[This sermon was preached on March 3, 2013 at Folsom Community Church by Pastor Tito Dizon]
2 Samuel 23:13-39 David’s Mighty Men: Becoming a “Man of
Valor”
Introduction
Matthew Henry: Purpose of the passage
1.
To bring honor to David & His men.
2.
To excite emulation.
3.
To show how much genuine faith inspires true
courage.
Our text tells us a great deal about the measure of a
great man or woman of God. The Characteristics of “Men of Valor”.
v.8 Jashobeam. Courageous. Courage, like cowardice, is contagious.
What the church needs today is a company of “mighty men
and women of valor,” through whom God will do great things, and through whom
God will inspire others as well.
Heroes are not
just known by “body count.” It is true that in our text one of the measures
of greatness is in terms of how many people the person killed. Today, we are
engaged in a “spiritual warfare,” which does not require us to kill our
opponents. There are many other measures.
vv.9-10 Eleazar.
Are not frightened by the odds which
appear stacked against them. Heroes are willing to live dangerously and to
trust God by assuming certain risks. David’s mighty men were not as impressed
with statistic.
Are willing to
die, if need be. Emerge when others
fear and fail.
The mighty man of
David (and of God) stood firm at the very time that others fled in fear.
vv.11-12 Shammah. Rise
up in times of crisis. The men who are honored in our text were not looking
for fame; they simply refused to give in when things got tough.
Take their duties
and responsibilities seriously.
As soldiers, these men were required to stand their
ground and fight, and fight they did. Even when others fled, they stood fast.
There is a strong sense of commitment to duty.
vv 13-17 Go above and beyond the call of duty,
out of faith, loyalty, and love. True heroes seek to do that which pleases
those in authority over them; they are not only compelled by their duty, but
also by their desire to please the one they serve.
David’s Thirty Mighty Men
vv18-19 Abishai.
Emerge where heroism is modeled, valued,
and rewarded.
Why does our author tell us about the “Three” and the
“Thirty”? I believe it is partly because heroism was esteemed and these men
were thought worthy of praise and commendation.
David modeled courage in his own personal life, he valued
and rewarded it in those around him.
Knows the
principle of plurality.
What God has done through David, He also accomplished
through others.
vv 20-23 Benaiah.
Have been prepared and predisposed to
their heroism by their way of life. Those who stand fast in times of crisis
are those who have learned to trust and obey in the normal times of life.
vv 24-39 Other
members of the Thirty : A Long List of Heroes
They work and
train very hard, but in the end they look to God for the victory. It was
not just because of their skill or courage that the battle was won. The
victories these men won were humanly impossible.
The author makes it very clear that in the final
analysis, it is God who gave the victory.
They have the
courage to identify themselves with God’s anointed.
These are men who stood with David and for David, not
just when the going was easy and when it was the popular thing to do, but when
the going got tough, and standing with David put one in harm’s way.
In the Book of Hebrews, it seems to me that one of the
ways saints showed themselves to be heroes was to identify with Christ and with
His church when it was dangerous to do so.
There will come the time when every Christian will stand
before the throne of God, and all our thoughts and deeds will be judged. What a joy and privilege it would be to have Him say,
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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