“Stand your ground and fight your battles like a man.”
That was the counsel my absentee father gave me on the evening of our pre-wedding engagement party. While they weren’t words I was averse to hearing, they were words I wasn’t willing to hear from the man who had just uttered them.
2 Samuel 21:15-22 is the story of a father, king, and uncle who found redemption in a generation of young leaders who were willing to walk in his footsteps.
To say that David was the greatest King of Israel and a failed parent would not be raining on his parade or putting his business in the street. He was who he was, and the record is what it is.
In 2 Samuel 21 we find a king in the twilight of his strength but not his courage. His warrior heart is not failing him, only his fatigued body. Placing him in a situation where he has to trust his nephew to do something on his behalf that has been second nature to him for 40 plus years.
Giant Killers
Over time David created a generation of giant killers. He passed on the best parts of himself distilled from years of success and failure. Abishai wasn’t born when his uncle killed Goliath, but when the opportunity arose for him to step up he was confident. He walked up to his giant declaring, “I got, I got giant killing inside my DNA.”
15 years into my marriage we faced our own giants. It was then that I realized what my father was privately trying to tell me, in that very public space. He was saying be more than me. Fight for all that God is placing in your future. Be more for yours than I was for you. Don’t run, “stand your ground and fight your battles like a man.”
May our power play be to empower generations of giant killers, that empower generations of giant killers. May we build kingdom legacy into the culture of our families and the fabric of our communities. And above all, may we personally concern ourselves with the legacy of our doings that point to Jesus.
