TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 23: 8- 17 8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: (Josheb- spear) the Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

9 And after him was Eleazar (God helps) the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defiled the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

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.

11 And after him was Shammah (surprise) the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.

12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Addulam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

15 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!

16 And the three mighty men brake 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, but poured it out unto the Lord.

17 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. (KJV)

Today I would like to deliver a message entitled “THREE MIGHTY MEN OF DAVID.”

The life of David is the type of Christ, as many people say. And, David who was the fourteenth generation is the type of the end time like the captivity to Babylon and the days of Jesus. With these in mind, we would like to learn what David and his three mighty men mean.

8 “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: (Josheb- spear) the Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

The first of the three mighty men is Josheb. What did he do? He “lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.” And the name Josheb means spear. Therefore, he was the mighty man who killed many enemies with his spear, which we know as the word spear is emphasized. Well, what does spear refer to?

When we look at many descriptions in the Bible, it seems that spear is used in the same meaning as sword. This is the same case as sheep is used like ox and olive tree like vine. Sheep and ox are metaphor of Christians as one aspect, and olive and vine as another.

Well, sword refers to the Word, as is written, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” So, it is supposed that spear has relation to the Word.

He lifted up his spear by himself and slew eight hundred enemies, what a wonder! Likewise, there are in this end time many enemies who challenge to the Word flinging up swords. Some enemies emphasize false teaching, denying the Person who said to understand parables and saying instead such as, “Do not make spiritual interpretation but read the Bible literally (?).” The very one who challenges to these false teachings and interpretations and stands aside of the Person of the Word is the descendants of this one of the three mighty men, Josheb.

9 “And after him was Eleazar (God helps) the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defiled the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

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.

Next is “Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite.” Eleazar means “God helps.” He is the type of the saints who stand as mighty men with trust in God.

What did he do? It is written, “when they defiled the Philistines.” It may be that he said something abuse to Philistines. Let’s remember that when we stand by the Person of the Word in the end time and say something to the Church now that is far away from the Word, they would think we defile them. But, problem is in them who are far away from the Word. Well, it is written, “the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle.” The Bible says something suggestive about these Philistines in other passage.

1 SAMUEL 13: 19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. (KJV)

It is told that there was no smith to produce sword among God’s people. To the contrary, there were smiths in the land of Philistines. This is suggestive. Sword is the Word, and smith is to produce sword and so corresponds to preaching, theology or interpretation now. It said all these were under the control of the enemy. And, it is certainly the sign for the present day, for theology and interpretation are now in the hand of the enemy.

There may be some people who say, “Such cannot be.” Then, let me ask, why then are such unreasonable teachings that are only supposed to destroy faith for their purpose coming one after another from theologians and commentators as “God is dead, Genesis is a myth, or Q materials,” if theology and interpretation are not in the hands of enemy? If they are not the enemies, who then can be?

Well, it is written, “the men of Israel were gone away.” The battle is about to begin between the army that follow God and those who destroy the Word. Well then, one of the three, “Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite” begins to be active. “He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword.” This is also symbolic expression. The problem of many people is that their hands are soon off the sword with a trifle thing, that is, to withdraw their hands from the truth of the Word. They do not try to stand and to remain firm there. But his hand clave to the Word. He is the very type of those who remain and stand firm on the truth, even if they are opposed, persecuted, or expelled for the sake of the Word.

“The Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.”

And, the Lord brings about a great victory (of the Word) through a few people. As is written, “the people returned after him only to spoil,” those who take this side will return. But, the honor of the three mighty men is given to those who continue to hold swords firm in the days of against wind.

11 “And after him was Shammah (surprise) the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines.

12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory.”

Well, the third is Shammah. What did he do? At this time the Philistines came to attack. They are enemies of the Word. It is written, “the people fled from the Philistines.” The people of God could not counter the enemies of the Word, ran backward, and did not maintain their position. Even now, many God’s people are running backward from the false theology and the enemies of the Word. If they are told, “Genesis is a myth, and the theory of evolution is scientific,” they plainly withdraw from the Word agreeing with them.

But, here is a mighty man who remains. That is Shammah. The name means surprise. Does this mean surprising victory by him? He remained in the land full of lentils. It seems to mean something great, but what does it mean? We see the following passage concerning lentils.

EZEKIEL 4: 9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. (KJV)

In short, lentils are also the materials for bread like wheat. Bread is the metaphor of the Word. Therefore, lentils are also related to the Word, and metaphor of the Word. He is the very one who remained in the Word.

And, it is the time now when the mighty men should remain. Those who try to stand on the truth of the Word will not escape from the blame, though “many people see the circumstance around” in saying good, or “they are simply opportunists” in saying bad.

They may be blamed wrongly for spiritual interpretation. But, we should never forget that the victory will be given to those who “stood in the midst and their hands clave unto the sword,” that is, who remain in the Word.

13 “And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Addulam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.”

This is the harvest time and is the sigh for the last revival of the end time. Addulam means withdrawal. David was chased by the Philistines and sheltered in the cave of Addulam. The Philistines represent enemies of the sword, the Word. This corresponds to Jesus who was surrounded by swords in Gethsemane and is the sign for the Person of the Word to be surrounded by swords in the end time. It is written, “the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.” Rephaim means giant. The enemy of the Word is gigantic, and to the contrary the troop of the Person of the Word is small.

Well, at that time those three mighty men came down to David.

14 “And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

At that time David was in a hold, a fort. He was in the war. Likewise, the Person of the Word is in the midst of war against the false teachings that are coming one after another and teachers who pervert the Word.

“the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.”

15 “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!”

We must know these words of David have two meanings. One is the gate of Bethlehem. That is to say, to recover the Word that is under the control of the enemy. Another is the water of the well, to restore the work of the Holy Spirit of living water. These two are that two topics and will be harmed in the end time.

16 “And the three mighty men brake 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.”

The Word is now distorted by the false theology very much, and it seems difficult to return the Word to the original position. I think the Church is burning the fire of the false revival and is far away from the work of the Holy Spirit of truth. But, here come three mighty men. They “brake 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.” That means the Word and the work of the Holy Spirit will be restored by them.

“nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord.

17 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?”

David said this was the blood. It is told water is blood. This reminds us of the word of John, “The spirit, and the water, and the blood.” Surely, this water of the well that they recovered means the work of the Holy Spirit harmed by the enemy, and the revival of the Holy Spirit will be caused by these mighty men in the end time.

But, we should not forget another told. It is the word, “is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?” To bring about these works is honorable before God, but it will be done by “the mighty men that went in jeopardy of their lives.”

“These things did these three mighty men.”

I personally think that these three mighty men come out also in the New Testament. Who are they? They are no other than the three disciples, Peter, James, and John. They are the mighty men of the New Testament who follow the Lord in the transformation mountain and also in the garden of Gethsemane. And, when Jesus was surrounded with swords, they fought back with the sword.

It was obedience of risking life to draw and bring the water of the well by the gate in Bethlehem that was besieged by the troop of the Philistines in the days of David. And, it was also the obedience risking the life for the three disciples of Peter and others to follow Jesus who was chased for His life by the Pharisees and to fight back with the sword.

But, the New Testament Church has grasped the great victory through these three disciples, mighty men of Peter and others. The false interpretations of the Pharisees and scribes are overturned, and the powerful Word has rained. And the fire of Pentecost has fallen from heaven through them.

These are the type of the events that will happen in the end time. We will see the restoration of the Word and the great revival of the Holy Spirit. And, these will be given through no other than “the mighty men that went in jeopardy of their lives.”

Let’s do the will of the Lord in the end time.

End.