Our Core Values at Cliffdale Christian Center are based upon "W.O.R.D.," and perhaps the most essential element of our foundation is the Word. That is also the most fundamental part of your Christian life. There is nothing more important than the Word. Sometimes it almost seems like we want to stray; we tend to want to get away from the Word. It can also appear that maybe it isn't the most important thing.
Upon what do I base my statement that nothing is more important than the Word? Let me ask you this: is anything more important than Jesus? Well, Jesus was the Word of God made flesh; therefore, Jesus and the Word are synonymous, or inseparable. You can't distinguish between the two of them.
It's good to understand proper biblical interpretation when you read the Old Testament. It requires that we comprehend a couple of things. First comes the natural, then the spiritual. For example, the events that happened in the natural in Israel are things that are to be experienced in the "spiritual Israel," the Church. In biblical prophecy, there are things that are experienced first in the natural, and then we see the spiritual implication of it in the New Testament.
Now 2 Samuel 23:9 speaks of Eleazar. He is one of the mighty men of David. In fact, he is one of three of David's mightiest. David had surrounded himself by warriors, and he had distinguished himself as such. He had these three guys who were standouts, and Eleazar was one of them.
9"And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword" (2 Samuel 23:9-10).
I want to make a few points in regard to verse 10, "He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to plunder." Let's focus on this guy, Eleazar. He has been specifically remembered for his heroic deeds against the adversary known as the Philistines.
This is also a reference to 1 Chronicles, and in that account, we get a little more specificity as to what it was that Eleazar accomplished in 1 Chronicles 11-14. Those chapters talk about the battle scene, and this is what our verses in 2 Samuel are actually referring to. There was a battle, according to the Chronicles' account, that took place in Pas-dammim. And by definition, the name of this place means, "the dell of bloodshed." Now, it's interesting that this is the very same place in Scripture where David defeated Goliath. I think that's an important point. Why is that important? For one, it's a place that appears to have been a recurring headache for the people of Israel. How is that relative to our lives today?
Well, the enemy will oftentimes take us back to old battlegrounds or places where he has kind of held us up in the past. Have you ever noticed that a lot of times you're going through the same conflict over and over and over? That's what I'm referring to here.
The exciting thing about this is that David defeated Goliath there. So these old battlegrounds can be a place where victory was won on behalf of the people of God. It can also be a place that the enemy routinely brings you back to fight the same battle.
This is the good news: you have won the victory somewhere in the past. Maybe you thought, "Well, I have this thing licked, man, this is done." But then "boom," like a year later, maybe six months, could even be five years: there it is! Is that only me, or is it anybody else? Well, think it not strange. The very place where David defeated Goliath is the place that Eleazar defeated the Philistine army, and he did it in a most miraculous way.
There's a warning to be issued through studying these biblical accounts: be on your guard!
~ PG
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