Use the Bow
2 Samuel 1:18
“(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)”
A grieving David laments how Saul and Jonathan died. He didn’t just lose his leader, but he lost a friend and family member. David was the son-in-law to Saul, and he loved him dearly. Though in the latter part of Saul’s life he didn’t treat David right, he still loved Saul with all his heart. The words that Saul and Jonathan were killed were devastating words.
In the midst of this national disaster, David determined to learn some lessons. David learned that Saul and Jonathan had been shot by archers. Evidently, the Philistines were very good with the bow. In those days the bow was the only way to fight warfare at a distance because most combat was done with the sword. Saul’s army lacked archers, thus they were killed. In the verse above, David determined that he would teach the children of Judah to use the bow so that this tragedy would never happen again. There are three lessons you can learn from this tragedy.
First, find out where your weaknesses are and strengthen them. Everyone has a weakness. One of the biggest tragedies in Christianity is that people tend to focus on their strengths and ignore their weaknesses to their own detriment. Trust me, the Devil knows your weakness. Just like the Philistines knew that Israel couldn’t fight with the bow, the Devil knows where you are weak. You need to learn where your weaknesses are and strengthen those areas.
Are you weak in being faithful to study the Word of God? Then you need to focus on strengthening your character to make yourself read God’s Word. Is your weakness a cold heart, lack of prayer, neglect to tell others about Christ, worldliness, selfishness or lustful thoughts? Don’t ignore your weaknesses. Be sure to work on strengthening those areas of your life where you are weak.
Second, learn how to win from your adversaries. If Saul would have studied the Philistine army, he would have learned that they used the bow in combat. That knowledge would have taught him to teach his army how to use the bow. There are some tactics that the heathen use to get victory in areas of their lives that are not wrong to copy. The reason they’re not wrong is because they are using scriptural principles without knowing it. If you find someone who is successful in a certain area, then learn from them and apply to your life the scriptural principles that they’ve used.
Third, this story teaches that we need everyone to get on board. Christian, we are in a warfare and we need everyone we can to be involved with this battle against Satan. Satan has wounded and killed many of our Christian comrades, and we need you to be involved in this battle. David said he would “teach the children of Judah the use of the bow.” He was going to involve everyone.
There is something you can do in the battle against Satan. No matter what your weaknesses, strengthen them so that you can better fight in this war. There also needs to be some who already know how to fight this warfare who will teach others how to fight. Someone who already knew how to use the bow had to teach those who did not. Likewise, whatever you know about serving the LORD, you need to teach it to others.
Don’t let this call to action go to waste, but learn and apply these three areas to your life so you can better fight against Satan and his forces. We are on the winning side, but we need you to help us move forward in this great battle. Will you help?