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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!" 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 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.- 2 Samuel 23:8-17
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!" 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 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.- 2 Samuel 23:8-17
This chapter of scripture might be easy to gloss over, mainly because of all the big long names we tend to just skip over. But just like the rest of scripture, every part is important. At the beginning of the chapter, we get David's last Oracle as king. Immediately following that, we are giving a list of his mightiest men. 30+ men who helped defeat the surrounding armies of Israel. These dudes were not guys you wanted to mess with either. Some of these men killed hundreds from the enemies army by themselves on more than one occasion. These guys were the generals of the day, yet we tend to gloss read over them like it is simply another chronological listing of this guy begat this guy who begat this guy, who had many sons and daughters. I'll admit, I have done this before. But maybe it is time to read the bible with new eyes. Read it like you would read a history textbook. Every one in there did something that impacted something else or someone else. The men in the bible did too. The whole second half of this chapter is full of history regarding Israel's past. Each man listed did something worth mentioning, but our eyes are almost trained to read it, but not necessarily comprehend it. The bible is full of amazing stories and people that you might always hear in church, but that doesn't change the importance of them. We have to realize that every story in the bible, major or minor, is significant otherwise it would not be there. "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching. Rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"- 2 Timothy 3:16
Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission From God
Photo credit- www.keyway.ca
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