I am the eternal God, your Refuge. And underneath you are My Everlasting arms.

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.

So do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. present your requests to Me. And My pace, which transcends understanding, will stand guard over your heart and mind.

When you were in great need I saved you. Be at rest once more, My child, for I hav been good to you. I have delivered your soul from death, your eyes from tears, your feet from stumbling so that you may walk before Me in the land of the living.

When the cords of death entangle you, when the anguish of the grave comes upon youm when you are overcome with trouble and sorrow, call upon my name.

I will reach down from on high and take hold of you; I will draw you out of the deep waters. I will rescue you from your powerful enemy, from your foes who are too strong for you. Though they confront you in the day of your disaster, I will be your support. I wil bring you into a spacious place; I will rescue you because I delight in you. I will quiet you with my love; I will rejoice over you with singing.

So, My loved one, rest in Me, for I will shield you all day long. You are the one I love. Come rest between my shoulders.

Thanks, God.

You’re so amazing.

Just.

Yeah.

:)

“My son, every time you choose anything else apart from me, you break my heart. You deny my love and trample on it as if it were worthless to you. The very moment you turn away, I reach out for your hand, but your stubbornness and selfish desires are what keeps you distant from me. But I am always here. Day and night I wait for you. Wherever you go, I am there. It is your choice to acknowledge me or not. 

I will not punish you. I love you and I want what is best for you. Instead of bringing grief into your life, I will let you suffer from the consequences of your own actions. Because I care for you, I will discipline you as I see fit. If you decide to learn the hard way, then so be it. Remember, I am your Father and I do not want you to hurt yourself. You must understand, my son, that everything in this earth comes with blessings and curses. Keep your eyes fixed on the things that are not of this world and goodness will flow into your life.

I plead with you son, do not forget who you are. My spirit is within you and you are a living representation of heaven. Stand firm on what is right and flee from evil. Call upon me whenever you are in need, and I will not fail you. Because you are still in your flesh, you will experience oppression from the flesh, along with the temptations of this world, and ultimately the attacks from the great deceiver. But because you are filled with my spirit, you have the power to reign over these things. Trust me. Never underestimate the power I have bestowed upon you.

I love you. And when I say that, I mean it. Believe every word that tell you. And whatever you do, do not give up.”

“Son, tell me,

IF I were to put her in your life right now, what then will you do? Are you even prepared to handle what is to come? Do you have any idea what you’ll have to deal with? Are you aware of the responsibilities that go along with being in a serious relationship?

IF you met her tomorrow, what will you do? Will you act wisely and take your time? Will you respond instantly based off of your immediate emotions? I care for you so much that I’m still holding that back from you because I know that it will come crumbling down if you lack discipline.

IF you meet her tomorrow, I need you to be stronger than you ever have been, willing to lay down your life for her completely. If you can not be faithful with the things I put in your life now, how can you be ready for her?

IF you meet her tomorrow, then you will know that I am bringing you to the next stage of your adulthood. As a man there are still many, many things for you to learn. There is so much that you can not see, so much that you are unaware of. Have faith in me and your true blessings will be revealed.

When you meet her, look her in the eye and, without words, tell her that you are set on serving me before serving her. Once she returns the same glance in response, the Spirit will confirm it in your heart that she is the one. Do not give into any temptation that the enemy will throw at you because that will be one of your most vulnerable moments.

When you meet her, you must determine in your heart that you will do whatever I say and obey my commands because that is the only way you will enjoy the plan I have for you. I can promise you that it will be a long process and it will take much patience. There can be no other way. I need you to trust me on this.

When you meet her, get acquainted with her as a friend and nothing more, until the time is right. Look at her as a fellow believer and a sister in spirit. Do anything at all cost to love and protect her. You will need to prove yourself loyal in order to gain her trust.

She is my daughter. I can not give her hand to just any man that encounters her. That would be foolish. He must be worthy enough to knock on the door of her heart and willing to answer to me.

Son, I love you. I also love her. I love you both so much that I am keeping you apart for the meantime. This is only temporary, not permanent. Please understand that I want the very best for you both and nothing less than that. Don’t lose heart. In time you will know why I am doing what I am doing and you will thank me.

Hang in there.”

God Almighty, I lay my desires at your feet. Walking in faith is not walking by feelings. I can’t just ask myself what feels right, I need you to show me what IS right.

This means that I am completely surrendering it all to you; you deserve my trust because you have proven to be faithful in my life. I know that one day I will reap the fruits of moments like these. Once I finally see you face to face I know that all the trouble was worth it.

Search my heart and know that it is pure. I have no motives to uplift myself. I only seek to glorify you at any extent. May you be pleased by my service, Lord, I humbly present myself before you. None of my good works will ever buy righteousness, I am fully aware of that. But rather I do these things out of my love and deep reverence for you.

You are the only thing that I live for. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Scripture Reading

1 Kings 12

¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

   ⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

   ⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

   ⁷ They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

   ⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

   ¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

   ¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

   ¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

   “What share do we have in David, 
   what part in Jesse’s son? 
To your tents, Israel! 
   Look after your own house, David!”

   So the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

   ¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

   ²⁰ When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.

   ²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.

   ²² But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God:²³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ²⁴ ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan

    ²⁵ Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.

   ²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. ²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

   ²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” ²⁹ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. ³⁰And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.

   ³¹ Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. ³² He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. ³³ On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.

1 Kings 13

¹ By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. ² By the word of the LORD he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” ³ That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. ⁵Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD.

⁶ Then the king said to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored and became as it was before.

⁷ The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me for a meal, and I will give you a gift.”

⁸ But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. ⁹ For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’” ¹⁰ So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

¹¹ Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. ¹² Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. ¹³ So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ¹⁴ and rode after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

   “I am,” he replied.

¹⁵ So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.”

¹⁶ The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷ I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”

¹⁸ The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’” (But he was lying to him.) ¹⁹ So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

²⁰ While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. ²¹ He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. ²²You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.’”

²³ When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him.²⁴ As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. ²⁵ Some people who passed by saw the body lying there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

²⁶ When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who defied the word of the LORD. The LORD has given him over to the lion, which has mauled him and killed him, as the word of the LORD had warned him.”

²⁷ The prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me,” and they did so. ²⁸ Then he went out and found the body lying on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. ²⁹So the prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. ³⁰ Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they mourned over him and said, “Alas, my brother!”

³¹ After burying him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. ³² For the message he declared by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.”

³³ Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. ³⁴ This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.

What a passage. Israel clearly seems to be having some serious leadership issues. As the nation is currently divided (between Jeroboam and Rehoboam), neither of the kings are obedient to their own authority. If I could sum up the problem in one word it would be rebellion. I literally shook my head in disgust upon reading the text about all the chaos that took place. So much drama!

In Chapter 12 Rehoboam, the descendent of David and son of Solomon is anointed as King. The Israelites then decide to approach him under the leading of Jeroboam, who originally rebelled against Solomon, and plead for him to “lighten their load”. Instead of following the elders’ advice, Rehoboam rejects the wisdom of his authorities and confides in his younger peers. Rather than going easy on the Israelites he decides to toughen up on them and “scourge with scorpions”. Pretty intense right?

Almost immediately after that the Israelites become angry and went home to fuss about it. When they heard that Jeroboam had finally returned from hiding (stuff went down in the chapter before) they make him their king as a form of rebellion against Rehoboam.

Jeroboam is now ruling over the majority of the nation and is taking things into his own hands. His own rebellion was directly against God Himself. He committed a great sin by erecting to golden calves for the people to worship and give offerings to as well as establishing it to be a law for all citizens to take part in the pagan rituals.

In Chapter 13, things get worse. A chosen man of God, who remains unnamed, is sent to warm Jeroboam of his wicked actions. The stubborn King simply refuses and continues to go on rebelling while the man of God leaves the city. His specific commands were “You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came”.

For some reason, an old prophet, also unnamed, went to seek out this man and invite him back for supper. The prophet lies to him saying that the Lord commanded him to do so. Weird huh? So the two eventually break bread at the prophet’s home. In the midst of all this, God suddenly responds in anger saying that because of the man’s disobedience he would suffer. That doesn’t sound good at all…

After a serious of events the chapter ends in Jeroboam’s continued rebellion.

What I can I learn from all this? To put it in a nutshell I’d say that God is SOVEREIGN and his WORD must not be taken lightly. When it comes to my life I see the many times I have blatantly disobeyed against my Heavenly Father and had no shame. Those were my foolish days. As loving as God is, he is also JUST. Often we tend to compromise with the Devil, the world, and our flesh, only to experience the fleeting pleasure that sin brings. It’s NOT worth it. There are some serious consequences when it comes to disobeying. Sure, we can always come to the Lord and sincerely ask for forgiveness because he is willing to extend his hand of forgiveness, but that does not mean that we will escape from the consequences of our wrong doings. Just like the unnamed prophet, we may have to pay for the mistakes of our past. Thankfully, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we are ultimately freed from guilt and an eternity of pain. Hope is not lost! 

God is not out to make us suffer, but he only wants the best for us because he is our loving Father. The only way to truly live is to live by his commands. Then we will know what it means to experience a fulfilling life: walking side by side with the Lord. And that, my friend, sounds like the better option :)

Nobody can have unity on his own. You cannot be married on your own. There is no such thing as an independent believer. You cannot have unity by belonging nowhere. Some say that they belong to the universal church, but are committed nowhere in particular. Well, it means that nobody can rely upon these people. Churches cannot be built on floaters. Every born-again believer is “in Christ” together with all others. “There is one body and one Spirit”, says Ephesians 4:4 – the great body of believers in heaven and on earth. Everything in the New Testament points to unity. We are to bear one another’s burdens, for example. How can we do that if we have nothing to do with other Christians? The New Testament ALWAYS assumes that all believers are attached to one another locally. The epistle to the Ephesians is all about the church, and everything said is to the whole church, not to isolated individuals. It is the whole church, for example, that must have “the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11), for it is a fighting force, an army. 

1 Samuel 22:2 - All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

2 Samuel 23:8 - These are the names of David’s mighty men: 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

Reading through a list of names in a scriptural passage can be somewhat boring. Did you ever get a “devotional high” from reading a biblical genealogy? Why did God include such seemingly dry and barren name lists in the Bible anyway? Although several historical, doctrinal and practical reasons could be given, we probably would still fall short of the full answer to this question. In any case, we can be sure that every catalog of names in Scripture is there for a purpose. The Holy Spirit did not waste words. He did not inspire the biblical writers to include “filler” to beef up the Bible!

In 2 Samuel 23 we have a roster of David’s mighty men. This list of names is also included in 1 Chronicles 11. These are the men who joined David before he came to the throne as king over Israel. After David was anointed king by the prophet Samuel, there was a period of time before he was crowned king. During this period there were times when he had to hide in the wilderness to escape the anger of King Saul. Saul was fiercely jealous because David had become an overnight celebrity and favorite son in Israel after he had killed the Philistine giant, Goliath. Although Saul had already been set aside by God as the rightful king of Israel, he had not yet been removed from the throne. During this time when David was in disfavor with the establishment, many people joined him in the wilderness and became his army of loyal supporters. We read in 1 Samuel 22:2 that “all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around David, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.” Some of these loyal followers of David accomplished great things on David’s behalf, and they are registered as David’s “mighty men” in 2 Samuel 23.

Again we ask: “Why did the Holy Spirit record these names for us?” Romans 15:4 says that“everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” What teaching and encouragement can we gain from this list of David’s mighty men?

One reason that the roster of David’s soldiers is recorded is that it authenticates the historicity of the Bible account. Destructive critics of the Bible seem to delight in saying that the Old Testament stories are merely exaggerated legends of Jewish folk heroes. But lists of names associated with Old Testament characters like Abraham and Moses and David make it harder for the skeptic to classify these individuals as part of Jewish folklore. The name lists authenticate the Old Testament characters as real people who actually lived in history. We should thank the Lord for boring lists of names because they limit the destructive criticism of the Bible!

The fact that God keeps a detailed record of the names and exploits of David’s fighting men is also significant. It indicates to us that God records our personal service, too. If God kept track and applauded David’s valiant soldiers by name, how much more does he keep track and reward the faithful servants of David’s greater Son. Other Christians may not be aware of your behind-the-scenes service for Christ, but God sees and knows you as an individual soldier, and will reward every act of faithfulness.

Spiritual lessons can be found in the various acts of service of David’s mighty men, and this is another reason for a listing of their names. As already intimated, in many ways King David portrays the coming Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in his time of rejection that David particularly pictures Christ. As David was the anointed and rightful king but was unrecognized and rejected by the establishment, so Christ right now is the rightful king over mankind but He is unrecognized and rejected by this world. Those who recognized David as king had to be willing to join him in the wilderness, and share in his unpopularity and rejection. In the same way, we who have recognized the Lord Jesus as King have joined Him “outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Hebrews 13:13). Certainly we can identify in a spiritual way with those people who came to David in the wilderness—people in distress, people in need and people who were dissatisfied with the established system. Out of that motley bunch of people the mighty men of David emerged and some of their heroic deeds are recorded in 2 Samuel 23. Their feats portray the activities of believers who have made Christ their King. Although we should not be dogmatic when it comes to “seeing” spiritual pictures in this text, it appears that there are some solid lessons here that can help us in our growth as Christians.

With this in mind, then, it is very easy to see that the actions of David’s mighty men on the battlefield contain lessons for us about spiritual warfare. Josheb-Basshebeth (v8) and Abishai (vs18-19) overcame great odds. So can we! Eleazar (vs9-10) stood and fought the enemy even though his fellow soldiers had retreated. Even though he was at the point of exhaustion he would not rest until the Lord brought victory—great victory. Spiritual warfare is very draining at times. Even though others may throw in the towel, great victory comes to Christians who hang tough and don’t give up. Shammah (vs11-12) defended the position and provision of the Lord’s people. The Lord is looking for the Shammahs of today who will defend the faith and be willing to go to “battle for the Bible.” In Jude 3 we are exhorted to “contend earnestly for the faith.”

A beautiful picture of worship is brought before us in the actions of the three mighty men of verses 15-17. David longed for a refreshing drink from the well of his hometown, Bethlehem. The mighty three overcame the enemy and brought the water to David at great personal cost and in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They were not commanded to perform this deed. It was not a military duty. They acted out of love for their king. Similarly, our worship of the Lord should not be performed as a duty, but as an act of devotion because we love our King. True worship will involve time and effort and sacrifice, and sometimes the overcoming of great barriers that are thrown in our path by the enemy of our souls. Have you ever noticed how many obstacles and diversions seem to present themselves when you would like to spend some time worshiping the Lord? Sometimes the man-made barriers of tradition and ritual must be overcome. The fact that David poured the water out on the ground makes it seem like the mighty three were involved in a wasteful effort. But David considered their act to be so significant that he honored it and “elevated” it by giving the water as a drink offering to the Lord. Our times of quiet meditation in worship of the Lord may appear to some people as a waste of time and effort. After all, thanking and praising the Lord doesn’t feed any hungry people or provide any care for the homeless. But from God’s perspective, our quiet worship as well as our active worship has great value and it brings refreshment to the heart of our King.

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 heroic achievements are mentioned in verses 20-23. As we consider our spiritual warfare, these three feats may be a portrayal of the believer’s struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.

In 1 Peter 5:8 Satan is pictured as a lion: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Benaiah (v20) “went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.” Notice this was offensive—the kind we are to wage against the attacks of Satan. Benaiah was not caught off guard, but took the offensive and went down into the pit. He killed the lion in the middle of the pit—not while he was backed into a corner! Are we courageous like Benaiah or are we running scared? Remember that there is no armor for the back of the Christian soldier in Ephesians 6:13-17! We are commanded to “resist the devil” and we are promised that he will “flee from us” (James 4:7).

Benaiah also showed his might by overcoming “two of Moab’s best men.” The Moabites were physically related to Israel and yet they were enemies. As closely related, yet an enemy of Israel, they seem to portray “the flesh,” in terms of our spiritual warfare. By “flesh” we mean the sinful fallen human nature that we all possess. (See Romans 7:15-25.) While “the flesh” is closely related to every one of us, it is our deadly enemy and must be overcome if we are to become mighty believers. (See Galatians 5:16-17.) To be even more specific, we could look at the Moabites as representative of the flesh when it is not under control. Do you remember the origin of the Moabites? This nation came from an incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters—the flesh not under control! (See Genesis 19.) Remember also the immensely fat king of Moab, King Eglon, sitting on his throne in his summer palace in Jericho? (See Judges 3.) What a striking picture of the flesh not under control! Jericho, that former stronghold of the enemy, had been conquered by Israel under Joshua but during the times of the judges it had come under enemy control once again—because the Moabites were not held in check. Benaiah showed no mercy to the Moabites. We must show no mercy in overcoming “the flesh.” It must be held in check at all costs. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

Finally, Benaiah showed his might by killing an impressive Egyptian (v21). Egypt was an enemy of Israel, and in our picture of spiritual warfare Egypt represents the world. As God redeemed His people out of Egypt, so God has redeemed us out of this world. After the Exodus, one of Israel’s major problems was that they were still attracted to Egypt. They craved many of the things that they remembered from living in Egypt, and sometimes they even wanted to go back to Egypt! We cannot deny that the world sometimes attracts us, just as thoughts of Egypt attracted the Israeli people in the wilderness. And we must admit that the world at times looks as impressive to us as the Egyptian looked to Benaiah. But we must always keep in mind that the world’s value system is opposed to biblical values, and we cannot allow the thought-processes and lifestyles of the world to infiltrate our thinking and actions as Christians. It is interesting to notice, however, that Benaiah used the Egyptian’s own spear to defeat him! This may also be part of the spiritual picture. Christians should take every opportunity to use the material things of this world to fight against the world system. For example, the technology and expertise of movies and TV and computers, which have been developed primarily to serve the worldly value system (1 John 2:16), should be grabbed by Christians and used for the glory of God in overcoming the world and promoting the kingdom of Christ. Benaiah did not hesitate to exchange his out-dated and old-fashioned club for a more technologically advanced (and far more effective) spear!

More mighty men are recorded in verses 24-39. Not much is said about them but their names are given. Is your name recorded on God’s list of mighty Christians? Every man who joined David in the wilderness entered into his kingdom, but only a few made the list of mighty men. Every Christian is in the kingdom of Christ, but only those Christians who are willing to serve our King with courage and loyal devotion, in spite of difficulty and rejection, will stand out as His “mighty ones.”

Amen