Life of David – 2 Samuel 23

David, “Thanks for the Memories”

2 Samuel 23:1–39

Vs. 1-7 The last words

Vs. 8-39 All the king’s men

Intro

The death of David is not recorded in 2 Samuel, but it is recorded in 1 Kings 2:1-12, where he gives some final instructions to Solomon. In the 23rd chapter, we are given David’s final psalm and a list of his greatest soldiers, but why does David list these two things? Well, it seems that as David reflected upon his life, he believed that his success as a king was tied to two things:

Vs. 1-7 God’s faithfulness towards him
Vs. 8-39 The people God placed around him

The next two chapters conclude the life of David’s, but it’s easy to forget that the Lord spent over 30 years training him. He sent David first to shepherd school, then David spent some years in military school, and finally David spent some time in flight school as he was fleeing from Saul. Martin Lloyd Jones said, “It is a tragic thing when a young man succeeds before they are ready for it.” A.W. Towzer was found saying, “Never follow any leader until you see the oil on their forehead.” Hey saints, it is good to be educated by men, but far better to be trained by the Lord. In Acts 4:13, we are told that the religious leaders of the day heard the words of Peter and John; they “perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men; they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

The last words

Vs. 1-7 In the Bible, there are 150 Psalms originally placed into four hymn books, and out of those 150, at least 73 of them are attributed to David, but the last one recorded isn’t found in one of those four books but rather right here in this text. As we consider David’s psalms, we find that the clearest words of praise and adoration were born during the seasons of his greatest trials, as they resonate with God’s greatness in spite of his difficulty. These are not the last words of David chronologically, but they are the last in a psalm. The theme of this psalm seems to be upon what makes a great king, and one wonders if this was written for Solomon. In the first two verses, David lists five things necessary if you are going to lead people, and these five characteristics are autobiographical, as David reflected upon the necessity of these traits in his own life:

“Thus says David the son of Jesse”: Humility. In mentioning his humble upbringing and his serving in obscurity, I believe David is giving a picture of a quality of humility and viewing oneself only in relationship to the Lord and not based upon us.

“Thus says the man raised up on high”: Calling, here David makes sure that we understand that he is just a man who God called and raised up. David didn’t climb the ladder of success but rather that he allowed God to raise him up.

“The anointed of the God of Jacob”: Anointing, clearly David saw his gifting as coming from God and not himself; furthermore, such anointing was based upon God being the promise keeper and not upon his goodness. His anointing was from God, and his empowerment and gifting were not by him or merely by man’s opinions.

“And the sweet Psalmist of Israel”: devotion. Here it seems that David is looking at the idea of devotion first to the Lord, as his psalms were words of praise to God, and then devotion to serving God’s people, Israel, as the greatest aspect that any leader can exude is leading those he is in charge of to worship God. David declares what he considered to be the most important part of his life, which was to be found in his devotion to God and His people.

“The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue”: the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, and lastly and most importantly, a constant flow of the Holy Spirit’s work in and through him.

Vs. 2-4 Now there is a curious confession in verse 2, as David says, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.” It appears that David was clearly aware at times that what he heard and spoke was divine inspiration. In 2 Tim. 3:16 We are told that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Furthermore, in 2 Peter 1:20–21, we are told that “no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

So as we look at verses 2 and 3, we see that the Lord spoke “by” him and, in verse 3, “to” him. I’m equally amazed by this statement. As David wrote the psalms, he clearly realized that the Lord was speaking “by” him, but as king, he was being spoken “to” on how to rule the nation. Now what is our part in both “by and to”? Well, it is to be willing to listen! Far too much of the time we are so busy talking to the Lord that we aren’t willing to listen first. There is a reason why God designed us with two ears and one mouth!

Now in the 3rd verse, David takes stock of the importance of two characteristics the person to whom God places over others must have:

He who rules over men must be just. He can’t have two standards, two sets of books.
He must be a person ruling in the fear of God—a person who realizes that all they do is before God and who will require an account for every idle word.

Integrity is the issue before man because it is the issue before God; without this, a person can become a dictator, driving people instead of leading them. David was a ruler who served and a servant who ruled! To the person who rules that way, he shall be “like the light of the morning when the sun rises.” What? Well, his leadership will be like a new day dawning, fresh, alive, and healthy.

Vs. 5-7 In the 5th verse, David compares what God could have done through him during his 40-year reign with what actually occurred during his time as king, which had seasons filled with personal scandal, repeated family crises, civil war, and three years of famine.

One of the things I wonder about in heaven will be this time of realization of what could have been in my life had I rested more on God’s grace and less on my self-effort, had I only chosen to trust Him, His ways, and His word more. I think David is taking the time to examine his life and realizes this as he states, “Although my house is not so with God, yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.” “Oh, what could have been, ah, but what is good and great is because of God,” David says.

God sought after a man after His own heart, but in the end, God’s blessings were not upon David’s perfection but rather upon God’s commitment to His word. Like David, no one can ever say, “You have blessed me because I’m perfect in all my ways.” Instead, David proclaims God’s promises to him were secure because they are solely based upon God’s faithfulness to him.

Hey saints, in the final analysis we will see two very contrasting commitments:

Ours towards God
God’s towards us

What we will see is that ours was not always consistent; our commitment to Him was conditional, and there were far too many times that the ink of our signature pen was not on the paper. Yet with that said, we will reflect upon His commitment towards us, and we will see that:

Never one time did God fail to work out in our lives that which was best for us.
Never was anything permitted to come out of our lives that didn’t serve His best and highest purpose on our behalf.
Never was there even one mistake or lapse by Him towards us.

And even more remarkable is that even our failures to fully commit to Him did not alter his commitment towards us. So what part does our obedience play? Well, verses 6 and 7 tell us that though the covenant is based on God’s faithfulness, obedience still matters, as it is what initially places us in the contract and it is what keeps us enjoying the benefits of it.

All the king’s men

Vs. 8-39 Here we are given a list of David’s mighty men:

Vs. 8-12 His top three men
Vs. 13-17 Three that sacrificed as an act of worship
Vs. 18-23 The heroism of two more
Vs. 24-39 Thirty more out of the 37 great men.

Vs. 8-12 We are first given the names of David’s top three guys. The truth is God’s hand was not just upon David; it was on these 37 fellows as well, and what David accomplished was equally a part of the daring exploits of these men. Now you may recall that these 37 didn’t start out as “mighty men,” as we were told in 1 Sam. 22:1-2 that they were part of the “put out, stressed out, and bummed out” that had come to David while he was held up in the cave of Adullam. That ought to warm our hearts, as perhaps you have come this morning to the “Cave of Calvary,” “put out, stressed out, and bummed out.” Well, you can realize afresh that Jesus is our portion and refuge in the land of the living, and instantly you can be transformed from an outcast to a mighty man or woman! The time has come for God’s people to get together and allow the Lord to do work for us so that He might do work through us. In Ezek 22:30 the Lord spoke to the nation through the prophet, saying, “I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

I don’t believe God has changed, and he is still looking amongst the “put out, stressed out, and bummed out” for those who will come forward and stand in the gap. I know what you are thinking—that “gap standers” doesn’t really sound all that glorious, but it is when we are just willing to stand in His finished victory with the testimony of His unfailing love that lives become impacted. Some of you came forward to “stand in the gap” and adopted children for G.F.A., and the bridge of hope and lives are going to be transformed and souls won because of it.

Now we are given the first three names of David’s mighty men:

Vs. 8 Josheb-Basshebeth also called Adino the Eznite: Adino. Now according to the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 11:11, his name is “Jashobeam,” which means “to whom the people turn,” and here it is rendered “that sat in the seat,” so the idea behind his name is the same as it means a person in authority over others, but David called him “the adorned one” who “lifted up his spear” (Eznite). Now there is a discrepancy in this guy’s heroic deed, as 1 Chron. 11 claims that he killed 300, and here we are told 800, so what is it?

Well, we can’t be sure, but the best explanation is that he attacked 800 and killed 300 by himself. I suppose that lifting up your spear 800 times and killing 300 is still a mighty deed, as lifting that spear that many times would mean he was still batting around 400. So what does old Adino tell us about being a mighty man? Well, I think it speaks about being consistent in what we do as he lifted up his spear over and over. So often you and I get weary in our service, especially when we don’t hit the target all the time, but not old Adino; he just kept on lifting up his spear, and at the end at least 300 of the enemy lay dead.

Vs. 9: Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahohite: His name means “help of God,” and we are told that he was the son of, and I want to be careful here because either way I say this isn’t going to sound right. Dodo or du-du (Eleazar was a son of du-du, so he was a relative of mine), but the name means “loving.” Dodo is a Hebrew nickname for David, but in English it wouldn’t be thought of as a very good nickname. His exploit came when the rest of David’s men had retreated while he advanced and kept on attacking until they gained a victory as his hand stuck or molded to the sword.

This fellow was not a do-do or a du-du; he was tenacious, as he just kept his hand upon the sword. So what do we learn from this fellow about being mighty men? Well, the sword is called the word of God, so I rather think that we need to continue to find our “help in God” by use of the word of God and to do so with such frequency that we become molded with the sword of the spirit. Oh, that you and I would so “love” his word that our Bibles won’t have any chance to get dust on them because they will wear out from use, and it is in this that all will return for the plunder.

Vs. 11-12 Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite: Shammah was used in a battle recorded in 1 Chron. 11:13-14 at Pas Dammim. Now his name means “astonishment” or “stands alone,” and his father’s name means “fugitive.” Interestingly, here is a guy by way of his exploit who was willing to station himself when everyone else took off in a “bean field,” and defended it against the enemy. So what stood out, pardon the pun with this fellow? Well, he was faithful to guard a bean field when everyone else took off. Hey saints, sometimes what makes us mighty men and women doesn’t seem to be all that important when we start out; we are just doing our job, just standing alone in a field somewhere no one else wants to, but it is in faithful obedience that God uses to distinguish a person, and it is through such action when we stand alone that, “God can bring about a great victory,” verse 12.

Vs. 13-17 Next we come to these verses where we are told that 3 out of 30 of David’s leaders did something for him that is recorded for us. The three men that went to get David water traveled 12 miles to do so. It all took place during a time when David and his men were held up in the cave, Adullam, or “refuge,” as the word means. These men had first come to David when they were “put out, stressed out, and bummed out”, in 1 Sam 22:1-2, and later on they came back to their “rock,” their place of refuge, as the enemy was attacking, and David became parched and longed for a drink of fresh water from the well by his hometown, but the enemy stood between the water supply and the cave of refuge.

Hey saints, there is a great picture in these words, as we can always count on the enemy trying to keep us from a time of refreshment. There will be times when you and I will have a dry spell even while we are held up in our “Rock of Refuge.” So how do we “break through” this, you ask? Well, these three fellows broke out of it by serving their king when they brought David some water, which he poured out before the Lord as an act of worship. The pouring of water as an offering symbolizes a person pouring out their life for service and devotion to the Lord. So what do we learn from this story? Well, namely, what makes us mighty men and women is that we are willing to break through the enemy no matter what, and worship the Lord! David emptied out that which at that moment was most precious to him. Oh dear saint, has your time with the Lord become dry? May I make a suggestion? Why not pour out to the Lord that which is most precious to you as an act of worship? These three men were willing to sacrifice everything to get that which would bless their king, and in so doing they are noted as mighty men. Think about that moment, won’t you? Is that not what worship is all about—”a willingness to sacrifice everything to get that which blesses our King Jesus”?

Now we turn our attention to two more of David’s mighty men;

Vs. 18-19 Abishai, the brother of Joab. It was Abishai, the brother of Joab, who saved David’s life when David had weakened in battle and a giant was going to kill him in 2 Sam 21:15. God often uses very unlikely vessels to contain His love and unlikely instruments to do His work. Interesting that he is listed among David’s mighty men, as is his brother Asahel (verse 24), who died by the hand of Abner but not their more notable brother Joab. What got him listed was a battle in which he killed three hundred men. God has a way of looking at the works of His servants in a whole different way than we do, doesn’t He? Sometimes the mighty men and women are not the ones that we think have done the most things but rather lived their lives the most consistently in service to the king.

Vs. 20-23 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada: You may recall I mentioned this fellow before, as his name means “made by the Lord.” Benaiah was born to serve as a priest based upon 1 Chron. 27:5, but became a commander instead. He met the worst combatant in the worst of circumstances in the worst of conditions and still won! It will be him who kills Joab when he tries to make Adonijah king instead of Solomon (1 Kings 2:5–6).

Three progressive acts are attributed to this guy:

Vs. 20a: “He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab.”
Vs. 20b “He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.”
Vs. 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, wrestled the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.”

So what does Benaiah teach us about being a mighty man or woman of God? Well, it appears to me that we can learn several things from him. First he always seems engaged in battle; sometimes it was two lion like heroes of Moab, other times it was a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and sometimes wrestling a spear away from a spectacular Egyptian.

I find also three observations in his opposition:

Satan is described as a roaring lion, and sometimes we will find out that we are up against people who are on our enemy’s side.
Sometimes you will find yourself in a pit on a snowy day against old “snaggle puss” (Satan) himself.
But most likely you will be going up against our own “spectacular” flesh and its desire to live according to the world (Egyptian), and you are going to have to wrestle the spear out of it and kill your old man (die to self).

Vs. 24-39 Here then we are given 30 more names of David’s mighty men. Included in this list are two men that bear mention. The first is found in verse 34b, where we are told his name is Eliam, but what makes this interesting is that he was the father of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 3:11), and his father was David’s closest adviser, Ahithophel, until he chose to follow Absalom, and when his counsel was rejected, he took his own life. Also of note is the last entry, that of Uriah the Hittite, the murdered husband of Bathsheba, whom David put to death so as not to be caught in the act of adultery. There is a lesson in this for us concerning our position as mighty men and women, and that is there are many whose work was cut short because of how they were treated by other mighty men and women. It is a very unfortunate truth that many of the exploits that might have been were quenched because of how people who were supposed to be with us in battle were treated by us. Yet David still lists them no doubt with regret for what happened. Thirty-seven in all, as these remarkable men were the fellow soldiers with David in God’s army. Now they did not come to David as great men, but God transformed the “put out, stressed out, and bummed out” into mighty men of God.