All right, 2 Samuel chapter 23. We started the chapter last week talking about David's last words, and we'll finish the chapter this week talking about David's mighty men, David's mighty men. The record here that we find in 2 Samuel chapter 23, there's notes in the back if you don't have them. The record we find in 2 Samuel chapter 23 is also given in 1 Chronicles chapter 11. It's a listing of the military men who served David. These were the men who stood with David through thick and thin, may I say, and they identified with David at any cost, and we'll see that in the teaching today or in the lesson today. Throughout David's long and somewhat checkered career, there are two constants that continually carried him along and cheered him and comforted him. First of all was the unchanging faithfulness of his God. God never changes. God is always the same. And David could trust absolutely in his God. But the second constant that carried David through was the devotedness of his servants. They were, they stuck with him through thick and thin. You may remember as David fled from Absalom, he had some of his elite close house guard, the palace guard, who came with him. His devoted men came with him all the time, loving devotedness of his servants. And the Holy Spirit has seen fit to honor the devotion and the labors of these men here in 2 Samuel, and also in 1 Chronicles. But it's a very brief, very brief record. Undoubtedly, there's much more that was done, much more that could be said that's not recorded, much more to be told. But the record here, just by way of introduction, in 2 Samuel is given to us for at least four purposes. And thanks to Matthew Henry, who always has something something useful and something meaty to say about every passage in scripture. But he lists these four reasons why we have a listing of David's mighty men here in 2 Samuel. The first reason, Matthew Henry gives, is to honor David himself. To honor David himself. David, after all, trained these men. David set the example for them of conduct encourage. You know, one of the things that I wish, and I've been thinking about this this week, I wish I had learned, I'd been taught in graduate school, one of the things I wish I had learned or I had been taught in graduate school was the importance of hiring the right people. You see, if you're in the working world, in the business world, any position in the business world really, as you mature in that position, as you rise up in the ranks a little bit, you're going to have people working underneath you. And you're going to be responsible to hire those people and to train those people. And that's something that I should have been taught in graduate school is how to hire the right people, how to train the right people. You see, because your success in the business world is dependent upon those under you, those beneath you. And so it was with David. David could not have accomplished what he did without his mighty men, the men that were supporting him. They were his bulwark. They were the ones who fought the battles and won the battles. They were his generals, his captains, and his lieutenants, David's mighty men. And I found that out in my career at Texaco and at Shell, that who you had working with you made a big difference. Big difference. At Texaco, it was always, they divided projects up. And some projects were, it's really one man, one project. That's how Texaco worked. So, at least in R&D. And so we had a project that was deemed to be high importance. And the group leader then, to that project, they assigned the best technician. So the project that was the most important, and also had the highest visibility, also had the best support. Meanwhile, me over here, I was on a less important project, so I got a lesser grade technician. In fact, in Texaco days, there really my whole career was, sorry, I'm digressing a little bit, but was one of downsizing. All 30 years of my career, it was musical chairs every couple years. There would be layoffs, there would be early retirement packages, and it was always shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink. And so Texaco was shrinking even when I got there, it started to shrink, and we had some lawn care people. And the lawn care people were actually, in those days, were Texaco employees. So I got a guy who'd been mowing the grass for my technician. And I had to teach him the difference between a bucket and a beaker. And he was a big burly guy, and he has to hold these little beakers. Anyway, that was my job. But David didn't have the best starting material either. In 1 Samuel chapter 22, we read about some weeks earlier, it says, in 1 Samuel chapter 22, the scriptures say, everyone that was in distress, everyone that was in debt, everyone that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, unto David, and he became a captain, a captain over them. David didn't have the best starting material. And so I had to train my lawn care guy to be a technician. But I did my best. I did my best. But you know, later on in your career, you had to hire people. And I did not do my best there, because I have to say that I always look on the best side. At least I tried to. I guess I just instinctively look on the best side of people. So everyone I interviewed seemed like they were great. And of course, when people are interviewing, they always put on a good face. I mean, you put on your best face, your best side, you have your best references. And so, you know, the person you interview is not the person you get. So it was with me. I was not the best hiring manager. But David did a great job. David did a great job. I mean, look at his mighty man he had here. David assembled here in the Second Samuel, Chapter 23, what has to be one of the best fighting forces, elite fighting forces the world has ever seen. David and his men, I mean, they were disciplined. And we've seen that again and again. When David said no, no was no, and they didn't do it. And when David even issued a wish, his men, boom, they were on it, which we'll see a little bit later today. These men, David's mighty men, surged for the glory of their captain. So this record is honoring David, as Matthew Henry says. His mighty men sought to spread his fame abroad, And by David's spirit, his fighting men were energized and enabled. Isn't that what we ought to do as well? We should endeavor to do for our Lord and captain, seek to spread his fame abroad. And by his spirit, we are energized and enabled, whatever crowns, that we receive as God's servants will be laid, they'll be laid at the feet of the Lamb of God. He alone is worthy. So second reason that Matthew Henry gives, besides to honor David, is why this list is provided in 2 Samuel 23, is to honor the men themselves. Honor the men themselves. They were, after all, instrumental in bringing David to the throne. They were his guard, his elite guard, this mighty man. They protected him. They pursued his enemies, David and his enemies, and they promoted the welfare of David's kingdom. You know, faithful ministers, may I say, just remind all of us, are worthy of double honor. Faithful ministers are worthy of double honor. And these men are worthy of the honor that they receive here in the scriptures. So that's the second reason Matthew Henry gives. The third is why this record is presented, by way of introduction, is to energize those who come after. to follow their example, to energize you and I, to follow the example that's given here. You see, that which was praiseworthy in the past ought to be aspired to in the present. It hasn't changed. That which was praiseworthy in the past, the devotedness of David's men, their dedication to service, their energy, the fact they gave their all for their Lord, it ought to be aspired to in the present as well. And God is pleased. with those who strengthen the hands of his ministers. And here's David ministering for the Lord. And God was pleased with these men who stood up to the job and strengthened David's hand. So it is true today. God is pleased with those who strengthen the hands of his ministers. You know, we ought to, just as an aside, we ought to do our best to be good servants in the church, to strengthen the hands of our pastor, and of our associate. Strengthen the hands of those who minister. You know, try to keep your grumbling to a minimum, right? I'm sure there's something maybe you don't like, but let's set that aside. I mean, hey, there's something I don't like in myself too, to be honest. So let's set that aside. Let's lift up our ministers. Let's do our best to support them in whatever endeavors. When our pastor says, let's go, Um, hello. Let's go. That's what David said. David said, let's go. And his mighty men They didn't say, hey, Momo Gromo, why do we have to face these Philistines again? We did that yesterday. No, let's go. Let's be all in, as our former pastor said. Let's be all in Christians who are all in, all in believers. And number four, fourth reason Matthew Henry said, the first three were to honor David, to honor his mighty men, to show an example that we should emulate. But the fourth, as Matthew Henry says, it shows how this example here, shows how true religion contributes to inspiring men with true courage. You see, these exploits of these mighty men of David was not fanaticism on their part. These were men of piety, men of bravery, and the two were inseparably connected. Their godliness and their bravery were inseparably connected. Just a note, we should be inspired with courage. from the records of their exploits. What God did for them, what God did for these mighty men, God can do for us. What he did for them in their day, God can do for us in our day. We see here on your outline, point one, the first triumvirate. Triumvirate, that's a ruling group of three. You sort of think usually the word triumvirate has a word Roman in front of it. The Roman triumvirate, it didn't work out very well for the Romans. They had their first triumphant. I guess that sort of worked out, sort of. But the second triumphant fell apart, you know, because three men just can't rule very well together. Maybe if it was three ladies they could, but three men, no. But David's triumphant worked well, ruled, worked well together. So the grouping here in Scripture is by groups of three. So we see the first three men, the first triumphant, David's mighty men, in verses 8 through 12 of 2 Samuel, chapter 23. It reads, these be the names of the mighty men whom David had. The Tacoma knight that sat in the seat, chief among the captains, the same was Adino, the Ezra's knight. He left up his spear against 800, whom he slew at one time. And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the whole knight, one of the mighty three men with David, when they defiled the Philistines that were gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away. 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. And after him was Shammah, the son of Agi, the Harite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines, and the Lord wrought a great victory." the first triumphant, Adonai, the Israelite, a most remarkable man. His exploits are only recorded here and in 1 Chronicles 11. Only two places, and so brief, so brief a place. But just a note or a side note on all this, when God calls a man to service, and the man we're talking about here is David, when God called David, he graciously appointed others to assist. When God calls a man, he appoints others to assist him, to support his cause, to strengthen his hands. David could never have achieved his victories without the assistance of these men. And Adoniel appears to be the most remarkable man. It says in the very brief account we have, it says he lift up his spear against 800 whom he slew at one time, 800. I mean, it sounds like a Solomon-like feat, although he lived before Solomon, I think. No, after Solomon, after Solomon, definitely after Solomon. A dino, a supernatural evidence of supernatural strength, similar to Solomon's. Then we have Eleazar, the whole knight, a man who refused to flee. from before the enemy. He stood his guard when there was no one else present to assist. It says, he arose, he smote the Philistines, his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword. I suppose that's like the equivalent to when I was using the power washer. I was cleaning my driveway, and I had this power washer, and to make it work, you gotta hold the handle to squeeze it. And I was cleaning the driveway, and it's like cleaning the driveway with a toothbrush, all right? The next day, oh, my hand. You know, I did that power washer. Now, don't do this, I suppose. Don't do this at home, but I did it. I took some duct tape. I duct taped that handle because I said, I'm not going to hold that handle all day anymore. My hand was cleaving to my power washer. After holding that all day, I imagined that Eleazar's hand was cleaving to his sword. I mean it was just like stuck there because he fought and he fought and he fought and he was weary and he kept on fighting. The Lord wrought a great victory that day. The people returned after him only to spoil. He overcame when no one else was present to assist. Examples again that we ought to emulate. Eleazar stood firm in his day when true courage was most needed. When the rank-and-file believers are giving way before the forces of evil, that's the time for the men of God to rise up. That's the time for the men of God to rise up and stand firm. When the rank-and-file believers are giving way before the forces of evil, I believe that describes our day. the rank-and-file believers are giving way before the forces of evil, then it's the time for the men of God and women of God to stand up, to rise up, rise up, all men of God. And neither did Eleazar cease to labor when he was weary in the service of God. And that again reminds me of Galatians chapter 6, verse 9, be not weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." Whenever I think of that verse, Galatians 6, 9, I think of Bill Dortus. He's a gentleman in our church way back in New York. Years ago, he was a new believer at that time. And for some reason, I had said something about Galatians 6, 9, just mentioned, you know, we say this verse all the time, sometimes, be not weary and well doing, for due season we shall reap, if we faint not. And we say, yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe it. I trust that. But Bill Doris, in my memory here, I have this memory of Bill Doris, he's sitting back in the pew, and he was looking up the verse. new believer, he was looking up the verse and he was looking at that and I came by, I walked by afterwards and he had his Bible open, he was reading that verse over and he was thinking about that. You know, if you're a Sunday school teacher, that warms your heart. When you see someone who's actually looking up the verse, who actually is taking this to heart, you know, because, you know, the pastor too, you put all that you have into your teaching. And sometimes you wonder if it's falling on deaf ears. And sometimes Bill Doris was writing something down. I hadn't given this verse any thought, but I remember Bill Doris was looking at that. He was writing it down. He said, that's a good verse. That's a real good verse. I said, yeah, it is a real good verse, isn't it? Be not weary in well doing, for due season we shall reap, if we faint not. It's recorded here, Eleazar's exploits are recorded here for our inspiration, as well as just simple information. I mean, that's great that Eleazar fought until his hand was cleaved into a sword. But it was written for our example, our inspiration, that we might emulate his noble example. Don't give up. Amen? Don't give up. That sounds like Winston Churchill. Never give up. Never, never, never quit. Give up. Never give up in the work of God. We serve a faithful God. A great victory was won here because Eleazar persevered. God rewards the perseverance. faith. God rewards the perseverance of faith. You know, Israel, I hadn't realized this until I thought about it, Israel marched around Jericho 13 times. That means once a day for six days, and then it was seven times on the seventh day. 13 times. They persevered around Jericho. And then the walls fell when they left up that great shout. Perseverance, the glory of the Lord here in Eleazar's case is ascribed entirely to the Lord. Then we have Shammath the Harite, an abroading band apparently of Philistines was plundering the land, striking terror, no doubt, in the hearts of those who fled. They're taking whatever they please. It's like a band of locusts. And they're devouring everything. They're burning, they're looting, they're eating. next year's food and the stuff we had saved for next year, the Philistines are now taking and carrying off or just destroying wantonly or eating. Shammah here refuses to yield. He refuses to flee. Apparently everyone else had fled, but Shammah stood his ground, says, in a field of lentils. That's food. Translate that as food. And he reaps a great victory. He refuses to yield. And so he saves the precious crop from destruction. Although he's received scarce notice in scripture, his exploits and those of many others like him will have honor from God who keeps record of all things." God's records are meticulous, they're exact, they're complete. A victory is again ascribed to the Lord in the case of Shammah. It says, he stood in the midst, verse 12, he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines and the Lord, it says, not Shammah, the Lord wrought a great victory. No matter how great the ability and the courage of God's instruments, the victory is ascribed to the Lord. Let not the mighty man glory in his might. Jeremiah chapter nine, verse 23. a desire to please the Lord. Verses 13 to 17, we have another triumphant. We're not sure which triumphant of men, which group of three of David's mighty men this is. Is it the first three? Is it the second three that we haven't studied? Or is it even another three altogether? We don't know. But it says, verse 13, three of the 30 chief, 30 mighty men, went down and came to David in the harvest time onto the cave of Adullam. And the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephraim. And David was then in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. And David longed and said, oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. And the three mighty men break through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate. and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men." An interesting little passage of scripture. I suppose we could make a whole lesson out of this, but I'll endeavor not to. a desire to please their Lord. This is a touching and illustrative incident that's described really for our instruction from far earlier in David's life. We have here this enterprise involving three of David's mighty men. We're not told which three it was. But David, at this point in time in his life, he's a much younger man now, had been a fugitive, was a fugitive from Saul's murderous desires. He's hiding in a cave in the Philistines, those scoundrels, occupied Bethlehem, David's hometown. And I call this David's discouragement, point two A in your lines, because this seems like it's a very trying circumstance for David. And no doubt, he's a man and he's a bit discouraged here. A trying circumstance through which some of God's beloved, that's you and I, pass through. Ups and downs occur in our life, but God's love, God's watch care never fails, never falters. David was here, he's away from home, heart and family. He's a refuge, an exile, taking refuge in a cave. And no doubt, I imagine, David could sneak away from time to time, out of the cave, he's hiding from Saul, back to Bethlehem to visit his family. Maybe it's a feast day or something like that, but not now. The Philistines are there, he can't get back, and plus, The Philistines are there. I mean, what about his family? I mean, maybe they fled and they're hiding out in the woods someplace, and they're hungry. And David is in like a double dilemma. And he's a little discouraged here. He's alone in the cave. Well, not totally alone. David's mighty men are there. His friends are supporting him, even when his future prospects looked bleak indeed. I mean this is a low point in David's life and yet his mighty men are still sticking with him in the cave and they were no fair weather friends. And David has a desire, point 2b on your outline, David's desire. His longing was for a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. You know we had a Well, I guess Aaron was talking about, Brother Aaron was talking about well water a Sunday a week or so ago. It's making all of us thirsty out here as he talked about that great well water. We had well water in New York. It was good water. We really liked that well water. Although, to be honest with you, city water is safer. It's tested. It's continually, you know, you should test your well water once a year at the minimum to see if there's some contamination gotten in there. You can never tell. I mean, after all, you got your neighbors, everyone else, who knows what they're dumping down their septic tanks. But anyway, well water. David wanted a drink from the well water. Perhaps this was a physical desire. It was summer and it was natural. to long for things that aren't present. As soon as Brother Aaron started talking about that well water, all of us started getting a little thirsty, I'm sure. I think, boy, I wish I had a drink of water. I remember during COVID when we had our water fountains turned off. Turned off. You couldn't get a drink of water. You come to church. I mean, you had to go for Sunday school and church, no water. I cheated a little bit. I went to the bathroom. Laps of water. I mean, hey, I'm thirsty. Anyway, water. You get thirsty. Every time I walked by the drinking fountain, it had this yellow tape over it, I think. So anyway, I think that was overkill. I think we could have drunk safely from the water, even during the midst of COVID, you had to take off your mask for a few seconds. But anyway, you have a longing for something you don't have. Perhaps that was what David had. Perhaps the water in the cave wasn't so good. Quality maybe wasn't so great, or maybe the quantity wasn't so great. David was longing, but I think more likely it was just a spiritual desire David had to be away from his present situation in the cave, fleeing for his life. He just wanted to get home and relax for a little bit back in Bethlehem and drink that well water, boy, and eat mom's home cooking. Wow. Back home with his flocks is relatively carefree life in the past. You know, we sent our youngest daughter, Jenna, off to school. She went to Golden State Baptist College in California. And she wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving. I mean, it's partly cost. But it was partly time, too. I mean, you only had four days. By the time you battled Thanksgiving traffic and get back here, it's time to leave. You got like one day back. So she stayed at college. But she had pity upon her. and my wife, she sent her a box of rolls. Now Sue has a recipe come down from her mom and from her grandmother. I don't know how far back it goes, but it's at least her mom's recipe for rolls. These are really good rolls. She only makes them once a year or maybe twice a year at Christmas time. So she made some extra rolls. She put them in, wrapped them up in a plastic bag, put them in a box, sent them to Jenna in California. Jenna got that bag of rolls. It was a little bit like David, I'm sure, longing for that well water from Bethlehem. Jenna would open the box, and just sniff. She'd open the package. Ah, that's enough. She'd close it up. I mean, it was like home, just smelling those rolls. She guarded them. She did share half a roll with her best friend. But other than that, every year she got a box of rolls at Thanksgiving time, before Thanksgiving, and she ate little bits of them. They lasted until she came home at Christmas. She's guarded those rolls. I imagine that's what David's thinking about that well water from Bethlehem. I wish I had some well water. David here is indulging. his own self. He's literally, he's bemoaning his position in his life, his station at this time. It's a little bit of self-pity he's engaging upon, which to be honest, we do ourselves. Matthew Henry said it was David's folly to entertain such fancies. David's folly, an even greater folly, although David didn't do that, but would have been even a greater folly, Matthew Henry says, to insist upon the gratification of them. We ought instead to give thanks always for all things unto God. Give thanks always for all things unto God, Ephesians 5.20. David's decision The Three Mighty Men, point 2C on your outline, David's decision. David's Three Mighty Men brought him water from the well of Bethlehem. Wow. Well, they just heard David, and he was a little discouraged. And he's bemoaning the fact, oh, I can't go home to Bethlehem, but if only I had a drink of the well water. But alas, it's never to be. David didn't order his men. He didn't require them to go. They said, hey, let's just do this. for our leader. That's how much they respected, how much they valued David, how much they respected him, how ready they were to face the dangers for his sake. No command, it was enough for them simply to know that their master desired it. But their devotion and their daring was not lost upon David. I've often in the past have wondered about this passage. I said, David, drink the water. Say, hey, dudes, thanks. High five. That's great. David, after all their sacrifices, they bring back a canteen or a camel skin or whatever it was of water. David goes, glug, glug, glug. He pours it out on the ground. David, their devotion, their daring was not lost upon David. David deems her sacrifice too costly for anyone but God himself, too costly. This is a mark of a godly sacrifice. and a gracious man. Now, if I were to give you one of my mugs, and you would say, oh, Brother Brian, this mug, this is too much. I'm going to offer it to the Lord. He dropped it on the ground and it broke. Anyway, so don't try this with one of my pieces of pottery. But David, I think, did the right thing. David did the right thing, the mark of a godly, gracious man. David here, after all, first of all, is acknowledging his mistake, acknowledging his mistake of indulging himself. He doesn't feign ignorance, or he doesn't feign innocence, like, hey, I didn't really mean that, guys. I'm only joking. Thanks for the water. No, David says, I was wrong. I was wrong to be bemoaning my position here in the cave. I mean, God has kept us safe. God has protected us. We're supplied with food. And the Philistines and Saul haven't got us yet. We're good. We're good. David seeks to correct his mistake here. Marko, a godly, a gracious man, an honest heart. David seeks to correct his mistake. He's ashamed of his desire, his ordinate desire, his rash wish. He regrets putting his brave men at risk. I mean, after all, The Philistines were camped out there. How'd they do it? We have no idea whether they snuck in at night, you know, wearing black paint and camel costumes, or whether they went in with their swords blazing and fought their way to the well and got that, I mean, after you say it killed 800, what's a few Philistines? We don't know how they did it, but David resolves never to do this again, never to do this again. You see, I is always at the center of sin, S-I-N, I is always at the center of sin and David's sin here revolved around I, revolved around himself. Desire to please the Lord, we see the second triumphant in verses 18 through 23. It says, and Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zerah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against 300 and slew them, and had the name among three. Had the name among three. Was he not the most honorable of three, the second triumphant? Therefore he was their captain. Howbeit he attained not unto the first three, the first triumphant." In other words, his honor was not as great as the first triumphant. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of who had done many acts, he slew two lion-like men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man, and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff, and he plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men. He was more honorable than the 30, but he attained not to the first three. And David sent him over his guard." We have the second triumphant, Abishai, the brother of Joab, a second group of three mighty men with Abishai as their captain, a man with remarkable exploits. Yet, scripture notes, he had not the eminence and esteem of the first three. And may I say, that's okay. That's okay. We don't all have to be equals. You know, everybody doesn't have to get a prize, right? I mean, everybody doesn't have to get a prize. All men, all women occupy not the same level. all men occupy not the same level. Abishai is more famous here, Abishai is more famous, I should say, more well known, but yet infamous brother Joab has no mention here, no mention at all. Although Two of Joab's brothers are mentioned, and also in the list of the 31 that we'll come to in a minute, Joab's armor bearer makes the list. Joab's two brothers and his armor bearer. Where is Joab's name on this list of mighty men? Not here, not in 1 Chronicles, which has a slightly longer list. Matthew Henry suggests two reasons why Joab's name's not here. Either Joab was so great He did not need to be mentioned. He was, after all, David's general. So great, he didn't need to be mentioned. Or, says Matthew Henry, he was so bad, he did not deserve to be mentioned. Whoa. So it says, well, I'll cast my vote for he was so bad that he did not deserve to be mentioned. But Joab is not mentioned at all here. But even his shield bearer is mentioned. So we have Abishai, then we have Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada. He said he slew two Moabites, lion-like men, the scripture says, followed by the slaying of an actual lion in a pit, a lion that had likely terrorized the land. attacks and kills the Egyptian with no other weapon than a staff, you know, a cane. He's like that congressman we saw who had his cane out and the guards had to carry him off because he wouldn't be quiet. Anyway, he was our congressman from Houston. But anyway, yeah, with his cane, Benaiah had his staff out, and he slew the Egyptian. He actually takes the Egyptian sword out of his hand and slays the Egyptian with it. David appointed him a captain of his standing forces, his bodyguards. And where's the third man in the triumphant? Not mentioned. We're not told his name or his exploits. And that's OK also. that's okay. You see, I just kept a record of everything. So we don't need to, you know, Do it like the world does. You know, the world's always trying to scramble for the top, scramble for the top, and you gotta pull some people down to climb over them. That's not the church life. That's not the church life. The person who does the lowliest job, I was trying to think what the lowliest job here is, but who does the lowliest job in the church receives just as much honor and praise and recognition from the Lord as the person who does the most, exalted position, because those are all man-made things, whether you're at the top or the bottom. We've set up that criteria. Do what the Lord has called you to do. The 31, we see a point four in your outline, verses 24 to 39. We'll not read all those verses, mercifully, because I can't pronounce half the names. But these are men of great note. From all parts of the nation they came. Their surnames denote, it's believed, their places of birth, most likely. And David found the most... David was a great hiring manager. David found the most wise the most valiant men in his kingdom. Another of Joab's brothers, Asahel, is listed. He was slain by Abner at the beginning of David's reign. Joab's armor-bearer, Nehari, is another slap in the face, I think, to Joab. His armor-bearer made the list. Where's my name, Joab says. And finally, the list ends with Uriah the Hittite, verse 39. It says, 30 and 7 in all. Uriah the Hittite, that of course includes the other six we have here. Receiving, reviving briefly the memory of David's sin and aggravating it, that one who served David and his country, one of David's money men, Uriah, should be treated so illy, so ill-treated by David. Ezra David, as so Christ, also has his worthies, just as we conclude. Men and women are renowned. Jesus Christ says, men and women are renowned. Those are those who are influenced by his example, as David's mighty men, influenced by his example. So we are influenced by Christ's example. Those who fight David's battles against spiritual enemies of the kingdom, those who fight Christ's battles against spiritual enemies of the kingdom, those who serve in the strength of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alone, and so are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. As David's mighty men, so we here are Jesus Christ's mighty men and women. Matthew Henry concludes this section by saying, all the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, all the good soldiers of Jesus Christ have their names better preserved than those here, better preserved than those here, for they are written in heaven. This honor have all his saints. This honor have all his saints. Let me read that again. Matthew, Henry, all the good soldiers of Jesus Christ have their names better preserved than even these listed here, for they are written in heaven. This honor have all his servants. Well, we'll continue. We're nearing the end of the life of David. We've already read his last words, which we said weren't exactly his last words, but we're going to read his last great sin, his last great error next week. We'll begin that study of 2 Samuel chapter 24.