Othniel and my brother David

As promised, one judge from the book of Judges and one individual who has led, inspired and challenged me from the the book of my life every day…….

OTHNIEL

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.  Judges 3:7-11

Remember the pattern from yesterday – warning….disobedience…..consequences…..distress……mercy……rescue……warning….disobedience…..consequences…..distress……mercy……rescue…?

Here it is again.

The people disobeyed God. They forgot about him. They got distracted.

God got angry. He let them get defeated. They became slaves again.

They cried out.

God heard. He responded. He sent them a deliverer.

OTHNIEL, the first of the judges.

Caleb’s younger brother. Caleb, who with Joshua, was one of the first spies to suss out the Promised Land. Good stock then.

Othniel was chosen and equipped by God’s Spirit to lead the people into war and into victory.

Peace at last.

For forty years.

Until he dies.

DAVID

David is my brother. As a kid, I adored him. I idolised him.

He was nine years older than me, but didn’t seem to mind having me around. He let me tag along with him and his friends sometimes. He called me ‘Smell’ – they did too – and I didn’t mind. He was fun and full of life and daring.

He would have a go at anything and challenged me to do the same. I loved reading and when I was about 9 or 10, he gave me two books for my birthday and said I couldn’t read the Nancy Drew mystery until I had read The Hobbit first. He wanted to push me out of my comfort zone…..didn’t happen on that occasion though, sorry David!

He pushed me physically too to try things that felt beyond my capability. Sometimes with some pain involved. Once he held me in a handstand and I cricked my neck and shouted to come down but he thought I was just being a wimp and held me there that bit longer……another time, he let me sit on the back of a bike while he sped round and round the church and I got my foot caught in the spokes and again cried out and again he thought I was just being a wimp and rode on that bit longer……..

And I still loved him to bits. Despite the pain!

He was my hero and my inspiration.

He was passionate about his faith and about communicating it to other people. He worked through his doubts and would work hard to find a way to communicate truth effectively and interestingly. I remember him throwing up all over the windscreen as he was driving along having eaten a whole daffodil at the front of the youth group as an example of faith.

He was passionate about people too, especially the underdog. He would stand up for people and alongside people. He would take strangers for a meal (at the Wimpy I think – there was no MacDonalds) and invite them into his home when he first got married. I remember the man with a dog called Widdly who used to come for a bath and would lock himself in the bathroom for so long that in the end, David would have to turn off the bathroom light from the outside to get him to come out when we were all desperate for the loo!

He was passionate about getting stuck in. He would always be there to help and get his hands dirty. He was actively involved in helping get Sizewell Hall ready as a conference centre. I remember when he and his friend were working on the car park – really physical hard work – and David sat me up on the big back wheel of a steam roller…..and his friend didn’t know I was there and started it up and it began to move and I felt paralysed with fear and didn’t move…..and David pulled me off before I was squished between the rollers!

I was so proud of him and he let me be part of his world and seemed to believe in me and take me seriously.

He led me into some pretty dangerous situations (looking back) but maybe that has helped me be comfortable with taking risks – in fact, both of us find the comfort zone a bit boring!

He inspired me to persevere with my faith and instilled in me a passion to communicate truth to others. He became great at delivering assemblies – I earned money from writing them!

He instilled a passion for people in me. We’ve yet to resort to taking the fuses out of the lights at the end of a Sunday, but do have to actively encourage Rita to leave when 6 o’clock comes on occasions!

He led by example and challenged me to get stuck in to everything I attempted. He gave his all to whatever was in front of him. Without question. With enthusiasm and humour and resourcefulness. I want to be like that.

When he was 18/19 and so I must have been 9/10, he left home with the most massive unwieldy wooden trunk full of his stuff, that looked like a coffin and nearly didn’t fit in the car, to go to university in Oxford.

Everything changed then. Nothing would ever be the same again.