Let us pray.
Lord, we do see in these days that we are living in so many real and very fresh reminders and workings that You are doing to awaken us to Your soon return. And Lord, we do want to be those who wake up in this hour. We do want to be those who prepare the way of the Lord. Lord, we are those who would seek Your coming.
Lord, as we come today, we just want to offer ourselves unto You in a fresh way, that Your Holy Spirit would have freedom within our midst—speaking, hearing, and working in our hearts in a way that could penetrate these stony hearts. Lord, open our ears. Cleanse us, Lord, afresh, that there be nothing between us.
Lord, we would know of being in the presence of a holy God. We would know of the reality and blessing of Your precious holy Word, and we could come into a greater awareness of the days that we are living in and the call that You have upon our lives. We worship You, Lord. We bless You in Your precious name. Amen.
Can we turn again this morning to Revelation 11? We have this wonderful, encouraging verse—this wonderful verse of testimony, proclaiming that one day this world that we are in will become the world of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever.”
—Revelation 11:15
As I read this verse, and often as I think upon it, I ask: is the reality of the kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ a reality in our hearts, or is this a fairy tale?
Oftentimes I can look at many of these stories, and even though I know what I read is true, within my heart the reality and full impact of it has not really hit me. That is why I thank the Lord that it is still called today and that He is still working. He knows our hearts, and He sees the great work of preparation that He desires to do.
He is calling us in this last hour over and over again. We can see it through natural disasters throughout the earth. We can see the condition of the world, the condition of the country, and the condition of the church. We thank You, Lord, that You are still speaking.
We have precious opportunities to hear the Word of God, and we thank the Lord that we live in a country where we can freely gather. Many saints in many areas have been blessed throughout this summer through different conferences—one in Farmville, one in Santa Barbara, and one ending up in Los Angeles today. The Word of God is going forth to His people in a way to awaken us.
But are we listening? Are we really taking in what the Lord is trying to say in this hour? These are the last days. He is trying to prepare us so that we could be those who come into being trained by Him to rule with Him when His kingdom is made manifest upon this earth.
He desires to take us—as we can relate to the picture in 1 Corinthians of the foolish, the ignoble, just the dirt of this earth—and make us into a royal priesthood. I thank the Lord for Steve’s reminder at the table: when we were saved, we were justified and sanctified. Yes, the Holy Spirit is doing a sanctifying, experiential work within us, but positionally we are justified and sanctified. That is completed, and we are set apart unto God.
You know, I thank the Lord that as He calls us, there is a wonderful verse in Romans. So often when we think of ruling with Christ, we look into the future. But Romans speaks of ruling in life with Him now.
When we talk about the kingdom, what is the kingdom? Just as we speak about the heavenly vision being a Person, really the kingdom of God is a Person. The kingdom of God is our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is where He is manifested amongst His people.
Again, it is not a thing. We are talking about seeing and knowing His kingdom within our midst, even in this state where His kingship—His very kingly life and character—is expressed among the people of God. That is where the kingdom of God is.
We thank the Lord that we have His Word to encourage us and train us. We have been using this picture and story from David and his mighty men in the Old Testament to help us practically get a handle on what this whole training process is.
If you turn back to 1 Samuel 22, I think it is always good for us to remember how these ones started. Today, as we look at different ones, we will see one man who slew eight hundred men, another who slew three hundred, ones who slew lions, and ones who stood and fought while everybody else deserted.
We can have a natural tendency to think, “Wow, these are super saints. There is no way I could ever be like that.” That is why it is always good for us to remember who these men were at the starting point.
“And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.”
—1 Samuel 22:2
When we see this picture, we see this worthless group. I have even used the term “the motley crew.” In a way, that is a compliment to them. But these were the dregs of the earth.
If you knew that you had been anointed king and you were going to select men to help bring in the kingdom, these are not the type of men you would be looking for. These are not the men who would be on the posters or in the paid advertisements. David was looking for a few good men, and these men would not have been on the list.
But we see what the Lord starts with and what He ends up with. So, as we look at some of the lives and actions of these men, remember where they came from. It is an encouraging way to shut the mouth of the enemy.
The enemy always says, “Look at yourself. Look at your worthless self.” And we have to say, “That is right. I am worthless.” But praise God, as we heard this morning, there is now a new and living way that He has made for us to enter in and know the joy, blessing, and life that He has made available unto us.
David was a picture of Christ, and these mighty men were not a special elite group. They were simply those who fell in love with their master and followed him wherever he went. They were normal Christians living in abnormal times.
Another phrase we have been using a lot these days is bondservants—those love slaves who say, “I am in love with my Master. I am putting everything else behind, and I am going to follow my Master. I am going to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”
These were ones who came into knowing the heart of their master. They were not distracted by circumstances around them or by other people, even when others deserted. At times, even their leaders could be quite bad, and others were affected by self-interest. But these mighty men did not get distracted. They continued to keep their eyes on their Master and followed the Lamb wherever He went.
The first time we considered this, we looked at some foundational issues to ensure that our foundation was solid. Last week we looked at the contrast between Jonathan and Abigail. Here were two who loved David very much, and David loved them very much. The question we asked was: where did they end up?
Jonathan was one who loved David. He served David and helped David, but there came a point in his life when he had to make a decision. Jonathan made that decision and went back to his father’s house.
Jonathan’s testimony was, “You will be king, and I will rule next to you.” Jonathan was never willing to really take on the heart of a bondservant. Where did Jonathan end up? He ended up dead with the man of the flesh, Saul.
But how about Abigail? We saw how Abigail was in an abominable circumstance. When your husband’s name is Fool, that tells you something about the relationship. I know you wives are smiling because we say, “That is a husband’s name.” But that is the way some of us men are.
By the grace of God, Abigail was able to suffer through this, and through her suffering service she prepared the way for the king. It is interesting that when David came, Abigail was ready. She went out not loving her own life, in the midst of those who were coming to kill the whole family.
She was not focused upon her own self-interest. She came, humbled herself before David, put David in his rightful place, and took her place. Her testimony was that she was a bondservant.
Something within that hidden life enabled her to know who David was. She knew of the enduring house and the kingdom that he was going to rule over. Through that hidden relationship with the Lord, she had known the Lord’s heart and recognized who David was in the Lord’s calling.
She saved David from making a great mistake. After her husband died, when David called her, she immediately left everything—the wealth she had in the world, her self-interest, everything—and went and became David’s wife.
Even at that point, her testimony was that she was still a bondservant, the handmaid of David, not only willing to wash David’s feet but willing to wash David’s servants’ feet. Oftentimes it is easy to wash the king’s feet, but are we willing to wash the feet of the king’s servants?
This is the heart of Abigail. We see a true bondservant.
As we continue with the story of David’s training process, the story of Abigail is in 1 Samuel 25. The next chapter shows David teaching his men not to touch the Lord’s anointed. Again, David had an opportunity in 1 Samuel 26 to kill Saul, but he chose not to. He would not even touch Saul’s spear.
It is interesting, though, that David was being trained too. Immediately after David would not touch Saul, David had one of his fainting spells and said, “I know now Saul is going to kill me.” He fled into the land of the Philistines, and all his men went there with him.
The Philistines speak of the world. David and his men set up camp in Ziklag, but eventually the Philistines, as they were getting ready to go to battle, said, “Wait a minute, David. We do not trust you. You need to get out of here. We are going to battle, and you are going to turn against us.”
That was really the mercy of God. The world said, “David, you do not belong here.” At times, brothers and sisters, does the world ever cry out to us, “You do not belong here”? It is like the world wakes us up, and we come to our senses.
David went back, but he did not quite make it back to Ziklag in time. A couple of days before that, Amalekites had come in. They had raided throughout the Negev, raided Ziklag, and taken captives. All the wives, all the possessions, everything David and his men had left at the camp, the Amalekites captured and took away.
David went before the Lord, and the Lord said, “Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
David and his men eventually caught up with the Amalekites, defeated them, and recovered all. In 1 Samuel 30:18, there is this wonderful phrase: David recovered all. Everything that had been lost, through God’s mercy and blessing, was recovered.
Now the men were heading back with all the spoil and their wives. As David and his men had been pursuing, two hundred men had grown weary, and they had been left to watch the baggage while the others went on ahead.
“And when David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor, they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.
Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart.
Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his portion is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his portion be that tarrieth by the baggage: they shall share alike.”
—1 Samuel 30:21-24
David and his men had been in a place where they should not have been, but God in His wonderful mercy allowed this great recovery. One of the things the Lord was showing these men as they learned was that sometimes we judge situations after the fact as being other than they were.
What does that mean? Sometimes we judge the blessing of God to mean the approval of God. We judge the blessing of God to mean that something was His will.
Brothers and sisters, in this story we see God’s great blessing upon David. But it was not His highest will that they be where they were, and He did not approve of David’s action. His blessing was simply a result of God’s great mercy.
At times, through our negligence and sin, we create situations and make a grand mess of things. Then God, in His great mercy, comes in and works it all out. We say, “Oh, that was really the Lord. That was great.” No, it was not. We messed it up, but God in His mercy comes in, blesses, and redeems the situation for us.
I believe that in the days we are living in, where we are seeing the mercy of the Lord more and more, we need to be aware that the blessing of God does not always mean the approval of God. The blessing of God does not mean that something was always His will.
But God, in His mercy, because of our weakness, negligence, and sin—and because of the messes we make—comes in and blesses. Hopefully, we can learn from that and not repeat those situations.
As you look at this story, it is interesting to note probably two of the most surprising words in verse 22: “all the wicked and worthless men.” You might say, “Wait a minute. These are the men who had been with David. Who are these wicked and worthless men?”
What had these men just done? They had risked their lives. They had gone out into the midst of the battle. Two hundred had been left to guard the baggage because they were tired, but these wicked and worthless men were, in one sense, those who had been most faithful in outward service.
When God speaks of wicked and worthless, what is He talking about? He is speaking regarding their heart attitude. They thought they deserved more.
Those who serve the most can enter into the temptation of what we call spiritual pride. Actually, there is no such thing as spiritual pride. It is just pride, flat out. We use the phrase to try to express it a little better, but it is pride that comes out of service.
Those who are serving the most can fall into this temptation. These wicked and worthless men had been out; they had pursued all the way, fought, and been very faithful outwardly. But what was their attitude within their hearts?
One thing that characterized them as they went out and did battle was how they described their brethren. This is one of the cancers within the body of Christ: the phrase “us and them.”
They said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil.” Brothers and sisters, as soon as an us-and-them mentality enters among the people of God, it is a cancer that spreads.
If we find those words coming forth from our lips, that should be a red flag. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and convict us: “Lord, why am I saying ‘us and them’? Do I have a divisive heart? Am I elevating myself? Do I think somehow I deserve something more than others?”
When we see the great oneness into which we have been brought in the body of Christ, we understand why David calls them “my brethren” in 1 Samuel 30:23. This is the first time David addresses his men as brethren. He is trying to show them the relationship and bring them into seeing what the Lord has called us to.
Brothers and sisters, there is a oneness to which He has called us.
The four hundred said, “Look at what we did. We did so much more than these two hundred who just sat there.” But the Lord is looking for the issue of faithfulness.
Remember the parables in the Gospels. The issue was not how great the work appeared but this: “Thou wast faithful over a few things.” The Lord is looking for faithfulness.
So often we measure things based on bigness and greatness, but the Lord is looking for a faithful heart among the people. What the Lord puts in our hands, that is what He expects of us in that hour. He measures faithfulness based on what is entrusted to us.
I can ask myself, “Mac, today you are sharing the Word. Tomorrow, we do not know what you will be doing. Are you required to be more faithful today in this than you are in whatever the Lord has in your hands tomorrow?” No. I am required to be faithful today. The Lord has me here today, and He is looking for me to be faithful with this. Whatever I have tomorrow, the Lord expects me to be faithful with that.
We human beings elevate things too highly and think, “Oh, this is a great thing.” We measure the service of God quantitatively too much. The Lord looks at faithfulness.
Within the body of Christ there is great diversity. There are many gifts and many functions, but each one is precious and vital to the body of Christ functioning in the way the Lord has desired. The enemy comes in and starts comparing us with one another.
Do you ever think about how important you are in the body of Christ, or how important others are? “Well, that person is a lot more important than me.” No. We are all vital and essential within the body of Christ.
The two hundred were just as important as the four hundred in the functioning of David’s men. They served in different ways, but David was looking for the two hundred to be faithful in watching the baggage and for the others to be faithful in the battle. That is what He is calling us to today.
The enemy intimidates us and tries to get us to compare ourselves with one another. It is only a lie. We have a tendency to fall into those traps, going one way or the other.
We do not have time today to look at 1 Corinthians 12, but sometime go back and read it. It speaks about the functioning of diversity within the body of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 12:14-19, there is one group that thinks too little of themselves. The foot says, “Since I am not a hand, I am not a part.” The foot thinks too little of itself.
We may think, “I am not important. Everybody gets to see Mac’s hands. Nobody gets to see me as I sit down here.” But I tell you, as you know, I had back surgery a few years ago. You learn how important every part of your body is.
I do not have feeling in a couple of my toes now, and I had to learn how to walk and balance. Before that, I never gave one moment’s thought to my last two little toes. But once they do not work right, you notice that very quickly. You notice how important they are within the body.
How important every member is. Oh, would we not think too little of ourselves?
But then, if you look at 1 Corinthians 12:21-26, there are those who think too highly of themselves. The eye says to the hand, “I have no need of you. I am the eye. I am all-seeing. I have no need of you.”
Well, you get a speck in your eye, and the eye needs the hand pretty quickly. The eye finds out how much it needs the hand.
We need to be careful not to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves. How are we to think of ourselves?
Actually, if we look at Philippians 2, as we have been reminded recently, we are not to think anything of ourselves. It is not an issue of thinking too highly or too lowly; it is not thinking of ourselves, but only thinking of Him.
Who does a bondslave think of? A bondslave thinks of his master. As he knows his master, he knows that his master will care for him in every way. He knows that whatever the master asks him to do is important to the master, and he is going to do that.
We have this challenge because we often find ourselves saying, “Well, that is just a little thing.” But are we faithful in the little thing?
People ask, “What are little things, and what are big things?” Literally, big is our perspective. To God, He is looking for the issue of faithfulness. But one way that helps me differentiate is this: I call the little things those things that are unseen.
It is the service within the body of Christ, the service to the Lord, that is not seen. How precious that is: a phone call, a visitation, a meal, a touch, whatever it may be. It is an unseen ministry, and how essential that is.
When we think about our bodies, most of the operation of our body is unseen. If we ever looked in there, we would be thankful that it is unseen. But within the body of Christ, it is a beautiful thing. There is a beautiful ministry that goes on among the unseen.
What are the big things? We could say they are the things where you are seen. That is where temptation can come. We have an opportunity to be seen by our brothers and sisters, and we are going to bust a gut to be faithful in that. We may not always have the purest motive, but if we are going to be seen, we make sure we are faithful.
Sometimes it is self-interest. But if we can be faithful in the unseen, then when we are called to function in the seen, it will flow out of life. Would the Lord really help us with that?
As you look upon these men who were regarded as wicked and worthless, remember that this is not speaking of their outward actions but of their heart attitude. As it says in the parables in Matthew and Luke, the wicked and worthless slave is described in terms of his heart attitude toward his master and the things of his master.
There is a lesson here because these men were with David, but they were not changed. There is a great difference between being associated with something and being committed to something.
These men were around David, but were they really committed to their master’s interests? They were associated with the things of him. We can be associated with one another. We can come to meetings for twenty years. But are we really changed? Are we really entering into being committed to one another and to the Lord?
We talk about the bondslave. The bondslave is described in Exodus, but I prefer the definition given in Deuteronomy 15.
The servant was given his freedom and blessed with everything, but he made a choice. He said, “I am staying here, and I am serving my master.” He gives two reasons: “Because I love my master, and I love his house.”
He knew that the things of his master went on within his house. Exodus says, “I love my master,” but Deuteronomy expands upon it: “I love my master and his house.” The things of my master—oh, how I love that. How I really love all that my master has and all that my master is doing. This is what I love, and this is what I want to be a part of. I am giving myself to that.
These men who simply spent time with David did not come into that love place with the master and the things of him. Therefore, when some of the brethren were in trouble, they were still looking out for themselves.
Particularly in the United States, where we are so free to gather and have such ease of gathering, we have to really ask ourselves: are we truly committed to the Lord and His ways, or am I simply associated with them? Am I simply associated with the things of the Lord, or have I really given my life to that?
The Lord will show us, teach us, and train us on. These worthless ones thought they deserved something, but the Lord wants us to enter into the spirit of the unprofitable servant: “All I have done is simply what the Master asked me.”
Often when I read that story and teaching in Luke, I find myself very convicted. One of my goals in life is one day to be an unprofitable servant. Do you know what the unprofitable servant did? Whatever the master asked, he did.
Have we reached that level? Have we done everything the Master has asked us to do? I find myself coming short.
I remember even the other week, when I was considering this again, I was saying, “Lord, are there some things You have asked me to do that I have not done?” And lo and behold, a couple of things came to mind.
Thank the Lord, in His mercy He reminds us again. Oh yes, I want to be an unprofitable servant one day—to be able to say that all my Master has asked me to do, I have done.
Would that spirit be within all of our hearts. This is what the Lord was teaching as He trained these mighty men to rule with Him. These were ones who had such love for their master that whatever David said, they responded and did it.
We see in 2 Samuel 23 a beautiful biography and testimony of some of these mighty men. This list is also presented in 1 Chronicles 11.
Whenever you look at a list like this, you ask, “Who is listed?” One listed is Uriah. Uriah was faithful unto death.
You talk about one who had his master’s heart. There was a point in time when Uriah was more interested in the call of God on David’s life than David was. Because of that, it cost Uriah his life.
Uriah knew who David was. David got captured by lust, but Uriah was not influenced by a man. He knew the call that God had placed upon David’s life as king of Israel. He knew the true David.
He was not distracted. He did not allow a man in that position to distract him from the ultimate call that God had. Mighty men do not allow other men—whoever they are, however mighty we might think they are—to distract them from following the Lord and being faithful.
It cost Uriah his life, but he is recorded as a mighty man. He was mighty. He resisted many temptations and loved not his life unto death.
Uriah is listed, but there is one who is not listed among David’s mighty men. He was the commander of the army: Joab.
Joab appeared outwardly to do more than many of the others, but what was Joab’s heart? What was his motivation? As soon as we see Joab, he is always motivated by his own self-interest.
How did he become commander? David said that whoever was first to attack the Jebusites would be commander. Joab was motivated by position, immediate reward, and what he would get. He was the first one to charge forward.
Even though at times he served David and battled there, Joab was always watching out for himself. He was never motivated by his master’s interests but by his own self-interest. He sought position, prestige, power, and reward now.
He got the reward now, but he did not have it in the kingdom. Ultimately he was put to death after David’s death.
Whatever Joab did, he did to preserve his position. When anything became a threat to him, or when someone hurt him or one of his loved ones, he killed. We know he killed Abner, Absalom, and Amasa. Why did he kill Amasa? Because David said, “I am going to make Amasa commander of the army.” Joab preserved his position and killed him.
Many have called Joab the Judas of the Old Testament because he was the man who stabbed in the back the ones he first kissed. There are a couple of kisses in the Bible after which comes great betrayal. Joab was one who gave that Judas kiss to Amasa.
But Joab never ends up listed among David’s mighty men.
Throughout this list in 2 Samuel 23, we see ones motivated by love for their master and watching out for his interests. They were not distracted by the actions of others.
These mighty men continued to be faithful because they knew David’s heart. One of their commanders was Joab, but they were not distracted by Joab’s actions. They saw that at times Joab was not doing what the Lord wanted him to do. They saw Joab totally out of fellowship with David.
One contrast between Joab and the mighty men is that Joab was always doing things behind David’s back. David did not know about it, except in the matter of Uriah. But the other murders were behind David’s back.
If you look at the mighty men, it says they were with David. That was the spirit of fellowship. They were in tune with the head. They knew what their master wanted.
Even though these men served under Joab, they knew David’s heart in such a way that the actions of their commander did not distract them. They were able to continue serving faithfully.
What a challenge that is. These men could see Joab’s actions and could have said, “Lord, why are You allowing Joab to stay in this place? Why do You not wipe him out and bring someone in who has the heart of David?”
God was using even the wicked actions and failures of Joab to train these men concerning whom they were really serving and not to be distracted by anybody upon this earth. These ones were called, knew their master’s heart, and remained faithful in spite of Joab.
So often, brothers and sisters, we can allow man to distract us from fully entering into serving the Lord as He desires. Would we not be distracted by the actions of others, but be faithful with what the Lord puts in our hands?
Now, as you come down to 2 Samuel 23:8, we see individual actions of these mighty men.
“These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite, against eight hundred slain by him at one time.”
—2 Samuel 23:8
I think this is interesting. This is all we have about this man: he slew eight hundred at one time. Again, there is something hidden in this relationship.
To me, it speaks of an uncalculating love. This one did not sit there and say, “Hmm, eight hundred of them and one of me. What should I do?” We do not know the details of the story, but we know that this man was counted as perhaps the chief of David’s mighty men.
When Scripture is silent about something, that silence can speak of something very precious. There is something precious in the silence surrounding this man’s story. There was some relationship he had with the Lord that enabled him to stand in the midst of overwhelming odds.
There are certain things in Scripture where there is a sacred silence. After our Lord was crucified, it speaks of those to whom He appeared, and it simply says, “He appeared to Peter.” We do not know anything about that conversation because I think it was so sacred. The restoration work done there was between Peter and the Lord for eternity.
There was something within this dear man that was sacred in his service and allowed him simply to continue serving without all the clamor and everything.
What if we had slain eight hundred men? We would throw a banquet, get a trophy, and celebrate. We would make sure everybody knew about it. But this man simply continued on. The Holy Spirit records that he slew eight hundred men. What a battle. What a testimony. That is all we know of it.
We thank the Lord for his uncalculating love.
In 2 Samuel 23:9-10 we see a second man, Eleazar.
“And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the son of an Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.”
—2 Samuel 23:9-10
Notice that these mighty men were with David. Joab, during many of his actions, was not with David; he was doing his own thing. But Eleazar was with David.
The men of Israel had withdrawn. The people fled. But Eleazar arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day.
When you see this picture of Eleazar in the midst of battle, fighting so hard that his hand is glued to the sword, we can relate to that. We have all been so intense in some work or activity that, when we try to stop and take our hand off a hammer or something else, the hand will not open. You almost have to take your fingers and pry it off.
Someone who is dying clings to what is most precious to them, and you are not going to separate them from it.
This man had his sword—what we could call the Word of God—in the midst of battle. He clung to the Word of God because he knew that was what would get him through in that hour.
Thank the Lord, we are going to start reflecting more on the significance of the Word of God in our lives and on knowing it in a real way. Would that we be so gripped not only by the Word of God, but that we grip it in such a way that we cannot be separated from it.
This man was able to endure the battle even though everyone else deserted. Everyone else fled, but he knew there was an attack against the Lord’s interests, and he stood in the midst of that.
Does this not remind you of Paul’s testimony? “All that are in Asia turned away from me,” but the Lord stood with him and strengthened him.
In the midst of battle, brothers and sisters, if we see everyone else fleeing and deserting, what do we do? Do we follow them?
One precious thing about these mighty men is that the Lord knows them individually. It is easy to go along with the crowd, but it is hard to stand alone. Many can follow the crowd; we are great crowd followers. But can we stand alone for the interests of God when others are deserting?
As Eleazar stood alone, with the sword in his hand so gripped that it was one with him, who won the victory? The Lord brought about a great victory.
It would be easy to say that Eleazar won a great victory, but he did not win the victory. The Lord brought about the great victory.
As we think upon Ephesians 6—having done all, to stand in the midst of great warfare—are we standing in the midst of this battle? The great battle going on will intensify in these days. Are we standing in such a way that the Lord can bring about a great victory and bring about His soon return? Would we be found cooperating with Him?
This man had spiritual stamina. He was weary, just as Gideon was weary, yet pursuing.
I love that little phrase concerning Gideon: “weary yet pursuing.” We can all relate to that, because one characteristic of the end days that I am beginning to see more and more is that we are always weary and tired.
We can say, “Oh, if things could just get back to normal.” But I think normal is being redefined. These are days of weariness and tiredness. We have to somehow, in the midst of it, have spiritual stamina—responding to the grace of God and going through times of utter exhaustion—to allow the glory of God to come in.
Praise God. In these days, our Lord is going to win a great victory.
Continuing with the third man mentioned, Shammah, in 2 Samuel 23:11-12:
“And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.
But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.”
—2 Samuel 23:11-12
To me, this speaks of love for his inheritance. It is a love for the things of his master.
What do I mean? He is standing in a plot of ground that is simply full of beans. To many people, that would appear worthless. Why risk your life over a little plot of ground and some beans? Let them have it. You have all this other land. It is easier to plant another garden and grow more beans elsewhere.
But brothers and sisters, if we let the enemy have that, he is going to take a little more, then a little more, then a little more.
Shammah recognized what those beans were. Those beans were food for the people. Whose land was it? It was God’s land. It was His inheritance.
He saw the food for the people of God under attack. He saw the inheritance and the very land of God’s people under attack. He said, “Every bit of it is precious.” In the midst of what outwardly appeared worthless and foolish, he stood his ground, and the Lord brought a great victory.
If we try to apply this to ourselves in the times we are living in, the things of the Lord—the food for God’s people—are under great attack in this hour.
The Word of God is being undermined, sometimes subtly and sometimes blatantly. The Word of God is under attack in these last days in a way that it has never been under attack before.
Do we recognize that? Are we willing to stand?
People say, “Maybe they just want to interpret this another way. Maybe that was the custom back in those days, so we will not apply that part of Scripture today.” Then it continues to grow a little more. “Well, we do not really know whether God was masculine or feminine, so for the sake of peace we will just say God is neutral.”
We keep giving ground, and the foundation begins to erode. We may think, “Oh, that is not too bad. I really know the truth.” But it will erode and erode and erode, and sooner or later all the food is gone.
Why is there famine today among the people of God? Because the people of God have not been willing to stand and defend this little plot of beans. We have not been willing to stand and defend the Word of God and say, “No, it is not open to modern interpretation.”
We do not write Scripture off. We do not say, “I am not going to listen to Paul because he was a sexist and did not like women.” We do not say, “I am not going to listen to the Old Testament because the New Testament is here.”
There are so many subtle things that can come in. The Word of God is the Word of God.
Quite frankly, brothers and sisters, it does not matter what we think of it. That does not change it one bit. It does not matter if you do not like that verse. The Word of God is the Word of God.
How we need, in this hour, for the Lord to awaken us.
I always appreciate Ed Miller. If you think of someone who loves the Word of God, I appreciate his love for the Word of God. He has many principles, but he says that when you see something in the Word of God that appears to be a contradiction, what is your starting point?
Your starting point is that it is not a contradiction. The Word of God does not contradict itself.
There may appear to be contradictions to our eyes, and because of them many people say, “We will write this off. We will interpret this another way. We will not really listen to this.”
But no. The apparent contradictions are there to teach us points, principles, and lessons. When we see something in the Word of God that appears contradictory, that is a great opportunity. God has so much trust in His Word and such enabling power in His Spirit that He allowed this Book to be written in a way that may appear to contradict itself—yet we know it does not, because it is truth.
“What do You want to teach us during this time where it looks like there is a contradiction?” There are so many things in this hour where the enemy is trying to erode the Word of God. Would we take our stand and be able to stand?
Remember, this ground of beans was a plot in the land. It was their inheritance. We see how many today, even physically, are trying to divide the land over there, and it will never work out because God is not in that.
But we also have a great inheritance, brothers and sisters. There is an inheritance into which we have been brought. We use the phrase “possessing the land”—possessing all that we have in Christ.
Do we know the beautiful nature of our inheritance? Do we know the riches of our inheritance in Christ? Are we willing to stand for it?
Particularly, I think this is a challenge for young people in the day we are living in. There are many fundamental questions: Who is Jesus? What is the church? Why do you need to meet? What is the testimony of Jesus? What is the Word of God? What is fellowship? What is sin?
In these days of relativity, many things are being challenged. People say, “That is really not a sin. It is just a weakness in their life.” No. Sin is black and white. There is no relativity in holiness.
Man likes to make God in his image. We get it backwards. He made us in His image. But we like to take the things of God, massage them around, and think we are so brilliant.
But Shammah had learned. He saw the preciousness of the land, though it looked worthless. Why is one standing in this hour for something that outwardly appears to be of no value? Why gather like this? Why do others gather?
Because somehow the Lord has touched our hearts. Even though we may be doing a pretty lousy job of it a lot of times, and even though we do not fully understand many things, there is something God is after.
As the Lord is calling us, we see that He has a call. He is calling us simply to stand. As we stand like Shammah for the Word of God—as John in Revelation was there for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus—we stand for the inheritance that we have.
We are simply standing and allowing the Lord to teach us and bring us into fullness. Again, at the end, the Lord brought about a great victory.
These were the mighty men of David. Remember who they were and where they came from. They were in debt, in distress, and discontented. But they came to David and learned more of their master’s heart and interests.
They were no longer considering their own interests, selfish designs, and desires, but the interests of their master. As they said no to themselves and yes to him, the Lord was able to bring about a great victory in those days. The Lord is desiring to bring about a great victory in the days we are living in.
The last story we will look at in 2 Samuel 23 is another one where David, as master, simply shares his heart. If I can borrow a couple of minutes here—I know everyone is waiting for barbecue. I am not a barbecue fan, so I do not care. I have all the time in the world.
In verses 13-17, David and three of his men are outside Bethlehem, in the wilderness. David simply shares his heart.
“And David was then in the hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord.
And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this: shall I drink 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.”
—2 Samuel 23:14-17
We see these men again motivated by love for their master. The master simply said, “Oh, that I had a drink from that well.” He was reflecting back on his days in Bethlehem: “Oh, I remember how good that water tasted from that well.”
As they heard this, they knew their master’s heart. Immediately they went down. We do not know how many Philistines were gathered there, but they broke through, got to the well, drew the water, and brought it back to David.
When you first read this, it seems like one of the strangest stories in the Bible. How does David show his appreciation? He pours the water out.
But it does not say David poured it out on the ground. David poured it out to the Lord.
The service was so precious. David, throughout his life, still knew who he was. He was not worthy of this. This service was so precious that he poured it out to the Lord.
It was an act of worship and adoration. There was something so sacred within their service that David was not worthy of it. It was something only God was worthy of.
That, brothers and sisters, is spiritual service.
We talk about serving one another. These men learned that they were serving David. Who are we ultimately serving? We are serving the Lord.
These men knew their master’s heart and responded. But David, though he was upon this earth and is a type and picture to us, knew that he was a servant of God. He continued to have the heart of a servant. He called them brethren, and he poured the water out to the Lord.
At times, brothers and sisters, there are things that occur within the body of Christ where there is such a sacredness in service that we simply return it to the Lord.
It is not even mentioned that David said thank you. For David to say thank you would mean that he got something out of it. David saw that he was not worthy of any of this.
Would the Lord touch our hearts in such a way?
These men learned a lesson as David continued to train them throughout their lives. As David poured that water out in worship and adoration, these men too saw Whom they were truly serving.
Paul speaks later in his life of being a poured-out drink offering to God. Brothers and sisters, this is the spirit of a bondservant. A bondservant is pouring out his life every day for his Master.
His ear is attuned daily as his Master trains him. Daily he serves his Master. While we still have today, would we learn some of these lessons from David’s mighty men? May we be motivated by love for the Master and by His interests.
Why are we learning this? Because we are preparing the way for the Lord. Our Lord is coming, and He desires for a prepared people to be made ready.
“He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The Word goes out to all, but we have seen today that even though all were with David, not all learned of David.
But I want to return to one final thing. Those worthless and wicked men—David did not reject them. Even though they wanted to tell other people to leave, David did not reject them. It is as though he said, “Come on, you have a little more to learn.”
Brothers and sisters, when we find ourselves at times unfaithful, wicked, and worthless, the Lord does not reject us. He says, “Come on. It is still called today. We have a little more to learn. I want to train you in another way.”
Praise God. So often we want to find an excuse to get out of the race, but God is always for us. He is always doing a great work of preparation, every day of our lives.
He is doing something today. If we wake up tomorrow, He will put something else in our hands. We simply desire to be faithful and to learn of Him tomorrow, so that we could serve Him every day of our lives.
Would the Lord be helpful to us? Let us pray.
Lord, we thank You for Your patience and longsuffering with us. Lord, we thank You for the training that You have us in. We know that within ourselves, quite often we resist that training. We think the training is for someone else.
But Lord, in Your great grace and patience with us, as we have this day, we want to respond unto You and simply allow You, Lord.
Where we find ourselves distracted by others, where we find ourselves motivated by self-interest, where we find ourselves not really knowing the love of our Master or knowing our Master’s heart, would You come in and continue to speak to us?
Reveal Yourself to us. Shine Your light upon us, that we could be those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. In Jesus’ name. Amen.