BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE

"Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried it and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD." (2 Samuel 23:16) (ESV)

In yesterday's blog I discussed the principles of serving and allowing others to serve us in times of need. Today I want to link (hopefully not ad nauseum) those thoughts by paralleling the stories of the paralytic in Mark 2 and that of David's three mighty men -- Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah -- in 2 Samuel 23.

These men distinguished themselves from the rest of David's army by demonstrating their perseverance, skill with the sword, and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. The army of Israel could boast of many outstanding soldiers, but none of them could match David's three mighty men. As will be seen, their courage, perseverance, and mighty deeds arose from a heart of love for their leader.

One parallel with the story of the paralytic is David's inability to penetrate the Philistine defenses without help. In like manner, the paralytic could not penetrate the house where Christ was staying without the help of his own "mighty" men. Each recognized their weakness and helplessness in achieving their goals.

Furthermore, in each story we notice that each man had a great need. The paralytic was in need of healing, David desired and needed a drink of water from the well at Bethlehem. In both cases the needs arose because of circumstances orchestrated by the providence of God. David was separated from his beloved Bethlehem because of a great army of Philistines; the paralytic was separated from Christ by a great number of people. David wanted to taste the sweet water of Bethlehem; the paralytic wanted to taste the sweetness of walking and living on his own.

Next, we see that each man had friends willing to sacrifice for them. David's men risked their lives to break through the Philistine defenses and bring back the precious water. While the paralytic's four men did not face marauding barbarians, they nonetheless gave up a part of their lives for a precious friend.

In both stories each man received more than he bargained for. As far as we know, the paralytic expected a physical healing, but he left with eternal salvation. David wanted a drink of water, but he was so touched by his men's sacrifice that he sacrificed it to the LORD. He did not deem himself worthy of their generosity. I am sure that in some respects the paralytic felt himself unworthy of the generosity of his friends. This same feeling occurs in me when a friend goes out of his way to help me or let me know he's praying for me. It is very humbling because I do not feel worthy of such a sacrifice.

I'll leave you with one final observation. It is interesting to note that the word Bethlehem means "house of bread" in Hebrew. David was thirsting for water from the house of bread. If you flip this over to Mark 2 I'm sure you can see what I'm driving at. The paralytic's friends broke through a ceiling in the house where the "living bread" and "living water" resided! I say this because there will be times when we will need "water and bread" to be carried and brought to us by someone. Likewise, we need to recognize when our brothers and sisters in Christ are in need of these things -- whether they know they need it or not -- and bring it to them out of love without being asked.