Series: Untold Stories of the Old Testament #5
Date: CHCC: June 24, 2012
Title: David’s Mighty Men
Texts: 1 Samuel 22; I Chronicles 11; Psalm 34
INTRODUCTION:
What do you already know about David from the Old Testament? (answer, things like: killed Goliath, man after God’s own heart, King of Israel,… )
Probably you’ve heard the old saying, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman.” (I’ve also heard it said, behind every great man there’s a woman rolling her eyes and shaking her head)
Well David was definitely a great man. And behind David were over 40 great men. Today we’re going to talk about David’s Mighty Men. Their names and their exploits are listed in 2 Samuel 23 and in 1 Chronicles 11.
I Chronicles 11 begins with the people of Israel making David their King. Right after this, David had to fight a battle in order to establish his rule in Jerusalem. From that point on, Jerusalem was called “The city of David.” David and his army fortified the city and built up its walls.
1 Chronicles 11:10 says, These were the chiefs of David’s mighty warriors—they, together with all Israel, gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the Lord had promised … and then in verse 11: This is the list of David’s mighty warriors: The chapter goes on to list 49 names. (Most of them are hard to pronounce so I won’t read them.)
We’re going to talk about those Mighty Men today --- but before we do, let’s back up a little. David had been anointed as a future king by the Prophet Samuel when he was just a young shepherd. David was probably a young adolescent at that time … maybe between 12 – 15 years old. At least 15 years passed before David actually BECAME King of Israel.
During those 15 years, God shaped David into the man who would be able to lead Israel. David learned how to fight and strategize and survive. And most important, David learned how to trust God.
For a period of about 7 of those years, David actually had to go into hiding because jealous King Saul wanted to kill him. In 1 Samuel 22 we read about David hiding in a cave. David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. I Samuel 22:1
Picture this situation. Here’s David, a near-victim of murder. He’s been anointed as the future King, but the current King is determined to kill him … all this even though David had faithfully served King Saul for many years.
When David’s father and brothers heard where he was hiding, they joined him in the cave. This was probably comforting to David. But that was not the end. Soon other men began to arrive from all over Israel. Take a look at the kind of volunteers that David had to work with:
All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. 1 Samuel 22:2
It kind of reminds me of the Statue of Liberty – “Give me your tired your poor… Your huddled masses … the wretched refuse of your teeming shore…” The kind of folks that gathered around David were …
• Distressed (depressed and pessimistic)
• In Debt (poor, welchers, credit-risks)
• Discontented (grumblers, trouble-makers)
What a crew! David had a huge mob of worried, discontented, critical, grumbling, complaining ne'er-do-wells. What potential! (potential disaster, that is…) As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, the number soon swelled to 600. Can you imagine 600 men like that crammed in a cave? But somehow David trained these men and made them into a mighty army.
So how did David manage to turn his motley crew of recalcitrant students into Mighty Men of Valor? We find the curriculum David used in a Psalm that David wrote during his time in the cave of Adullam.
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:1-3
David taught by example and then told his men to follow his lead.
Lesson #1 was…
1. Stop Complaining and start Praising
What did David do? He became a Praiser in the midst of Gripers. This was step one in turning those men around. David began by changing the focus of their though life. He banished pessimism and complaining and self pity. He said, “I will continually praise the Lord,” and that’s what he did.
Do any of you work with a bunch of gripers? Susan told me if this sermon took hold in schools, Teachers’ Lounges all over the nation would fall silent! It’s not easy to be positive when the people around you are negative. But that’s what God asks of us.
James 1:2 says; Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. David LIVED that verse, and he trained his men to live the same way. This is the first step that turned this group of mal-contents with their whiney, victim mentality into the Mighty Men whose names are listed in 1 Chronicles 11.
Let’s look at the first 3 mentioned. They are grouped together and called “The Three” (kind of like the 3 Musketeers) Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Abishai. In one battle, where the entire army went into retreat, “The Three” stood their ground, raised their swords, and fought off 300 men each!
That kind of courage and energy doesn’t come from whiners and complainers … it comes from Praisers.
The next lesson David taught his men was this:
2. I trust the Lord completely, and you can, too
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:4-5
To a group of worriers and pessimists, David’s attitude must have been like a breath of fresh air in a stale cave. David gave them daily testimonies of how God took care of him. They watched David get up early day after day, go to the mouth of the cave, and sing songs of praise. They watched him, night after night, lying down on the hard cave floor and sleeping like a baby.
David set the example of what it looks like to really, completely TRUST God for everything. And then he invited his men to do the same.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
In other words, “Try it, you’ll like it!” They did try it. They did like it. The faith they shared built a strong bond of love and loyalty.
1 Chronicles 11:15-19 tells an interesting story about how much they cared about each other. David was hiding out in a stronghold, surrounded by the Philistine army, when he got terribly thirsty and he mentioned how much he’d LOVE to have a drink from the well near the Bethlehem gate.
The next thing you know “The Three” broke through the Philistine lines and brought him back a cup of Bethlehem well water. David poured the water out on the ground and said, “God forbid that I would drink this water when you risked your lives to get it!”
This is the kind of loyalty and love that develops in a community where everyone is trusting God completely. It’s the kind of amazing love and fellowship that we have in the church when all of us are 100% sold out to God … trusting in Him completely for everything we need.
David taught his men how to …
3. Fear God, not men
Psalm 34:9-10: Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
David didn’t teach his men to have NO fear. He taught his men to replace the fear of men with fear of God. The appropriate fear of God will drive away all other fears.
I Chronicles 11:22 tells about the exploits of another Mighty Man named Benaiah. He struck down Moab’s 2 mightiest warriors. One snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion. He went against an Egyptian giant. The giant had a gigantic spear, but Benaiah killed him with a club.
In fact, if you look in the list of Mighty Men found in 2 Samuel, you find that 4 of them killed giants. David killed Goliath, and the men he trained also became giant-killers.
David knew that if his men were going to overcome their fears, they had to be pure in character. Here’s how he taught them: Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:11-14
What are you afraid of? Maybe we don’t have an army chasing us and trying to kill us, but there is plenty to fear in this life. Do you fear sickness or death? Do you fear losing a loved one? Do you fear loneliness? Do you fear losing a job, or poverty, or failure? These are all legitimate fears. But if you follow David’s curriculum, you will replace fear of circumstance with fear of God.
Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” Luke 12:4-6
CONCLUSION:
David took a bunch of complaining mis-fits and transformed them into Mighty Men of Valor. This is a picture of what God does with us. Our church can be filled with Mighty Men and Women of God … not because of how great we are in ourselves … but because we have learned to follow David’s advice: Replace complaining with praising; Trust God completely; And Fear God rather than men
