Week of Monday August 12 – August 18
On Our Side - Man as Provider
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
- Psalm 124 ESV
My battle buddy, Stu Weber, shares some great insight in the downloadable booklet A Man and His Friends, which is an excerpt from his award-winning book, Tender Warrior:
Real world conquerors stand arm in arm. Alexander the Great was “great,” I suppose, because at one time he owned most of the habitable real estate on the planet. His secret weapon was something called the “Macedonian Phalanx,” which was little more than a simple military formation with a straightforward mandate: “You never go into battle without the man beside you.”
The Macedonian Phalanx was a formation that allowed the man’s weak flank to be protected by his buddy. With his shield in his left hand and his sword in the right, a soldier thrusting with his blade could find his right side exposed, vulnerable to the enemy’s spear or sword. In the Macedonian formation, the warrior had a trusted man guarding the area where he was most exposed. Although Alexander came along centuries after David, I think the son of Jesse would have called such a companion “the man of my right hand.” Where I am most vulnerable and exposed, that’s where I want the man of my right hand. (A Man and His Friends, page 12)
If David knew anything, he knew that above anyone else, he could count on God to be at his right hand, on his side. David testified many times in the Psalms that the Lord was his help in times of trouble! Over and over in his lifetime, he would experience God’s hand of deliverance and protection at a level unparalleled in his generation. God had been on his side in his battles with bears and lions and then giants and great armies.
As a military leader and later as king and commander-in-chief, David had seen with his very eyes the ravages of war and destruction that followed. He knew defeat and even death would have been his fate and the fate of the nation of Israel, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” What he knew and experienced, he wanted those he led and influenced to know as well.
Almighty God was David’s provider and defender in the truest sense. Yes, David had friends and fellow soldiers—mighty men of valor—who would fight to the death on his behalf, but there was Someone who could do more than anyone on earth for him. It was the Lord, who had made the heavens and the earth! David not only knew that, but he wanted everyone to know that. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can provide our loved ones is demonstrating our faith in the One we serve, especially when trouble comes our way. Men, being a great provider is modeling for others that there is a God in heaven whom they can trust and depend on themselves!
- How would you compare your level of faith and trust in God to that of David in this psalm?
- Do you intentionally and effectively model a steadfast faith in the Lord in the face of trouble to your family?
- Ask God to deepen your dependence on Him and show you ways to be an example of faith for those you love and lead.
On Our Side - Man as Provider
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth! We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
- Psalm 124 ESV
My battle buddy, Stu Weber, shares some great insight in the downloadable booklet A Man and His Friends, which is an excerpt from his award-winning book, Tender Warrior:
Real world conquerors stand arm in arm. Alexander the Great was “great,” I suppose, because at one time he owned most of the habitable real estate on the planet. His secret weapon was something called the “Macedonian Phalanx,” which was little more than a simple military formation with a straightforward mandate: “You never go into battle without the man beside you.”
The Macedonian Phalanx was a formation that allowed the man’s weak flank to be protected by his buddy. With his shield in his left hand and his sword in the right, a soldier thrusting with his blade could find his right side exposed, vulnerable to the enemy’s spear or sword. In the Macedonian formation, the warrior had a trusted man guarding the area where he was most exposed. Although Alexander came along centuries after David, I think the son of Jesse would have called such a companion “the man of my right hand.” Where I am most vulnerable and exposed, that’s where I want the man of my right hand. (A Man and His Friends, page 12)
If David knew anything, he knew that above anyone else, he could count on God to be at his right hand, on his side. David testified many times in the Psalms that the Lord was his help in times of trouble! Over and over in his lifetime, he would experience God’s hand of deliverance and protection at a level unparalleled in his generation. God had been on his side in his battles with bears and lions and then giants and great armies.
As a military leader and later as king and commander-in-chief, David had seen with his very eyes the ravages of war and destruction that followed. He knew defeat and even death would have been his fate and the fate of the nation of Israel, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side.” What he knew and experienced, he wanted those he led and influenced to know as well.
Almighty God was David’s provider and defender in the truest sense. Yes, David had friends and fellow soldiers—mighty men of valor—who would fight to the death on his behalf, but there was Someone who could do more than anyone on earth for him. It was the Lord, who had made the heavens and the earth! David not only knew that, but he wanted everyone to know that. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can provide our loved ones is demonstrating our faith in the One we serve, especially when trouble comes our way. Men, being a great provider is modeling for others that there is a God in heaven whom they can trust and depend on themselves!
- How would you compare your level of faith and trust in God to that of David in this psalm?
- Do you intentionally and effectively model a steadfast faith in the Lord in the face of trouble to your family?
- Ask God to deepen your dependence on Him and show you ways to be an example of faith for those you love and lead.