Eleazar

"And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the son of Ahohi, among the three mighty men who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle, and when the men of Israel withdrew. He arose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand stuck to the sword; and the LORD worked a great deliverance that day; and the people returned after him only to take the spoil." [JFA Corrigida Fiel] (vss. 9-10).

Eleazar was a man who remained in the heat of battle when his brothers withdrew. They retreated and went away, but he stayed there and faced the enemy, even when he grew tired. He could have argued that, since the others were leaving, he could likewise have gone too. But he remained faithful. And the Lord used him to obtain a victory and also to bring about a restoration among his brothers. Notice: the end of verse 9 says, "the men of Israel withdrew," but the end of verse 10 says, "and the people returned after him."

The lesson for us here is that God values faithfulness in times of unfaithfulness. Do you see people leaving the ground they once valued? Do you also feel like giving up? Well, let this man serve as an encouragement to you. I notice that, the more and more people leave the true ground of gathering and go away, the harder it becomes to go to the assembly. But let us hold firm and not give up. Who knows, we may be used by the Lord to bring about a restoration in some of our brothers and sisters who have gone away. God rewards the faithfulness of those who continue in the testimony of the assembly – even if there are only two or three. Remember, the greater the difficulty along the way, the greater the reward.

Note that, when Eleazar's brothers returned, he did not rebuke them for having gone away. He could have said to them, "Where were you when I needed you?" But there is no such word spoken by him. Brothers and sisters, let us not rebuke those who come back. And let us not treat them as second-class citizens or anything like that. The Lord certainly will not approve of that.