Eleazar: Standing with the King

Initial and Scattered thoughts of the passage 1 Chronicles 11: 12-14

The phrase “after him” seems to indicate that Eleazar was perfectly fine not being the main leader. Just because he wasn’t the chief didn’t mean that he couldn’t be one of the three mighties!

some of the qualities that I see in Eleazar are:

Loyalty- He stayed with David even when the odds were against them

Love-He stayed with David...even when the odds were against them

Humility-He wasn't the top dog, that credit goes to Jashobeam, but that didn't matter to him

Courage-He fought in what could have been described as a losing battle

Persistence,Tenacity, Endurance, Stubbornness,Faithfulness- He fought till his hand was gripping the sword without thought, he fought so much that when others came, there was no fight left, just picking up the spoils of war. He saw it thru to the end.

His introduction and background

His name and his father and family

The name Eleazar means “God has helped” or “God has come to help” and that meaning shows itself tremendously in how Eleazer lived and served his king!

The passage also mentions Eleazar’s father, Dodo. To be perfectly honest I want to at least snicker most every time I read or say his name because of it’s association to the dodo bird or the concept of being dumb or silly. But the name Dodo, in Hebrew, means “loving”.

This causes me to believe that Eleazar had a great father. One who must have taught him to be loyal, to depend on God, to be a warrior, and who actually showed loved to his son as he raised him.

Of the tribe of Benjamin- Even though his loyalty could have been to Saul, he chose to follow and serve David.

His acts of service and courage

“He was with David at Pasdammim”

He followed and stayed close to his king

This was the same area where David had fought Goliath

“there the Philistines were gathered together to battle”

He chose to follow his king into battle

“the people fled from before the Philistines”

Though everyone else ran away, Eleazer stayed and fought with his king

“they set themselves in the midst of that parcel”

they chose their position and did not stop fighting till the battle was over and the enemies defeated

“The LORD saved them by a great deliverance”

Though they did the fighting, they still recognized who delivered them. They still acknowledged that God protected them.