Take heed unto thyself, …thou shalt both save thyself, …
1 Timothy 4:16
SERPENTS ARE WISE BECAUSE THEY ARE MASTERS OF SELF-DEFENSE
Most snakes will not attack you if you leave them alone. However, they will rise up fiercely to kill anyone who threatens their existence. They are indeed masters of self-defence. It is this famous defensive response to danger that has given serpents their fearful reputation. Paul taught Timothy to guard himself and to defend himself. That is the wisdom of a serpent. Take heed to yourself and save yourself!
It was this self-defending attitude of David that Hushai the Archite spoke about when he advised Absalom not to pursue his father in the night. He warned him about his father’s reaction to being surrounded and threatened. Absalom knew what Hushai the Arhcite was talking about. He knew that David was an expert at fighting back and extinguishing enemies in such a way that they would never be heard of again.
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, AS A BEAR ROBBED OF HER WHELPS in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
2 Samuel 17:7-10
Every minister must develop a proper attitude towards enemies. This attitude is necessary to defend himself and the church properly. A certain ferocity is needed to fight enemies of the church who destroy the man of God. Anyone who does not have a certain ferocious attitude towards disloyalty will allow terrible works of the enemy to flourish among them until the church is destroyed. David reacted to enemies with a certain ferocity. When he was surrounded he determined to cut off his enemies in such a way that they would never be seen again.
You must learn to extinguish your enemies in a fire of thorns. Rise up fiercely and develop a spiritual reputation for self-defence. King David promised to extinguish his enemies, as a man would burn a heap of thorns! He would deal with them ferociously and fiercely and they would regret ever threatening him! He said, “They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished as a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off” (Psalm 118:12).
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