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Okay, you can turn in your Bibles 
to 2 Samuel chapter 23. 2 Samuel 23. I'll read the chapter. 
We looked at verses 1-7 last week. We'll take up David's mighty 
men in verses 8-39 tonight. So beginning in verse 1, chapter 
23, now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the 
son of Jesse, thus says the man raised up concerning the anointed 
of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel. The Spirit 
of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue. The 
God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, he who 
rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And 
if or and he shall be like the light of the morning when the 
sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass 
springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although 
my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an everlasting 
covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my 
salvation and all my desire. Will He not make it increase? 
But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, 
because they cannot be taken with hands. But the man who touches 
them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, and 
they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place. These 
are the names of the mighty men whom David had. Joshub Bashabeth, 
the Taqmanite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino 
the Esnite because he had killed 800 men at one time. And after 
him was Eliezer, the son of Dodo, the Ahoite, one of the three 
mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were 
gathered there for battle. And the men of Israel had retreated. 
He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and 
his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about great 
victory that day, and the people returned after him only to plunder. 
And after him was Shammah, the son of Adji, the Hararite. The 
Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was 
a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. But he stationed himself in the 
middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great 
victory. Then three of the thirty chief 
men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave 
of Adullam, and the troop of Philistines encamped in the valley 
of Rephahim. David was then in the stronghold, 
and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David 
said with longing, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the 
water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. So the 
three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, 
drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took 
it and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink 
it, but poured it out to the Lord. And he said, Far be it 
from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is this not the blood 
of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he 
would not drink it. These things were done by the 
three mighty men. Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, 
the son of Zariah, was chief of another three. He lifted his 
spear against 300 men, killed them, and won a name among these 
three. Was he not the most honored of three? Therefore he became 
their captain. However, he did not attain to 
the first three. Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, 
the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes 
of Moab. He also had gone down and killed 
a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. and he killed 
an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his 
hand, so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear 
out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. 
These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name 
among three mighty men. He was more honored than the 
30, but he did not attain to the first three, and David appointed 
him over his guard. Asahel, the brother of Joab, 
was one of the 30. Elhanan, the son of Dodo, of 
Bethlehem. Shammah, the Harodite. Elika, 
the Harodite. Helez, the Paltite. Ira, the 
son of Ikesh, the Techoite. Abiezer, the Anathetite. Mabunai, the Hushaphite. Zalman, the Ahoite. Mahari, the 
Netaphathite, Helab, the son of Baana, the Netaphathite, Itai, 
the son of Rebi, from Gibeah, of the children of Benjamin, 
Baniah, a Parathonite, Hidai, from the brooks of Geash, Abi-al-ban, 
the Arbathite, Asmatheth, the Barhumite, Eliabah, the Shalabanite, 
of the sons of Jason, Jonathan Shammah, the Hararite, Ahiam, 
the son of Sharar, the Hararite, Alithelet, the son of Ahazbi, 
the son of Meachathite, Eliam, the son of Ahithophel, the Gelonite, 
Hetzri, the Carmelite, Perai, the Arbite, Igal, the son of 
Nathan of Zoba, Bani, the Gadite, Zelic, the Ammonite, Nahari, 
the Barathite, Armorbearer of Joab, the son of Zariah, Ira 
the Ithrite, Gerab the Ithrite, and Uriah the Hittite, 37 in 
all. Now, certainly there's another 
reason than just to stomp English speakers for such lists in our 
Bible. As I said, this is the mighty 
man of David. There are various reasons why 
it is in this particular section. Just a few preliminary thoughts. We refer to them, or you hear 
them referred to as the 30, and here at the very end it says 
there are 37 in all. Vannoy describes it this way, 
the designation of the 30 is probably best understood as the 
name of a recognized military contingent whose membership varied 
from time to time depending on deaths and new additions, rather 
than as a reference to 30 specific individuals. This is consistent 
with the statement in 2339B that there were 37 warriors who were 
members of the 30. Now, if you compare this section 
with 1 Chronicles 11, verses 10 to 47, it's a similar list 
there. Sometimes the names and the spellings 
are a bit different. For instance, Jashab, Bashabeth, 
is called Jashobim. That's the first name referenced 
in verse 8. So there are some difficulties 
in the text that are far outside of my skill set to try and describe. We'll take the text as it's written 
here. in 2 Samuel 23. As well, it has this reference 
to 37 in all. By my tally, there are 36 names 
indicated in the section. Probably Joab is the one that 
we ought to account for as the final one. Joab is not mentioned 
in this, obviously his brothers are, and we see that Abishai, 
the brother of Joab, so Joab is mentioned in the list of mighty 
men, but not as one of the mighty men. Now certainly Joab was a 
mighty man in terms of what he did on David's behalf, but again, 
Vanoi says that Joab's exclusion from the list may be due to his 
not infrequent insubordination to David, as well as to his involvement 
in the murders of Abner, Absalom, and Amasa. As well, he will join 
the conspiracy in 1 Kings 1 to put Adonijah on the throne rather 
than Solomon. So, we can understand why Joab 
is not mentioned specifically, but if you do count the names 
and you end up with 36, it's probably the case that 36 plus 
Joab is the 37 indicated here. But even the counting of the 
names, you may not get 36. It's a bit of a difficult section 
in terms of certain things and how it identifies these three 
and these three and so on and so forth. But the 37 indicated 
here, probably the 36 indicated with Joab. And then as well, 
I said there are reasons for this list. In the first place, 
it's a reminder that David was the sort of leader who didn't 
demand credit for all of his success. In other words, David 
wasn't a hog. He didn't say, you know, I got 
these victories, it was all me, and I'm the only one that should 
be recognized. No, David was a godly man, and 
he recognized, along with all Israel, the key role that these 
military leaders played in serving David. As well, a reminder that 
David's military leadership was excellent. He did train these 
men, he cultivated these men, such that they engaged in mighty 
exploits. I mean, just the reading of the 
text, and as we investigate a little bit further tonight, these were 
some good men in terms of battle, and that does reflect well upon 
their leader. Also, it is written to honor 
these particular men themselves. They were servants of the kingdom 
of Israel, and we render honor to whom honor is due. It's legit, 
and it's right that we do so. We don't praise men, but we certainly 
recognize what men have done, giving glory and honor to God. 
And then as well, Matthew Henry says this list is given, quote, 
to excite those that come after to a generous emulation. In other 
words, we ought to read about David's mighty men, and we ought 
to want to do likewise. Now, we may not, you know, take 
the sword away from a giant, an Egyptian, and kill him with 
it. But you get the point, we are 
to emulate soldiers for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And then the 
last thing, this again is pointed out by Matthew Henry, he says 
that this section shows how much religion contributes to inspiring 
men with true courage. I think that's a good observation. 
how much religion contributes to the inspiring of men with 
true courage. These were courageous, faithful, 
diligent men, and we can attribute that to the religion of Israel, 
to the God of Israel, Yahweh, who had commanded them to go 
and to destroy Canaanites, to destroy Philistines, to destroy 
those who would menace the people of God. So those are several 
reasons. Now let's look at the particular 
section. I want to look at four things. 
First, the power behind David's men in verses 8 to 12. Secondly, 
the sacrifice of David's men in verses 13 to 17. Thirdly, 
the exploits of David's men in verses 18 to 38, and then finally 
the reminder of David's sin in verse 39. In the first place, 
look at the power behind David's men. We see that in two references 
in verses 8 to 12. Notice specifically in verse 
10, and then again in verse 12, the Lord brought about a great 
victory that day. The Lord brought about a great 
victory. It's God who is the power behind 
these men. Nevertheless, God uses bravery, 
God uses courage, God uses strong-handed men who are able to hold a sword 
and bring to naught a whole host of Philistines. In the first 
place, he mentions this man called Jashobim. We'll use the identifier 
from 1 Chronicles. Note specifically, he killed 
800 men at one time. I think that if we reflect upon 
this, it ought to suggest to us a connection with Samson. 
Samson was a mighty warrior for God. Samson killed 1,000 Philistines 
at one time, and then Samson, in his death, brought down a 
whole host of Philistines as well. And so this Jashobim was 
a mighty warrior for the Lord God Most High. He killed 800 
men at one time. Let that sink into you. I think 
sometimes as believers in the 21st century, we can be something 
of lightweights. You know, we are too tired or 
too drowsy to read our Bibles or to pray. I can't imagine what 
it would be like to have the to require the energy to kill 
800 men in one sitting or one standing. I mean, brethren, there 
are people in the past who have done a lot more with a lot less 
than we ourselves have. And we ought to learn from Josh 
O'Beam what it is to be diligent, to be faithful, and to persevere 
until the very end. This is a great testimony of 
a servant of God. And then Eliezer, the son of 
Dodo in verses 9 and 10. He fought with David against 
the Philistines. Notice, it says, he was one of 
the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines 
who were gathered there for battle and the men of Israel had retreated. 
So the men of Israel had retreated. That means it's David and Eliezer. They don't have a whole lot of 
support. They don't have a whole lot of reinforcements. They've got to face this particular 
Philistine threat on their own. And I think in some sense, this 
is oftentimes a picture of the church as well. We saw it with 
reference to Samson. Again, I think there's a connection 
here. Samson was a mighty warrior fighting against Philistines. 
David's mighty men are mighty warriors fighting against Philistines. 
Remember that scene in Judges 15. Judah, wants to deliver Samson 
up to the Philistines. That is a terrible situation. 
Judah turns on their deliverer and they deliver him into the 
hands of the enemy. He had no support, no help whatsoever 
from his own countrymen. And this same thing is what's 
happening here with Eleazar. So he stands with David, they 
gather there for battle, the men of Israel had retreated, 
and then notice, he arose and attacked the Philistines until 
his hand was weary and his hand stuck to the sword. Now, again, 
he's fighting, he's weary, and he doesn't say, well, you know, 
I'm tired and I'm going to go home now. That's the kinds of 
things that we see today. We need to stand fast and be 
faithful, persevering, doing what we're supposed to do. Davis 
quotes two commentators, Blakey and Kirkpatrick, and they recognize 
that outside of the biblical record, this was not an unknown 
phenomena for a man's hand to actually stick to the very sword 
he's doing battle with. Blake, he says, a Highland sergeant 
at Waterloo had done such execution with his basket-handled sword, 
and so much blood had coagulated around his hand, that it had 
to be released by a blacksmith, so firmly were they held together. 
Imagine the scene, blood, hand, stuck to the sword. Probably 
something like that goes on with Eleazar. There was another battle. At the close of the massacre 
of the Christians at Mount Lebanon by the Drusys, that was a religious 
sect, sort of a Muslim slash Judaistic slash Christian religious 
sect. It says, at the close of the 
massacre of the Christians at Mount Lebanon by the Druzes in 
1860, Sheikh Ali Ahmad's hand so claved to the handle of his 
sword that he could not open it until the muscles were relaxed 
by the fomentation of hot water. So you see, that's probably what's 
happening with Eliezer. The rest of the people leave. 
David and him stand fast to fight Philistines, and he's using his 
sword such that his hand stuck to the sword. And then that makes 
the way or paves the way for the children of Israel to plunder 
the Philistines. Imagine that scene. He does all 
the heavy lifting of killing people until he can't take his 
hand off of his sword, and then Israel comes in and plunders 
the Philistines. Thanks guys for the help, you 
know, that sort of a thing. Henry makes this observation 
concerning Eleazar. He says, Thus in the service 
of God we should keep up the willingness and resolution of 
the spirit, notwithstanding the weakness and weariness of the 
flesh, faint yet pursuing the hand weary, yet not quitting 
the sword. It's a good lesson that we learn 
from that particular man. And then Shammah, the son of 
Adji. The children of Israel again flee from the Philistines. It says the Philistines had gathered 
together, verse 11, into a troop where there was a piece of ground 
full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. That's a reference to the people 
of Israel. Unfortunately, we see that pattern 
in 1 Samuel 17, duplicated time and time again. Remember David's 
claim to fame in the Valley of Elah. Why does he face the Philistine 
giant? Because Israel, along with Saul, 
is hiding. They're fearful. They don't want 
to go into the battle, they don't want to go into combat, they 
don't want to face this enemy of the living and true God. So 
essentially you have Israel retreat, David comes on the scene and 
he says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt 
the armies of the living God? David goes into battle and takes 
his head clean off. The same sort of thing is here. 
The Philistines gather together into a troop where there was 
a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. Now what's the temptation? It's 
to flee with the people. The temptation is, when the reinforcements 
bail, you follow suit. You can't face them on your own, 
but not so with this Shammah. He stationed himself in the middle 
of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. You see, 
that's courage in the face of adversity. when all of the people 
that should be standing with you nevertheless retreat, you 
face the enemy, you do what God calls you to do, even if it means 
death, even if it means a discomfort in your hand, or if it means 
standing alone against the Philistine army. But we see, as I've mentioned, 
the power behind the men is the Lord God Most High. The ascription 
of victory is given to Yahweh in verses 10 and 12. Davis says 
this. He says, all this is not to negate 
the raw, daring, and trenchant courage of David's first three 
warriors. They displayed all that and more. 
And yet behind all such daring courage and dogged combat stands 
the fact that the victory was Yahweh's gift. He used courage 
and gall to bring his great salvation, but in the last analysis, the 
deliverance was his doing. So we need to understand that. 
Yes, we need to be men like what we find in a passage like this, 
but we need to trust in and realize that victory is of the Lord. 
The horse is prepared for the day of battle, Solomon says, 
but victory is from the Lord. He goes on to say, all God's 
servants must recognize this secret lest we fail to see our 
successes as gifts and turn them or ourselves into idols. We need to appreciate that the 
Lord is the power behind the victory when these men faced 
successfully these Philistines. But again, God who brings the 
victory, uses the exploits of these mighty men who didn't shrink 
back, but who faced these enemies and did so with absolute and 
utter faithfulness. Now note, secondly, the sacrifice 
of David's men, verses 13 to 17. We're not told which men these 
were. The end of verse 17 seems to 
indicate that it was the previous three men, though there's no 
full agreement on this. These three unnamed men. Notice 
they are at the cave of Adullam. That reminds us of 1 Samuel chapter 
22. David sought refuge there early 
on in his career when he was an outlaw hiding from Saul. But 
as well, some of the geography might suggest that it was early 
in David's reign in 2 Samuel 5, verses 17 to 21. But essentially what you have 
is David and his men at the cave of Adullam, the troop of Philistines 
encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. Verse 14, David was then in the 
stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in 
Bethlehem. And David said with longing, 
O that someone would give me a drink of the water from the 
well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. Now most commentators 
recognize that he probably wasn't serious. Not that it was a joke, 
but it was like something you and I might say, oh boy, they 
have this burger place in California that I just love. If I mention 
that sort of with a nostalgia or with sort of a longing, I 
don't expect that three of you are going to get in a truck and 
drive down to California and plunder the Philistines and get 
that burger and bring it back. So David is saying this, there's 
this longing for this, they're in a difficult strait, it's probably 
hot, and he is remembering with fondness this sweet water in 
Bethlehem. Until the days that we live in, 
water wasn't always consistent. Water wasn't always the sparkling 
clean and fresh sort of thing we get whenever we turn on our 
tap. So David is musing and he says, oh that someone would give 
me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem which is 
by the gate. Now note verse 16, so the three mighty men broke 
through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem 
that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. I 
think in the first place this underscores their commitment 
to David. Their commitment to David, not in a slavish, wicked, 
ungodly, or idolatrous way, but these are soldiers who have a 
high esteem for their leader. This bespeaks the reality that 
David was indeed a good leader, because men that committed are 
men who indeed make a statement concerning their particular leader. So they go down, they break through 
the camp of the Philistines. Think about that. They break 
through the camp of the Philistines. How do you suggest they do that? 
They did it with force, they did it with power, they did it 
with courage, they did it with an ability that certainly does 
bespeak God with that. But they break through the camp 
of the Philistines, they draw water from the well of Bethlehem 
that was by the gate, and they took it and brought it to David. This is a sacrifice. They spent themselves in the 
service of David. Matthew Henry goes on to make 
the observation, if these men so served their Christ, how ought 
we to serve our Christ? If He calls us to get Him water 
from Bethlehem, we get Him water from Bethlehem. If He calls us 
to follow Him wherever He bids us, we follow Him wherever He 
bids us. We lead lives of sacrifice, not 
in the sense that we can atone for our sins, but we're willing 
to yield our lives up for the glory of our Savior. Jesus speaks 
to this kind of mindset with reference to discipleship. If 
anyone wants to come after me, let him take up his cross daily 
and follow after me. Now in that context, when Jesus 
spoke that, taking up one's cross did not mean wearing jewelry. 
It meant being ready and willing to die. To take up the cross 
in the Roman Empire meant to be willing to be crucified. So 
the sacrifice that Jesus calls upon from his people exceeds 
even what we find here. Breaking through the camp of 
the Philistines, drawing water from this well, which is in Bethlehem, 
and bringing it back 25 miles. This is the sort of space that's 
involved between Adullam and Bethlehem. This is, you know, 
not 25 miles in your air-conditioned car. This is 25 miles by foot. 
I mean, that alone would be a difficulty, but then breaking through a camp 
of Philistines, getting the water, and bringing it back those 25 
miles to David. That's sacrifice for their leader. 
And if that kind of sacrifice was made for David, what kind 
of sacrifice ought the people of God offer up for their David, 
for their greater than David, even David's son, the Lord Jesus 
Christ? So they bring it back to David. 
And Matthew Henry makes this comment, how much they valued 
their prince and with what pleasure they could run the greatest hazards 
and undergo the greatest hardships in his service. That's when he 
goes on to say, and shall not we serve our Christ in a like 
manner. how much they valued their prince. I mean, if you ask these men, 
well, you wouldn't have to ask them. If you were to see this 
display, you would know what their prince meant to them. When 
you see them walking and fighting their way through this stronghold 
or this encampment, getting the water and then walking back, 
you don't have to say, do you love your king? It's all over 
that. Their sacrifice bespeaks the 
reality of their love for their king. He says, again, with what 
pleasure they could run the greatest hazards and undergo the greatest 
hardships in his service. They were walking that walk. 
They're probably not saying, I don't believe David would ask 
us to do this. Well, he didn't. He was just 
longing for this sweet water of Bethlehem. And these men willingly 
undertook on his behalf, and they did so happily and with 
joy. It's truly an amazing picture of sacrifice. Now, note David's 
response. The end of verse 16. It says, 
nevertheless, he would not drink it, but poured it out to the 
Lord. We look at that and we say, come on, David, these men 
risked life and limb and blood and guts, and you take what they 
brought to you and you just pour it out? It says it was poured 
out to the Lord. And David's commentary affirms 
their courageous intention. This was not a rejection of their 
courage. It was an acknowledgment of their 
courage. The water represented their blood. Not physically, not literally, 
not in some sort of a communion ceremony, but the water they 
brought back represented the blood that was risked when they 
pursued that water. And for David, such a sacrifice 
was too high. It was not fitting for him, it 
was fitting only for Yahweh. So by pouring the water on the 
ground, he is affirming these men and he is demonstrating to 
these men just how valuable their sacrifice was indeed. That's 
the significance. He says, far be it from me, O 
Lord, that I should do this. Is this not the blood of the 
men who went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not 
drink it. Davis makes this observation, 
he cannot believe the risk his men ran. It is the water of Bethlehem, 
but to David it represents the blood of his men. Blood belongs 
to Yahweh. Hence he dare not drink it. He 
poured it out, not because it was trash, but because it was 
treasure. It belonged to God. So David isn't mocking their 
efforts. David isn't just overlooking 
their efforts. David is prizing their efforts. And David is commending their 
efforts. And David is saying the sacrifice 
that they made was worthy of God himself and not of David. It wasn't trash, as David says. Rather, it was treasure. And 
it was to be esteemed as such. It's truly a beautiful example 
of devotion to an earthly prince. Again, we ought to reckon with 
the reality that we serve a heavenly prince and a heavenly king, and 
no sacrifice we yield is too much for our Savior. I mean, 
we are given many commands, many imperatives throughout the Scriptures. Our Lord tells us to function 
in a particular way, and instead of arguing or whining or complaining 
or just flat-out disobeying, we ought to get about serving 
the king. We ought to do it joyfully and happily and get to look at 
those sacrifices as a means by which we get to serve the master 
who sacrificed on our behalf and who gave his lifeblood for 
us. Now notice, thirdly, the exploits 
of David's men. We've got two mentioned here 
in verses 18 to 23. We've got Abishai and Benaiah. Note Abishai. He is the brother 
of Joab, also the brother of Asahel. And he gains this victory 
over 300 men. It says he was chief of another 
three. He lifted his spear against 300 men, killed them, and won 
a name among these three. Now, I don't know, the text doesn't 
read the way it does with Jashobim. We get the idea that Jashobim 
killed 800 men in one standing. Now, did Abishai kill all 300 
men at once, or was that sort of a career high with reference 
to Abishai? Probably a career high. In his 
lifetime, these were the men that he killed. And then it says, 
was he not most honored, or was he not the most honored of three? 
Therefore, he became their captain. However, he did not attain to 
the first three. Again, the threes indicated in 
the chapter are somewhat difficult, at least for my mind. If you 
want to look into it further, I think that Gil will point you 
in the right direction in terms of the three, the three, and 
the various men that are mentioned. And then note Benaiah. Benaiah 
was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzil, 
who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes 
of Moab. And it's just so matter-of-fact, 
isn't it? Two lion-like heroes from Moab. They were the champions 
of Moab, and Benaiah took them out. You don't mess with Benaiah. Benaiah is the sort of guy that 
doesn't shrink back from lion-like heroes. In fact, he doesn't even 
shrink back from real lions. That's what the text goes on 
to say. Now David would have an affinity with Benaiah here 
because David knew what it was to kill a lion. So did Samson. 
Samson kind of, the ghost of Samson is behind this passage 
in some ways. He was the paradigmatic ultimate 
warrior of Israel as far as I'm concerned. But here it says he 
had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down 
and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. Now, 
any of those things would discourage probably most of us. It's a snowy 
day, so we'd stay inside. It's a pit, so we really don't 
want to climb down there. And there's a lion in the bottom 
of that pit. Absolutely not. Three strikes, 
there's no way I'm going after this thing. But somehow, it seems 
to be the case that a lion came to where people were. And Benaiah 
wasn't just hoping the snow would kill him. Benaiah goes down into 
a pit, and Benaiah kills this lion. Truly amazing man. And then it goes on to say he 
killed a formidable Egyptian with the Egyptian's own spear. See why these guys are in this 
chapter? They are mighty men. The victory 
is of Yahweh, but Yahweh uses means, and he typically uses 
means In this instance, they're men who don't have a problem 
with getting their hands dirty. They don't have a problem with 
risking their necks. They don't have a problem with 
standing against the current. When all the rest of Israel leaves, 
they're going to nevertheless stand fast and face the Philistines. 
These are the kinds of guys that God raises up, the kinds of men 
that He uses when it comes to battle. It says, He killed an 
Egyptian, a spectacular man. The margin says, a man of appearance. I mean, this is a warrior, this 
is a man who is formidable. It says, the Egyptian had a spear 
in his hand, so he went down to him with a staff, wrested 
the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his 
own spear. And that's the kind of stuff 
that people watch movies about nowadays, and these are the mighty 
men of David. So the Egyptian was a spectacular 
man, has a spear, he goes with his staff, takes the spear from 
him and kills him with it. It's a truly wonderful picture 
of a servant of God. Again, I'm not saying go out 
and find Egyptians tonight, take their spears from them and kill 
them, but you get the drift. We need to get to work with reference 
to the kingdom of God. Israel's not going to enjoy security 
in the land. They're not going to enjoy stability 
in the land. They're certainly not going to 
enjoy the peace of the land. They're not going to enjoy the 
fruit of the land while there's these Philistines that are menacing 
them and seeking to take what they've got. They're not going 
to just sit back and hope the Philistines go away. That wasn't 
the way it was in that society. The Philistines would come and 
take from the weaker. And there were, thankfully, certain 
mighty men among David's men that weren't going to hide, they 
weren't going to retreat, they weren't going to sit in a corner 
and lick their wounds. They were going to face these 
men and they were going to take them down. If there isn't an 
application here for the church, I don't know where we can find 
it. That's the kind of men we need today. We need men that 
are faithful. We need men that are courageous. 
We need men that are going to stand against the Philistines 
of our age. And when all the rest of the 
church says, well, you can't say that, or you can't do that, 
or you'll offend somebody, we hold fast the word of truth. 
We don't shrink back from declaring the whole counsel of God. If 
all the rest of the church wants to wince, cower, whine, cry, 
and grumble, and complain, we're going to hold fast to the truth 
as it is in Jesus. And we need to understand that 
God blesses such things. He doesn't say, oh well, you 
know, you're on your own. It's the victory of Yahweh behind 
these men, or the power of Yahweh behind these men that make them 
successful. God blesses great faith. God 
blesses these exploits. And this is evident in the passage. 
We have young men here today. Again, don't go out and fight 
Egyptians and take their spears and kill them with it, but be 
faithful men in the church, faithful men in your families, faithful 
men in your society. We don't need to be, you know, 
the most well-known. We just need to be faithful in 
what God has called us to. And then he would go on, ultimately, 
to be useful to Solomon. Notice, with reference to Benaiah. It says, these things Benaiah 
the son of Jehoiada did, verse 22, and he won a name among three 
mighty men. He was more honored than the 
30, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed 
him over his guard. Benaiah will be faithful to Solomon 
as well. In fact, you can turn, 1 Kings 
chapter 2, verse 35. Well, verse 34, so we can see 
what happens. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went 
up and struck and killed him, and he was buried in his own 
house in the wilderness. The king put Benaiah the son 
of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok 
the priest in the place, excuse me, of Abiathar. So it was Benaiah 
that took out Joab, and Benaiah takes the position of military 
leader. And then thirdly, notice the 
exploits of David's men. in terms of the 31 indicated 
in verses 24 to 38. We're not going to go through 
each one, but just suffice to say the name is given and then 
typically the home city or the parentage, where that person 
finds themselves on Israel's map. But there is one interesting 
person, well, there are several here, but one particular I want 
to draw our attention to. Notice specifically in verse 
34, the division in families that the king of Israel brings. 
Notice in verse 34, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gileadite. Remember, Ahithophel at one time 
was David's trusted friend and a counselor, but Ahithophel joined 
the rebellion with Absalom. Ahithophel joined in the usurpation 
of David's throne and crown, and supported Absalom in his 
rebellion against his own father. And yet his son, Eliam, was faithful 
to David. He was a mighty man. Again, it 
makes us think of David's greater son. What does he say in Matthew's 
Gospel? I didn't come to bring peace, 
but I came to bring a sword. There will be enmity within families, 
father against son, son against father. The gospel has that effect. Some believe the gospel, others 
do not. Sometimes they're even members 
of the same family. It does indicate that though 
there can be a wretched father in terms of an Ahithophel, there 
can nevertheless be a good son in terms of an Eliam, who was 
a faithful servant and a mighty warrior for King David. Now it 
runs the other way as well. Sometimes there's godly fathers 
and the sons turn out wretched. It's not always the case that 
everybody in a particular family is going to serve the same king. 
Sometimes an Ahithophel will hitch his wagon to Absalom's 
cart, and other times there will be an Eliam that is faithful 
to David in terms of their service in the kingdom. So, one specific 
man there. And then finally, we should spend 
a little bit of time here on the reminder of David's sin. We touched on this briefly last 
week, but in verse 39 it says, "...and Uriah the Hittite." Uriah 
the Hittite, 37 in all. Now, when we read that word or 
that name, Uriah the Hittite, what do we think? Hopefully we 
think chapters 11 and 12, because in chapters 11 and 12, that's 
where we first meet Uriah. We meet Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, 
beginning in chapter 11. David has sexual relations with 
her. He has adultery with her. And 
then in order to cover that particular sin, he has Uriah come in from 
the battle so that he may lay with his wife. And when she's 
found to be pregnant, they will think or suspect that it was 
from Uriah. Now, Uriah was a noble man. He 
was an honorable man. He wouldn't lay with his wife, 
not when Israel was out to battle. I mean, it's such a reproof or 
a rebuke to what David is doing throughout the whole instance. 
And so David has to liquidate him, he has to get rid of him, 
he has to murder him in order to cover his tracks. So when 
we read Uriah the Hittite, I think it ought to do two things with 
reference to a reminder of David's sin. It ought to highlight in 
the first place, with reference to the success of David, that 
David's success was not according to his righteousness. It was 
not according to his perfect morality. It was not according 
to his ability as a military leader. It was owing to the grace 
of God. I mean, when we look at chapters 
21 to 24, as I've said, it's an overall positive assessment 
of David's rule and David's reign. But when we read Uriah the Hittite, 
and it recalls to us the sin of David, we need to interpret 
the whole David narrative under this particular scheme. That 
whatever success David had, whatever justice and judgment he executed 
or administered in the land, it was owing to the sovereign 
grace of God. It wasn't native to David, it 
wasn't inherent in David, it wasn't that David went to the 
school of how to be a good king, and so therefore he put those 
principles into practice, and everything just worked out swimmingly 
in Israel. No, it was because of God's grace. 
One commentator named Hertzberg makes this comment. He says, 
the mention of Uriah in the last place may be pure chance. No, we know it's not because 
the Holy Spirit doesn't put verses in based on pure chance. And 
this fellow doesn't either. He's just setting it up here. 
He says, the mention of Uriah in the last place may be pure 
chance. We have the list up to the time when Uriah, as it were 
the novice, was accepted onto the order. But the final compiler 
and the audience will hardly have regarded it in this light. 
The name Uriah at the end of the list leads us to recall what 
is associated with his name. The list of the men who were 
David's bodyguard ends with the name of one who did not betray 
the king, but was betrayed by him. The end of the list is meant 
to tell us, do not forget the name of the last of David's mighty 
men. We are thus prohibited from making 
heroes of David and his men. Even here, history was not made 
by men but by the grace of God, whose help and forgiveness were 
needed even by David and his time. So you see that reference 
to Uriah causes us to reflect upon the fact that whatever David 
attained by way of success, was by the grace of God. In case we run through those 
first verses and we miss that the victory was of the Lord, 
the author puts it in in verse 39. The victory was of the Lord. And the reminder is Uriah the 
Hittite. A man who in and of himself commits 
adultery and murder is not the sort of guy that's going to rule 
over and administer a kingdom with justice and righteousness 
and faithfulness. So whatever degree Israel experienced 
such, it was owing not to David and his moral perfection, but 
to the God of David, who nevertheless forgave him of his sin, granted 
him the grace, granted him the power and the ability to wage 
war against his enemies. It is God's grace that is celebrated 
in that reference in verse 39. As well, it ought to remind us 
that David's greater son is coming. Now when it refers to Uriah the 
Hittite, it ought to reflect upon David in terms of his imperfection. Remember that Israel at this 
time is being tutored. They're being pointed forward. 
They are being taught that there is a Messiah to come. If you 
ask the question, where? In this very chapter. 2 Samuel 
23, 1-7 is a prophecy concerning the favorite of the songs of 
Israel. David is pointing the people to someone beyond David. David is pointing the people 
to someone beyond Solomon. David is pointing the people 
to the one prophesied ultimately in 2 Samuel 7, whose kingdom 
will have no end. The one that will come from the 
seed of David will occupy the throne of David and will rule 
in righteousness and in justice and with absolute perfection. 
So the reference to Uriah the Hittite underscores the gracious 
character of God's dealings with David, and it also underscores 
the expectation of a greater than David who will never, ever 
commit adultery with Bathsheba, who will never, ever murder a 
Uriah the Hittite. He will never conduct himself 
in his kingdom as a thug. He will never conduct himself 
and his kingdom the way that Nazis might have conducted themselves 
in their regime. The one the text points us to 
ultimately is the one who realizes what is partially fulfilled by 
David according to 2 Samuel 8 15. There was a brief commentary 
there concerning his administration of the kingdom and it says that 
David administered judgment and justice to all his people. And 
that, again, is an accurate assessment, but it wasn't perfect. There 
were shortcomings. David had it in him to sin against 
the living and the true God. But David's greater son will 
do everything that he does in perfection. He will administer 
judgment and justice without partiality. He will do it in 
utter perfection over the kingdom that God has stationed him as 
leader of. So Uriah the Hittite is packed 
with theology, ought to remind us of grace, and point us to 
the Savior to come. Well, in conclusion, as I've 
highlighted, and as I hope that you'll see, we need faithful 
men in the kingdom. Now, these men happen to make 
it into 2 Samuel 23. And it is as it were, their names 
are in lights, right? We all have this desire to be 
recognized, the fame of David spread, probably David Didn't 
mind that. But we're not doing it for fame, 
and we're not doing it to get our names in lights. We're not 
doing it to be in 2 Samuel 23. We're not doing it so people 
will write odes concerning us, or Facebook about us, or tweet 
about us. We do it because it's right. 
Faithfulness in the kingdom of God is right. And when we look 
at these men and we review their exploits, don't we say, that's 
right. When all Israel runs from Philistines 
and there's a faithful Eliezer or there's a faithful Shammah, 
we want to stand with those men. Who do we want to identify with 
in that first section? Do you want to stand with Eliezer, 
David and Shammah or do you want to run with the rest of Israel? 
Well, I think we'd all say in our better days, we want to stand 
with those faithful men. Then brethren, stand with those 
faithful men. Don't say, well, I want to work 
up to it. Do it now. Be faithful in your workplace. 
Be faithful in society. Be faithful where God has planted 
you. There's no shame, no harm, no 
foul in being unknown. What the harm and the shame and 
the foul is, is being unfaithful. And that's what we learn from 
these particular men, as well the necessity of courage with 
reference to men in the kingdom. Now again, I'm not suggesting 
you find a pit tonight and if there's a lion down there, you 
scurry in and you kill that lion, but you get the point in the 
passage. we naturally gravitate towards 
courage. At least when we read stories, 
we much rather see the hero and the courageous than the guy who 
runs and whines and hides. We want to read about a Baniyah 
who goes down into a pit and kills a lion. We want to read 
about a Baniyah that stands up against two lion-like heroes 
of Moab and destroys them. We want to read about that sort 
of thing because we want to identify with that. Well, brethren, be 
courageous for the kingdom of God. Take a stand, be faithful, 
be courageous. Thirdly, be sacrificial. Again, when I use that term, 
I don't mean to suggest for a moment that by our sacrifice we somehow 
force God's hand and He must bless us. We sacrifice so God 
saves us. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ 
is that by which we are justified. We have forgiveness of sins, 
we have the imputation of righteousness because of the life and the death 
and the resurrection of Jesus. But by sacrifice I mean giving 
up a little bit of us for the greater good. This isn't communism, 
trust me, I'm not Chairman Mao here, I'm not telling you to 
contribute all your wares to the people's community, but brethren 
sacrificing for the kingdom of God. These passages mean something. You can turn to Matthew's Gospel, 
specifically Matthew 16. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 
verse 24, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself. In other words, let him sacrifice. Self-denial is something that 
ought to be part and parcel of the Christian life. I remember 
reading a great little book by Walter Chantry, former pastor 
of the Grace Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He then served 
as editor for Banner of Truth. He's now retired. He's got a 
great little book. If anybody wants to study self-denial, 
this is a great little book called The Shadow of the Cross, Studies 
in Self-Denial. I mean, that's a topic we probably 
don't gravitate. Well, I want to learn how to 
deny myself. I want to learn how to sacrifice. I want to learn 
how to, you know, have less fun and more pain. We don't typically 
gravitate to such things. But self-denial is called for 
by our Lord Jesus. Sacrifice. In the chapter on 
self-denial in marriage, Walter Chantry points out, what if couples 
actually practice self-denial in their marriage? What if husbands 
actually put their wives first and wives put their husbands 
first? Imagine what our homes would look like. Imagine what 
our churches would look like if we deferred to one another 
as Paul commands us, if we gave preference to one another, if 
we, in the language of Philippians chapter 2, esteemed others as 
better than ourselves. Jesus says, let him deny himself, 
take up his cross, and follow me. If this doesn't characterize 
those three unnamed heroes that left the camp in a dulem and 
traversed their way through a Philistine camp to fetch a bowl of sweet 
water from Bethlehem, and then take it all the way back to David, 
and then to watch David pour it onto the ground, if sacrifice 
isn't a part of those men's being, I don't know what is. And this 
is what our Lord tells us. He says, whoever desires to save 
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will 
find it. For what profit is it to a man 
if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will 
a man give in exchange for his soul? For the son of man will 
come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he 
will reward each according to his works. Philippians 2. I think 
that you probably know people that sort of illustrate or demonstrate 
or... magnifies some of these traits, 
and it's very attractive. Persons who serve unseen. Persons who do what they do for 
the kingdom, not to be recognized by the inhabitants of the kingdom, 
but because it's right, because they're faithful men, because 
they're courageous men, because they're sacrificial men. They 
give of their time, they give of their talents, they give of 
their comfort, they give of themselves in order to advance the kingdom. 
You know, a lot of times, young men, you want to learn theology 
and you want to grow in your understanding, and nobody's ever 
going to tell you more than I that that's a valid and accurate and 
wonderful pursuit. But pursue self-denial and self-sacrifice 
and consistency and faithfulness and self-sacrifice, all these 
things go into the making of a theologian. reading Burkoff, 
it's also, you know, calling somebody or visiting somebody 
or cleaning up vomit when, you know, some kid loses it in the 
church. I'll never forget Jose Velazquez. He's dead now. He 
got brain tumor and he died very rapidly. He's younger than I 
was, or younger than I am. But there was a quarterly meeting 
of churches. This is when all the churches in Southern California, 
not all the churches, but all the Reformed Baptist churches, 
would have a Sunday evening service together. And I remember this 
kid just threw up. You know, I'm sorry it happens, 
but this kid lost it. Jose just got him. He wasn't 
a deacon at the church. He wasn't anybody in. It wasn't 
even our church building that we were at. He didn't even think 
twice. He just went, found the mop bucket, 
found the bucket, came, cleaned it up. He didn't, you know, hey 
look everybody, I'm cleaning up the... He just did it. He 
saw a need and he did it. That's the kind of stuff that 
I think is at least exemplified in these brothers in 2 Samuel 
23. Note Philippians 2.1, Therefore, if there is any consolation in 
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, 
if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, 
having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let 
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness 
of mind. Let each esteem others better 
than himself. That's Bible. That's as much 
Bible as we need to learn the doctrine of the Trinity. I don't 
want to suggest for a moment that there's a disconnect. We 
learn the doctrine of the Trinity, and we do what Paul says in these 
practical imperatives. And then he says in verse 4, 
let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but 
also for the interests of others. You know, sometimes at these 
luncheons that we hope to reinstitute, I think there's going to be one this month, I mean, let other 
brethren go first. Let women and children eat first. It used to be called chivalry. It used to just be the decent 
thing, that men let the women and the children and the weaker 
ones get their food before they, you know, went in there and, 
you know, like locusts, you know, scoured the vittles and the kids 
are, you know, left licking their lips, looking at, you know, that 
good food that used to be there. It's just little things, brethren, 
but it's the sort of things that, at least in microcosmic form, 
represent or demonstrate the sorts of principles or virtues 
that are listed for us in 2 Samuel 23. I'm going to tell you, you're 
probably never going to march down into a snowy pit and kill 
a lion if you can't let a woman or a kid eat first at a luncheon. He who's faithful in little is 
faithful in much. And so these are just some of 
the virtues that I think suggest themselves in this particular 
passage that we as God's people ought to seek to emulate. And 
I'm kind of picking on the young men here, because there's a lot 
of young men here, and that's a good thing. Young women, too. I mean, 
you've got to defer and be gracious and sacrificial. and faithful 
and courageous, all those sorts of things, I think, are very 
valid lessons. And I think, finally, we ought 
to appreciate the necessity of the God-man over the kingdom. 
As good as David was, David's greater son is the one who brings 
in the kingdom in its fullness, in its glory, in its blessedness. You need to understand that part 
of the reason the Old Testament is there is to point people to 
Jesus. See, it's always a bothersome 
thing for me when people say, well, you know, I don't really 
read the Old Testament, because I like to read about Jesus. If 
you're not reading the Old Testament, you're not learning about Jesus. 
The Old Testament is all about Jesus, and it was tutoring, and 
it was discipling, and it was leading, and it was urging, and 
it was exhorting, and it was admonishing each of the people 
of the Old Testament to look forward to the coming Redeemer, 
to the Promised One, who will be the champion for his people, 
who will redeem Israel from their sins, and who will bring in that 
blessed and wonderful kingdom. So as great as David was, David 
himself says, my son is even greater. He is the greatest of 
all, and it's in his hand that the kingdom will come to fruition. 
Well, let us close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you 
for your Word, and we thank you for this time together tonight, 
and I pray that all of us, God, would take these things to heart. 
I pray that all of us would seek to be faithful, that we would 
be courageous, that we would be sacrificial, that we would 
recognize that we should be very thankful that it's Jesus who 
is on the throne. It's Jesus who leads the kingdom. 
It's Jesus who builds his church, and we pray, God in heaven, that 
we would be faithful to our Lord, that we would be upright and 
godly, that we would seek to do those things that are pleasing 
in your sight. While many might consider 2 Samuel 23 a bit of 
a dry chapter, I believe it's so filled with lessons and virtues 
and principles to encourage the people of God. And I pray that 
you would put these things into our heart, Help us to put them 
into practice, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.