WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY IN THE FIGHT 2 Samuel 10:9-14 (Veteran's Day 2013)

Very few have ever heard the name Roy P. Benavidez.

Yet, when he died on November 29, 1998 over 1,500 people attended his funeral to say goodbye and flags across the country were ordered flown at half-mast.

Later on September 14, 2000 the U.S. Navy named a ship after him.

And when the late President Ronald Reagan told the story of Sgt. Benevidez to reporters at a press conference before awarding him the Medal of Honor on February 24, 1981 he prefaced it by saying "you are going to hear something you would not believe if it were a movie".

And here is his story.

On the afternoon of May 2, 1968, Sergeant Roy Benavidez, an Army medic serving with the Green Berets near the Cambodian border was attending a prayer service around a jeep with several other soldiers. Suddenly, shouts rang out from a nearby short-wave radio. "Get us out of here!" someone screamed. "For God's sake, get us out!"  He also heard ''so much shooting, it sounded like a popcorn machine.''

The radio distress call came from a 12-man Special Forces team -- that had been ambushed by North Vietnamese troops at a jungle site a few miles inside Cambodia. Being the only medic nearby and with an evac helicopter getting ready to take off, Benavidez didn’t take the time to retrieve his M-16 but armed with only a knife grabbed his medic bag and dashed for the helicopter preparing for the rescue attempt. Airborne, they spotted the twelve soldiers in a tight circle surrounded by over a hundred enemy troops—some within 25 yards of the Americans' position. The chopper dropped low, ran into withering fire and quickly retreated. Spotting a small clearing 75 yards away, Benavidez told the pilot, "Over there, over there."

The helicopter reached the clearing and hovered 10 feet off the ground. Benavidez offered up a quick prayer and  jumped out of the helicopter with his medic bag and began running the 75 yards towards the trapped men. Almost immediately, Benavidez was hit by an AK-47 slug in his right leg. He stumbled and fell, but got back up convincing himself that he'd only snagged a thorn bush and kept running to the brush pile where the American soldiers lay dead and wounded. An exploding hand grenade knocked him down and ripped his face with shrapnel. He audibly began to pray, got up again and staggered to the men—Four of whom were dead.

Benavidez began to treat the remaining eight wounded soldiers who were in two groups separated by a few feet.  Binding their wounds, injecting morphine and, ignoring NVA bullets and grenades, he also passed around ammunition that he had taken from several bodies and then armed himself with a Russian AK-47. Then Benavidez directed air strikes and called for the Huey helicopter to a landing nearby. While calling in support he was shot again in the right thigh, his second gunshot to his right leg.  Inspite of being wounded twice in the leg as well as in the face and neck he singlehandedly dragged the dead and wounded from the first group aboard the chopper.

The chopper lifted a few feet off the ground and moved toward the second group, with Benavidez running beneath it, providing protective fire by firing a rifle he had picked up at the enemy’s positions. Then spotting the body of the team leader Sergeant First Class Wright and knowing he had classified documents on his person--Benavidez ordered the other soldiers to crawl toward the chopper while he retrieved the classified radio codes and call signs.  As he shoved the papers into his shirt, a bullet struck him in his stomach and a grenade shattered his back.  At the same time the helicopter, barely off the ground, crashed, its pilot shot dead.

Coughing blood, Benavidez made his way to the downed Huey and pulled the wounded from the wreckage, forming a small perimeter. As he passed out ammunition taken from the dead, the air support he had earlier radioed for arrived. Jets and helicopter gunships strafed threatening enemy soldiers while Benavidez tended the wounded. Enemy fire continued to pummel the already wounded soldiers so that several of the wounded were hit again, including Benavidez.  Finally, another evac helicopter landed. "Pray and move out," Benavidez told the men as he helped each one aboard.

As he carried a seriously wounded soldier over his shoulder a fallen North Vietnamese soldier stood up, swung his rifle and clubbed Benavidez in the head breaking his jaw.. Benavidez fell, rolled over and got up just as the soldier lunged forward with his bayonet. Benavidez grabbed it, slashing his right hand, and pulled his attacker toward him. With his left hand, he drew his own bowie knife and stabbed the enemy soldier but not before receiving bayonet wounds to both his arms.

Now wounded 37 times Benavidez dragged the other wounded soldier to the chopper. Upon reaching the aircraft, he saw two enemy soldiers rushing the helicopter from an angle that prevented the aircraft door gunner from firing upon them.  Benavidez picked up an enemy weapon and wiping the blood out of his eyes fired upon them—killing them and saving this second helicopter full wounded troops.

With little strength remaining, he made one last trip to the clearing and came back with the unit’s wounded Vietnamese interpreter. Only then did the sergeant let the others pull him aboard the helicopter. Blood dripped from the door as the chopper lumbered into the air. Benavidez was holding in his intestines with his hand. Bleeding almost into unconsciousness, Benavidez lay against another badly wounded soldier and held his hand until they got to the base camp.

Once the medevac chopper landed the dead and wounded soldiers were unloaded and examined one by one.  Sergeant Benavidez could only hear what was going on around him. He had over thirty seven puncture wounds. His intestines were exposed. He could not see as his eyes were caked in blood and unable to open. Neither could he speak, his jaw broken, clubbed by a North Vietnamese rifle. But he knew what was happening, and it was the scariest moment of his life, even more so than the earlier events of the day.  He had been placed in a body bag presumed dead. As the doctor bent over to zip up the body bag. Benavidez did the only thing he could think of to let the doctor know that he was alive. He spit in the doctor's face. The surprised doctor reversed Roy's condition from dead to "He won't make it, but we'll try".

Sergeant Benavidez spent almost a year in hospitals recovering from his injuries. He had seven major gunshot wounds, twenty-eight shrapnel holes and both arms had been slashed by a bayonet. Benavidez had shrapnel in his head, scalp, shoulder, buttocks, feet, and legs. His right lung was destroyed. He had injuries to his mouth and back of his head from being clubbed with a rifle butt and inspite of this—he never quit!

And whereas not every person who has put on the uniform of this country has paid the price Sgt. Benevidez did—if they are veterans—they are veterans because they too did not quit. You can’t become a veteran by quitting.  Veterans are those men and women who stuck with it and finished their course. And today we are going to be talking about what it takes to stay in the ring and not quit. Whether, the fight you are in is a tough marriage, a difficult family situation, a difficult ministry, a challenging problem at school, a difficult person at work, a besetting sin that won’t let go, some life style or health changes that need to be made, or having to deal with some pain in your life—perhaps physical or emotional—how do we keep on keeping on and move forward and not quit when life is tough and our circumstances are not fun?

Let’s turn to 2 Samuel 10 and find out.

In 2 Samuel 10, King David has just dispatched some of his servants to console and encourage a young crown prince named Hanun on the death of his father who was the King of the Ammonites. Hanun, however under the influence of his counselors, believed David had sent these men to spy out the land in order to take advantage of the transition of power that was taking place so as to overthrow Hanun’s new reign. So, Hanun arrested David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards and cut off their robes at hip level and sent them back to David. While the humiliated men were enroute to Jerusalem, David was made aware of the situation and ordered them to stay in Jericho until their beards grew back.

Knowing they had offended and angered King David, the Ammonites prepared for war with Israel by hiring mercenaries to assist them in case war did break out. The mercenaries of choice were the Arameans or the Syrians as we know them today--who had a grudge to take care of with David for an earlier battle in which David’s soldiers killed 18,000 of them in the Valley of Salt (2 Sam. 8:13).

Well, they were right—David was not a man to fool with and he did not take kindly to the actions of the Ammonites and so he ordered up Joab and The Mighty Men or the Special Forces of Israel’s Army to respond deploying them to Rabbah, the fortress capital city of the Ammonites. Now—interestingly enough—2 Samuel 10:7 literally reads that David sent out all the host of the mighty men. 

It is important to understand that Israel did not maintain a huge standing army. Instead King David relied upon a small standing army of full-time soldiers that could be supplemented by thousands of reserves in time of emergency. It is possible that a portion of this smaller standing army is the army David deploys to deal with this situation. If so, this smaller force would be terribly outnumbered by ththe Aramean mercenaries who numbered 33,000 and Ammonite Army stationed primarily in and around the capital city of Rabbah.

But, it is also possible that this “host of mighty men” were those mighty men of valor—King David’s elite “special ops” fighting men—mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:39, which numbered only 37 men—setting the scene for what potentially could end up being a slaughter.

Regardless of the odds and probably not aware that the Ammonites had brought in 33,000 Aramean mercenaries to help them—Joab marched his small army 45 miles from Jerusalem to Rabbah, which, today is known as Amman, Jordan. According to archeologists, the city was located on the highest of seven centrally located hills at an elevation of around 3500 feet.
The city was a fortress city and was referred to as “The Citadel” by the Greeks who conquered it years later. And it was against this fortress city that Joab led his men.

Again, probably not realizing that 33,000 Aramean mercenary soldiers had joined the fight—Joab positioned his troops below and outside the city. But, no sooner had he done this than the Aramean soldiers emerged from the canyons below Joab’s troops and formed a battle line behind him. Joab’s small army was now surrounded. They were, in effect, between a rock and a hard place with no way of excape.

So, with that background, let’s pick up the story in 2 Samuel 10:9-14 and as we do I hope we will learn something about what it takes to stay in the fight when there is no way out and no way of escape.

Note the first phrase of verse 9.  “Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him . . .”

Joab knows that he and his men are in dire straits—they are on the enemy’s home turf, overwhelmingly out-numbered, their  enemy holds the high ground, and they are being encircled in the rear by another army of well-trained, battle-hardened, and revenge-seeking Arameans and the nearest reinforcements are at least eight hours away. 

In other words, Joab and his very small army are in a seemingly impossible situation between a rock and a hard place and really have no where to go.

Yet, Joab does not panic nor do his men. Instead of turning and running or running up the white flag of surrender at the first sign that his army is in really big trouble—Joab stops, thinks, and puts together a plan as though he really thinks his desperately out-numbered, out-maneuvered, and out-resourced Army has a chance against these odds.

Back in WW2 at the Battle of the Bulge when the 101^st Airborne Division was surrounded by the German Army in the city of Bastogne, Belgium the Germans sent four couriers demanding the full surrender of the 101^st. The reply they received from Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, the 101st's artillery chief and acting division commander was: “Us surrender--Nuts—not when we have you right where we want you.”

I think this was Joab’s attitude as well.  If there is a battle to fight and a battle worth fighting—let’s get on with it and let God’s will be done but let’s not quit. And here is what Joab did to prevent himself and his men from giving into despair, discouragement, depression, despondency, and a sense of hopelessness and gloom at their bleak and really dismal circumstances.

1.   He took charge and provided leadership.  (9)

Joab didn’t waste any time forming a committee, a think-tank, a task force, or an advisory council. He didn’t ask for a show of hands, take a poll, or get a consensus. And while none of those things are necessarily wrong in and of themselves, in times of crisis—that which gives people confidence, stability, and hope are leaders who can see the situation, identify the problem, make a quick assessment of his resources, and deploy them for the greatest advantage possible. And that’s what Joab did.

And that is what we need to do to when facing dire straits. See the situation clearly and realistically, identify the real problem, assess your resources, and deploy them for the greatest good.

2.   He prioritized the challenges facing him and deployed his resources accordingly.  (9-10)

Joab dealt with the greatest threat and the biggest problem first.  He realized immediately that his greatest threat was not the Ammonites defending the city above him but rather the Aramean mercenaries coming up and forming a battle line below him. Joab knew they were the better trained, more experienced, and more extensively armed soldiers.

So, he immediately chose and deployed his best men to deal with the greatest challenge facing them. He wisely, did not waste his big guns on the smaller problems.  He matched his resources to the challenges facing him.

So, having to fight on two fronts, Joab divides his force and positions his best men against the mercenaries while putting the remainder of his men under the command of his brother Abishai to face the Ammonite stronghold.

Many times our failure to deal effectively with the challenges of life are the result of failing to deal with the big issues for the simple reason that they seem so ominous and intimidating. We put off our big decisions—we ignore our relationship issues—we neglect those nagging major problems facing us—hoping they’ll somehow go away.

But they don’t and in the end we find out that it took more energy to ignore and hide from it than to deal with it.

Big problems don’t get easier to handle by ignoring them—they only grow worse.

3.   He was willing to ask for and offer help.  (11)

Joab did not fall into the trap of thinking he had to solve or deal with this potentially catastrophic situation on his own.
He leaves room for the possibility that he may not be able to effectively deal with the Aramean forces aligned against him.

And so, he tells his brother who is commanding the other half of the Army to be ready to come and help if they see that help is necessary. Note that he does not tell his brother to be ready to help if I call for you. He essentially says—if it becomes apparent to you that I am floundering and about to be overwhelmed come to our aid and help us.

Joab knew there was simply is no room for pride in this situation.
But not only does he ask for help if needed—he offers the same help to his brother and his forces if they need it. And obviously, the offer of such help when facing such an indomitable foe would put Joab and the troops he had chosen to deploy against the Aramean mercenaries in an even more precarious situation but it was the right thing to do. He is not merely thinking about himself and the huge challenge—really the greater challenge before him—he makes sure his brother understands that they are in this fight together and must help each other if they are to survive.

We too, must not allow our own personal challenges so consume us that we fail to see the challenges of others and offer our help even when it seems that by offering our help we are making ourselves even more susceptible to failure, loss, or even destruction. And like Joab, we must be willing to accept help and in fact make it known that we want help when things become too big for us to handle alone.

4.   He was properly motivated.  (12)

The funny thing about the right motivation is it snowballs, creates confidence, and has the ability to propel us towards greatness. Motivation unleashes pent up desire and potential we never knew we had. It opens the lens for us to see the possible in the impossible and to thrive in the midst of circumstances most find difficult to survive. Furthermore, proper motivation is contagious

Joab knew this and so in verse 12 he reminds his troops of why they are there on that battlefield in the first place.

He urges them to be strong and to show themselves courageous for the sake of their people and the cities of God in which God’s people lived and manifested the character and the glory of God. Joab knew that the results of this battle would have a direct impact upon God’s people—even those not engaged in the battle who were sitting peacefully back at home. He reminds his troops that how they fight this battle and how this battle ends will either benefit or harm the people of God.

And the same is true of us.  We don’t face our challenges and fight our battles in a vacuum.  All that we do or don’t do—all that we say or don’t say—whether we run or fight—whether we quit or stick-it-out has an impact on someone for better or worse.

So—we are to fight our battles whatever they may be not so much with us in mind as much as with our families, our church family, our friends, and the people God has brought into our lives to minister to in mind. And this is hard because we are much more geared to engaging in and fighting battles for our own sake and our own agendas rather than the sake of others.

Secondly, Joab reminded his men that they were to be strong and fight bravely for the sake of the cities of God or God’s cities—which was almost used as a figure of speech for the “glory of God” since the cities of the ancient world were thought to have been built and exist for the glory and pleasure of whatever god the people worshipped.

Thus, what Joab is doing is motivating his men to be strong in battle and not give into their fears and quit but to stay and fight—even in an impossible situation, against unbelievable odds—for the sake of God’s people and God’s glory and God’s honor.

So—how we face our challenges and fight our own seemingly impossible battles affects God’s people and God’s glory?

Quiting—whether it is giving into your fears, your sin habits, your feelings of inadequacy, the crushing weight of depression, or your track record of failures—just can’t be an option!

Running out on your commitments, leaving a less than satisfying marriage, bailing on your obligations, finding the easy way out, and deserting your post—whatever and wherever that may be can’t even be a consideration—not if you want to benefit others and glorify God.

5.    He left the outcome of his decisions and the battle in God’s Hands.  (12c)

What does it mean when Joab says—“and may the LORD do what is good in His sight?”

It means that Joab had made a strategic decision for the sake of God’s people and God’s glory and he did not know how it would turn out.

He had no special revelation from God on this issue. He had to make a decision on the basis of the facts presented to him and some sanctified wisdom.

He had to risk or run.

He did not know how it would turn out. So he made his decision and he handed the results over to God.  And this was the right thing to do and it is also the right thing to do today when we are in similar situations.

Listen, this is the only attitude to have when facing tough decisions in life and especially in the battles you are fighting. This is the kind of attitude that frees us to make decisions and take action when we are not sure of all the facts because it is the kind of attitude that all the while willing to do its duty and engage whatever issues it is facing is also trusting God with the results.

6.    He faced his impossible circumstances head-on.  (13-14)

Then in verse 13--after reminding his troops of why they were fighting and after committing the battle and its results to God’s sovereign will—Joab orders his men to charge headlong into the Aramean lines.

The Bible says—“they drew near” to the enemy.  In other words they charged the enemy and took the battle to them and apparently with such ferocity that the enemy turned and ran.

In other words, instead of trying to avert or run from the enemy—they—for the sake of God’s people and God’s glory charged their enemy.

As Robert Frost wrote: “The best way out is always through.”

And the enemy was so caught off guard by the boldness and the courage of Joab’s men that they ran.

One army fighting for the glory of their God and for the benefit of God’s people won the day, the glory, and the joy--while the other fighting for its own self-preservation ran away and lost everything.

God’s approach to problem solving is pretty simple and straight forward—Face them head on, never turn your back on them, don’t quit, and you’ll make headway.

Quit, turn and run and you’ll end up hurting others, dishonoring God and having to face the same problems another day.

Ultimately, Joab’s story, just like Sgt. Roy P. Benavidez’s story, and “yes” even our impossible stories are all pictures of the Greatest Story ever told.

You see, Jesus is a veteran.  He is a warrior who came and fought and died on the battlefield—giving His life for the souls of men. And He won the fight by staying in the fight and never quitting. And Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, went to the cross, despised its shame, finished his fight, and won the victory over hell for every person who would believe in Him and He did it all for the joy set before Him—the joy of seeing people rescued from sin and the joy of seeing His Father glorified.

That’s why we stay in the fight—for the sake of God’s people—our families, our loved ones, our friends, and our church family and ultimately for the glory of our God.