Verse of the Day 5/25

Through the Bible - 1 Chronicles 15-17, John 10:22-42

 

Happy Memorial Day,

For today's verse we turn to 1 Chronicles 11, where we are told of David's thirty men of valor.  The second of the mighty men listed was Eleazer, which means "God (is) Helper", verses 13 and 14 tell of him.

 

1 Chron 11:13 He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

 

14 And they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and Jehovah saved them by a great victory.    ASV
or from the Amplified Bible

1 Chronicles 11:14 And Eleazar [one of the Three] stood in the midst of that plot and defended it and slew the Philistines [until his hand was weary, and his hand cleaved to the sword], and the Lord saved by a great victory and deliverance.^(C)

 

The picture is of a man defending his families plot of land, in this instance a barley field, not a valuable crop in itself, but it was the families livelihood.  He was also standing for his country against the enemy, giving it everything he had.

I remember building a deck, (in the days when you did it with a regular hammer, not an electic one)  by the end of the day your right hand would cramp up, it was almost locked onto the hammer.  That is the picture here, Eleazer had fought with all his might, but by the end of the day, when his strength was gone and he could barely hold onto the sword, it was the Lord who saved in a great victory.

 

There is a spiritual battle going on in our country.  It is a battle for truth.  Sometimes we may feel weary from the battle, but we are to hold on to continue the fight.  It is a battle that is won not in beating the opposition over the head, but one in the love of Christ.

Eph 4:14-17  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.   NLT

Will we stand for what we believe in?  Will we hold on, cleave, to the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God?  Will we love one anther and our neighbor as ourself?

 

Today let us remember those who stood and defended the freedoms of this country, this plot of ground that the Lord has given us, may we remember that the Lord has saved us "by a great victory and deliverance".

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
More tools available at: http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Eph 4:7-17

 

Spiritual Gifts

 

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says:

 

"When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men."

 

9 (Now this, "He ascended" — what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

 

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ —  16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.    NKJV