David: A Reflection of One's Life

This morning, I would like to take look at one of the most inevitable things that we all face in our lives, (everyone sitting, regardless of the year you were born, deals with this same thing); that thing is aging. And in talking about this, I am really going to look at just one particular aspect of getting old. This is going to be a shorter and more simple talk this morning, but introspective, none the less!

Benjamin Franklin made mention that there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes, (although I would like to interject that there is also a certainty of a second death if you spend this life foolishly and reject the gospel message), but, with the understanding that your life grows closer and closer to death, comes the inevitable realization that you are aging; your getting old (or at least getting older as some rather choose to say!)

I sit and laugh as I look at the tabloids and news feeds about the elite of Hollywood and the music industry and of how they spend their monies foolishly and fiendishly on trying to escape and cheat creation of its design and purpose! (Some of these people look like something out of a sci-fi movie when the surgeons are done with them!)

We are not designed to stay the same on this earth, that is, our bodies are made to grow old and with that understanding, we concede to change.

Change in a myriad of ways: the way that we work, the way that we play, the way that we eat, the way that we sleep, the way that we interact with friends and families and even that way that we think and reflect (and other changes that we will not EVEN begin to touch this morning!)

Andy Rooney once said, “It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn’t appeal to anyone.”

As I have shared before, one of the greatest gifts that God gave mankind, is laughter and this is fortunately one of the things that does not have to change with age! (Maybe the things that we find funny throughout life may change with age and wisdom, but laughter itself, stays intact!)

George Bernard Shaw said something to the effect of, “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old; you grow old when you stop laughing.”

I am not saying that getting old is funny, but the journey getting there, sure has a lot of funny moments in it! AMEN?!

At the conclusion of his annual physical, an elderly man commented to his doctor that he was no longer able to help around the house like he used to and then asked, “In plain English Doc, what’s wrong with me?

The doctor said, “Well, in plain English, you are lazy!”

“OK,” said the man, “can you give me the medical term for that, so I can tell my wife?”

An elderly lady was overheard telling her friend about having recently joined an aerobics class for seniors at the local fitness center. “And how did it go?” asked her friend.

“Well,” she said, “I twisted, turned, jumped up and down, and perspired for half an hour, but by the time I got my leotard on, the class was ended.”

I am reminded of a funny little comic strip that a patient gave to me years ago when I was still practicing Physical Therapy and I kept. In the picture, it shows a easily middle aged man who standing before his doctor wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt. The man is balding and obviously overweight in the depiction and he has a distressed look on his face as you read the caption that the doctor is saying to the man, while looking down and writing a note on his clipboard during the man’s apparent physical exam. The doctor is asking the man, “What fits your busy schedule better, exercising hour a day, or being dead twenty four hours a day?”

You see, with aging comes the need for making some changes in our lives and it forces us to look at our lives and examine where we are and what we are doing.

It is when you start looking at the whole picture of your life, (where you are right then and there), that you begin to see what has led up to this season and place in your life that you are experiencing!

And with this evaluation of your life, hopefully, you will see some milestones that have helped you to where you are; certain events, certain experiences and most definitely, certain people!

That is what I am briefly going to have us take a look at this morning in the Word of God. A reflection of one man upon his life now that he is old and what he deems as important as well as those who were instrumental in helping to get him to this place in his life.

If you have your Bible with you turn with me to the book of . In this chapter we will read of what is called, “The Last Words of David”. These words do not necessarily mean that they are the literal “last words” that came out of David’s mouth before he died, but rather, they are the last recorded words of his addressing Israel and a likened legacy that he is leaving to them and his son who was coming behind as king and heir. It is his “last word” to the nation, as given in a song, by great the psalmist of Israel!

Now, right after David gives this speech that we are going to look at momentarily, you read of the mighty men of David (his mightiest warriors) that are listed out.

And I want us to look at some of these men and the attributes that are listed about them. We will start with ,

2 Samuel 23:18–23 ESV

Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels 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 him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

I wanted to look at these men, in reflecting on David’s life, to make a point about those who we allow into our lives and their role in helping us attain what God has planned for us.

Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty. Joab is important, in that he attains the title of chief, or commander of David’s army. We will possibly see more of him tomorrow.

Abishai was a powerful warrior, as we see by him wielding a spear and defeating 300 men with it in battle. It is Abishai that we see along side David in the cave where they found Saul sleeping and who asked David to let him strike Saul with his spear and pin him to the ground with which there would not be a need for a second blow to kill him. (David was very aware of the skill of this man with that spear and Abishai was offering his services to rid David of his only threat in moving towards becoming the rightful king of Israel!)

David, as I mentioned this past Sunday, in this situation, made the great statement that we should all keep in remembrance towards those whom God has in place as a leader, when he said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed.”

Benaiah struck down two of the greats, or two of the best men of the army of Moab. He also fought a lion in a pit and struck down an Egyptian man that was about 7.5 feet tall and who carried a large spear, with which he disarmed the Egyptian of it and killed him with his own spear! David set Benaiah over his bodyguard!

Then, comes the list of the rest of the “thirty mighty men” whom served David. (Although technically there are thirty seven listed. The name, “thirty mighty men” could have been a title that the originals were given, and as some died and were replaced, the original name just stuck.

Interestingly enough, two of the names that are within the “thirty” are, Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh and Uriah the Hittite, which share a common point and time in the life of the great King David.

You may remember a certain act of adultery that David committed with a certain young woman named, BATHSHEBA? Well, one of David’s mighty men, in the thirty, was Eliam, and he was Bathsheba’s father. Another of the mighty thirty, was Uriah and he was the husband of Bathsheba, whom David had killed to try and cover his sin!

The point being, sin that we allow into our lives, doesn’t just hurt and affect us, but it also reaches out and hurts the lives of those who are closest to us and who we depend upon!

So, there are the mighty thirty that were close to David and then in , we see the others that came and joined under him to serve and fight along side of David.

Look at the skill level of these men: All of them, who joined David at Ziklag, were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. (These were also the kinsmen of Saul, himself. When it comes to God and fighting for him, you are either in or out. Jesus, Himself, said that He didn’t come to make peace, but came with a sword bringing division. Son against father and daughter against mother!

The only thing that matters in His kingdom is following His command and not listening to the voice of other men, because they will steer you into destruction!

There were those from the tribe of Gad that joined David in the wilderness, who were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains.

These warriors from Gad were army commanders. The weakest among them could take on a hundred regular troops, and the strongest could take on a thousand!

The list goes on, to show thousands who joined in fighting alongside of and serving under David. In fact says,

1 Chronicles 12:38 ESV

All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king.

You see, God was working behind the scene to bring David an army all the while that he was on the run from Saul. It even says in one situation that the Holy Spirit came upon one of the leaders of a group that came to join David and he said to David, “We are yours, David! We are on your side, son of Jesse. Peace and prosperity be with you, and success to all who help you, for your God is the one who helps you.”

If you are doing as God has commanded you, then it is God who brings the fight on your behalf! He will supply what you need!

Just as David needed strong mighty men in the natural to fight physical battles, so we, as the men of God today, need mighty men in the spiritual to help us fight our battles!

So there was the thirty that were close to David, but then there were also the THREE, that were closest to David in fighting along side of Him.

says,

2 Samuel 23:8–12 NLT

These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle. Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder! Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

2 Samuel 23:8–11 NLT

These are the names of David’s mightiest warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the three mightiest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 800 enemy warriors in a single battle. Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword, and the Lord gave him a great victory that day. The rest of the army did not return until it was time to collect the plunder! Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled,

These were the elite men of David! The best of the best! His closest comrades in battle!

This sounds an awful lot like someone else that descended from David, who had large crowds that followed Him. Out of those large numbers he had His 70 disciples. He then had His more intimate 12 disciples and out of those, there were the elite 3!

Out of the three, there was even the one, named the beloved! The very one that stood at the cross and whom Jesus entrusted to care for His mother! It was John who never tasted martyrdom as did the others.

It is interesting to me in we read,

2 Samuel 23:13–17 NLT

Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.

Here we see David reflecting back on his life to another point from where he came and longing for the peace and solitude that came from that place. He wasn’t actually thirsty just for that water, he was longing for everything that was connected with it.

The three of the mighty men took it upon themselves to risk everything to do this for David.

Isn’t it interesting that David is from a place called Bethlehem? Again, this sounds like someone else. And it is from Bethlehem that David is longing for some of the very waters that would bring him peace and contentment. Do any of your guys in here this morning know of the source of living waters that brings peace and joy contentment and who was born, Himself, in Bethlehem?

Bethlehem meaning, “House of Bread”, is the place where THE Bread of Life was born!

Charles Spurgeon said this of Bethlehem, “But it is also called, “the house of war” because Christ is to a person either “the house of bread,” or else, “the house of war. While He is food to the righteous, He causes war to the wicked, according to His own words—“think not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I am not come to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, the daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

Which one is HE to you today friend, the “house of bread”, or the “house of war”?

In closing, return with me please to and read of David’s final address to Israel as he reflects back,

2 Samuel 23:1–7 NLT

These are the last words of David: “David, the son of Jesse, speaks— David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue. The God of Israel spoke. The Rock of Israel said to me: ‘The one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of morning at sunrise, like a morning without clouds, like the gleaming of the sun on new grass after rain.’ “Is it not my family God has chosen? Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. He will ensure my safety and success. But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, for they tear the hand that touches them. One must use iron tools to chop them down; they will be totally consumed by fire.”

As David looks back, he acknowledges two very important things about his life and a man’s life in general.

It was from God that David recieved his position and title. It was from God that David recieved the things that he spoke of and did in his life and it was from God that David declared that being a righteous ruler was likened to that of being the early morning sunlight breaking the dawn, the warmth of the sun on a cloudless morning and like the sunlight on the grass after the rain; that is, being a source of comfort and growth to others, was likened to that of someone who ruled in righteousness!

We are called to rule and reign in righteousness as well, as representatives and ambassadors of Jesus!

The other thing that David clearly points out in his reflection of life is this is this, the godless, those who choose to walk without the Lord and obey Him, are like the thorns to be thrown away. (Have you ever walked through a field of loose, open hay versus that of a field full of briar and thorns? The thorns are the godless in your walk; causing pain and ((without Jesus changing them)) of no use to the man whom fears and serves almighty God!

In reflecting back, David could surmise that his life was enabled by the presence and the power of God and also through those whom he brought along side of himself to walk with him!

In looking at your life today, what can you say about those who you keep the closest to you and walk with you in the midst of life’s battles?

Where does God fit in to your life and how much are you allowing Him to control and guide you along the way?

David, much like Solomon at the end of both of their lives, knew that God and the fear and following of His righteous commands, were all that really mattered. Even having all of the riches and the power that this life could bring, means nothing without God.

The great and wise Solomon said this at the close of his life in reflecting back, “ Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”

Right now. wherever you are in your life,