Ambidextrous warriors
This week is on 1 Chronicles 12:1-2:
These verses are from a section where the chronicler is describing the sort of superhero-like warriors King David surrounded himself with. A lot of the previous guys listed were honored for how many people they'd killed, or what sort of WWE moves they'd busted out on various man-eating predators and circus freaks. These guys were just described as ambidextrous and somewhat unfaithful to their tribe.
These warriors were members of Saul's tribe. That means they should have been loyal to Saul, even if he wasn't God's anointed king at the time. The fact that he was the king only should have made them more loyal, yet they went into enemy territory to serve under David in exile rather than stick with their kinsman and leader. Something was up with these guys.
What's more is that they were ambidextrous. They'd trained themselves to shoot with either hand. This was during a time when left-handedness sort of had the stigma of demon possession, and people were often "corrected" to use their right hand for everything. These people made a conscious open effort to be proficient with either hand. Why? I know the recruiters don't really tell this part, but people are often wounded and disfigured in wars. If the enemy cuts off the forefingers of your right hand, or if your sling arm gets hit with an arrow, Mr Ambidextrous can keep on fighting. Mr Right-at-all-costs becomes a human pincushion, or a slave.
So these guys probably came across as betrayers, unfaithful, somewhat crazy, unclean, etc, but they were actually the ultimate warriors. They were flexible enough to fight unconventionally, and they put righteousness above family and national loyalty. Those two traits are almost unheard of in the general population.
To whom are you bound by loyalty? And where is your strength lopsided and weak? These men weren't hindered by either of these things, and they were recorded in the history books of Israel as great warriors. Are you willing to endure the stigma of being unusual in order to be on the right side of the fight? Are you willing to practice comprehensively in order to not be caught off guard? If so, maybe you'll be listed as a great warrior too.
These were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the warriors who helped him in battle; they were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones right-handed or left-handed; they were relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin):
These verses are from a section where the chronicler is describing the sort of superhero-like warriors King David surrounded himself with. A lot of the previous guys listed were honored for how many people they'd killed, or what sort of WWE moves they'd busted out on various man-eating predators and circus freaks. These guys were just described as ambidextrous and somewhat unfaithful to their tribe.
These warriors were members of Saul's tribe. That means they should have been loyal to Saul, even if he wasn't God's anointed king at the time. The fact that he was the king only should have made them more loyal, yet they went into enemy territory to serve under David in exile rather than stick with their kinsman and leader. Something was up with these guys.
What's more is that they were ambidextrous. They'd trained themselves to shoot with either hand. This was during a time when left-handedness sort of had the stigma of demon possession, and people were often "corrected" to use their right hand for everything. These people made a conscious open effort to be proficient with either hand. Why? I know the recruiters don't really tell this part, but people are often wounded and disfigured in wars. If the enemy cuts off the forefingers of your right hand, or if your sling arm gets hit with an arrow, Mr Ambidextrous can keep on fighting. Mr Right-at-all-costs becomes a human pincushion, or a slave.
So these guys probably came across as betrayers, unfaithful, somewhat crazy, unclean, etc, but they were actually the ultimate warriors. They were flexible enough to fight unconventionally, and they put righteousness above family and national loyalty. Those two traits are almost unheard of in the general population.
To whom are you bound by loyalty? And where is your strength lopsided and weak? These men weren't hindered by either of these things, and they were recorded in the history books of Israel as great warriors. Are you willing to endure the stigma of being unusual in order to be on the right side of the fight? Are you willing to practice comprehensively in order to not be caught off guard? If so, maybe you'll be listed as a great warrior too.
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