PLAY THE MAN!

In my post about raising young men I cited 1 Samuel 10:12 where Joab encourages his soldiers to "play the man." The word in the Hebrew is "chazaq" and means "to be strong, courageous, valiant, to conquer." What the Bible is saying is that it is the characteristic of men to be strong and courageous to protect their homes and their nations.

Every time it talks about being strong and courageous in the Knox translation, he translates it "play the man." You will notice how over and over again God inspires His leaders and His people to be courageous and "play the man." I'll list the Scriptures here for you. They are very powerful and I am sure you will want to print them off for your husbands and sons.

God told Moses to "Give charge to Joshua, bid him take heart and PLAY THE MAN" (Deuteronomy1: 28 and 3:28).

Moses charged the Israelites, "PLAY THE MAN, and keep your courage high; there must be no cowardice, no flinching before them" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

"Then Moses summoned Joshua, and said to him in the presence of all Israel, PLAY THE MAN, and keep thy courage high" (Deuteronomy 31:7, 23).

God charged Joshua, "Courage then, PLAY THE MAN . . . PLAY THE MAN thou must, and keep thy courage high, carrying out faithfully the law my servant Moses enjoined on thee; never swerve to right or left and thou shalt order thy life truly. . . . Courage and A MAN'S PART, that is what I ask of thee; no room for fear and shrinking back, when the Lord thy God is at thy side wherever thou goest. . . . Courage, then, PLAY THE MAN" (Joshua 1:6-9, 19). Do you notice that he encourages him to play the man four times in this one message?

David charged his son Solomon who was to be king in his stead, "Do thou keep thy courage high and PLAY THE MAN" (1 Kings 2:2).

Joab to his army, "PLAY THE MAN, fight we valiantly for our people, and for the city walls that are sacred to our God" (2 Samuel 10:12 and 1 Chronicles 19:13).

"David charged Solomon, "Courage, then, my son; the Lord be with thee, and prosper thou ever. Build a house for the Lord thy God, as he has promised . . . PLAY THE MAN, and keep thy courage high, never doubting, never daunted. . . . To the task, then! The Lord will be ever at thy side" (1 Chronics 22:11, 13, 16).

David to Solomon again, "Here is this house to be built, the Lord's sanctuary; on thee his choice has fallen; courage! To the task!" (1 Chronicles 28:10,).

"PLAY A MAN'S PART said David to Solomon; courage! To the task! Never doubting, never daunted; the Lord thy God will be at thy side, never failing thee, never forsaking thee, and see that thou hast strength to do all that must be done for his temple" (1 Chronicles 28:20).

God encouraged King Asa through the prophet Azarias, "But you, take courage; never slacken your resolve . . . Upon hearing the inspired words of this prophet, Asa's courage rose" (2 Chronicles 15:7, 8).

When the king of Assyria ;came to fight against King Hezekiah, he gathered the people for war and encouraged them, "PLAY THE MAN, he said, and keep your courage high; let there be no shrinking, no faint hearts, at the sight of the Assyrian king and the hordes that follow him; we have many more on our side than they on theirs. Theirs is but mortal strength; we have the Lord our God to aid us, and fight on our side" (2 Chronicles 32:7, 8).

God spoke to Daniel, "Nay, fears are not for thee . . . Take courage, and PLAY A MAN'S PART! With that, I found my strength again; Speak on, my Lord, said I; thou hast put new heart into me" (Daniel 10:19).

"Take heart, keep high your courage, all you that wait patiently for the Lord" (Psalm 31:14).

What is a man's part? To be strong, courageous, and valiant. May God give wisdom and anointing to train our sons accordingly.

Be encouraged. Nancy Campbell