David’s Mighty Men and Women!
David had an elite group of men who protected him from harm.
His men protected him as one would protect a great treasure and although many wanted to be close to him only a few became his Mighty Men.
David’s Mighty Men or the Gobborin, as they were called, were heroic men who had fought alongside David and proved their courage in battle. They numbered 30 and upwards, and each one was named and accredited with great deeds.
On of them was Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite. He killed eight hundred men in one encounter. Read 2 Samuel 23:8-39.
The full list of the Mighty Men of David is located in 2 Samuel 23.
The reason for naming all of the mighty men could be for posterity: these names that came down to us from the past make it harder for critics to debate if there was a real David and if he had such a number of men.
Benaiah, another of David’s Mighty Men, went on to become the commander-in-chief of all Israeli forces under King Solomon. 1 Kings 4:4 Three of Benaiah’s deeds are mentioned in verses 20-23.
But enough of these ghosts from the past. They have proven their worth in fighting both military and spiritual warfare.
What can we do?
We, who are living now, should find a way to do the same. Not on the battlefield, but perhaps in the spiritual realm and perhaps just by keeping David’s spirit alive.
Spiritual warfare is not easy and demands faith and endurance.
It demands sacrifice like Marine Todd just showed.
Article as reported by Mark Klekas of KUTV, Salt Lake City, Utah titled: Utah Marine veteran stands alone at Capitol with ‘I can’t breathe’ covering mouth.
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“Utah Marine was decorated with two Marine Purple Hearts. Only identified as Todd, the Marine was captured with a thick piece of black tape covering his mouth that read “I can’t breathe.”
We don’t have to aspire to that level of commitment and sacrifice; we have to find a forum where we can express our views about David and learn through him, what it means to be human.
David failed often, yet he picked himself up and failed better the next time, all the while passionate about God.
David admitted guilt and knew he was flawed. We are all imperfect, yet time and time again we try to hide our mistakes. We spend our entire lives covering our tracks.
The sad truth is that we do not learn as we cover up our trails of missteps.
Ok, so, from this moment forth, we shall plan to keep David’s spirit alive. We learn from the best and worst of his actions and thoughts in order to learn more about ourselves.
We shall be David’s Mighty Men and women, who just by admitting that we are fallible, will make progress. Our great deeds will be simple ones: we shall own up to our shortcomings, we shall make mistakes and not hide from them but rather relish in them so as to learn and grow.
We shall become David’s Mighty Men and Woman of Courage.
The courage to keep David’s spirit alive and the strength to follow in his footsteps.
Who is with me?
Robert
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