Our Name
Brook Besor
The story of "Brook Besor" illustrates our desire as consultants assisting others in personal and organizational change. Besor - meaning "joyful; good news" - is a brook, or wadi, in the Negeb in Israel. It appears in the Bible in Chapter 30 of the book of 1 Samuel. David and 400 of his men are returning from a successful pursuit of a band of raiders who had not only taken their wealth and cattle and wives and children but burned down their town of Ziklag. They had recovered their stuff and families as well as all the rest of the loot the Amalekites had stolen from others. They accomplished this feat despite having left 200 men on the other side of the Brook Besor. These men had said they were too exhausted to continue and asked to remain there at the wadi and for the rest to leave their gear so as to travel lighter and swifter. As the 400 approached the Brook Besor the men with David did not want to share with their comrades who remained behind. David confronted them and said, Nope: "For the share of the one who goes down into the battle shall be the same as the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike. From that day forward he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel; it continues to the present day." (verses 24 and 25, NRSV).
We are not sure that it does "continue," but we do see it again in the beginning of the church in Jerusalem in the New Testament. The new believers gathered together and "had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." (verses 44 and 45 in the Book of Acts, NRSV).
It is these acts of sharing and equity and collaboration that catch our attention and intention. It is our vision. We are reminded of a commentary on another portion of the Bible: Nehemiah 3:27. We are at a loss as to who wrote it. It is a description of the people who had returned from exile in Babylon and are reconstructing the wall around the city of Jerusalem. See if this isn't inspirational and worth striving for no matter your belief or faith:
With this section, the work assignments are complete. The requirements have been divers, complex, and exacting. A wide variety of workers volunteered for the work. From city rulers to Temple servants, and the high priest to a man's daughters, the work of the Lord is being done harmoniously. There are no squabbles, no friction among the workers, and no inferior workmanship. Their work has united them. It is large enough and noble enough to dissolve any differences that may have existed among them. The work is performed orderly, with one group continuing where another left off. Everything fits together, though different people worked on each section. Once again, I want to observe that we have here a marvelous example of "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). Such unity is not realized by the mere absence of turmoil and division. It is also made known in productive work. The "unity of the Spirit," like the work of Nehemiah, is made known in what we do, as well as what we do not do. We will also again note that previously unknown peoples made up the majority of the work force.
Those interested in the implications of Brook Besor may check the chapter on the incident in Eugene Peterson's book, Leap Over a Wall: Earthly Spirituality for Everyday Christians (1998, HarperOne) and search the Web for a sermon by Charles Spurgeon.
