This chapter records the names of David’s mighty men and recounts some stories about them. One story is from David’s exile, when he had to flee King Saul who was trying to kill him. In these verses, 3 of David’s men overheard him longing for water from the well of Bethlehem, where he was born and grew up. It was probably a scorching, dusty, midsummer day as David remembered the cool water from the village well of his youth. Since David had been a shepherd, we can assume he had often stopped his herd of sheep at this well. He was probably also a little homesick when he thought of it. Certainly he had not given orders for his men to bring him water from that well, nor had he intended for anyone to be prompted by his words to attempt to get him some. But these 3 brave men took his longing seriously and broke through enemy lines to draw water for David from the well of Bethlehem. They then marched back to bring it to him. It must have been 25 miles or more, round trip.<\/p>\n
Because David’s men brought him water at the risk of their own lives, he considered it to precious to drink himself and instead poured it out as an offering to God. This was David’s way of saying, \u201cOnly God is worthy of this kind of sacrifice.\u201d This gives yet another insight into the life of this \u201cman after God’s own heart.\u201d David held his men in such high esteem that it is no wonder these \u201cbad guys\u201d of Israel loved their king.<\/p>\n
We serve the King of kings who, even more than David, holds every single person in the highest esteem possible. We have such value in our heavenly Father’s eyes that He paid the most expensive ransom ever paid for the life of a human being\u2014His Son. Jesus Christ died a horrible death on the cross on our behalf. Therefore, the most valuable thing in the whole world is your life and mine!<\/p>\n
“LORD, we worship at the foot of the cross by which You redeemed us all.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Samuel 23 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Now these\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man\u00a0who was\u00a0<\/em>raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0The Spirit of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spake by me, and his word\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>in my tongue.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men\u00a0must be\u00a0<\/em>just, ruling in the fear of God.\u00a0\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0And\u00a0he shall be\u00a0<\/em>as the light of the morning,\u00a0when\u00a0<\/em>the sun riseth,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>a morning without clouds;\u00a0as\u00a0<\/em>the tender grass\u00a0springing\u00a0<\/em>out of the earth by clear shining after rain.\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0Although my house\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all\u00a0things\u00a0<\/em>, and sure: for\u00a0this is\u00a0<\/em>all my salvation, and all\u00a0my\u00a0<\/em>desire, although he make\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>not to grow. 6<\/sup>\u00a0But\u00a0the sons\u00a0<\/em>of Belial\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0But the man\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the\u00a0same\u00a0<\/em>place.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0These\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>Adino the Eznite:\u00a0he lift up his spear<\/em>against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a09<\/sup>And after him\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite,\u00a0one<\/em>of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0And after him\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.\u00a0\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0wrought a great victory.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.\u00a0\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0And David\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>then\u00a0in\u00a0<\/em>Beth-lehem.\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>by the gate!\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>by the gate, and took\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>, and brought\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the\u00a0LORD.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Be it far from me, O\u00a0LORD, that I should do this:\u00a0is not this\u00a0<\/em>the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>slew\u00a0them\u00a0<\/em>, and had the name among three.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the\u00a0first\u00a0<\/em>three.\u00a020<\/sup>And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian\u2019s hand, and slew him with his own spear.\u00a0\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0These\u00a0things\u00a0<\/em>did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the\u00a0first<\/em>three. And David set him over his guard.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0Asahel the brother of Joab\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem,\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,\u00a0\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,\u00a032<\/sup>\u00a0Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,\u00a035<\/sup>Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,\u00a036<\/sup>\u00a0Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,\u00a037<\/sup>\u00a0Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah,\u00a038<\/sup>\u00a0Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,\u00a039<\/sup>\u00a0Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This chapter records the names of David’s mighty men and recounts some stories about them. One story is from David’s exile, when he had to flee King Saul who was trying to kill him. In these verses, 3 of David’s men overheard him longing for water from the well of Bethlehem, where he was born […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6676"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16224,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6676\/revisions\/16224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}