Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Alexander the Great had a secret strategy known as the “Macedonian Phalanx.”  I read that this was little more than a simple military formation with a straightforward mandate: “You never go into battle without the man beside you.”  The Macedonian Phalanx was a formation that allowed a man’s weak flank to be protected by his buddy.  With his shield in his left hand and his sword in his right, a soldier thrusting forward with his sword could find his right side exposed, vulnerable to the enemy’s spear or sword.  In the Macedonian formation, the warrior had a trusted man guarding the area where he was most exposed.  Although Alexander the Great lived centuries after David, I think David would have called his bosom friend, Jonathan, “the man of my right hand.”  Their friendship, described in 1 Samuel 13 through 2 Samuel 1, was born out of mutual respect and built on altruism, and was maintained at great sacrifice, especially by Jonathan, “the man of David’s right hand.”  Are you protected like David was?  Do you have a man or woman of your right side?  Someone who is willing to stand with you in the battles of life?  Are you such a friend to someone else?  Even more important than a friend such as our study of Jonathan has described, ultimately we need to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ, who is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).