God sends help primarily through people. In these three cases, we see how God used one man, two men and a group of men to provide the help needed at the right time and in the right way.
- We first see how God sent one man to step in and deliver David from death. David, the King, leader of Israel and mighty warrior had become ‘weak and exhausted’ and Abishai (one of David’s mighty men), stepped in and rescued him.
2 Samuel 21:15-17
Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the giants; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?”
Abishai was leader of David’s 30 Mighty Men (2 Samuel 23:18)
- We then see how God used two men – Aaron and Hur to hold up the arms of Moses so that Israel could win their battle over the Amalekites.
Both David and Moses were leaders of the people of God. They were men of God, men influence and wisdom, and yet they became weary. They needed the help of others.
Exodus 17: 10-13
So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
- And finally, we see a group of men stepping in and carrying their paralysed friend to Jesus because they knew He would heal him. This group of friends weren’t put off by the fact that they couldn’t get their friend to Jesus because of the crowd. Their devotion to their friend and their faith compelled them to find a way through and so they carried the man up to the roof, broke the roof open and lowered their friend down before Jesus.
Luke 5:17-26
One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
Oh that we would have faith and friends like this.
Put your faith into action
2 Samuel 23:20-23
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.
James writes that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Let us therefore ask God what He wants us to do today and then do that. Also, be open to God using people to help you in your time of need. Maybe it’s one person, as in the case of Abishai, maybe the Lord will send two people to hold your arms up, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses, or maybe God will bless you with a team of people who will carry you when it feels like you can’t walk anymore, as we see with the man who was paralysed.
© 2021 by Ruth O’Reilly-Smith
