Title: How to kill a Lion on a snowy Day
Theme: New Years challenge to do more for God in 2024. Be intentional about how we live but also how we fight.
Text: 2 Samuel 23:8 - 37
Notes used from Ray Steadman's sermon with same title.
Opening Scripture: 2 Samuel 23:20-22 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. (21) 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. (22) These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men.
Introduction
2 Samuel 22: 8 – 39 is a list of David’s “mighty men”. These are men who defended and protected David. They fought with David against the enemies. Their exploits were those of legends.
David gathered these from the
1 Samuel 22:2 describes who these men were, “And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So, he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
David attracted these men. They were distressed, debt ridden, broken men. They were discouraged. But they found hope and grace in David. David did not push them away. This says a lot about David’s heart.
Thought # 1
We were all at this place until God found us. We were all broken, discouraged and hopeless until God found us. We owed a large debt “for the wages of sin is death” until God intervened.
God remined me that it was not the conviction of the Holy Spirit that cause me to surrender to God. That may have gotten me to a place of realization but for me it was the fact that my life was a mess and I could not continue this way.
As I have said, “This was not going to end well”. When I surrendered my life to God then things changed. As I was speaking to Chaplin Dexter the other day and he said, “her countance changed when her relationship with God changed’
So David attracted these type of men. They fought with him and they fought for him.
Listen to some of their stories:
Jashobeam who killed 800 men at one time with his spear. In 1 Chronicle 11:11 it is told that he killed 300. Probably on another occasion.
Shammah who defended a ground of lentils from the enemy. Right in the middle he stood, why he knew that you cannot give any ground to the enemy, no matter how insignificant they seem.
Abishai who also killed 300 men.
Eleazer son of Dodo who fought (2 Samuel 23:10) until his hand was stuck to the sword. That is a fight.
Thought: That is how we are to fight. With our hand stuck to the sword of the Lord.
Men who would go to the extreme for their leader. When David missed home and longed for a drink from the Bethlehem well they “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 want us to zoom in on one man that is mentioned here.
Another man we see is the one we opened the verse with. The reason I think he is so important because we are given more detail. Kind of like the Prayer of Jabez we find the people surrounding his name but we see this man with a powerful prayer that got the attention of the author.
Benaiah was the same way
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. (21) 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. (22) These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men.
First notice the names here. Benaiah son of Jehoiada. Names and meanings are always important, so we learn that
He was the son of Jehoida “God knows” which we learn he is a priest.
Benaiah means “God builds.”
Thought # 2
God knows where you are. (this had to be important to a broken fractured nation and broken fractured people) He chose that place for you. That is the revelation of Scripture. God put you where you are, and, therefore, he knows. He knows all about you. Jesus said that the hairs of your head are numbered. He knows what you are going through, and he brought it about. "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose," Paul tells us in Romans (8:28 RSV). And he not only knows what you are going through, but he feels what you feel. God knows how you feel. That is one of the most comforting things to realize when you are upset, when somebody has done you dirt. When you are angry, or remorseful, or impatient, or are tempted to be bitter, or have been betrayed, or have been hurt -- God knows how you feel. The writer of Hebrew stells us, "We have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses," (Hebrews 4:15a RSV). We do not have the kind of God to come to who says, "Oh, don't bother me! Your little troubles -- what are they to me?" No, no. We have one who "in every respect has been tempted as we are" (Hebrews 4:15b RSV), who has been where we have been, and knows how we feel.
Ah, but more than that, he builds. He has a purpose in mind. He knows what is happening and he is using it to work toward an end. That is the glorious thing, isn't it? Out of all the record of Paul's heartache and sorrow and privation and pain and suffering, "This light affliction," he said, "is but for a moment, and is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV), and, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us," (Romans 8:18 KJV). And this is not only in heaven some day, but now. Those who go through heartaches, pressure, problems, tribulation, always emerge, when they are in God's hand, softened, chastened, mellowed, more loving, warmer, more compassionate. God is building -- that is the whole point. This is the secret of survival: God knows, God builds.
Thought # 3
Notice the Three exploits of this soldier of David.
1) He killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. These were big men who fought like a lion
2) He killed an actual lion in the a pit on a snowy day. Very detailed here.
3) He killed a giant Egyptian with the mans own spear. Took away from him and killed him with it.
Some notes used from sermon How to Kill a Lion on a Snowy Day By Ray C. Stedman
Spiritual Meaning
Personal – Spiritual
Moab from Lot’s daughters. The old life. Jesus told us no make can look back while having using a plow. Paul said, “this one thing I do
Egypt - What a picture Egypt is of the world and its ways -- its philosophies, its pursuit of pomp and prestige and pride and status! So this incident is used as a vivid figure of a man who overcame the world.
Lion - But then there was the lion. I am sure you have guessed by now what the lion symbolizes. Remember that Peter tells us outright: "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour," (1 Peter 5:8 RSV). Here is an enemy who is sinister, and who, like a lion, has tremendous majesty and authority and power, and is out licking his chops, looking for something to eat, "seeking whom he may devour." What a picture!
First we must overcome self. Second we must overcome the world. Third we must overcome the enemy.
There is a fourth challenge that we cannot miss.
New Year challenge
I like the way Jentzen Franklin put it. We mainly focus on 3 Temptations (Jentzen Franklin) – Sin, Society & Satan – but truthfully our Main enemy: settlement
The main question I would like to ask is Benaiah is how did you get in the pit.
1) You fell in (accidentally) got off path and found yourself at a place you should not have been against an enemy that you are over matched for, but now you are trapped. What do you do? You fight your way out.
2) You go after the enemy and your greatest foe. You quit putting it. Off.
In the pit – there is no other way out, your back is against the wall, you are between a rock and a hard place.
There is nothing else to do but to fight, because if you don’t you will lose.
Name Benaiah
Conclusion
Some of you today are dealing with giants that you must face. Giants of brokenness, giants of financial crisis, giants of sickness, giants of addiction, giants of family.
You may be at a crisis of faith.
Come this morning. Make a bold step and let God help you fight. Come this morning and be refreshed as you start this New Year.
Principles
You have to start where you are.
You have to learn to be faithful – David’s mighty men
You cannot defeat the giant until you have defeated the lion. (ask David)
You cannot settle for mediocrity to be great for the kingdom of God.
The church needs you. Where you are.
