Fighting On The Front Lines

FIGHTING ON THE FRONT LINES

by

Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (May 26, 2015)

“When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.”(II Samuel 10::9-10, King James Version [the front of the battle]).

Greetings In The Holy Name Of Jesus,

My brothers and sisters, sometimes you are fighting on the front lines---a place of position undesirable to many, hardly any desiring to be there especially when at a disadvantage. King David sent Joab to the front line and Joab saw what he needed to do---he used Israel's mighty men---their choice men against the Syrians and the rest he delivered to his brother to use against the Ammons with the understanding that the mighty men of Israel would help on both fronts---against the Syrians and against the Ammons. Joab strongly felt they could play the men for the people of Israel and the cities; the LORD would do that which seemed good to help them (verse 12). Joab took courage---conquered all fears and fought the good fight in good warfare on the front lines against more than one enemy honoring God's cities and the help they needed from the LORD. It was no wonder that both the Syrians and the Ammons fled (verses 13 – 14).

Lord help us in the cities of God! The battle is the Lord's! You know when I think back at the neighborhoods of America, in particular the inner cities of America---the well-known “hoods” of America, better known as the ghettos of America, sometimes you were on the battlefield to go to school and to make it back home from school. Amazingly, without guns or even a slingshot, you found yourselves on the front lines with enemies in the front and enemies in the back. Most importantly, it was good to have God on your side: your sisters, brothers, good friends who would help you to do battle.

One day, I recalled picking up a rather large stick but big enough for me to swing with comfort. I spun around and around because it was my sister who was under attack and I just happened to come around the corner en route to home---she was walking ahead of me unbeknownst to me but stopped when the group she walked with turned on her to fight. As I said, I came around the corner and there she was on the front line of a battle and there my eyes caught that stick just lying there. It is good to serve the Lord, it will do you good in times of trouble. I felt God had someone to leave that stick there for me. I never spun around like that before in my life and I guess they never saw anyone spin like that and they ran. We made it home safe out of the grip of danger.

How do you survive a beat down when usually someone says something to someone who can not top what was said---anger gets the best of them and the beat down starts with a hit? Thank God I came around the corner before the first hit was thrown and the mercy of God covered us with the stick. King David found out how Hanun the son of the King of Ammon mistreated his servants that he sent to comfort him during his time of grief over his dad---the king. Hanun listened to the princes of the children of Ammon that King David's servants really---rather came to search, to spy and to overthrow---not to comfort them. This reasoning made Hanun shave off one-half of the beards of King David's servants and cut-off their garments in the middle up to the servants' buttocks. King David knew his servants felt shame and told them to tarry in Jericho until their beards grew back before they returned home (verses 3-5).

More importantly, it was unkind of Hanun [the new King of the Ammons] to mistreat King David since he showed kindness to him because of his relationship with his dead father who was the King of the Ammons to side with his little princes' preposterous untruth (verses 1-3). Interestingly, my

2

childhood days gave rise to front line situations because we lived in the inner cities of South Florida (Overtown, Near Brown sub, and Liberty City)---where both my parents did their ministerial work---and my mother did her missionary work but in those days guns and knives did not rule---usually it was a fist fight. Thank God for the peace of the day---the power of only the fists. One day, my brother heard that a boy on the bus said something to me and I did not let him advance---I did not like him. My brother noticed something wrong because every time he saw him the boy ran but he was not sure why because I did not tell him anything happened on the school bus---he found out from some of the other boys on the bus. Well, I did not find a need to tell my brother anything because the boy did not attack just try to advance but I did not like him. In those days with what was called “religious parents” my brothers did not allow their sisters to like boys according to my father's wishes.