Old Stories and New Hopes Share the Fight Together
[17] But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
[18] After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. [19] And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. [20] And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. [21] And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. [22] These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
2 Samuel 21:17–22 ESV Read More
This is another one of those sections that isn’t necessarily in chronological order. We know that it is late in David’s reign, but the span of time that is covered here isn’t precise. We’ve talked before about how they shared in the honor and the glory with David on these victories.
Each of these champions, however, killed a giant:
Abishai the son of Zeruiah,
Sibbecai the Hushathite,
Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite,
Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother
This put each of these guys into the elite club with David. Seth Godin talks a lot about how being great might not be so much about how great you are as an individual, but about how great you might be if you hang around other great people.
What if being around King David and hearing those great stories from him and Abishai were part of the training that made these guys great? What if the war stories of the elders were as important to the fight as learning to swing a sword or throw a spear?
When the battle was done and the sun set, these men recorded in the books that the giants fell by the hand of David and his servants. What if when people referred to a church, they didn’t just mention the pastor, but they reflected on the elders, the donors, and the mentors that trained up the current worship leaders and pastors? Even honoring the past pastors that went on to the marketplace or other churches builds the honor we have with the rich past in the life of our church.
I met a guy yesterday that said “I go to OneLife Henderson. I was there on 10/10/10.” That’s not just a brag about how long he was there, it’s a reference to a lot of hard work to get a thing going, and it’s honorable.
To say “I killed Goliath” isn’t just a brag, but a training inspiration that the next wave of soldiers and disciples need to hear. When they start to think to themselves “I can do that too” they are more likely to actually do it.
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing here. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.