Protectors of the Nations: From Misfits to Mighty Men

By Captain Clair

In these days, the nations of the world are in desperate need of Mighty Men. Learning the practices of the mighty men of old, sheds light on the way. This path so rarely trod, has overgrown with cultural discrepancies that hinder the development of true mighty men.

David and his mighty men brought safety to God's people, stability to h

• Language: English
• Publisher: Refreshing Leaders
• Release date: Nov 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951850012

Book preview

The Crushed Soul

Unable to process his thoughts, he lay motionless in a small ditch by the roadside. Veiled by the tall dry grass, he remained unnoticed as the detachment of soldiers reassembled and marched out of town. Watching closely he confirmed the deranged murderer that started all the killing had left town with the soldiers. A full moon was on the rise and it appeared on the horizon much larger than life, in a deep tone of red. On any normal evening, its beauty would take one’s breath away, but this evening it cast an eerie light over a silent village. The aura of death was so heavy it seemed to have a stranglehold on this lone survivor and carried a resolute intent of adding him to the casualties. With his breathing very shallow and irregular, the only sound the survivor could hear was the intense pounding of his own heart. So loud and intense within his own head was it that he was convinced it would notify the killers of his whereabouts; but they were gone now. A rogue thought streamed through his dimly lit consciousness, What difference would one more death make in this day of extreme injustice?

He remained in this sprawled-out position where he fell for what seemed an eternity, completely unable to raise himself up but silently watching the great massacre unfold. With a multitude of feelings from anger to fear to ultimately complete despair surging through his soul, he tried to cry out in defense of the innocent but couldn’t utter a single word. He felt so pressed to the ground beneath him that he could barely breathe. Time passed, and he could feel the chill of the night encroaching; but somehow he remained warm. With much difficulty and great effort, muscle by muscle, he began coaxing his body back into reality. Finally, he forced himself up on his knees. Only then did he recognize the fact that he was soaking wet, with the evening chill penetrating much deeper now. He began sinking back down into the warm water as he surveyed his surroundings. No longer hearing the pounding of his own heart, he slowly became aware of the fact that he didn’t hear anything at all. The village was without a sound; not the noise of a single animal or even the buzzing of an insect was heard. Looking up the road from this higher vantage point, he could clearly see his fallen friends and family along with a great number of animals from the village that had been slaughtered. Suddenly he recognized, with extreme anguish, that the water that had been warm on his skin and gently flowed around where he lay was not water at all, but the life blood of his village. Horrified at the grotesque reality of his plight, he drew himself out of the ditch and forced himself to his feet.

Plodding slowly out of the village, his mind began to clear. He tried his best to consider where he could possibly find safety. He knew life would never be the same again, and he asked himself, What now? What should I do? I’m the only priest… The word priest charged his system like a bolt of lightning! He suddenly knew without a shadow of doubt that he had been spared for a purpose, and he spun around and headed back to the village at nearly a trot. His mind protested loudly, You should by no means return. What if just one soldier remains? You don’t want to see all your friends lying dead! You can’t… you shouldn’t… what if…

With extreme determination he returned and started his search. Finally finding his father’s body in the mass of corpses, he quickly realized it wasn’t there. Of course not, he thought, he wasn’t performing his high priestly duties at the time of the massacre. The atrocity that took place in his village that day burned deeper into his consciousness then he ever imagined possible, as he saw the lifeless faces of his deceased friends. He was determined not to leave the village until he found what he was searching for. He hadn’t seen the king, or his men steal it, which in itself was amazing, but there had been much chaos in the village during the massacre.

Many miles from his home, not exactly sure of his destination and suffering greatly from dehydration and fatigue, he forced himself along at as stiff a pace as he could muster. The evening sun was high in the sky, and he wasn’t sure which day it was, when suddenly a man seemed to appear from nowhere. A man was asking him numerous questions and seemed genuinely concerned for his welfare. He hadn’t seen him up ahead, and he was sure no one had been following him, but here he was. He hesitantly told the man he was looking for David, who he believed was somewhere in the area. The man signaled, and three additional men stepped out of hiding. They were right there, yet he had not noticed them. Astounding, he thought. I must be in worse condition than I thought. Greatly astonished at their kindness to one who looked mentally and physically exhausted, was covered with dirt and dried blood, wore stained and torn clothing, and was a traveler with no bag or provisions for the trip, he graciously accepted some water and a cake of figs. The men were exceptionally helpful and didn’t continue their questions but invited him to follow their lead. They kindly but gently assisted him off the beaten path and through the wilderness to the mouth of a cave. By this time the sun had gone, and the stars were shining brightly. There were many men there. His new friends provided him with water and soap to clean up, gave him some clean clothing to wear and told him to wait for their return as they disappeared into the night.

A meteor blazed across the horizon, coaxing David’s attention back to reality. Reality was that he was daydreaming about sitting out in a field, watching his father’s sheep…but it was night! Can you daydream at night? A big smile crossed his face; the first smile in many days. His thoughts promptly returned to his current dilemma, "How did he end up here?" It seemed that only a moment earlier he was sitting at the king’s table in a place of great honor, and in the next instant he found himself sitting by this hole in the rocks in a place of great dishonor; yes, this hole in the rocks, being a cave where he spent the day hiding from his king.

King Saul, the ruler of his homeland, along with three thousand elite men of war were currently on a search-and-destroy mission. The orders from the king were, Dead or alive, I want David! So forceful was the command that the king himself accompanied the soldiers. Another reason King Saul accompanied the soldiers was that only a short time earlier many of these men were under David’s command, a detail that brought much uneasiness to the king.

Paradoxically, how could one of King Saul’s top commanding officers be on the run, having done no wrong, having no trial and actually having no accusations? How could the king’s own son-in-law make the most-wanted list?

A friendly voice brought David’s thoughts back to the present, Excuse me, commander. It was the voice of Abishai.

This one is a good man with much potential, David thought, and then responded with, How did your patrol go today? Any interesting activities in the area?

Yes, very unusual, Abishai said. With that, he had David’s full attention, as Abishai was not one to make a big issue out of nothing. Abishai continued, "We came across a young man who looked like he had been attacked. He was in terrible condition, close to his end, I might say. His clothing was saturated with blood, and he was covered with mud and dirt from head to toe. I didn’t see how one could lose that amount of blood and still be walking. He wasn’t walking well, but he was walking. He had no bag, no staff and no money. He carried only a small package, something wrapped in cloth, that he was extremely protective of. In his exhaustion he tried to hide it from us, but that didn’t go well for him. I suppose I surprised him a bit as I approached him on the road, for he was not very aware of his surroundings. After his initial fright, and while trying to hide what he was carrying, he asked if I knew where he could find you. He kept saying, ‘David,