What happened to the water bottle?
“The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.” I Samuel 26:11 KJV
When I decided not to return to college I turned my attention to a career in plumbing. I worked as a plumber’s helper in the summers between college semesters to help me pay for my education. It was hard, physical work. I’m really surprised it didn’t motivate me more to stay in school and get an education. For whatever reason, though, this is the direction my life took.
I quickly signed up for plumbing trade school and I had to attend those classes two nights a week after I got off work. After attending a class or two in the first year program, I talked them into letting me start out in the second year class. They had a banquet at the end of the each year. At that banquet they gave the person with the highest grade in the different year classes some money as an award. I did not realize this until the first banquet I attended. That year, without much effort, I finished with the second best grade in the class. That would be the last year I finished second.
One day as I was working my job as a plumber’s helper, my boss turned to me and said, “You know you are probably the best helper I have ever had. Even if I have to pay you plumber’s wages, I think I’m going to always keep you as a helper.” That didn’t sound very appealing to me, so I started looking for another job. With one year left in plumbing school I wanted to make sure I found a company that would pay for the schooling so I could finish. I found one and my boss was not very happy about my leaving.
In the last year of plumbing school there was even a bigger prize for the highest grade. One of my friends who still worked at the old plumbing company I use to work for, told me, “As you walked up to receive your reward, the owner of the company (the old company I use to work for) turned to one of your old bosses and said, ‘What do we have to do to get employees like that?’” It was such a big company he didn’t even know I use to work for him. My old bosses weren’t going to tell him either.
He was a soldier in the British army, but he really didn’t get all that much respect. When the English had their vast colony network, they didn’t think of those people as citizens, they thought of them as subjects. No matter how much you scrubbed or worked you couldn’t ever wipe that off of you. You would always be a subject and there would always be a British citizen who would be better than you.
Benjamin Lincoln was appointed the commander of the southern department during the Revolutionary War. His army was forced to retreat from Savannah, Georgia and they headed to Charleston, South Carolina. It wasn’t long after their arrival in Charleston that the British caught up with them. Lincoln and his soldiers were forced to surrender. The common courtesy of the time was to allow the surrendering party to march out with pride and dignity. They would wave their flag and shoulder their muskets. In respect, they would play a tune of the capturing army as they filed out. The British commander refused their request to do this.
Sometimes it feels like the whole world is out to get you. You really haven’t done anything wrong. In fact, you have used almost all your effort to try to make things better. That was the way it was with him. No matter how loud he yelled no one really heard him. Now he was a man on the run and everywhere he went he seem to have to defend himself. It wasn’t much of a life.
There he was in the Wilderness of Ziph hoping that this might be a place where he could find some peace. He was wrong. Even out here in the middle of nowhere his problems came searching for him. As the dust closed in on him, he watched it settle. As it settled he watched the star lite sky. He knew his answered did not lie in the valley of dust, but beyond the stars above.
It was October 17, 1781 and the enemy knew they had been defeated. They sent out one of their drummers first. He was followed by an officer waving a white handkerchief. Now it seemed the mighty British would have to welcome new citizens into the world. No longer subjects to the Crown their life could begin anew.
General George Washington was a loyal and strong British solider before we sought our independence. He tried to move up in rank, but was constantly denied because he was only a British subject and not a British citizen. Now, here in Yorktown, Virginia, he sat with the mighty Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, who was surrendering his troops to their one time soldier.
As they were working out the peace terms, Cornwallis requested that his men be afforded the dignity of surrendering soldiers and be allowed to file out proudly with their flag waving and the weapons on their shoulders. Of course, they would lower themselves to playing an American tune. Remembering Charleston and how Cornwallis treated Benjamin Lincoln, George Washington denied their request.
While Saul and his men slept, David and Abihai calmly walked down to where Saul was sleeping next to his general and troops. God had caused a deep sleep to fall over them. At the head of Saul was his spear stuck in the ground and a bottle of water. Abihai turned toward David and said, “Let me grab the spear and I would not even have to stab him twice to take the life right out of him.” David denied the request because he knew God was in control and if he took matters into his own hands he would be taking them out of God’s hands. David took Saul’s spear and his water bottle.
David and Abihai climbed back up the hill. When they reached a safe place David called out to General Abner and his army, “What kind of general are you? You can’t even protect your king.” Abner called back, “The nerve of you, yelling so loud that you might wake the king.” David then showed them the spear and the water bottle. Saul acknowledges David’s kindness and asked his forgiveness. David then does something that proved he was leaving it up to God. David tells Saul to send up one of the boys and he will give the lad Saul’s spear. They then depart in separate directions.
Sometimes it is real easy to get caught up in an attitude of “I’ll show them.” Whether it is a new job, being able to deny something you were once denied, or just returning a spear you really don’t need anyway, justice is always better when it is the Lord’s hands that administer it.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, It is real easy to look at how unfair things are and want to see justice right then. Hurt feelings can lead to anger and anger is never a good companion. Please grant me the wisdom to let You do the judging. Amen.
