David's Mighty Men

Introduction:

We love heroic tales like those of King Arthur and his knights of the round table.

While Arthur is known for pulling his famous sword Excalibur from the stone, it is the knights of the Round Table that get the most fanfare.

We read of the exploits of some of these men like Sir Lancelot.

These knights fight off enemies and defend the realm, but in the end Camelot falls and Arthur is mortally wounded.

Most people don’t know that part of the story. When we think of Camelot, we think of a utopia and a perfect kingdom.

There is no perfect kingdom on earth - at least there won’t be until one more pure and noble than Arthur comes. That one is Jesus, the true and faithful King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus invites us into the kingdom to serve with Him. He is looking for some mighty men.

In the Old Testament, David serves as a foreshadowing of this. Let’s take a look at some of David’s mighty men tonight and see some traits about them that can help us to be faithful warriors in Christ’s army.

2 Samuel 21:15–22 ESV

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.” 18 After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. 21 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Pray

Remember that when we last were in this section we talked about how there is a chiastic structure that zeros in on David’s final words.

The outer book ends were David’s decision to avenge the Gibeonites and David’s decision to deal with the famine that his census had brought upon the land. Both of these were tragedies that were the results of sin.

The second pair of book ends that we are going to look at are the exploits of David’s mighty men.

We need to remember that no man is an island and we cannot do it alone. David needed help and he had a host of valiant warriors to help him.

We are going to start by looking at a few of these men and then notice a few characteristics of the mighty men and women God uses.

David’s Men:

Abishai - rescued David and fought Ishbi-benob (a descendant of the giants - had a spear that weighed 8 lbs)

Sibbecai the Hushathite - struck down another descendant of the giants

Elhanan - struck down one of Goliath’s brothers (textual variant)

1 Chronicles 20:5 ESV

5 And there was again war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

Jonathan son of Shemei - David’s nephew - struck down a 12 digited giant

Eleazar - struck down Philistines until his had clung to the sword

Shammah - stood in a field full of lentils and struck down the Philistines

3 mighty men - got David a drink from Bethlehem

2 Samuel 23:13–17 ESV

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 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 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O 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.

Abishai - struck down 300 men with is spear

Benaiah - struck down an Egyptian with his own spear

List that includes Uriah the Hittite - (vv.24-39)

Principles to Glean from all of these men

1. They had Different Strengths

some slung a sling

some used a javelin or spear

some wielded a sword

some commanded armies

2. They Were Loyal to the King

3. They Worked Together as a Team

certainly there were some villains in the bunch as we’ve already seen with Joab’s treatment of his rivals, but in general the men of David fought together as a unit

As the church, we are not to shoot each other in the back. We are to have each other’s back and fight alongside of and not against one another.

4. They Were Empowered by the Spirit

When skeptics read of the battles we have recorded here, they are sane to thing these things are impossible

These victories were only possible by God’s empowerment through the Holy Spirit

What man cannot do, God can

5. They Brought Glory to God

The ultimate goal of all of this was for God to receive the glory

These battles were about the God of Israel vs. the God of the nations

Conclusion:

God wants all of us to be soldiers in His army

He is looking for a few good men and women who will be mighty in the Lord.

It isn’t really our strengths and abilities that God needs. He wants our heart.

If we will follow all of these principles and remain loyal to Christ, we will give good service to our King.

However the truth is that we will always fall short. That’s why the King had to come down and rescue us Himself.

Jesus is the one who is truly loyal and faithful.

He fights for us with valor and defeated the greatest enemy by His death on the cross.

He supplies us with strength that we need for our own battles and promises to be with us in the thick of it.