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Life Lessons from Mighty Men - Shammah  Next in command was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines. But he made a stand in the middle of that area. He defended it and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory. 2 Samuel 23:11-12 (NET Bible) Military strategy has always held that one of the keys to conducting a successful campaign is too choose the spot of the battle wisely. Much like building a business the three rules of battle could be said to be location, location, location. Throughout history many an army with superior numbers of men, artillery, and supplies suffered defeat because they failed to understand the lay of the land. Shammah, another of King David’s famed mighty men, however, understood the concept perfectly. The mighty men of David that we have seen thus far have been brave, determined, and strong. Shammah adds a new wrinkle to the concept of mightiness – wisdom. His story is similar to that of Eleazar in that we once again find the vaunted Israelite army running from the battle instead of to it. Unlike Eleazar before him, Shammah does not respond with pure brute force and determination. Shammah viewed the field of battle and made a decision that generals, from Alexander to Patton would have been proud to make. He decided to turn the troops around by making a stand, but he did it in a nearby field of lentils. Lentils are annual plants that produce seeds that are a cousin of the bean and they grow within pods. Lentil plants can grow from 1 to 2 and a half feet tall and they are known grow the best on level or even slightly rolling land. A field full of lentil plants would give a defending soldier a distinct advantage against his attackers because of the difficulty caused by having to navigate the plants as they attacked. As men we often find ourselves dealing with life’s challenging situations. When those times come our determination will be important, our willingness to accept risk will be valuable, but our ability to also act rationally and wisely will also be invaluable. As husbands we will have to lead our families through situations that may be dangerous and even a little frightening, at those times if we act as men of wisdom as well as strength we will have learned the lesson of Shammah. Staff Writer: Aaron Sharp |
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