II Samuel 16:3 And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.
Much of what is happening to David right now could have likely been avoided had he handled a family problem right and at the right moment. Since he didn’t things have only proceeded to get worse. A much smaller issue left unattended has caused the rebellion and now Ziba rebels against his master also. Every leader must consider dealing with the little foxes before they get big enough to do so much harm. Jesus said that if you were being taken to court you should fix it on the way to court if at all possible. Matthew 5:25
II Samuel 17:10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
An amazing commentary is given here about David and his men. They know that David is a mighty man and they know that those that are with him are also mighty men. Everyone should question what is known about us. What reputation or testimony do you have? Are you a mighty man? Do you surround yourself with mighty men? There is a leadership principle that says; “If he is not strong enough to hurt you if he would neither is he strong to help you if he will.” Too often we surround ourselves with weak “yes men” who are unable to help us. Let everyone know that God is doing a work in your life and ministry and that many mighty men are with you.
II Samuel 18:15 And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
Joab had ten young men as armor bearers. Joab was a great man of war and general. Imagine the training that these young men received. Imagine the men that they had the opportunity to see and hear just from being so close to Joab. They start as young armor bearers that will later be valiant men. Discipleship is all through the Bible. As they carried the armor and prepared things they would see how Joab fought from dressing himself, preparations he made for the battle, how he ordered his men, how set the battle, how he cared for his weapons and many other things that would prepare them for leadership.
II Samuel 20:6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
Leadership principle. David did not fight to save his kingdom when Abaslom raised himself up but now he is quick to send his men to seek the head of Sheba. It is not clear why David would react differently on two different occasions. Obviously we will need to be careful not to draw a hard and fast conclusion when David does not defend his kingdom with Absalom. There must be times to stand and fight and other times when we should not defend ourselves. Both are tragedies and I do not presume to say what should be the way we handle an attack but we do need balance in what we do under these severe attacks.
II Samuel 21:16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
Amazing what a new sword can do for a man! In this story it can get a man killed. Having a new sword or a strong arm is no guarantee that you will win the battle obviously. But maybe we could motivate our people to do great battles as we train our disciples in how to use a sword and then provide them with new and good tools to do the battle with. It is amazing what will happen when you motivate a man to do something with his life.
II Samuel 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.
Giant killers didn’t hardly exist before David killed Goliath but now even his nephew and one of his right hand men is killing giants. Men will do what they see you do. This giant had a new sword and carried spear that weighed about 9.5 pounds. He came from a family of giants. He had no idea that a little man like Abishai could defeat him. Satan can not comprehend what God can do with men who have been trained, motivated, and Spirit empowered. Let’s train men.
II Samuel 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
Four giant killers in a row. From no giant killers to a giant killer roll what a transformation. Could it be that the world could be transformed and His name lifted high if we would but become giant killer trainers? We must train leaders of leaders. We must make it the object of our life to find and train men for His honor and glory. For too long we have done our ministry and tried to develop ourselves into a world class leader but have not concerned ourselves with the preparation of others. Joab had 10 armor bearers learning every move from him. How many do you have? How many are you preparing to go further than you ever have? How much have you invested into the lives of others, no so much in money but in TIME?
II Samuel 23:10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.
Hold on to your sword. You might get tired in the work but never of the work. Hold on to your sword and he will win a great victory. Use all your strength. Work until you are tired.
II Samuel 23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah,
Naharai the armor bearer gets into the list of the mighty men. He has been Joab’s armor bearer. Although Joab is not in the list of mighty men one of his men does make the list. Joab has hurt himself with some of his foolishness but is able to lift a man above himself. Joab had ten armor bearers. There are only thirty something men in the list yet one of Joab’s men could become so great a man of war that he could make this hall of fame. That is the result of true discipleship. Teach a man. Train him to become more than you are. Get him to the right trainers. Let him make the list even if you can’t. Who are you investing time and life into right now?



