover his transgressions. King David dug his trench even deeper. In order to have his own lusts fulfilled and his sins covered, he took advantage of the warrior spirit in Uriah and some of his most loyal men.  

      "Now it came about in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he had written in the letter, saying, 'Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.' So it was as Joab kept watch on the city, that he put Uriah at the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city went out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among David's servants fell; and Uriah the Hittite also died (2 Samuel 11:14-17)."

      Convinced of Uriah's loyalty, David knew the death warrant would arrive unread and safely in Joab's hand, and that this man would storm any city his commander demanded. At this point an analogy comes to mind which may be tangential, but I think it might helpful. Many men have wives who demonstrate loyalty and commitment like Uriah . If you have such a wife, who fights your battles daily as she teaches your children, storms the gates as she disciplines them, keeps your quarters organized, equipped, and cleaned, and sacrifices her health and her strength for your cause, then may I encourage you to GIVE HER A PROMOTION! If your children have fallen in line with their commander and work hard for your name's sake, then they are worthy of your blessing and praise. I hope you'll not let the day pass without considering how God has blessed you with a faithful companion and equipped you with "arrows" (children) for the battle.

Beware a hardness of heart.

      Not only had David lost the warrior spirit, but he had become hardened of heart. He was willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get what he wanted. David didn't have only Uriah killed. Other loyal, courageous men were sacrificed for David's lusts. He didn't think about what it would do to them, their families, or his name. When men hunker down in the trenches and serve themselves they lose sight of what is honorable and right. They'll sacrifice their wives and children-their most loyal, courageous comrades in life, to satisfy their desires. Moreover, men who have fallen into the trenches of this world often tend to turn on other men who are fighting the good fight on the spiritual battlefield. It is not uncommon to hear men who are running from the spiritual warfare despise, malign, slander, and reject faithful men. When they ought to be asking for help, they separate themselves even further from a means of grace-fellowship with men who have the same vision, purpose, and commitment in the kingdom of God.

Uriah or David?

      Which man describes you? Uriah? Or David? Are you in fellowship with other men who have the same vision, purpose, and commitment in the kingdom of God?  Are you maintaining your warrior's edge by not indulging your flesh and the desires of the mind for the sake of your Lord, Jesus Christ AND your family?  What are you doing to raise up the next generation of warriors? We may be encouraged by the fact that this isn't the only testimony of King David in the Old Testament. God had a purpose even for this failure-to bring about the entrance of His Son into the human race. Matthew wrote, "And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah" (Matthew 1:6). We know that God redeemed David and forgave him of these terrible sins. Out of his repentance, we have two powerful Psalms (32 and 51) that speak of the power of sin, conviction, repentance, forgiveness, and the grace of God. David repented, rose from the trench, and returned to the spiritual warfare by the grace of God.  And so can you if you find yourself resembling David's testimony here in 2 Samuel.  

The testimonies of Scripture make us wise.

      How can we make this testimony of David and Uriah practical? The Bible teaches us that the testimonies have been given to us in order to make us wise. Here's a suggestion for a family worship. Perhaps you might begin with the hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers" followed by the reading of 2 Samuel 11:1-17. Together as a family, make a list of the qualities exemplified by Uriah. Then make another list of the sins of David in the passage beginning from the first to the last. Take opportunity to teach your children how one sin leads to another sin. Maybe it would be a good idea to discuss what David could have done differently had he maintained a warrior spirit in the spiritual battle. You might conclude by reading from 2 Samuel 12 and having a time of confession. Are you guilty of any of David's sins? Confess, receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and get out of the trenches!

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            PO 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            www.spiritofelijah.com