2 Samuel 23 (Part 2) Bible Study (David's Mighty Men) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Samuel chapter 23. I have a feeling some are not here tonight because they come from a long way, and they're planning to be there tomorrow. But bible study must go on. Amen. Amen.

And we've been getting let me just say this. We've been getting so many encouraging emails of people finding out about this ministry by doing one simple thing. They go on YouTube. They search up a chapter in first or second Samuel, and we show up. And, and we get encouraging messages from people across the world.

And so we are blessed to be here together in person, and we are blessed by those who watch every single week tuning in live and watching later. We hope you're blessed tonight as we come to verse eight of this chapter. Verse eight in this chapter, And today, you and I are coming to a very invigorating portion of this chapter because a brief glance at it will show that in the last 32 verses of this chapter, God the Holy Spirit consecrated it to give us a catalog of God's mighty men assigned to David. David's mighty men. And as we look at these texts we might think and be tempted that, there's not much value in these verses with names that, we've never heard before and and the exploits of some of these men.

I mean, what does that have to do with you and I? But anytime you come to, and I hope you know this by now, anytime you come to any portion of scripture and that thought arises, shoot it down. Disregard it completely no matter how obscure or difficult a verse or verses may be. God has given us this for our instruction, and the Holy Spirit had in mind the sanctification of the saints when he gave us this historical report thousands of years ago. And I believe the best way to approach the theme of the exhortations and the encouragements found in this set of verses is to see how this present text connects with the preceding one.

What did we study last time we were together? Well look at back the first verse of chapter 23. Now these are the last words of David, and the first seven verses are technically a psalm, the last psalm of David. And so right from the beginning we understand what we are entering into. The Holy Spirit, at the end of this book, is wanting us to contemplate the last things pertaining to David's life and David's reign.

The last things. Some debate if this is the last words of David. We know it's not the last words, but it's the last psalm, song, public address that David gave through a hymn. And is it coincidental that with the last words of David, the meditation of the final concluding moments of his kingdom, we are introduced to a review of the services of his servants. It's not an accident.

It's actually a nudge. It's actually kind of a foreshadowing. It's a reminder. You and I, if you want an overarching theme for what this chapter is about, at least in this part, is that in the same way that the end of this church age, the end of Christ's work through his people on the earth, we too can expect an evaluation and commendation from our king. Every battle that you have fought, every trial that you've endured will one day be surfaced before the throne of Christ and will be highlighted by the king himself.

It will be tested with fire. And so there is a day coming for every single blood bought Christian who wears the uniform of grace and the righteousness of Christ to stand before their commander. And this commander will look at your gifts, your context, your opportunities, and through your faithfulness or lack of faithfulness, it will determine the reward that we will enjoy in the life to come. And so this this portion, this these passages are perfectly aligned with the idea of our meditation on David as king and the last things pertaining to him. Because at the end of it all, when all is said and done, there will be your name called, my name called, and Christ will review what we've done on this earth for his name.

And for us, that's exciting, I hope. For others, that's terrifying, But I hope that what you will hear today will inspire you to fight the good fight, will inspire you to remain faithful until the end, will inspire you to remember that this brief existence of yours, all of us, is leading to one thing. All roads lead to the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ is not the judgment for unbelievers. That's the Great White Throne Judgment.

I hope you don't show up to that one. The judgment seat of Christ is for Christians, and will not determine whether we have eternal life. That's been determined at the cross. It will determine our reward that we will enjoy when Christ rules and reigns on the earth. How do we divide this?

I I won't read through the rest of the chapter, especially with these tongue twisting names. Okay? I know you might enjoy that, but I will not be able to do that today. But I believe the best way to approach it is to look at it the way the author divides it. It seems as though with this list of 30 men, you have a division of ranks.

You have a first rank, you have a second rank, and you have a third rank. You have these different classes. The first rank makes up of three men, the three they're called. The second class can arguably be about two men who were chief among the 30, but were closely associated with the top three. And the last class of men deal with a series of names, and we don't necessarily have their personal conquest ascribed to each, but they still make up of the the 30 men of the final class.

Mighty men still, but of a different caliber. And so that's what we're gonna do. Let's look at each of these ranks, and here's the goal that you and I want to accomplish. What is it about these men that qualify them to be mighty? What is it about these men that gave them the honor to be crowned with such monumental praise and acknowledgment?

Because the physical realities of these soldiers and this army parallels with the reality that you and I endure in this life as soldiers of Christ. So that's what we're gonna draw from. These actual soldiers in the flesh, what do they have to teach us about us being good soldiers in the spirit? And so we read in verse eight, these are the names of the mighty of the mighty men whom David had, Joseph Bashebeth a Tachamonite. He was chief of the three.

He wielded his spear against 800 whom he killed at one time. And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahojai. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel redrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

And next to him was Shammah the son of Ahri, the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, or some translations say as a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it, and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory. I'm curious to know, based on that simple reading, what stands out to you from these three chief men, the top three. Any ideas?

And I'll do my best to re repeat. So, help me a little bit by not making your answer too long because people tend to say, hey. We didn't hear the answers of the people at the study. Can you can you be more clear? So if you wanna give a concise answer, that helps me repeat it.

Yes. What stands out? Oh, very, very, very good. They stood alone in their battles. Yes.

Anything else? The Lord worked through these men. Absolutely. He brought about a great victory through the faithfulness of these men. Yes.

Anything else? Go ahead. So there was many of their adversaries, yet they still stood and they saw God come through. Despite the challenging opposition, their faith remained. Yes.

Anything else of these three mighty? The first three? Yes. Very similar to David. Absolutely.

In what sense? Yes. Amen. Isn't that a wonderful report concerning the followers of David? They imitated their king.

And we learned that last time we were together that David's faithfulness rubbed off on others. It was contagious, and he inspired others to walk in the same level of courage that he did. That's what your faithfulness can do when you're willing to do something like David and stand alone for God. Absolutely. Well, why don't we explore this in greater detail, shall we not?

Let's look at our first man, mighty man. We are told here about this man that he is the chief of the three, the chief of the three. So he's not just among the first three. He is the chief of the three. It is believed that he must have been an advisor for the military as a whole.

He was an expert. He was extremely wise and discerning. He was somebody that can be counted on not just with his mind, but with his skill. And one of the things that are highlighted concerning his ability is the fact that at one time, in one specific event, he wielded his spear against, not eight, one against eight is super impressive. One against 800, unusual, supernatural to say the least.

And so you look at this man, and you see something that is pretty difficult to match, pretty difficult to replicate, something that is unique even among the mighty and the faithful. And I think what we can take from this is to understand that even in the kingdom of God today, there are certain servants of God who have been gifted by God to to do certain things that are very difficult to repeat, very difficult to follow in. I mean, you look at this man and you realize that he does the work of a thousand men, and when you look at the kingdom of God throughout history, the church throughout the ages, you know this very well that God in every generation chooses and raises up certain men to touch many people at the same time, to do work that some, if they live 10 lives, will not even do a fraction in comparison. And that is not to say that these men and these women throughout history were more loved by God. It is all to say that God, in His sovereignty, in desiring to expand His glory, will expand the ability and the gifting of one particular person to do a great and mighty work on the earth.

That's what you see here with this first fella. He he is a mighty man, but he is an exceptional mighty man. He is a different kind of mighty man, one in a generation kind of guy, and we know those people, and some of you can even name those people. And when you when you understand that, you have to not be discouraged, but understand that the Lord knows what he's doing in ascribing to you the gifts that you have and ascribing to others the gifts that they have. And I've personally learned this even in this past week.

I was meditating on that truth this morning, and this past week was an unusual week for me in terms of my schedule of preaching. There was almost something happening every day whether it was online or in person. And and yesterday, I was just laying a bed thinking myself because my throat is sore even now, so be gracious to me if I'm not as loud as I usually am. I thought to myself, how how did these men of old do it? If you know a little bit of church history, if you've read into George Whitfield and Wesley, you see that these men preach twice a day every day for months without stop.

And no microphone, no amplification, and they had thousands of people before them. Here I am, and I did a lecture two extra meetings, and my throat is is is acting all soft. And I'm thinking myself, how? And I wasn't discouraged. I just thought to myself, well, just like this man here, God has enabled certain people to do things that I might not be able to do, that you might not be able to do.

And that shouldn't squash you. That should just cause you to rejoice that God, in his wisdom, knows what to give to whom. And in the end, God's getting the glory anyway. That's the whole point. It's not to be in competition with other preachers or missionaries.

It's to see what the Lord has done, to see what the Lord can do, and to rejoice in that. We rejoice in this testimony. And there is a verse that Paul gives that confirms this this idea that I'm conveying to you. I want you to see it in second Corinthians 10. He speaks to the Corinthians, and he is challenging how they are being influenced by these false apostles, these false teachers that are boasting themselves, and then boasting themselves trying to disqualify Paul.

And notice what he says. Notice what he says here in verse 13. He says in second Corinthians ten thirteen, but we will not boast beyond limits, but we will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us to reach even to you. What a humble man. Paul understood in Paul's theology, practical theology, he understood that God sovereignly determines how each of his servants will serve him and to what capacity.

There are some who have been gifted by God in a way in which they will have a larger platform and a wider reach, and there are others who may have a more limited reach. And that is not to say one is more special or favored by God. That is merely to say that God knows exactly what portion of his vineyard you should occupy. And Paul here is expressing contentment in the extent of his influence. He's not complaining.

Oh, you have every right to say, Lord use me to touch as many people as possible. But as you serve Him, trust in the breath that He is granting to you. Your job is to determine the excellence of your ministry. Your job is to determine the character that you should have as a minister. Your job is to do whatever God's put before you with great zeal, passion, and practice.

God's job is to broaden the influence if he wants to. That's not your job. That's not your job. And that's why you can strive as much as you want to make it happen. It will not happen unless he makes it happen.

That shouldn't frustrate you. That should put you to rest because God even knows how much you can handle. As much as your dreams are big, he knows exactly how you've been wired. And there are things that you will touch that even these mighty men, like this man here in verse eight, will never touch. Yes.

He was able to touch 800 lives in in this negative sense and killing them, but the rest of the mighty men were able to do things that he could not do. And so it's not a matter of you being lesser. It's a matter of you occupying something that those people who might have touched millions of lives will not even touch. And so it's all about how God places you and where he places you and you fitting and fulfilling a piece of the puzzle that even mighty men here like this will not touch. So that's what we see here.

There are certain mighty men who operate with a level of gifting and influence that that is not repeated, and that shouldn't frustrate you. But look here at verse nine at the second. Next among the chief three is a man named Eleazar, the son of Dodo. And what's his story all about? Well it's here in verse nine.

He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. No explanation to why, but here's a specific battle. And you have the men of Israel there, and for whatever reason they were intimidated, fearful, they turned their backs, and they run. And who's there on the scene? Two of them.

King David and Eleazar the son of Dodo. Eleazar, the son of Dodo, is the one who planted his heels in the dirt and said, I'm not going nowhere. We're gonna do this together. Right, King David? And everybody else runs.

We don't give we don't get to understand that's not the main point of the the passage. It's it's to see this man stand out, stand and guard his post regardless of the fear and regardless of the lack of support from those on his own team. It's easier to serve in your ministry when those that you like and enjoy are serving in that ministry. It's easier to pray when other people are also praying. It's easier to maintain a zeal when you're constantly feeling the warmth of other burning hearts.

But what we see here about what makes up a mighty man is that the king will commend faithfulness when it sparkles in the backdrop of Christian compromise. What moves the heart of God is not just faithfulness, but faithfulness that shines on the backdrop of Christian compromise. This is what we see. We see these men who withdrew, and this man stands out. And where faith really matters, I mean, it matters at all times, where where it really stands out is when other people are not serving him, are not worshiping him, are not devoted to him.

One writer put it this way, God esteems fidelity and holy zeal far more highly in a season of declension and apostasy than he does in a time of revival. I I couldn't say it any better. Absolutely right. There's something that particularly touches the heart of God when he sees one man, a few men, a few women, who even in the coldness of the spiritual atmosphere of their day still are willing to stand by the king. And our brother mentioned it already that one of the things that stand out about these mighty men, the chief three, if there's one thing that they shared despite the differences in their testimonies is that they stood alone.

They stood alone. And there are today who are expressing woes. Right? Disappointment about what's happening today in Christendom. Seems like most of Christendom is asleep in a time of of great need.

And that's not a this is not a time to be discouraged. You also at the same time, though you can be overcome by despair, realize the opportunity at hand in 2023. What's that opportunity? That you have a chance to give God praiseworthy devotion when it really matters? When it really matters.

That's how I want to see it. Okay. Let other people compromise on the pulpit. Okay. Let other people not want to be in the church.

Okay. Let other people not want to serve with greater zeal, though the darkness is increasing. Let them. That's not my job to make sure that everybody is doing what they're supposed that's between them and God. I can exhort and encourage, but if I if I and you have to stand and serve the Lord, then so be it.

Whether the presence of God's people are there or not, whether the majority are in for it or not, that that's not that's not what determines anything. God will look at your faithfulness, and you'll look at the lack of faithfulness around you, and He will He will deal with them, and He will deal with you. And you think that this is different today? You think what what's happening here with this one man, the commendation that's ascribed to him is different than the church age? No.

Look at Revelation chapter three in one church. Look how God evaluates church as men. It's absolutely frightening to me because his his measurement, his evaluation sheet is much different than man's. But he comes to this church in Revelation three, this church called Sardis. Well, at least it was in Sardis.

And this church had a reputation of being alive, but it was actually dead. And they're relying on their reputation, and and the Lord in a loving way scolds them. But he says something so powerful that encourages me at least in chapter three verse three. Is it there on the screen? Here's what he says.

Remember then what you received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will know you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Look at verse four. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white for they are worthy.

I love how the King James and the New King James puts it. It says in that translation of this verse, yet you have still a few names even in Sardis. It's like even in a spiritually dead, a lifeless place like Sardis, yes, even in such a hopeless environment, you have some who have not soiled their garments. And the part that touches me is this, and I know their names. He knows their names.

And you know what the reward will be for those who choose to stand, though there's soil garments all around them? They'll walk with me. They'll walk with me. I'm going to invite them into close fellowship with me because you stood for me, and you served me in your church, in your family, in your generation when others chose to just be content in their spiritual death, reminiscing on things of the past and not keeping up with their faith and their devotion to me. That touches my heart, and I and I see this and I see the parallel for our own lives.

And you see still a glorious description added to Eliezer. Did you see it in verse 10? It says here that he rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. This guy had a grip on his sword, and you couldn't you couldn't do anything to separate those fingers from that grip. So already he had to deal with the challenge of the lack of support and fidelity of those around him.

All his boys turned back and ran the other direction. And now he has another challenge before him, and that's his own flesh. And you too have the same challenge. You have the challenge of dealing with the lack of examples, the temptation of those around you, and then you gotta deal with the weariness of your own flesh and mind and soul. And yet despite the weariness, despite his own body trying to convince him to give up, it says here that he was not weakened.

He stayed the course. He did not let go of the sword until the task was complete. He did not remove his hands from the plow until the master said, you're done. Mighty men and mighty women of God endure until the end. They finish what they started.

You have to fight them to keep them from not doing what they want to do for the Lord. It's the opposite for people in today's generation. You have to fight them and get them all riled up to get to serve the Lord and to hopefully stay on that course for some kind of length of time, and that's the opposite with this fellow. You couldn't do anything to remove that sword from his hand. He was gonna do it until it was done.

And this is something to to consider for your own devotion in mind. To not give up so easily defines a mighty man of God. Despite the lack of encouraging environment, he's not deterred in his commitment. And Eliezer's story here, it concludes with a convicting summary. What's that convicting summary?

Look here at the last part of verse 10. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain. So when it came to the fight, nobody was there. When it came to the reward, everybody shows up. Unique story?

No. Human nature. Human nature. I looked at this, and I thought to myself, how sad is it that the presence of many saints is only made known when they recognize an immediate benefit to their enlistment in god's army? How true is it for many who have enlisted in god's army will pause and retreat when there's an actual cost to their enlistment in god's army?

But when it's prosperous and when it's easy, when it's successful, and when there's growth, and when there's fame, we wanna be associated with it. We wanna partner with it. We wanna be a part of it. But when it comes to standing in the midst of the threats of the world and consistently fighting against the flesh, those numbers dwindle. And that kind of caliber of Christianity faints.

And so you see some who've only come to strip the slain, and it's true that even today, it's usually the faithfulness of one or a few that other people enjoy the benefits of. You know, the statistics they say of local churches of who in those local churches serve, actually serve consistently, is embarrassingly low. I think they I don't wanna give a wrong statistic, but it's below 10%. Below 10% of most congregations do you have people who serve consistently in that church, and the rest just attend once a week if they can even do that. That that is the difference between mighty men and women and the feeble in the faith.

Here's a person who he's been he's been assigned a sword. He's like, I'm not letting go of this until the job is done. And we come to the third and final of the chief three. Verse 11, and next to him was Shema the son of Agi the Hereorite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the Med fled from the Philistines.

We've seen this before. Here's another mighty man, and what do we see about him? He stands when everybody else flees. But there's a description about his whereabouts, about his actual engagement that is striking. It may seem strange, but when you meditate on it, it's actually striking.

The description of the plot of land that he was on is this, that it was a land of lentils. It was a field. It was a field that farmers occupied. Now that's important because you have the Philistines who show up on the horizon, and clearly they wanna occupy this countryside. But it's not the citadel found in Jerusalem.

It's not a strategic city that would determine the nation's security. It's it's a land of lentils. That's not very important, at least in my mind. If anything, it's on the peripheral probably. It's not striking at the nerve of the nation.

And so to me, it seems as though the people calculated very quickly, here are the Philistines. They want this land. They wanna park here. It's not worth risking my life for, and so we're out of here. And they dropped their instruments, and they went into a different direction.

But there's a crazy guy in the field that day. There's an insane man, if I can use that word. And this man, Shemaiah, looks around and he says, no. I'm gonna stand right here. Bring it on.

Why? Was he a man that found adrenaline in these kind of things? Was he a man who was just reckless in his behavior? No. He was a man with revelation.

Yet to the to the crowd, this was a plot of lentils. You know how I believe this man saw this land? Leviticus twenty three twenty five. You look at this passage, and you understand the significance of every part of the promised land, here's what the Lord says to his people in Leviticus twenty three twenty five. It writes, the land shall not be sold in perpetuity for the land is whose?

The land in Leviticus twenty three twenty five is mine. That's what the Lord says. The land is mine. I'm giving you what belongs to me. Though you're living on this land, though you'll benefit from this land, I own it.

It's mine. And I believe Shemar looked at, he looked at this field and he understood that it was the Lord's inheritance. He saw this and he realized that he was a steward of this land. That he was responsible in defending what God provided. And when you understand that, you realize many wonderful and glorious lessons.

Here's the first glorious lesson that you see from Shema, and it's something that you and I have to understand about our own walk with the Lord. This person here sees, although he's not like the first individual who is able to have vast influence over hundreds of people, He was an individual who saw the value of the piece of real estate that he was in, that he was on, and he was willing to give his life to it, though other people did not see the value in it. And you can say the same thing for people in various ministries today. I think of those who look and serve in certain capacities where the majority of people don't see the glamour in it, don't see the importance of it, don't see the relevance of it, and yet for them, they say, this is part of the Lord's inheritance. And this is where God has me in his providence, and this is where in his providence I will remain.

And so you think about those who do what? You think about those who serve little children. Little children. Right? And most people see the little children's ministry as a babysitting ministry just to give parents a chance to be upstairs to hear the message.

But, no, I believe the teachers of this church and many other churches say this is the Lord's inheritance. And this is discipleship, and this is investing in the next generation. This is not just a plot of lentils. This is what God has given us, and we are responsible for it. I think about others also who might be part of a local church that might not mean significant, that might be like a major voice in the nation or the state or the city, but they see what God is doing in that place, and they say, if this is where God has me, I will plant my feet here, and I will honor God in it.

And there are others who realize the value of prayer, and they have the time on Wednesday, so they come to pray, because to others prayer is like a plot of land of lentils. But for those who believe in what God said about prayer, they say, no. This is part of God's plan in advancing His work, and so we will plant ourselves in prayer, and we will pray. You see it's all about perspective. It's all about revelation, and this man had it.

This man had it where many men lacked it. And I think of others also who give their time in specific ministries. You see that this person here is is is giving us an example of somebody who is in one lane, and they stay in that lane. And I couldn't help but think of a variety of different ministries that have unique deliveries, and they they specify in certain doctrines and certain demographics. And that's all that they do.

They they just they occupy this. This is what they do, and they are still regarded as mighty men. I think about those who deal with Muslim ministries, who speak to them and try to prove the truth through the scriptures. I think of others who teach homeschooling parents how to do it well through their own history and through their own experience. I think of others who evangelize, and that's all that they do.

They're not expert theologians, but they just preach the simple gospel. I think of intercessors who their calling is just to pray and seek the Lord. And again, though they're not like the first individual who was able to do many things, who was promoted because they had manifold abilities, but they just had one assignment and they did that assignment well, and if that is somebody something that describes you, realize that God can still in that consider you to be a mighty man, a mighty woman of God. Oh, there's so many ways of applying Shema's example. Another way of applying it is looking at how he took this one land and saw the absolute glory in it and did not disregard it, though at on the natural, it seemed to be insignificant.

It is no different with God's revelation. How much more should we be defending, cherishing, adoring, loving, and applying all of God's Word, not just some. Not just the pillars of our faith, not just the major things, but all things, the whole counsel of God. And you have many people who believe otherwise. You have many people who are campaigning for unity, and here is their mantra.

Let's just gather around the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything else is irrelevant. Well, that's not true. That's not true. Allow me to show you one of the most convicting sayings of Jesus pertaining to how you and I serve him in relation to his word.

It's on the Sermon on the Mount. I don't know if you've ever noticed this. It's in Matthew five nineteen. I want you to see what Jesus says. When he gives his instructions, before he does, he makes this statement, and this statement is very humbling as it deals with as it deals with how we relate to the word of God.

In Matthew five nineteen, it says here in Matthew five nineteen, therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Have you ever meditated on that? So whoever comes to the word of God and looks at things that may not seem instrumental or important in our application of the Christian walk or church governance or anything, whoever relaxes and teaches others to do the same, when it comes to his final estimation and evaluation, he will consider such people to be the least. But those who look at the whole counsel of God and absorb all that God has to say and properly applies and dissects and determines how we move about these things will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. And Shema is a is a illustration of that, a plot of land of lentils he was willing to fight for.

And today, we're getting in a lot of trouble because you have people not fighting for doctrines because in their mind, it's secondary or it's it's it's in the third place. And and we have little cracks in the foundation. That's where compromise is compromise is able to seep in. And so, yes, Jesus did say in Matthew twenty three twenty three that there are weightier matters of the law, but at the same time, he says that does not mean you should neglect those that are under those weightier matters. So there is nowhere in the scripture where we are encouraged to annul or delete or ignore any part of God's word.

And unfortunately in Shema's testimony you had someone say, this this is not that important. We're gonna walk away from it. And he says, no no no no no. I will stand for it. If you want to be a mighty man, if you wanna be a mighty woman of God, you will take all of God's word, and you will seek to understand all that he has to say and apply it as as much as it depends on you.

Again, what are we talking about here? We're we're talking about the difference between the mighty and the feeble, the strong and the weak, the commended and those who will be corrected by Christ. We deal with this later, but we come now to the interesting portion found in this verse 13. This is a heartwarming testimony. When you're there in verse 13, you read of something that most of us are familiar with, the story of three mighty men who who fetch for a glass of water for their king.

Now people debate, are these the same three mighty men that we just mentioned or three different ones? That's not even the main point. The main point is what they did. So whether you believe it's the three that we just heard of or three new ones, look at the point. And the three, verse 13, of the 30 chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the Cave Of Adullam when a band of Philistines were encamped in the Valley Of Rephaim.

David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the Well Of Bethlehem that is by the gate. Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the Well Of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David, but he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, far be it from me, oh Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?

Therefore, he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did. So much to glean from this text. Here's the scene. David is in the Cave Of Adullam.

Most people believe it's the same time that he was in the cave in first Samuel 22 when he was just a fugitive. Some debate and say, no. It was at a later time when he found himself in the same cave at a different war. If it was when he was just an exile, if it was when he was kicked out and became public enemy number one, then this says something about these mighty men. Here are these men willing to serve David with great sacrifice when there was no promise necessarily of his exaltation to the throne, there was no immediate reward or blessing for their service, where there was no evidence of of anything going their way, and yet still they found out within themselves a passionate desire to serve him at any length.

And David here is not making a command. David here is not issuing some kind of instruction abusing his power. He's just pacing back and forth in the cave, and he's feeling a little nostalgic. Here he is enduring a difficult season, and he's thinking back to the days of innocence. He's thinking back to the days of safety where he was able to freely go, perhaps with one of his brothers or friends, and draw from that well in Bethlehem on a hot summer day and drink this crisp water to quench his thirst.

That's the memory that he is he is rehearsing, and and so profoundly impactful that he's actually saying out loud. He's just thinking out loud. And you have three of these guys that are squatting in that cave, and they look at each other and say, did you hear what David said? Do you hear what the king is talking about? You know what this means.

Right? Yeah. But the Philistines are like, that doesn't matter. He wants it. They get up, and they go.

And the lesson is this about being a mighty man or a mighty woman of God. What were they ultimately motivated by? If you consider who David was in his status at this point as a king, he had nothing to give them. It was not popular to follow him. In fact, to be associated with him meant death if Saul found out.

So their desire in serving him was not stimulated by anything that they would be rewarded with. All that they needed was a revelation of what pleased their king, and they went. The difference between a mighty man and a feeble man, the difference between a mighty woman and a weak woman is this. Your obedience is not determined even by what you would be blessed with, but what what blesses God. That's it.

If this blesses God, that's all the motivation I need to serve God. If it will put a smile on his face, whatever frowns I will inherit as a result, I will still do it regardless. So what happens with a mighty man or a mighty woman? It's this, God's pleasure is your treasure. That's what it is.

That's all you need. Nothing else. And these men show that. They move along. They go ahead.

They break through because one thing they knew, one thing they learned, this is what David delights in. And if he delights in it, then we will give ourselves to it. Come on. Be honest now. Be honest on this Friday night.

How much of that drives our devotion? What? The simple delight of God. If God wants it, that's all I need for me to do it. Do you do you see now the division?

Do you see the line being drawn? What what would it look. God said it. We'll be there. God wants us to do it.

Count us in. This is what the Lord asks of us, then so be it. That's it. That's what makes a mighty man a mighty man. No arm twisting, no games, no mechanics, and no bribing.

God said it. And more than that, you see something else. When David receives this water, I mean come on, after all of that, what do you expect the king to do? What do you want to see the king to do? Drink it.

We risked our lives for you to have this glass of water. For a few seconds of refreshment, we put our necks on the line. So if I'm one of those three, you know what I'm expecting? I'm expecting David to say, you are mighty. You are something else.

You you will be positioned in my mind and for the rest of history unlike any other. He grabs that water, chugs it. You know what he does? He takes that water, he looks into that glass, and and he sees blood, and so he pours it onto the ground, and it's an honorable thing. Right?

It's an honorable thing, but if I'm one of those three, I'm thinking, you should probably should have just drank it. Right? No complaint, no protest, no sigh. That's challenging in serving God. When you when you serve Him and you give to Him what He desires and what he does with that is not necessarily what you thought he would do.

What are you gonna do? I thought that if I would pray for this long and come every Wednesday and pay gas in a time of inflation, I thought that this would happen. I thought that if I would preach faithfully, that people would invite me, and I will be ranked amongst this and ranked amongst that. And I thought that my obedience would lead to this. There there's nothing of the sort because a mighty man doesn't care.

Because it's not about the reward. It's simply because of the delight that the master enjoys in seeing your faithfulness and your sacrifice. That sounds good in theory, but it's not a theory for the mighty man. It's reality. It's what makes their heart beat.

If this is what pleases him, that's all I need. That's all I need to know. May God bring us there. May God bring us there for his glory. Side note, David, although he's a picture of Christ, provides an example for us in what he did with that water.

You've heard this truth before. Let me repeat it again. He gives us a lesson concerning a principle in the area of pleasure, in the area of self gratification, in the area of pursuing your desires. Here's the lesson that he provides. When David realized that there are people who put their lives on the line for him to enjoy this water, he considered it an illegitimate thing to engage in.

Because anything that you and I desire or want, if it will cost somebody else in any way, if it puts them in danger in any way, is not legitimate. The language that Paul would use is you're not walking in love. If you want something, no matter how strong it is, no matter how neutral it is, if you want something so badly at the expense of your conscience, the conscience of your brother being violated, then it becomes illegitimate. It becomes illegal. You should disqualify it and cancel it as something you should pursue in that moment for the sake of your brother's well-being.

And so we're not just talking about physical danger here. We're talking about spiritual danger. And so qualify your your pleasure seeing and your pursuits in this. There's there's many more other conditions, but here's an important one in light of this context. If what I want puts somebody else at risk, if what I want puts somebody else in danger, if what I want harms or hurts somebody else, I don't care how strongly you feel about that thing, you do not pursue it.

You do not indulge in it. You do not drink from it. You pour it out. And one preacher made an amazing observation if don't if David had only made the same decision when he came to Bathsheba. If David only realized what he realized in this cave, how can I enjoy this knowing that your lives were at risk in in me enjoying this?

If he only had that same idea run through his mind when he looked at somebody else's wife and said, how can I do this to my brother? How can I do this to one of my mighty men? And so it's very likely that David had these convictions strong in the early part of his his life. And it's so true that things that we enjoyed and and believed and held on to early on can dissipate over time if we're not careful to steward it. Let's go to the second rank.

We're done with these mighty men, the the first three. Let's go to the second satyr. Look at verse 18. Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zuriah, was chief of the 30, and he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the 30, and he became their commander, but he did not attain to the three, Abishai.

I'm not getting into the details of what he did, but what stands out to you in this one verse? I'm curious to know if anybody caught on to something. If you've read this chapter before, you would know it. If you haven't, you might not know it until you read the the rest of it. But I'm wondering if anybody notices something about Abishai's description here.

Abishai who? The who? The brother of Joab. I looked at this verse and I thought to myself, the brother of Joab. We're gonna learn about Asahel.

Well, you'll read it. We won't read it tonight. He's the brother of Joab. We look down. We see even another man here in verse 37.

Zee like the Ammonite, Nahariah of Berath, the armor bearer of Joab. So three times Joab is referenced, but not directly. He's only referenced in relation to other people who are either related to him or who served him. You read this entire list, and you'll notice someone is missing. Who's missing?

Joab. How? How in the world is a man like Joab, after all that he has done, after his fierce loyalty, after the very position that he operated in, how is a man like Joab not included among the 30 mighty men? Joab is not mentioned. He's not mentioned at all except in connection to the other people.

And I'll tell you why Joab is not mentioned, and it deals with the principle of being a mighty man, a mighty woman of God who will be commended at the end of it all. Because of Joab's unrepented sin, no matter what he did, no matter what title he possessed, ultimately saw all his works turn into ash because of Joab's unrepented sin. He sinned, and it's not about us sinning that that necessarily disqualifies us. It's what happens when we do sin. This man, listen, was playing according to his own rules.

And when you play discipleship according to your own rules, you may not be immediately flagged. You may not have the red card put into your face. But many people will have a shocking surprise at the end when they try to justify certain things and how they live for the Lord, only if he met with no commendation at all, no crown at all, no trophy, no promotion. When I learned that, that really helped me understand how there are certain people in ministry today who who, like Joab, are holding on to two things at the same time and yet seem to seem to be seeing results, seeing fruit, holding on to their ministry, holding on to their position with no discipline, no consequence from heaven. And then one day, this verse came to my attention, and it made sense of it all.

You wanna see it? It's in second Timothy two. When you go to second Timothy two, you get a list of different metaphors of what the Christian life is like. One is like a soldier, the other like an athlete. Who remembers a third one?

A farmer. And look at verse five of second Timothy Timothy chapter two. What do you see there? An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. So you can run this race and reach the finish line only to be met with no crown.

Why? Because at some point or throughout that race, you were not running according to the rules. Joab ran. He was a soldier. He was a general.

But when it came to the end, he was not crowned. And there will be some people within Christendom who will have that same reality check. And so play according to the rules. Don't look at sin and say, well, this is permissible. God needs me so I can have a little relief in my life.

That's how you have some people thinking. This is god's word, but I'm gonna help him because the culture has changed. So let me say what I think it says to to when that you're playing according to your own rules. When you play according to your own rules, you are throwing away your reward, and Joab did that. Joab did that.

Instead, like those three mighty men that we just learned. We're there in second Timothy. Go to Philippians two twenty. Look at Philippians two twenty. When I told you about how a mighty man is driven not by his own delights, not by his own desires, but what is determined by the pleasures of God.

And here's what Paul says about one of his servants, ultimately a servant of God, in Philippians two twenty. This is an encouraging scripture to me. He talks about the many servants of God that he knows, the many ministers that he knows. And he says, for I have no one like him, concerning Timothy. I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.

And look at this. They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. What made Timothy stand out? His life was orbiting around one thing, what interests the savior. Not even my own interest.

That's what distinguished him from other ministers. And the reason why he had a genuine concern for the Philippians is because he had a he had a connection with the heart of his master. And so if you can just know what the will of God is, know what his heart is, knows what his desires is, you're on the path of being crowned by him. But if you, like Job, wanna play by your own rules, which many people are, excuses, justifying certain things, though God's word is clear on it. Alright.

You might enjoy your ministry. You you might still be invited. You still might be tolerated by people who want to use your gift, but when it matters the most, you're in for a shock. You're in for a shock. And then you have the second man in the second rank in verse 20.

We're wrapping up very quickly here. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoediah, was a valiant man of of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two aerials of Moab. Aerials is a difficult Hebrew word. That's why some translations say lion like.

Lion like men of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed them with his own spear. These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoediah, and won a name beside the three mighty men.

He was renowned among the 30, but he did not attain to the three, and David set him over his bodyguard. So many things to say about this one man. You know what stands out to me though? He figuratively deals with these lion like men of Moab, and he actually literally killed a lion. Not just killed a lion.

Listen. He kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day. Disadvantage, disadvantage, disadvantage. Right? I was talking to my brother the other day.

He was talking about how he had to pull over somebody, and he was telling me how he was in the country country road, and there's a ditch by the side of the road. And so he told me he had to be on the side of the highway, and I said, why? There's cars zooming by. Why won't you go to the other side? Because they train us that if you're on the other side and something happens, you're at a disadvantage if you're in that pit.

And so you wanna be on the same level ground as that potential threat. So you have this man where everything is is going against him. You have him in a pit with a lion. I mean, if you just have the lion, that's a bad day on its own. Never mind the pit.

Never mind the snowy day. You have a lion with the pit and a snowy day, that's a bad day in my books. You know what I love about it? The out of all that, the snowy day part. The snowy day part.

Like, the Holy Spirit wanted to include that. It was a snowy day. I think Christians are allergic to snow. A lot of them are at least and rain. You have you have a man who's willing to kill a lion on a snowy day, and how many things how many excuses arise when it's a snowy day for us?

The spiritual lesson is that he's serving his king in all seasons. He's serving his master in all seasons. When the sun is shining and when the snow is falling, when the sky is clear, when the sky is gray. He's still a man serving his master when it's easy and when it's very, very difficult because Christ is worthy of that perpetual devotion. The king is worthy of that unending, unceasing, unbroken fellowship.

When it's snowy or when it's sunny, Whatever you ask of me, my king, that I will do. That I will do. And I love how the Lord will challenge us in that way in some ways. I love how tomorrow our outreach is on a Saturday. You might not.

I love it. I love how it's on a Saturday morning. Do you know why? Because what kind of a statement is that gonna make in Downtown Chicago when a group of people who are praying for the unborn chose to set apart two hours of their Saturday to do so. I love it.

I I love how love life does it on a Saturday. It may not be convenient. Okay. It's his interest. It's his desires.

In fact, I'm gonna I wanna continue with Benaiah, but let me wrap it up with one verse because I wanna talk about how Benaiah was promoted. He was promoted out of this place. Benaiah shows up in first Kings chapter one. In first Kings chapter one, we see him not just in a physical sense when it's spiritually freezing. Also, he chose to serve his master.

Actually, let me show it to you. Why not? In first Kings chapter one, notice something with me. On a physically snowy day, he's serving as king. And what happens when there is this chill in the air spiritually and politically?

Adonijah wants to become king. And look here at verse seven of chapter one of first Kings. He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah the son of Yehoediah and Nathan the prophet and Shemaiah and Reai and David's mighty men were not with Adonijah. So this confirms the point.

Right? I'll kill a lion on a snowy day. And when there is another potential Absalom two point o, David, I'm with you. I will stand with you. Let Joab go.

Let the others go. Again, it's it's confirming that main point. Wherever the king is, no matter who goes and who stays, I'm with the king. And then you go to chapter two and look here at verse 25. What do you see?

So King Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoediah and struck him down and he died. Out of all the men, he chose Benaiah and he says, go and get him. And he does, and he takes care of him. And then you go to verse 35 of the same chapter, and what do you read? The king put Benaiah, the son of Jehoediah, over the army in place of Joab, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

So in second Samuel 23, David elevated this man to be his bodyguard. When King Solomon comes into the place of the throne, he elevates him as the commander of the army. And you can make a case that Solomon, especially with the temple, is a picture of and is a reminder of, is a foreshadowing of the rule and reign of Christ in its permanence. Right? The tabernacle was mobile.

The tabernacle was something that moved along. It was not something concrete. And yet when the temple came, it stood in one place. It remained. It wasn't going anywhere.

And when Christ returns to rule and when though he is ruling and reigning now, there's something about his coming that will be obvious, that will be glorious, that will be beautiful, that will outshine the tabernacle era. And the point that I want to make is this, that is when Benaiah was rewarded. As a mighty man, as a mighty woman of God, you may not know God's blessing in this life, but you will in the life to come. You will when Christ returns to establish his era of the millennium reign, when he will reward you and where nothing will take it away from you. No thief can steal it.

No kind of creature can erode it. Here's the verse I wanted to end with. Second Corinthians chapter five verse 15. Here's what Paul says about Christians. He says, and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

And he died for all. Why? So that when you die, you can go to heaven. That's part of it. He didn't say that, though.

And he died for all that those who live, you are living, I hope, those who live might no longer live for themselves. You know how some people interpret the gospel? I'll tell you how. And they may not confess it. They prove it practically, though.

They they, at some point, are confronted with their sin. They hear the good news of God's grace and mercy. They receive it. They accept it. They get emotional about it.

They get baptized for it, and they prove their devotion to the Lord to that extent. And here's what here's here's how it's lived out, though. Glad I got that out of the way. I was on my way to hell. I was on my way to experience God's wrath, but that's dealt with.

Now I'm secure forever, and they go on their merry way of life. That doesn't describe what Paul is talking about here. He died for all so that what? Yeah. You would find eternal life, but that your life, your your little pretty life would also be crucified.

That your plans, your dreams, your hopes, your desires would also be nailed on the cross, not just your sins. And so that in pursuing the Lord, yes, in his saving work, but also in his lordship over your life, you know what happens to if you're truly Christian? I don't live for myself. I know this is Christian 01/2001. I know this sounds basic, but be reminded again.

It's not about my life. It's not. When I'm a Christian, I literally reorient. I literally wash my blueprint away, give God a blank canvas to say, you write what you want. To what extent?

To every extent. To what details? To the molecule details of your life. Think about that. Everything about my life, my marriage, my children, my home, where I live, where I serve, what I plan, what I do, where I go, that's all now surrendered to Christ.

I no longer live for myself. Now I live for the one who died for me. That's Christianity. That's not American Christianity though. American Christianity is what I just described to you.

Wow. Thank God I found the gospel. I was going to be in eternal torment. Not anymore. I'll reach you when I need you.

I'll serve you when you think you need me. I'll be back. That's how most people live their Christian life. And Paul says, what? That's not that's not holy spirit inspired Christianity.

That's not blood bought Christianity. That's Walt Disney Christianity. And so let's conclude on this. You're here on a Friday night to learn more of God's word. Let's recommit ourselves to saying, Lord, if there's any area that I have reclaimed when originally I surrendered it, If there's any area of my devotion that I said about this is just a plot of lentils.

I don't need to give myself to it. I don't need to be attentive to it. I don't need to be devoted to it. Make me a mighty man of God. Make me a mighty woman of God.

Do something in me so that you would receive more glory, and number me among those that you will commend in the end. Lord, we ask by your precious grace that you would bring us there. We thank you for this study. We thank you that it was perhaps more exhortation than it was digging up insight and making references. But, Lord, we thank you that on this Friday we received a stirring that we always need, a reminder of what our lives are.

We thank you for the gospel. We thank You that You are the true and better David. We thank You, oh Lord, that we have eternal life, yes, but we have a new way of life today. And so we pray and we ask that knowing that You've died for all, that those who live might also die to self and live for you. We pray, oh Lord, that you would show us what it is that you want us to do and how we can do it with excellence.

We pray that you protect us from going outside of our lane or being frustrated or discouraged with what has been providentially provided to us, the way you've wired us, the way you have gifted us. Help us, oh Lord, fight this battle. Help us finish well. Help us, oh God, in our weaknesses, and may you receive all maximum praise and honor that you can receive from our lives. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Let's stand and worship. We'll sing and pray for for tomorrow morning and make our way home with our hearts stirred afresh, I hope.