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Faramir: Wisdom of the Second Son
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     "'But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not if Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.'" (The Lord of the Ring)

Faramir: Wisdom of the Second Son

We meet Faramir in the wilds between Minas Mogal on the Anduin and Mordor itself. His charge is to hold that territory and thwart any enemy attempts to cross there and attack Minas Tirith. We learn much from him in his discussions with Frodo, whom he captures because the hobbit is wandering, with Sam, in lands that no free creature roams.

What we learn of Faramir is that he is the second son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, and that Boromir was his brother. Yet no two brothers could be more unlike one another. While they both were mighty men of valor, Faramir possessed a wisdom that his brother did not. Nor did Faramir possess the pride of his brother. I picked the above quote from The Two Towers, because it shows how different these two boys were. The one was simply overcome with the desire to possess the Ring of Power. In his mind it was the only way to beat the Dark Lord. Faramir, on the other hand, realized that to try to wield such a weapon would only be playing into the hands of the Dark Lord and would have none of it. Boromir died for giving in to his temptations. Faramir, on the other hand, was elevated for resisting those very same temptations. At the end of the epic we see Faramir made ruler over a portion of the land and married off to a wonderful woman whom he fell in love with while both he and she were being tended to in the Houses of Healing in Gondor.

There are several examples in Scripture that seem to teach us the same thing. There is, for example, Cain and Abel, although in that instance the innocent died at the hands of the guilty. There is Joseph and his brothers, who, after a time as a slave and, for a time, prisoner, in Egypt, was elevated to the second highest post in the land that he might be in a position to provide for his family in a coming famine. The most significant similarity, however is that of Jacob and Esau. Born to the same parents at the same time and yet they were totally different. Esau was hairy and muscular. He loved to hunt and, one might suppose, enjoyed the pleasures of life. Jacob, on the other hand had smooth skin, was pampered by his mother and took care of things around the house, and he tended to the goats. That's where things went wrong. He was making some stew and Esau came back empty-handed from hunting. Those of us who grew up in the church know the story well. You see, the first born inherited a special blessing, called one's "birthright". Esau was willing to sell his for a bowl of stew. When it came time to ante up, of course Esau wasn't about to let Jacob have his birthright. Jacob's mother convinced Jacob to deceive his father, which he did, and gained the blessing due to the firstborn son. Esau was enraged and Jacob fled. Many years later they meet one another again. By this time God has so blessed Jacob that he is a rich man in his own right. He is considered a true man of God. The house of Esau grew also, but with it grew conflict.

Esau was like Boromir. Self-sufficient, powerful, proud. Jacob, however, was reliant upon God, strong, but not overly so, and humble, not proud. He was like Faramir. Just as Esau received the curse instead of the blessing so also did Boromir receive a curse instead of a blessing. And just as Jacob received a blessing instead of a curse, so also Faramir received blessings instead of curses.

When we come to places in our lives and have to make a choice, be like Faramir, like Jacob, not like Boromir, nor Esau. Resist evil, do not exalt yourself, and do the will of the Lord with all the might He gives you to do so.

     "It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. (Romans 9:12-15)