Life is temporal and what we have been given always gets old and fades away. Even the Egyptian kings and queens, with all their gold, didn't take any of it with them. But there is more than money and resources. Each of us has also been given gifts, abilities and capabilities that give us an advantage against other we compete with for jobs and the like. In the case of 2 Samuel, we find a fighting warrior-descendent of the giants who had six toes on each foot and six fingers on each hand. To be fare, this may very well have been Goliath, a Nephilim but written about a second character (in copyright error) in 2 Samuel. That being said, the lesson is the same in that this giant was given a massive advantage as a soldier of such size with extra digits on his hands and feet. This condition is called "polydactyly", the term for when someone has extra digits, or fingers or toes. It usually means that a baby is born with at least six fingers on one or both hands or six toes on one or both feet. With these extra digits, larger weapons can be carried and greater traction and stability can be had on foot. Think about a six wheeled bush-vehicle vs. a four wheel one. In such a case that these extra digits were seen as a tactical advantage-such an advantage could and can be used for God's good, or for evil and bad. Let's read the verses in 2 Samuel.
“…there was again war in Garth, where there was a man of greater stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. There four were descendent from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants” (2 Samuel 21:20-2)
SO WHAT? In 2 Samuel, we just read about a decedent of giants who had six toes on each feet and six fingers on each hand. This evidently gave the man great fighting ability. A giant fighting man with 24 digits can be used for good or for bad. The same is true of you and I as individuals with our own God given skills and Giftedness. We can use them for good or bad. you and I can use what little or much the Lord has bestowed open us for His glory or our own.
As we start shit new week, I want to challenge all of us to please stop and inventory WHAT and HOW you are giving to the Lord and see if we can and/or need to be doing more for His kingdom. I'm not just talking money here, but that is part of the equation. Let's be mindful to the truth that our failure to do good with what we have been given may contribute to the bad, either directly or indirectly. Let's be careful to avoid such a thing. As such, let's make sure that we are on mission as Christians to further God’s kingdom as He has called us.
And, if you and I will do this, God will work THROUGH us. By doing so, the JOY of the Lord will overwhelmingly bless us. And there is no experience on earth that compares with that.
"MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING, SO THAT BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT YOU MAY ABOUT IN HOPE" (ROMANS 15:13).