When ordinary people do something extraordinary……..

2 Samuel wraps up with a list of David’s mighty warriors. These men were literally mighty warriors. Josheb-Basshebeth killed 800 men in one encounter. Eleazar stood his ground til his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian. (2 Samuel 23:20-21)

And when David wishes aloud that things were as they used to be and that someone could fetch him a drink from the well in Bethlehem, his men take him at his word and break through enemy lines to fetch him some of this water. Which he then pours on the ground. Such was their loyalty and commitment to their king. (Rob Bell did a fantastic podcast on this and really unpacked the whole idea of regret and looking back – called What to do with the waste – have a listen. He describes David as the Elvis of the Old Testament – ‘totally Game of Thrones’, ‘House of Cards all the way’…..)

God encourages David to take a census of the all the fighting men in Israel –

So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”  2 Samuel 24:2

Joab can see how this would be an affront to God – implying that David is protected by his men rather than by the living God (so why does God encourage him to do it then? Is it a test or something?).

And then, when it’s done, David’s conscience stricken and feels he’s done the wrong thing. How come one day something feels so right and the next it feels so wrong? And God offers him three choices for punishment – and he chooses for God to punish them by his own hand – with a plague – and then his heart breaks seeing all these innocent people suffer……and he builds an altar to God on someone’s threshing floor. And the plague stops. And the Book of 2 Samuel ends. And I don’t know what to do with that story……

All I can think about today is that image of the human shield created to protect tourists from a gunman. A human shield of local people. Of ordinary people. Of Muslims. Of individuals who were not being targeted. Of men filled with courage and compassion to endanger their lives for complete strangers. These are mighty warriors. Prepared to stand up and engage in a battle that was not their own.

In times of terrible tragedy and disaster, heroes rise up from among ordinary people and do extraordinary things. It’s humbling and awe-inspiring and renews your faith in human nature at a time when you are questioning how anyone can do anything so inhuman and evil as walk on to a beach and shoot holiday makers……….

We’re not often called upon to be a mighty warrior but everyday we face situations in which we have to stand up for what is right. And we are afraid. And we long for an easy life. And we try to look the other way and pretend that we have not seen or heard. And we convince ourselves that no action is required. We want to keep out of trouble. We don’t want to get involved.

It takes courage to stand up and protect other people.

It takes courage to get involved.

I’m facing a situation like this right now and I’m trying to convince myself that I don’t need to act; that it is not my battle; that I should keep out of it. Because I’m scared. I’m surprising myself with my cowardice actually. I thought I would be good at this sort of thing. I feel sick with nerves and doubt and….well fear basically. I just want to close my eyes and it all go away and life to carry on as normal.

So I’m staring at the picture of these men – ordinary people like me – who were called upon to do something that seemed completely foolish and risky and dangerous on one level….and I am trying to draw courage from their example.

Doing the right thing is sometimes the hardest thing of all.

We never know when it will be our turn to stand up and be a mighty warrior – a superhero – an ordinary person doing something extraordinary……….