Being a Benaiah, Part 1

Men that are real men – that’s what we desperately need! Just because a man can slam dunk a basketball, outrun everyone else on the field, and bench press more weight than a building crane it does NOT make him a real man, just a physically fit one.  I’ve seen athletes with these characteristics but they are selfish, conceited, emotional babies that cry anytime someone else looks at them sideways. If they don't get their way, well, honor is NOT the word that describes them.  What we need are more men like Benaiah. Read this short passage. 

“Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man (the Chronicles account states the Egyptian was 5 cubits in height and his spear was the size of a weaver’s beam). The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among the three mighty men. He was more honorable than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.”  (2 Samuel 23:20-23 and 1 Chronicles 11:22-23)

 

Benaiah was “more honorable than the thirty.” Now, friends, that’s saying something! Those thirty were the “best of the best of the best, yes, sir!” and to say that this man was more honorable is staggering. The character quality of honor has become a rarity in our culture, making this study timely. Let’s tear open the wrappings around this fascinating man and observe the components of an honorable hero. Honor is doing the right thing at all times regardless of the cost or unexpected circumstances. Though our world has lowered the bar regarding honor (as well as the definition of what is “right”) this was also the case in Benaiah’s day. Remember, they had just emerged from the time of the Judges, an era where “every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Sound familiar? See, just as before, we need a generation of men that desire to be “more honorable!”

The characteristics that gave Benaiah the mantle of honor starts with the subtle explanation of the three battles that are listed twice in the Scriptures (noted above). He fought an Egyptian, a couple of Moabites, and a lion. Interestingly, Egypt is always a picture of “the world,” the cultural norms and pinnacle of human achievements. The Moabites started out through vile immorality and are constantly guilty of sensual, lascivious actions that were a perverse and unfortunately strong influence on Israel; this is a picture of “the flesh.” (Note: Rahab was the ONLY bright spot in Moab’s history, and an encouragement for us all.) The third battle Benaiah fought was with a lion, an obvious picture that the Apostle Peter described of our most dreadful enemy, “the devil.” So there you have the story in a nutshell – Benaiah overcame the “world,” the “flesh,” and the “devil,” key ingredients of a man of honor. We all face these three enemies on a daily basis, some more often than others, but the man of honor learns how to defeat them all. It’s no surprise that all of our armed forces use the word, “honor,” to describe the caliber of warrior they desire to inspire.

Take notice this week of the number of encounters you face with these three enemies. Mentally record the battles you win and the ones you lose. (Don't pretend you can't do that - we're men, we always keep score!) Go for the gold, my fellow heroic protege', and make the score an annihilation of the adversary, a complete victory, and give no ground over to these 'life-eaters.' This is a choice, a conscious decision. Make it, and make it again, and again. Be a Benaiah.

Big, Bad Benjaminites! Part 2

The passage of Scripture that we are studying in this continued look at “Characteristics of Biblical Heroes” is 1 Chronicles 12:1-2 (it is in the previous blog in italics). The Benjaminites were unusual in that they possessed the ability to fight and fire weapons with both hands. We looked at this importance of this characteristic in the last blog, but there is still much we can learn from these big, bad boys. We each are equipped with skills, abilities, talents, and natural tendencies that are unique and specialized and we have these qualities through the combined “blessings” of giftedness, aptitude, experience, and upbringing. That is what makes each one of us so different. The “Weapons of our Warfare,” is still the Sword of the Spirit, the infallible, inerrant, living words of Holy Writ. How we utilize, wield, and display our own personal technique of “Sword play” is as unique as each one of us, allowing those individual “blessings” to create our own style of methodology in Weaponry. What we must do is learn the Sword and then allow that knowledge to permeate our own talents, thinking, and skillset. Such a person is indeed formidable!

Studying these Benjaminites also reveals that they were the first group to respond to David’s leadership. This quality of immediate response to a calling or need is attractive and shows initiative and commitment. Chronicles also describes them as blood kin to the present king, “Saul’s brethren,” making the current affairs of state quite personal being directly related to the sitting leadership. They confronted the reality of Saul’s lack of obedience, irrational use of military resources, and poor decision making skills. Notice how they looked past the “blood is thicker than water” tendency and saw that David would provide the type of godly direction Israel needed. Application? Heroes do not give family or acquaintances a pass just because they are personally close. Equally as important they take the initiative in creating the environment for change. These two attributes together illustrate a critical attitude in the heart of a hero.

 

The take away this week is the fact that we could all do a better job increasing our skill in using the Weapons of our Warfare, the Scriptures. We you consider that Jesus used this very weapon when tempted by the devil (Matt. 4, Mark 1, Luke 4), who are we to think that we could somehow do a better job with some other tool?! There is not a better exercise program we can engage in than to the one that extends our reach, builds our strength, and widens our target by the acquisition of God's Holy Word in our hearts and minds. In essence, Biblical strength training and conditioning IS the breakfast of Spiritual Champions!

Hero-Factories

On a cellular level, men and women are not even on the same planet. Not just the obvious physiological differences but in ways not as easily recognized. For instance, every muscle fiber in a man’s body has 50% more brute strength (fiber per fiber) than the average woman’s. The average man has a lung capacity that is about 30% greater than the average woman (the reason woman tend to faint more easily), giving him a much higher consistency of oxygenated blood. This super-charged blood allows him to have greater stamina, energy, and endurance. Since this is true, our very bodies make it clearly obvious that God has created us men to guard, protect, lead, defend, and be the hero in times of danger and threat. It’s not that women can’t be strong or develop endurance; it’s just that they are not as genetically fashioned to do so. So here is my point –

Since men are designed to provide heroic leadership and protection, should not the Church provide the best training grounds for such development? We should be a Hero-Factory!

Ok, reality check – my opinion on this topic written in this blog is not going to make any difference in the grand scheme of things. I can’t make a significant shift on a western, church-culture paradigm with a simple 5-paragraph opinion column, but if I can at least get some of you thinking on how to “undo” the damage to the male psyche by our current trends, I will certainly put this in the “win” column! I have been talking with a friend (Al Stone) that has given his lifelong, ministerial energies to seeing Men’s Ministries develop and become an established vehicle in each church. He has expressed a concern that the need for such training as well as the opportunities for men to have an outlet for using their unique gifts has grown to a dangerous level the last several years. Well, I agree with Al, and I would at least like to give some ideas that can help create an environment that will allow some ‘Davids’ to be birthed, developed, and freed to defeat the Goliaths in our current era.

My earlier blogs touched on the focus of our contemporary worship services and how they tend to leave out the manly man. I’m not going to get on a rant here, but at least look at your music selection and make sure there are some “token” manly songs included. Try not to repeat phrases over and over to elicit an emotional response. Men are uncomfortable in that arena. Sing it a couple of times and go to another song. Preach strong doctrine to men. Stop diluting the tough standards and directives from the Scriptures to men that need and desire to be spoken to firmly and unapologetically. Every David needs a Nathan that will point their finger in our face and declare, “Thou art the man!” Strong preaching will create strong leadership from your men! We NEED tough messages that get in our face!

Here is a suggestion that I have some experience with and a passion for seeing implemented. Try to develop ministry opportunities that allow men to use their giftedness, interests, and muscle. For instance, create a construction team that uses mission’s moneys to help rebuild porches, walkways, simple home repairs, or additions for single moms, seniors, or someone that is less fortunate. A car ministry team that has a special day each month to change oil, do simple repairs, etc. for widows, single moms, and the less fortunate in your church and community. Have a team of men that teach marksmanship for bow and gun to younger boys. Provide annual father/son camping adventures with fishing, hunting, and survival techniques emphasized. Have men with experience or knowledge in a particular sport provide lessons for up and coming young men so to give them an advantage when they begin tryouts.  Coordinate the classes to begin right before each season (example – ‘baseball basics’ on Saturday afternoons in February, basketball fundamentals in September), using men with experience, talent, and a willingness to invest in kids.

We need our heroes. There has been a glut in the Goliath market, in every sector, every community. Let’s provide the Lord a place to raise up a host of Davids to match them. If every church viewed their men and the men in their community as mighty warriors looking for a place to do battle against immeasurable odds … well, we might just do things differently. We ought to be a hero-factory!