Sermon Central
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An Observation About A Pair Of Hard Hats
Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Oct 15, 2024 (message contributor)
Text: 2 Samuel 3:33-34, KJV: 33 And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? 34 Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him.
Have you seen any roadside memorials? It might be more appropriate to ask how many we’ve seen. Just a mile or two from where I live, there’s a very elaborate memorial with some information I don’t have the heart to repeat. Clearly, it was painful for the family to deal with the loss of a loved one but, maybe, this may have given them some closure. Let’s hope so.
But I recently saw a much simpler memorial, dedicated, I would suppose, to a pair or highway maintenance workers. There were two hard hats (protective helmets) mounted side by side not far from the edge of this particular road. Each helmet was mounted on top of a wooden cross, as if the employee or crew member was wearing it. I could find no names, dates, or other information as to how, when, or why these two people died.
It bears repeating that not everyone who works in highway maintenance is protected, more or less, by trucks, steel-wheel rollers, or other heavy equipment. Many folks in that line of work are positioned very close to moving traffic. They have little if any protection at all except for the due diligence of drivers keeping alert as the cars go through these construction zones. I doubt either one of these two knew that they would face eternity on the day they died.
Also, I rather doubt either one of those people did anything foolish or risky when their lives were taken away from them. Abner, in the text, had no idea that Joab was out to get him but that’s exactly what happened. Of course, there was bad blood between these two men (read the last half of 1 Samuel for more information) but that was no excuse for Joab to spill Abner’s blood.
David, soon to be king over all Israel, found out what Joab did but didn’t take matters into his own hands. Here, David walked behind the “bier” or bed (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4296.htm on which Abner’s body was taken to his grave in Hebron. David knew Abner had been murdered but did what he could to demonstrate his grief over this incident.
And in the same vein, anytime we see a roadside memorial, think about the person/s who left this earth likely before he or she was ready to go. Also, please be careful driving near any road construction crew. They don’t deserve to die like those two whose hard hats are on display on a rural stretch of road.
Above all, though, be prepared to meet the Lord. No need to die like a fool—we will all meet the Lord one day, just like Abner, Joab, and David himself. So, are you ready to meet the Lord?
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
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