"But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place." [2 Sam 23:6-7]

There are certain fruits and plants in this world which are inviting and some which are not; there is for instance, the prickly pear, which is covered in cactus needles; and there is, on the other hand, peaches, which are covered in soft fur. One fruit is far easier to touch and to eat, the peach; the other, that prickly pear, demands great care, in order to avoid swallowing needles and spikes. In a very similar way, the fruit our hearts produce and our nature can either be easily or not-so-easily enjoyed by others. In Samuel, the children of Belial, literally “worthless ones,” are described in a very unfavorable manner. We are told, “but the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands.” These men had such a nature that you could not take hold of them with bare hands as it were. The fruit they produced and the characteristics natural to themselves were prickly and thorny, and because of this, “the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear.” If one so chose to interact with these base men, they had to take great preparation. They were very coarse and sharp, filled with irritableness and anger and petty fault-finding, so that if a man went to enjoy their company, it could hardly be called enjoyment, for at the first bite of their fruit as it were, that man would be met with sharp thorns.

My brethren, let us not be as such. Let us be as Christ, of whom it is written, “I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.” [Songs 2:3] Let us have such a character and spirit about us, and producing such fruit, that we are not as a thorny, sinful fruit or plant, which is hard to approach and get along with; but rather, one who is easily spoken to, interacted with, being of “a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” [1 Pe 3:4] This is the man that others desire to be around, the man who certainly will have more opportunity to bless those around him. For we see this nature in Jesus Christ, who though He in anger “went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,” yet still, “the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them.” [Mt 21:12, 14] Jesus was so gentle a man that even in this righteous anger the blind, who could not see His actions but could hear them very well, felt safe in approaching Him; and the lame, who could not depart quickly from the temple, were not afraid, remaining there to be healed and enjoy His touch. Praise God and praise His Son, for we have a God who is easily approachable and of whom it is written, “in [His] presence is fulness of joy; at [His] right hand there are pleasure for evermore.” [Psa 16:11]

Now that we have seen how this passage in 2 Samuel may apply to men, and of Jesus’ perfection and glory, let us take example from God’s creation which also points to this trait; namely, the dog. Most dogs are very open to touch, very welcoming and desirous of it, whether it is to be pet or played with or scratched. I have such a dog who is quite sweet and playful, a dog which none should ever be afraid to touch. This characteristic in some dogs, their trusting and playful nature, instructs us in some ways. For one, it reminds us to be easy to interact with. Must people avoid our company? Must they make great preparation, putting on gloves as it were – as if they were to pluck a nettle from the ground – in order to interact with us? Must they take such regard and forbearance lest they trample upon our great tenderness and cause us to backbite, gnash, or complain? Let it not be so. For Christ was easy to approach, and is still easy to approach. He welcomes us into His presence, and we need not be afraid of reviling, reproach, anger, or bitterness: for He is not as a thorn or a nettle or as a ravenous beast, but is gentle and meek, even as He said, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” [Mt 11:29]