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psalm 20 i'll begin reading in verse 12 the chief musician a psalm may the name of the God of Jacob defend you may he send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you out of Zion may he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice say law may he grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your purpose we will rejoice in your salvation and in the name of our God we will set up our banners may the Lord fulfill all your petitions now I'm from his holy heaven with the savings strength of his right hand some trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the name of the Lord our God they have bowed down and fallen but we have risen and stand upright save Lord may the King answer us when we call amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnals to him number 79 him number 79 will stand as we sing together you well let us pray blessed God and Holy Father we gather again on the Sabbath day to sing praises to your great name we come to worship you we come to acknowledge and honor and praise and glorify you and we would ask tonight that you would cause us to approach you with reverence with godly fear and with great joy in our hearts considering the fact that our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ rose on this first day of the week and as the Apostle says he was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised for our justification and may we recall these great themes from Scripture and may they encourage our hearts and as we sing as we pray as we look to Scripture we pray God in heaven that all these things would redound to the praise and honor if you're great and glorious name even Father Son and Holy Spirit we pray that you would bless us and strengthen us and help us Lord God to to know that that might from on high that we just sang of that God is our power God is our strength God does provide for his children and in this we greatly rejoice we ask Lord that you would be pleased to look with favor upon this congregation that you had come and visit with us as we gather for worship we pray as well that you would be with us in the coming week and that you would help us as your church as your people to truly live in a manner that is consistent with your revealed will the Apostle says elsewhere to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel and to that end God we pray that you would supply the Holy Spirit and empower us and enable us to pursue those things that are indeed pleasing in your sight we ask that you would forgive us now for all of our sins for certainly as we contemplate as we consider who you are as the Scriptures reveal we know that you are a holy God that you are a righteous God that you are God whose eye is too pure to approve any evil when we see our own selves before you God it ought to promote in us that that genuine fear and so we approach you we ask that you would indeed forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness we thank you and praise you for the gospel of our salvation and how we praise you that Christ came down for us men and for our salvation that he assumed our nature that he lived in light of the law of God and no perfect obedience and he died as a sacrifice and a substitute and then he rose again on the third day may we see these things as that most blessed reality that most blessed truth by which are in which we stand we pray that you would look with favor upon all the saints and our congregation that struggle physically we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would sustain and bless and encourage each one Lord God we pray that you would be with all of the Saints in this congregation spiritually for we live in a sinful world we have our own remaining corruption and there is a real devil that roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour me fortify and strengthen us and help us Lord God to to resist his temptations to resist the desires of our own heart that do not align with your word and give us the grace to perfect holiness in the fear of God we ask that you would bless other churches in our community we thank you that we're not alone here and we pray for those that do preach the gospel that you would bless and encourage their hearts and strengthen them we pray that you'd add to their numbers such as should be saved and cause all of your Saints in this community to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior we pray for this nation as a whole she would pour out your Holy Spirit upon the churches that you would revive your people and caused us to think your thoughts after you caused us to be prayerful and Lord God we pray that you'd awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and send forth your glorious gospel conquering and to conquer and may a whole host a whole multitude turn from their idols to the true and the Living God we also pray for the missionary enterprise we thank you God for the saints of Christ that we know and love and that we esteem highly for the gospel say we just pray that you would prosper them and bless them and protect them in the various places that they Minister the various places that they labor in some of these places or places of threat and danger so we pray that you would surround them with your protection and with your grace and guidance we also pray for the governing authorities we know this is no easy task so we pray that you'd grant wisdom to those in high places cause them to govern according to righteousness and justice the psalmist says the foundation of the throne of God is justice and righteousness we know this ought to be imitated by civil magistrates and very often it is not the case so we pray that you put the fear of God in the hearts of men she would turn them to you and cause them to do what they're supposed to do in light of a holy God if they will not bow to the Lord Jesus if they will not confess the Son of God then we pray that you would restrain them from further acts of evil and wickedness and we pray that those things those sins those crimes that are that are just an epidemic we pray that these things would be criminalized we long for a day when men will indeed or seek to do the will of God on earth as it is in heaven and we know in heaven there is no abortion or sodomy or euthanasia the sorts of things that are perpetuated so frequently here we would pray our God that you'd turn the hearts of men to the law of God and cause them to cease and desist and to repent from their evil ways we just thank you for our time together tonight we pray that you would be present among us and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you may turn again in your Trinity hymnal to number 416 will use a different tune but one that I'm sure we're all familiar with number 416 please stand you we can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Ezekiel chapter 25 ezekiel 25 we see in this particular section judgment or prophesies of judgment concerning the nation so it was not just Israel alone whom the Lord God would bring judgment upon but it was the nations of the earth as well we see that God the God of Israel is not just a simple regional deity but he is the God of heaven and earth he is sovereign over all nations not just the covenant people of Israel but the nation's surrounding as well so i'll begin reading in chapter 25 at verse 1 the word of the lord came to me saying son of man sets her face against the ammonites and prophesy against them say to the ammonites hear the word of the lord god thus says the Lord God because you said aha against my sanctuary when it was profaned and against the Land of Israel when it was desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity indeed therefore I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the east and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you they shall eat your fruit and they shall drink your milk and i will make rabba a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks then you shall know that I am the lord for thus says the Lord God because you clapped your hands stamp your feet and rejoiced and heart with all your disdain for the Land of Israel indeed therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nation's I will cut you off from the peoples and I will cause you to perish from the countries I will destroy you and you shall know that I am the lord thus says the Lord God because Moab and seer say look the house of Judah is like all the nations therefore behold i will clear the territory of moab of cities of the cities on its frontier the glory of the country beth joshimath bail may on and cured jah cure Jotham to the men of the East I will give it as a possession together with the ammonites that the ammonites may not be remembered among the nations and I will execute judgment upon Moab and they shall know that I am the lord thus says the Lord God because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them therefore thus says the Lord God I will also stretch out my hand against Edom cut off man and beast from it and make it desolate from teman date an excuse me Dayton shall fall by the sword I will lay my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel that they may do in Edom according to my anger and according to my fury and they shall know my vengeance says the Lord God thus says the Lord God because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart to destroy because of the old hatred therefore thus says the Lord God I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines and I will cut off the Kara fights and destroy the remnant of the Seacoast I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes and they shall know that I am the lord when i lay my vengeance upon them a man will let us pray father we thank you that you are not just a regional deity we thank you that you are the Lord God of heaven and earth that you have comprehensive sovereignty not just over the Covenant people but over all men everywhere and in this new covenant Eretz the Lord Christ stationed at the right hand of the Father who's been given all authority in heaven and on earth we know that he rules and he reigns and he must do so till all of his enemies are made his footstool dog cause us to reflect upon this and cause us to be encouraged to realize that that history is not something that just happens on its own it's not governed by impersonal fate but it's governed by a gracious and a good and a glorious God who is indeed working all things out for his own glory and for the good of those who love him though those who are the called according to his purpose may these things comfort and encourage our hearts and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well for our final hymn you can turn to number 253 number 253 again will stand as we sing together well you can turn in your Bibles to 2nd Samuel chapter 23 second Samuel chapter 23 verses 1 to 7 or the last words of David not the last words that he ever spoke but the last official words are the last words on record and it concerns David's greater son the Lord Jesus Christ to prophecy a prophecy concerning the future with reference to the one promised by God in second samuel seven and then versus 82 39 rehearse the mighty man of david so i'll begin reading in verse one in chapter 23 of 2nd samuel 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 favorite of the songs 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 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 his 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 jashub basheh beth the taqman ight chief among the captain's he was called a dino the as night because he had killed 800 men at one time and after him was le A's are the son of dodo the ah Hawaii 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 hands stocked to the sword the Lord brought about a great victory that day and the people returned after him only to plunder and after him was shamma the son of OG the horror I 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 3 of the 30 chief man went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of a deulim and the troop of Philistines and camped in the valley of reef aim 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 Oh Lord that I should do this is this not the blood of the man who went in jeopardy of their lives therefore he would not drink it these things were done by the three mighty man now a bashai the brother of Joab the son of soraya was chief of another three he lifted his spirits 300 men killed them and one a name among the these three was he not the most honored of the of three therefore he became their captain however he did not attain to the first three banaya was the son of jehoiada the son of a valiant man from cap seal who had done many deeds he had killed two lying 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 rested the spear out of the Egyptians 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 AUSA hell the brother of Joab was one of the 30 L hannun the son of dodo of Bethlehem shamma the Herod aight a leica the Herod aight helots the pal tight IRA the son of a cash the teco I'd a bs'er d enough anitha tight meh boon I the hoosier fight Zelman the Ajo aight mehar I the nataf asite it I the son of rib eye from Gibeah a Gibeah of the children of Benjamin banaya a paratha night he died from the Brooks of gay ash Abby albon the are both aight asthma veth the borrow might alya the shale the night of the sons of Jason Jonathan shamma the ha right a high on the son of char are the heart a little at the son of that a hass by the son of mayako theit aalayam the son of a if L the Gila night pets right the carmelite para para the arbeit eagle the son of nathan of Zoba Barney the gat aight tzelek the ammonite nahar I the beareth aight armor bearer of Joab the son of zoraya IRA the earth right Gharib the earth right and Uriah the Hittite 37 in all will let us pray father we thank you for the word of God we thank you for the grace of God and the gospel of God and we pray that you would help us to learn the lessons that you would have for us in this passage of Holy Scripture we do pray God in heaven that you would supply to us now the Holy Spirit that he would guide us that he would lead us that we would in they engage and saying exposition of Holy Scripture that we would learn lessons and that we would seek by your grace and for your glory to apply these things again forgive us for our sins and our transgression and all unrighteousness and we pray through Christ our Lord amen as I said on Wednesday night lists like these are not put in the Bible simply to challenge English speakers but there are lessons to be learned by this study of David's mighty men as well some would question why we would spend time in such a violent chapter in fact these mighty men were mighty for the fact that they were violent man they killed the enemies they killed the Philistines they held fast they were faithful courageous man some would suggest in our day as Christians we ought not to busy ourselves in such a study well we realize that we're not the theocracy of Israel were not engaged in holy war we have not been called to kill Philistines physically but that does not empty the chapter of its content and we ought to appreciate what these men did for the glory of God and for the good of their king even David of Israel so I want to look at this particular section I want to glean out for lessons in the first place will notice the power behind David's man 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 eighteen to thirty eight and then finally the reminder of David's sin in verse 39 now the numbering and some of the phraseology concerning the three here or the three there or the 30 in total is a bit difficult and tricky and I'm certainly not going to be able to solve all that tonight but the designation 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 2313 be that there were 37 warriors who were members of the 30 now if you count all of the names and you end up with 36 probably the reason for that is that Joab is not mention Joab is mentioned but incidentally an armor bearer of Joab is referenced and a brother of Joe abbas reference but Joab is not given list as a mighty man of David and that's probably due to the fact as vanoise says his exclusion from the list may be due to his not infrequent insubordination to David as well as soon as involvement in the murders of Abner Absalom and amasa later in first Kings chapter 1 he will join the conspiracy to put a de naija on the throne of Israel instead of Solomon so that may be why he has been left off of this list so if you have 36 know that the 37th was most likely Joab but he's not mentioned here because of those previous infractions or those previous acts of insubordination now why the list well I think there are several reasons first the reminder that David was not the sort of guy who hogged all the credit David was a mighty king in Israel certainly it was because of ultimately the grace of god but God supplied David with these mighty men and David gave them honor David wanted to make sure that they were known he didn't want all that credit for himself a true military leader recognizes the the excellence of his man as well it does remind us how good a leader David actually was because David was the man responsible for training these men for leading these men for inspiring these men to these acts of courage and bravery as well the honor to the military leaders themselves these mighty men engaged in exploits and are recognized as a result in the New Covenant in the book of Romans Paul says we render honor to whom honor is due and in the contacts it's to the civil authority well certainly we ought to honor the heroes of Israel that preserved at least humanly speaking the kingdom of God on earth and then Matthew Henry says that it's also to excite those that come after to a genuine generous annulation in other words when we read passages like these it ought to excite us to emulate them to have that kind of faithfulness to have that kind of bravery to have that kind of courage in steadfastness and then Henry also adds to show how much religion contributes to the inspiring of man with true courage you see religion biblical true religion if it means anything it means everything and it ought to inspire us to great feats or at least to attempt great feats for the kingdom of God Most High now let's look in the first place at the power behind David's meant vs 8 to 12 notice the three-man listed this fellow jashub bash bash abeth is also called Josh Oh beam in first Corinthians I'm sorry first chronicles chapter 11 verse 11 he didn't make it into first Corinthians but he certainly made it into first chronicles but note his claim to fame he killed 800 men at one time the taqman I chief among the captain's he was called a dyno these night because he had killed 800 men at one time now when we went through the book of Judges we saw something similar to this with the man Samson there was a particular occasion when Sam said with the jawbone of an ass took out a thousand Philistines in one standing now what do you say about men like that you say they are men who have a mission they are men who are faithful they are men who are steadfast and they are men are not going to shrink back in the face of challenges later on Samson kills more Philistines in his death when he brings down those pillars upon that pagan temple well this particular man josho beam is similar in nature he kills eight hundred men at one time I don't even know how to do the logistics for such a thing I don't even know how to comport with such a thing we get tired playing with grandkids when you're you know old people like me now you get tired chase those little ones around the house and this man killed 800 fill estates now realize these 800 Philistines didn't want to be killed it wasn't the case that they just presented themselves to josho beam lifted back their head and he just sort of cut their throat they were fighting josho beam they were trying to rid the earth of josho be they were trying to destroy him as well so it wasn't just a matter of him sneaking slyly into the camp of the Philistines and you know perhaps poisoning their water jug he was in hand-to-hand combat with these people similar to what we find with Ja Samson in the book of Judges at jawbone height these men were men these men did what men are supposed to do when God says take out the Philistines men like Josh Oh Beeman and Samson take out Philistines note le A's are the son of dodo verses 9 and 10 he fought with David against the Philistines and notice what the text says concerning this man le A's are the son of dodo verse 9 yellow white 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 don't miss that the men of Israel had retreated the people that were supposed to go to battle with le a Tsar and David they had retreated so if it wasn't for David and Ali A's are the Philistines would have been victorious that day again we saw the parallel with Samson and judges 15 Samson was the deliverer of Israel and he so offended Israel that Judah captures him and delivers him to the Philistines now thankfully that's the occasion by which are in which he takes out the thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass but that is pathetic when the Covenant people take their deliverer and they deliver him up to the Philistines that is treason it is treachery it is wicked and the same thing here this man and David stand up against the Philistines though Israel retreats and then notice in verse 10 he arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hands stuck to the sword shared the other night Davis quotes a couple of commentators to explain that this phenomena has been seen elsewhere it I've also heard that it's something that that happens today it says that a Highland sergeant at Waterloo had done such execution with his basket handled sword and so much blood at coleg coagulated around his hand that it had to be released by a blacksmith so firmly were they held together that's what's happening here Eleazar is in battle and his hands stock to the sword now thankfully it was stocked to the sword and it didn't drop the sword because he needed that sort in order to dispatch Philistines at the clothes another instance at the close of the massacre of the Christians at Mount Lebanon by the drew sees the drew seas were a religious sect sort of a combination of Islam and Judaism and even Christianity at the close of this particular battle in 1860 Sheikh Ali ahmads Han so clave 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 got a guy like le azar and instead of whining and sniveling and crying and say well you know it's just too hard for me to stay awake for that extra hour he is weary in the battle his hand is weary his hand is stuck to the sword and he nevertheless faces the enemies of God and thus he paves the way for the children of Israel to plunder the Philistines how do you like that the children of Israel retreat they don't go into battle against the Philistines they leave David and la's are on their own Eleazar does his bidding and then notice at the end of verse 10 it says and the people returned after him only to plunder then the third man in this particular section is shema the son of OG verses 11 and 12 note his claim to fame and after him was shamma the son of OG the ha right the Philistines had gathered together in a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils so the people fled from the Philistines Israel has a nasty habit of doing that the people fleeing from the Philistines were not the Philistines the people fleeing from the Philistines were Israelites they were not supposed to run they were supposed to help defend that farmers field lentils were a precious commodity and without lentils and like grains and barleys and beans they would die from hunger so the Philistines gathered together in this farmer's field this field that's rich with lentils and the people fled from the Philistines it's a pathetic scene isn't it it's an unfortunate reality when the church is supposed to march forward and support those who are in leadership more often than not the leaders can look back and say where is everybody and that's precisely what's happening in this particular instance instead of following David instead of following shema instead of being there to defeat the Philistines they flee from the Philistines we see the cowardice and the and the the weakness magnified in the children of Israel it's against that backdrop that these heroes stand out even more because they're men of faith their men of courage their men of bravery and know what shema does in verse 12 he stationed himself in the middle of the field he doesn't hide in the bush he doesn't go to the perimeter he goes right in the middle of the field and he essentially says if you want this field you're going to have to take it from me that's the kind of man that makes it into this list of David's my team at note specifically stations himself in the middle of the field defended it and killed the Philistines you see this is why he's in second samuel chapter 23 specifically verses 8 to 12 but note the power behind the man versus 10 and 12 tell us conspicuous e conspicuously Yahweh brought about a great victory that day verse 10 and then at the end of verse 12 so Yahweh brought about a great victory the Lord God most high is the one ultimately who gets the credit for the defeat of the Philistines it is the Lord God most heart who enables his man who enables these people to go into battle and to fight until their hands have to be pried off of their sword but nevertheless look at the sorts of means that God uses God uses means and God uses faithful courageous brave man he doesn't use the Nancy boys that retreat and that Ron and that hide and it's nibble and whine and complain Davis says all this concerning the power of God behind these men 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 all God's servants must recognize this secret lest we fail to see our successes as gifts and turned them or ourselves into idols so that's a great caution we need to appreciate the announcement or the record and verses 10 and 12 that the victory was of the Lord we also must recognize that this Lord who brought about the victory uses particular means and he typically uses faithful man he typically uses men that aren't going to retreat men that aren't going to run men that aren't going to hide men that aren't going to snivel and men that aren't going to wine he's going to use man that can stand toe-to-toe with 800 Philistines he's going to use man who's going to are going to fight until their their hand must be pried off of their sword he's going to use man that scanned in the middle of a field and basically challenged the Philistines to try and take it from him these are why they are mighty men now note the second observation the sacrifice of David's men in verses 13 to 17 they are at a doula now Doolin's mentioned in First Samuel 22 when David was an outlaw when he was fleeing from Saul as well it could have been a part and could have occurred earlier in his reign in second samuel 5 17 to 21 we don't know the specific instance but we simply know that they were in the cave of a deulim and there were Philistines there notice verse 13 then 3 of the 30 chief man went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of a deulim we don't know which of the my team at the end of verse 17 may be interpreted as those first three thirty men those first three of the third 30 men so like I said some of the numbering here you're going to need somebody that's a lot more skilled in this than I but we do know that these three men went to do David's bidding but no what happens the troop of the Philistines at the end of verse 13 and camped in the valley of reef and David was then in the stronghold and the garrisons 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 now most of the commentators do not believe that David was actually requesting or commanding or telling a man to go get him water he was longing he had a bit of nostalgia he's in the cave of a deulim and he's thinking back to his to his youth he grew up in Bethlehem and you know in those days they didn't pipe in the water they didn't have reservoir you know the reservoir system and the taps and all of that purification system that we have water could taste differently from place to place it was probably hot David's musing with himself and he's he's longing for that sweet water that he used to get at the bethlehem well well three of his mighty man hear him and they go get it they go and take charge notice the way they do this and we'll call this a sacrifice because they did sacrifice much notice in verse 16 so the three mighty man broke through the camp of the Philistines again don't just assume that the Philistine said oh the three mighty manner here they want to get water from the well at Bethlehem come on in guys that's not what happened Philistines hated Israelites when Philistines saw Israelites they wanted to kill them they didn't welcome them in give them a bucket and say there's the water from Bethlehem take you back to your king we hope that he's happy they broke through the camp most likely shedding blood in the midst they broke through the camp demonstrating their bravery and their courage and their faithfulness they broke through the camp as well demonstrating their devotion to their leader now David was the kind of man or David was the kind of Lee that inspired such a response from his people and as will note later if these men laid out their lives and sacrifice for that anointed then how are we to lay out our lives and sacrifice for our anointed for our Christ for our Messiah for our Lord Jesus Christ now when I say we sacrifice that doesn't mean we sacrifice for atonement and we receive the forgiveness of sins no I mean that we kind of get outside of ourselves for a moment that we sort of have some some difficulties or we have some trials or we have some issues or we have some challenges the whole idea of sacrifice bespeaks deprivation when we sacrifice for our God it means some sort of deprivation on our part when we bring money to the church when we offer tithes and offerings that's a sacrifice instead of buying a boat this season we're going to give money to the church there's a bit of deprivation that there's a bit of sacrifice when I speak of us sacrificing for Jesus do not mistake what I am saying I'm not saying that we can somehow earn our salvation or we can earn the forgiveness of sins or we can somehow atone for our sins by our sacrifice no I'm simply citing what Jesus says in terms of kingdom living he said if anybody wants to come after me let him take up his cross daily and follow me and taking up his cross daily in the context in which he spoke was not just wearing a cross on one's body but taking up the cross meant being willing to die for the Lord of glory it meant willing to be crucified for the Lord of glory when he used that image or when he used that metaphor or when he cited that reality these men understood what was that state if we want to serve the Lord Jesus Christ it may cost us our lives and these three mighty men displays that sort of service that sort of devotion that sort of sacrifice for their King the three mighty man broke through the camp of the Philistines they water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and they took it and brought it to david matthew henry says how much they valued their prints and with what pleasure they could run the greatest hazards and undergo the greatest hardships in his service now a deulim and Bethlehem weren't right next door to each other and a walk probably about 25 miles each way you know that enough would be well you know that David will get his water some other time you know most of us would say that's a good thing that you long for that David but you know it's a long way to go to to Bethlehem and you know there's Philistines there and they're nasty and notorious and their meaning they didn't even think like that David wants water we're going to go to Bethlehem we're going to take out whatever obstacles laying our way we're going to fetch that water we're going to bring that water back to him because our king wants it is that a beautiful sentiment isn't that something that the Church of Christ should imitate with reference to our King our King says to live in a certain way it ought to be our joy and delight we ought to say absolutely whatever it is Lord we sing that him sometimes 505 all the way my Savior leads me until he leads me to a place where he says I don't want you looking at porn or he leads me to a place where I set where he says you as a woman you need to submit to your own husband where he leads me to a place where as a man I'm not to be abusive or tyrannical to my wife but I'm the lover the way that Christ loved the church well then we don't want to follow do we we don't like where Jesus leads us when it affects us in our sin we like when he leads us to prosperity we like when he leads us to joy we like when he leads us to to happiness but we don't like it when he leads us to cut off arms and or cut off hands and gouge out eyes or ordeal radically with our sin that sort of Jesus and that sort of following well you know that's good for David's mighty man getting him water when he had a longing but for me i'll follow Jesus as I see fit you can't do that the Lord Christ is worthy of absolute devotion he's worthy of absolute service he is worthy of absolute sacrifice if religion means anything it means everything and the people of God need to imitate these three mighty men they don't deliberate they don't discuss they don't talk they don't even check with David really you want that water they just go David wants water David's going to get water the church ought to imitate that Christ wants water he's going to get water Christ wants obedience he's going to get obedience Christ wants purity he's going to get purity Christ wants faithfulness he's going to get faithfulness do you get it you see if these men are willing to serve King David of Israel with all their might and all their heart and all their soul and all their strength and certainly is the servants of Jesus on this side of the New Covenant brethren we ought to demonstrate some of that sacrificial giving once in a while notice David's response in verse 17 birthday into verse 16 nevertheless he would not drink it but poured it out to the Lord no I suspect that a lot of readers go I wasn't nice these guys went all the way to Bethlehem they fought their way through the camp of the Philistines they fetched that sweet water from the well at Bethlehem they tried you know track all the way back to a doula they hand it to David and he pours it out some of us might read that and say what an ingrate David I mean these men served you well these men sacrificed well these men put their lives at stake for you well David's activity honored that David's activity confirmed that David validated that David said thank you by doing what he did he refuses the water the act was not a rejection of their courageous intention the act was an acknowledgement of their courageous intention note what he goes on to say verse 17 far be it from me O Lord that I should do this is this not the blood of the man who went in jeopardy of their lives therefore he would not drink it the water represented the blood not in some communal sense not in some mystical sense but simply this way the fact that these men and went and fetched the sweetwater from Bethlehem and took it back to David that was their blood they risked their lives they put their necks on the line they could have been destroyed and David saw the value of that sacrifice and he saw that he himself was not fit for it he was not worthy of it such a sacrifice belongs to Yahweh and that is precisely what David 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 this pouring it out on the ground was not a wasteful act but it was a sacrificial and a worshipful act it belonged to God the act of offering it to the Lord was a confirmation of their courageous intention in fact they david honored them a whole lot more than if he had taken that bucket and drained it down to its drinks david honored these men and their sacrifice by giving it to the Lord Davis says he cannot believe the risk his men ran it is the water of Bethlehem but to David it represents the blood of his man blood belongs to Yahweh hence he dare not drink it he poured it out not because it was trash but because it was treasurer it belonged to God and that's what he does in pouring it out now notice thirdly the exploits of David's men will pick up the two and verses 18 to 23 and then we'll simply glance at the 31 in verses 24 238 you don't need to worry that we'll be here all night going through 31 additional men in verses you know 24 and following but no taba shy and banaya these two men indicated in verses 18 to 20 23 first is a bashai the brother of Joab also a brother of hace hail son of zariah he was a chief of chief of another three he lifted his spirits 300 men killed them and one a name among these three now whether he did this in one standing as it does suggest or that we see that a dino or or josho beam did he fought and killed these 800 men or was this a career sort of tally for abisai i think the tax could read either way but he took his spear against 300 men killed them and won a name among the three was he not the most honored of three therefore he became their captain however he did not attain to the first three it's pretty amazing you've got some pretty mighty men when you have 300 career kills and you're still not in the top three I mean that underscores these top three doesn't it these men were formidable these men were dangerous to Philistines these men were faithful and so was a bashai now note this fellow called banaya he kills two lion like heroes of moab to lion like heroes of moab men that were renowned men that were formidable men that were scary to others he killed the two lion like heroes of Moab and the notice in verse verse 20 he also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day now I suggested on Wednesday night there's a trifecta there that most of us wouldn't cross it was a snowy day I don't want to go outside in the snowy day he's in a pit I don't want to shoot me down a pet and he's a lion I certainly don't want to face a lion and look at what this banaya does this lion probably comes near to where people live it's a snowy days in this pit and banaya doesn't say well hopefully the snow just sort of gathers around him and execute him there he dies a horrific death in the cult no he goes down into the pit and he kills a lion David would have affinity with banaya wouldn't he because david knew what it was like to kill a lion so did Samson these mighty men of Israel didn't shrink back from dispatching lions if Lions gotten their way again I think men were a bit different in those days than they are today these weren't these sort of effeminate nancy's that can't get their hands dirty they did tremendous things for the kingdom of God he had killed two lion like heroes of Moab he also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pet on a snowy day that's enough right there to say you know what that you you got it you're a mighty man you've achieved the rank but it doesn't stop there and it won't stop there because you see banaya is going to be useful to Solomon banaya is going to take care of the Joab problem once and for all and banaya is going to be the military leader or commander in Israel note what it says concerning banaya in verse 21 he killed an Egyptian a spectacular man that's a great statement as it aspect the author said I don't know how else to describe it he's a spectacular man probably he's big he's armed he's dangerous and he wants to dispatch Israelites so the author tells us he kills an Egyptian a spectacular man I mean that in and of itself would be an achievement wouldn't it I mean the fact that that he kills this man that's an Egyptian that that's renowned for his spectacular ness that probably would cause all of us to say well that's great good for banaya but it goes on to detail how banaya does it verse 21 the Egyptian had a spear in his hand so he banaya went down to him with a staff rested the spear out of the Egyptians hand and killed him with his own spear now don't get the B'nai as the sort of fellow that uses Nineveh for men or knit to the de novo or nivea for men I don't get that he's in the product and all that he goes and kills Egyptians with their own Spears he uses his staff he rests the sphere out of this spectacular man's ad and he kills him why because banaya is a man of God and because the kingdom of God advances through such men as these I would like to think we'd all dare to be abinaya if push came to shove in our own lives notice verse 22 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 and then there are as I said 31 names mentioned in verses 24 and following just want to focus upon one particular and make a quick observation before we go to our final point tonight notice specifically in verse 34 aalayam the son of a hill the gila night aalayam the son of a if L the Gila night you'll see how or you see how in the Old Covenant the Messiah David the anointed the Christ that David produced division in homes now if L had been a trusted counselor of David but during the usurpation by Absalom of the throne and of the crown a hit FL joined Absalom a hill abandoned David and joined his cart to Absalom and his rebellion to take the kingdom away from David so you might think that his whole family would have joined with him not a lion a lion was devoted to David aalayam saw that David was more valuable than his own father aalayam showed a kingdom principle we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness the Lord Christ and His gospel brings division and Families the Lord Christ some believe and others don't there is that sense we must esteem price higher than father higher than mother Jesus tells us that we need to hate mother and father if they stand in our way of service to the Lord Jesus now I think we ought to interpret that properly that doesn't mean hit them or hurt them or beat them or abuse them probably in the context it means to love them less than we love the Lord of glory do you see that division here in this Old Covenant setting God's Messiah brings division even to families and a lion is to be a applauded for his faithfulness to David rather than to his traitor father a hit the fell and then notice fourthly and finally the reminder of David's sin verse 39 and Uriah the Hittite sad isn't it there's a Uriah the Hittite and numbered among David's mighty men for you who do not know your I I the head that's just shame on you no I'm kidding Uriah the Hittite is mentioned in second samuel 11 and 12 Uriah the Hittite mentioned here is a reminder of chapters 11 and 12 in chapters 11 and 12 David was supposed to go out to battle as King's dead but he sends Joab to lead his men and so David goes up on his roof and wall ease up on his roof he sees a beautiful woman named Bathsheba and she is bathing and so David sends for her he takes her he commits adultery with her she is pregnant by David David understands that as the king of Israel the one is administering God's kingdom on earth he cannot do such things so he has to cover up this particular activity he has to cover up his indiscretion he has to cover up his scent so his reasoning is I will call you riah the Hittite from the Battlefront who was Bathsheba's husband he calls Uriah the Hittite n so that Uriah will lay with his wife and once she is found out or once you know everybody knows she's pregnant they will suppose it was because of Uriah on that bit of R&R that he had from the front well Uriah proves to be a more honorable man than David Uriah proves to be the kind of man that says to David I'm not going to lie with my wife not when Israel and the Ark of the Covenant are out in battle and so David then keeps him another night and he plies them with alcohol I mean this is just terrible it's unfortunate that such things are in our Bibles but it is the case so David gives them a nice bit of alcohol Uriah's drunk david's mindset david's rationale is he will certainly be compliant with reference to the desires for his wife not so with Joab I'm sorry not so with Uriah so David gives the order to Joab to make sure that you riah gets put in the hottest part of the battle so that Uriah will be killed on in the battle it's terrible that's what David did and so this statement and verse 39 reminds us reminds us that David had some issues david had some sin david had some challenges and i think there's two lessons we ought to glean from verse 39 and its reference to Uriah the Hittite in the first place it ought to underscore that the success of david was because of the grace of god in many respects this is another statement that it was the Lord who brought about great victory the mere reference to Uriah the Hittite tells us that whatever successes david knew as a military leader whatever successes david knew his Israel's King was due to the grace of God it was not do because he was a morally perfect man the success he had was by grace one commentator man named hurts berg says the mention of Uriah in the last place may be pure chance as I mentioned the other night he doesn't think so he's just sort of setting it up here 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 on to 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 are 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 it does underscore the reality that David success was due to the grace of God I think a second lesson and then we conclude is this highlights the necessity of David's greater son you see as I mentioned the chapter begins with the prophecy you can turn back for a moment if you're reading the New King James you'll notice that I took a few liberties with the text i explained the said length when we covered this on Wednesday night but 23 one can be read this way thus says David the son of Jesse thus says the man raised up concerning see as it stands it looks like these for descriptions are of David but if we read it the way I suggest and there's biblical warrant or textual warrant to do so the first to describe David and the second to describe Jesus thus says David the son of Jesse thus says the man raised up concerning the anointed of the God of Jacob this is going to be Jesus and not the sweet psalmist of Israel we can render it that way but it can also be rendered as the favorite of the songs of Israel in other words the anointed of the God of Jacob the Lord Jesus Christ is the favorite of the songs of Israel so when David writes songs they're content and subject matter are the Lord Jesus Christ and David does this by the Holy Spirit as he states clearly in verse to the spirit of the of Yahweh spoke by me and his word was on my tongue brethren why do we sing the songs because they're about Jesus they're about the Christ that David is telling us here in second samuel chapter 23 the god of israel said the rock of Israel spoke to me and then he describes Christ he who rules over men must be just ruling in the fear of God 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 he gives this glowing description of what it will be like in the Messianic age when the Lord Jesus Christ comes what it will be like when he engages in his reign David acknowledges his own deficiencies David acknowledges his own shortcomings David knows and he is telling us that he's not describing David at this particular juncture what he says in verse 5 he says although my house is not so with God I'm not the ruler I'm not the leader I'm not the king I'm not the one who is the subject of this prophecy although my house is not so with God yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant that is the Davidic covenant in 2nd Samuel 7 that from David's line one will be raised up to sit up on David's throne and to rule and reign forever this is what lay behind Luke chapter 1 Acts chapter 2 every reference in the new testament to Jesus as the the son of David the Lord Christ is the subject of this prophecy and this reference to Uriah the Hittite is to promote in the faithful at this particular juncture a forward view a looking ahead a realization that David was indeed a great man David was a most excellent servant but he wasn't a perfect man David engaged in thuggery David engaged in adultery David engaged in murder this reference to Uriah the Hittite promotes in the part of these people and in us a realization that we need one over the kingdom who will never commit adultery one over the kingdom who will never murder one over the kingdom who will orchestrate justice righteousness and judgment for all his people so the reference to Uriah underscores the gracious nature of David's reign as the king and it also promotes and the people of Israel at this time a longing for David's greater son the subject of the prophecy and second Samuel 23 verses 1 to 7 they would say oh yah way send the deliverer send the Lord of glory send that one that favorite of the songs of Israel who will administer judgment and justice to all those people without sin and in utter perfection well brethren in conclusion I suggest that we learn a practical or a few practical lessons in the first place we need faithful man in the kingdom we need faithful man in the kingdom I submit that these men didn't do what they did to get their names in second samuel 23 when josho beam is killing 800 Philistines probably uppermost in his mind was not hey I'm going to be known for this they'll write songs about me in the future the Spirit will move the writer of 2nd Samuel too that's not what was in his head he was being faithful you see we don't need men that are pursuing greatness we need men that are pursuing faithfulness we don't need men to to change the world but men were faithful in the world you see that's what this passage calls us to the mighty man stood fast even when the rest of Israel retreated even though the church will shrink back from declaring the truth of God even though the church may say well you know we're going to welcome in our you know LGBT community we're going to marry you and we're going to let you be our ministers and we're going to just you know forget all about those old sorts of laws that prohibit such things when churches do that true church's faithful churches are going to say no we are going to take our stand on the Word of God and we're going to resist the encroachments of a pagan state and a bunch of liberal minded professing Christians we're going to hold fast to the word of truth because that's what God says to do retain the standard of sound words Paul tells Timothy Paul tells Timothy to wage the good warfare not run and hide and snivel and wine would be a josho beam Timothy wage the good warfare be abinaya Timothy and wage the good warfare if you have to go out on a snowy day and go into the midst of a pet to kill a lion for God Most High then do it we need faithful men these men were faithful even while weary I mean I can't imagine again what le azar was thinking or or are contemplating as hes wery in the hand and it's stuck to his sword I'm certain I would have been thinking how is this going to fix itself am I ever going to not have a sword attached to my hand he's not doing that he's killing Philistines all the while Matthew Henry says the sand the service of God we should keep up the willingness and resolution of the spirit notwithstanding the weakness and the weariness of the flesh faint yet pursuing the hand weary yet not quitting the sword you young men and you young women do you know what my admonition to you is be faithful show up where you're supposed to show up when you're supposed to show up and do what you're supposed to do when you show up there be faithful in your families be faithful in your churches be faithful in your workplaces be faithful men and women not just young people but this is a lesson that that older people will give to you be faithful do what you're supposed to do don't do it for praise don't do it for prestige none of us are going to be writing a second Samuel 23 about the mighty men of you know of David so you're not going to get in that just do it because it's right so he's going to be an end game with us doesn't know I'll do this if I benefit I'll do this if if everybody recognizes I'll do this if I get credit I guarantee you that's all of these men are thinking they're thinking about neutralizing the enemy and advancing the kingdom of God that's it that's what's in their mind that's what's uppermost it is faithfulness in the face of adversity in the face of anything show up do what you're supposed to do and don't whine and snivel and grumble and complain the next time you want to whine grumbles nibble and complain about a task a menial task at work just thank God Almighty you know that you've not been called to go down into a pit and kill a lion and I ought to just make you happy that you don't have to go kill lions in pits on snowy days or that you have to fight Philistines to the point where your hand is stuck to the sword I'm certain that we ought to take these things into consideration more frequently as well we see the necessity of courageous men in the kingdom faithfulness and courage what sends a man out to face 800 people what sends a man out to a lentil field when all of this kampala compatriots have left him he stands in the middle of the field and he defends it and he kills the fill its courage brethren it's courage he said well I'm not natively courageous we'll ask God to give you some of that strength I'm not saying go out and kill lions I'm really not but man don't get embarrassed to pray over your food at Tim Hortons you know we we think we've accomplished something when you know week we prayed in public and I'm suggesting that you should praise God you should pray it to morton's brethren in terms of acts of courage that's not up there with shimmying down into a cold snowy pit and killing a lion or facing spectacular man and taking their spears from them and killing them this is what men of courage did and this is what men of courage do again I'm not suggesting go buy a sword or a gun and take out Isis I'm suggesting that we are courageous where God has planted us the mighty man faced mighty enemies the Philistines for the most part the church today faces mighty enemies the devil and his earthly representatives we do not battle or we do not weigh a war against flesh and blood but against principalities and dark towers and powers of darkness there behind the scenes but they do manifest themselves through that flesh and blood we need to see that we need to we need to have courage to face face those things so we need faithful men and women we need courageous men and women and we need sacrificial men and women we learn anything from these unnamed 3 in verses 13 to 17 we ought to learn what sacrifice is all about far king wants a bowl of water or a bucket of water from the well at Bethlehem we're going to do it if our King says if anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross and follow me for 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 Matthew Henry commenting with reference to these men that got the water for David he says let us be willing to venture in the cause of Christ he even when it is a suffering caused as those who are assured that it will prevail and that we shall not lose by it at last were they so forward to expose themselves upon the least hint of their princes mind and so ambitious to please him and shall we not covet to approve ourselves to our Lord Jesus by a ready compliance with every intimation of his will given us by his word spirit and Providence in other words if these men sacrificed for David how much are we to sacrifice for David's greater son faithful courageous sacrificial men and women are desperately needed in the kingdom of God today who's visible expression is the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ and I think the final lesson arises from that reference to Uriah the Hittite this text reminds us that we need the god man over the kingdom it's in the hands of David and his successors the kingdom will be run of ground it's an amazing thing you trace out the kings and I hope we do this and 1st Kings God willing in a few weeks and just keep moving through those Old Testament Scriptures you see that if it was left up to men brethren they would have ruined the kingdom they would have apostatized it right out of existence but it's based on the promise and the Covenant of God and its ultimate reference is to the Lord Jesus Christ we need him to rule terrain and to orchestrate or to administrate rather this kingdom of God most high and the entrance to that Kingdom is by grace alone through faith alone in the one who rules over it alone will let us pray our Father we thank you for this sketch that you give us of these mighty men and I pray for all of us that there would be that faithfulness and that courage and that sacrificial spirit and I pray that you would cause us God to learn from these men to see the New Covenant application and help us to truly glorify you in the way that we serve you in this will old we have been saved to serve we haven't been saved just to sit around and enjoy our salvation she call us to function as madness women as parents as husbands as wives you call us to function in our workplace and in society you call us to function in our church as well certainly in each of these areas and each of these spheres may we be faithful and may we be those who seek to glorify and honor you and all that we do we ask that you would go with us now watch over us and the remainder of this in this coming week and cause us God to manifest these things in our own lives and we pray this through Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you