(2 Samuel 23:8-39) These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth, a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains; he was called Adino the Eznite because of eight hundred who were killed by him at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. 10 He rose up and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and it clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder the dead.
11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee, a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into an army where there was a plot of land full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it, and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David at harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” 16 So the three mighty men forced their way into the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Yet he would not drink it, but poured it out as an offering to the Lord; 17 and he said, “Far be it from me, Lord, that I would do this! Should I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. 19 He was the most honored among the thirty, so he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the reputation of the three.
20 Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done great deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. 23 He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain the reputation of the three. And David appointed him over his bodyguard.
24 Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; and there was Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 and Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
David was surrounded by very valiant, selfless men who were willing to give their lives to serve him. While it was a wonderful gesture to go and get that water, was it the wisest thing to do? It certainly would have been more of a self-serving "act of kindness" if their motive was to find favor with the king in order to get a promotion. As well, in most military units, this could have been seen as disobeying orders... if their orders were to, let's just say, stay at camp and protect the king. WHAT IF they had been caught and/or killed. Their army would be out three leaders.
We might take risks to help people, but should we do risky or stupid things in efforts to impress others? If so, is it really worth it? Whether for work or for friendship or for "love"... we set ourselves up to have a reputation that "we'll do anything". This could very well backfire, as people could start to wonder, "What else would you dare to do?"
I would also call into question the boss, friend or love-interest who appreciates this sort of act without question. They themselves would then be - more than likely - unreasonable! The selfish person on the receiving end would see this as opportunistic, entertaining or "romantic". I know that if my husband ever did anything like that for me, I'd be very angry with him. WHY would you risk your life for something so frivolous???!!!
I used to read this portion of scripture and think David was so unappreciated and ungracious, but, now I see that his response was wise and godly!!! David had only expressed his desire to have a drink from his hometown water, he never asked his men to do this. And instead of saying how stupid and careless they had been, he explained why he would not drink the water, and gave it all to the Lord. IF David had accepted the water to drink, his actions would have said to the men, "What you did was okay," and it would have encouraged more radical behavior.
If anyone would ever risk their life to give me a gift, it would difficult to turn it down, but I would have to tell them that my love doesn't require over-the-top measures. Or if someone spent money that they really didn't have in order to give me a gift, this too would not be acceptable. Please, return it and get your money back and use that wisely. And if someone gave me a gift that came out of a criminal act... the response has to be "No! Absolutely not!" That action has to be rectified.
Our reactions to other people's actions are just as important as our own actions. For believers, everything we do and say should bring glory to the Lord. Even if we risk hurting someone's feelings, God and His will should be most important to us. So the wise thing to do is to ask the Lord for His wisdom and guidance in all things, not just when to accept a gift or not, but how to lovingly handle that situation.
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