2011 05 29
Heroes We Commend
Reverend Anthony R. Locke
May 29th, 2011 www.FirstPresTucker.org
at the First Presbyterian Church of Tucker
Memorial Day 2011
2 Samuel 23:1-39 English Standard Version
David’s Last Words to his Mighty Soldiers
1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, 4 he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. “For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6 But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; 7 but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.”
David’s Mighty Men
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.
9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.
11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.
20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel of Gilo, 35 Hezro of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.[1]
For many years now there’s been a movement within the church to cast out militant hymns. Songs like We’re Marching to Zion, Who is On the Lord’s Side? and Onward Christian Soldiers no longer call us to strength and glory in Christ, but give us pause and guilt for being so bold.
Churches don’t think in terms of warfare, but worldly marketing. II Corinthians 10:3-4 says For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
Some churches seem more concerned with profits then effectual prayers to pull down spiritual strongholds of sin and corruption.
But the Bible isn’t afraid to speak in terms of warfare. Jesus went to war with the strong man that held us in sin and despair. Jesus conquered sin and death nailing it to the cross. Jesus has His foot on the head of the serpent and dealt a death blow.
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb. We don’t love our life, but the kingdom. We look toward heaven, not earthly treasures. We are willing to be a martyr for our profession, a soldier for the King and a servant for the Kingdom.
If we are to speak and use Bible language then we need to see ourselves as enlisted Army recruits for God’s battle against sin, the world, the flesh and the Devil. God calls us to be fearless in our faith.
We won’t win the day and claim the prize if we are weak and fearful to trust God. We need a passion, a fire in our belly, to live for the glory of our King.
Let’s walk through the highlights of this passage.
Verse one informs us that these were the last official words from King David to his elite soldiers. The guys in this passage are the Black Operational teams, the Army Rangers, Navy Seals and the Marines of their time. These were the Kings Delta Strike Force – Hoorah!
In verse two we learn that David knew he was speaking inspired and perfect words from God Himself.
King David is reminding his men that real victory is in the Messiah. Only Jesus as Messiah rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, dawning on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
The Father has made an absolute covenant with the Son that His Kingdom will stand forever and ever. The Father will bless Jesus and cause His leadership to prosper.
Verse 6-7 tells us how the enemies of God perish. Like thorns they are not grabbed by the hand and gently pulled. That leaves a root. God tears at His enemies with machinery and tools of iron that they might be cast into the fire whole to burn in torment forever and ever.
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.
There are people in God’s house who fight the good fight of faith to the utter destruction of God’s enemies. Believers pray and the enemies of God are weakened. Sin is vanquished, souls are saved and the church is strengthened.
This is the power of the mighty Christian soldier.
9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.
The people of God fled the battle and one man stood against the enemies of all that was good and right in the world. And one man with God makes a majority.
- I don’t care if the whole world forsakes chastity before marriage. You and God make a majority. You stand with God against the enemies of all that is good and right in this world. And you fight the good fight of faith.
- I don’t care if the whole world accepts evolution as the only respectable answer to the riddle of archeology claiming that anyone who holds to the Biblical story of creation is a dunderhead. You stand with God against the enemies of all that is good and right in this world. You fight the good fight of faith.
Psalm 91:1-9 God will cover you with His wings of power. His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
Don’t go gentle through this world. We must be 2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We must pick up the shield of faith and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and strike down anything that lifts itself up as more wise than the wisdom of God.
- The serpent says, “Steal, every body’s doing it!”
You say, “Thou shalt not steal!” and you strike that temptation down. - The serpent says, “Lie, it will keep you out of trouble.”
You say, “God told me thou shalt not lie!” and you strike that temptation down. - The serpent says, “Disobey your parents, they don’t understand you.”
You remember Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” and you strike that temptation down.
We must remember Galatians 6:11, Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
We have to be like Shammah in verse 11. He sat down for dinner and asked for some peas. His wife said, “we don’t have any peas. The enemies of God, the Philistines came and stole our crops just before harvest.” The next day, instead of going to work, Shammah went into the fields. As the Israelites worked to harvest their peas, the Philistines came down out of the hill to steal their crops. And all the men of Israel fled before the mob of evil doers.
But Shammah stood for what was right against all odds. He stood in the middle of his family’s field and fought the men who came to steal their food. And he killed every enemy of God and the Lord worked a great victory.
These are the true legends of King David’s mighty men.
Like when David was thirsty and talking to himself said “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!”
And King David’s three best men broke through the camp of the Philistines at night and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. These warriors earned their noble and glorious reputations.
Verse 18+19. Abishai was a warrior. He wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name equal in glory to the top three. Reminds me of the 300 Spartan warriors that used a spear to hold off 10s of 1,000s of Xerxes’ armies.
Benaiah struck down two ariels of Moab. Arabs and Persians called a mighty warrior a Lion of Allah. That’s what an Ariel was. Benaiah also struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. Literally and figuratively, Benaiah was a lion slayer.
Later, Benaiah took a stick and disarmed a 7 and a half foot tall Egyptian warrior wielding a spear. Benaiah then killed that Egyptian with his own spear.
These people are heroes in the Kingdom of God. They were individuals of great faith, anointed by God’s Spirit, who like Samson, performed mighty deeds of warfare for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this morning we speak their names in memory.
We remember their valor. We commend their heroism.
Heroes who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
We hold in memory those who died that we might be free.
Since Memorial Day 2010 there were 22 Soldiers from this great state of Georgia who died protecting our God given right of liberty.
And the chief name whom we hold in remembrance, the greatest fighter who ever fought, the one who suffered the most, was the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for our sins on the cross that we might be eternally set free from the chains of our enemy.
This Memorial Day weekend, let’s remember the soldiers who fight for liberty, the martyrs who died for the faith and the Jesus Christ who died for us all.
Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
