The Power of Example
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
I. Being an Example of Courage
I. Being an Example of Courage
The four Giants Defeated
Ishbi-Benob.
“Sons of the Giant” doesn’t necessarily mean one particular Giant, only that the “Rephaim” resided in Gath, and Ishbi was one of them. There were a number of people groups in Canaan who were said to be extremely tall. The Rephaim were apparently the last of them. Og, King of Bashan, was of the Rephaim Deut 3:11.
“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.
The most famous are the descendants of Anak (Num 13:33; Deut 2:11)
There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
They were also regarded as giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
The Ammonites destroyed another race of Giants, which they called the Zamzummim Deut 2:20-21
(That was also regarded as a land of giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,
Spear was 7.5 lbs, half the weight of Goliath’s spear. Nevertheless, a spear that heavy is likewise not meant to be thrown, but to intimidate.
New (sword?). Doesn’t actually say what the new equipment was. Doesn’t really matter, what matters is that he was well equipped.
David was too exhausted to fight, and therefore too tired to run away. Maybe because everyone tried to fight him since he was the king; Maybe his advancing age had something to do with it - he couldn’t keep up with the young warriors anymore, and ran out of steam at the worst possible moment.
The problematic Abishai rescued him.
As the men prevented him from fighting again, this event probably took place after 2 Samuel 12, where Joab expected him to fight, and maybe after ch 18, where David tries to fight and is stopped for exactly the same reason.
Saph
Gob is an unknown location
Only know the name Sibbechai the Hushathite
Goliath?
Obviously the problem is that David killed Goliath back in 1 Samuel 17. As the author spent so long developing that famous story, it doesn’t make sense for him to contradict such an obvious point in an obscure line at the end with at least some justification. Several reasonable solutions
If 1 Chron 20:5 is correct, then it was actually Goliath’s brother. The difference between “brother” and an untranslatable grammatical particle is one letter. This means that our text was corrupted from “brother” to having it be Goliath himself.
Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
Alternately, our text is correct, and the Chronicles text has duplicated a portion of “bethlehem” and taken that for his name. Traditional Judaism explains this by positing that “Elhanan” is actually David’s original name, and “David” was the name he took at his coronation. “David” means “beloved”, which does seem a bit presumptuous for a father to name his son, but quite reasonable for Israel’s King right at the peak of his popularity. “Jaare-Ogerim” is therefore the same person as “Jair” which would be an alternate form of Jesse. “Ogerim” btw, means “weavers” (pl). Thus the name is “Jaare of the weavers”. Support for this idea is found in v.22 where the four giants fall by “David and his servants,” yet David doesn’t kill any of the four.
Some have suggested that there are two Goliaths. If so, that would have to be a title, rather than a proper name. Stranger things have happened, so it’s not impossible. The problem is that there is no evidence for this idea.
the six-fingered Giant.
Polydactylism is a real disorder. Usually the sixth digit is not useful, but in rare cases it is a fully formed extra digit.
Jonathan the son of Shimea killed him. This would be another of David’s nephews. Presumably David had many, many nephews and nieces as he had seven brothers and at least one sister.
But the bigger question is, why are there so many Giant killers among David’s men - there aren’t that many Giants to kill, so how did David manage to attract another 3 or 4 men to imitate what he did?
The answer - courage is contagious. Being around David and seeing his tremendous courage inspired his men to go and do likewise. This common sense idea is supported elsewhere in Scripture Phil 1:14.
and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Courage is obviously a help on the battlefield. But it’s also necessary to successfully live the Christian life Phil 1:27-30
Courage is not the only contagious virtue. Being an example is important
One of the primary jobs of being a pastor is to function as an example 1 Pet 5:3
nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
Paul sought to be an example 2 Thess 3:7-9
For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you;
nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,
not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
II. Recognizing an Example
II. Recognizing an Example
The stories of David’s Mightiest men
The Three
Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite/Adino the Eznite - 800 men killed at once
Seems a little unbelievable, doesn’t it? Well similar stories do exist in modern times. Leo Major was a French Canadian who joined WW2 to prove to his father he could do something to be proud of. On D-Day, he was wounded by a grenade resulting in the partial loss of vision in his left eye. Major refused to be sent home, arguing that he only needed one good eye to sight a rifle. He was placed in the scout platoon, earning a reputation as an excellent sniper. In April 1945, Major’s Regiment was approaching the city of Zwolle. His commanding officers asked for two volunteers to scout the town and report on the German troops. Zwolle had 50000 people at the time, so fighting could result in many civilian causalities. As he and his friend Willy crept around town, Willy was killed by German soldiers around midnight after the pair ran across a roadblock. Understandably angry, Major picked up his friend's machine gun and ran at the enemy, killing two of the remaining German soldiers; the rest fled in a vehicle. He continued on, and captured the driver of a German staff vehicle. He had the driver lead him to an officer drinking in a nearby tavern. He informed the officer that Canadian heavy artillery would soon begin firing on the city, resulting in the deaths of many German soldiers and Zwolle civilians alike. He did not mention at this point that he was alone. Afterwards, Major gave the man his gun back, and, with that seed of knowledge soon to be spread throughout the German troops, he immediately began running up and down the streets, shooting a machine gun and tossing grenades. In the early hours of the morning, he stumbled upon a group of eight soldiers. Though they pulled a gun on him, he killed four and caused the rest to flee. He escaped the confrontation without injury. As he continued his campaign of terror throughout the night, the German soldiers began to panic, thinking a large body of Canadian forces were attacking them. By 4am, the Germans had vanished. An entire garrison of German troops, estimated to be made up of several hundred soldiers, had been made so afraid of nothing more than a single, one-eyed man that they fled the town.
Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite - fought the Philistines so long his hand cramped, so the rest of the army only needed to follow after and loot the spoils
Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite - Fought the Philistine army to a standstill on a field of lentils, and turned the tide of battle.
The three broke through the Philistine army to get water from the well at Bethlehem. David refused to drink it, but poured it out on the ground. He stated that due to the risk they took, it would be like drinking their blood. In other words, he actually didn’t want them to go get it, but rather he was only speaking wistfully. But since the risk was only for his personal pleasure, and not for any military gain, it wasn’t an appropriate use of his army.
The three of the thirty
Abishai - killed 300 men with his spear. Became their captain, but did not attain to the first three. Likely because we see him clash with David over and over again on the use of violence. Joab doesn’t make the list at all, even though he certainly was a brave man and the commander of the whole army, because he was a brutal murderer.
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, from Kabzeel.
Killed two lion-like men of Moab
Killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day
Killed an Egyptian who was an impressive physical specimen and who had a spear, with just a staff. Killed the Egyptian with his own spear. Egyptian was 5 cubits tall (1 Chron 11:23), about 7.5 feet.
All brave, didn’t make the first three, as the size of the valor is not as high.
David appointed him over his personal protection detail. Also served as Solomon’s Executioner in Solomon’s early years.
No third name listed
The thirty
First and last names (Asahel and Uriah) are known to have died. There’s actually 37 total, though how that breaks down depends on a few rather obscure names. In any case, the reason there’s more than 30 is that David replaced those who died with new people.
12 of the places are in Israel, most of the rest probably in Judah; of the 12, three are Gentiles (Igal the son of Nathan from Zobah; Zelek the Ammonite; Uriah the Hittite). Three are from Benjamin (Abiezer from Anathoth; Ithai on of Ribai from Gibeah; Naharai the Beerothite). Three cities aren’t mentioned elsewhere, and there were two Carmels, one in Israel and one in Judah, so it’s not possible to precisely locate the five men from these four cities (Azmaveth from Barhum; Eliahba from Shaalbon; Shammah and Ahiam from Harar, and Hezrai from Carmel).
The list of David’s mighty men fills the exact same purpose as military medals and awards. Awards are given both to reward bravery, and so that the brave might be held up as examples to follow. Militaries don’t hand out awards just to make people feel good. They do it because it encourages bravery, and a brave fighting force is more effective.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Captain Ben L. Salomon was serving at Saipan, in the Marianas Islands on July 7, 1944, as the Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. The Regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions were attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese soldiers. It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Although both units fought furiously, the enemy soon penetrated the Battalions' combined perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties. In the first minutes of the attack, approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked, crawled, or were carried into Captain Salomon's aid station, and the small tent soon filled with wounded men. As the perimeter began to be overrun, it became increasingly difficult for Captain Salomon to work on the wounded. He then saw a Japanese soldier bayoneting one of the wounded soldiers lying near the tent. Firing from a squatting position, Captain Salomon quickly killed the enemy soldier. Then, as he turned his attention back to the wounded, two more Japanese soldiers appeared in the front entrance of the tent. As these enemy soldiers were killed, four more crawled under the the tent walls. Rushing them, Captain Salomon kicked the knife out of the hand of one, shot another, and bayoneted a third. Captain Salomon butted the fourth enemy soldier in the stomach and a wounded comrade then shot and killed the enemy soldier. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Salomon ordered the wounded to make their way as best they could back to the regimental aid station, while he attempted to hold off the enemy until they were clear. Captain Salomon then grabbed a rifle from one of the wounded and rushed out of the tent. After four men were killed while manning a machine gun, Captain Salomon took control of it. When his body was later found, 98 dead enemy soldiers were piled in front of his position. An autospy later showed that he had been bayonetted 24 times prior to death. Evidence from the blood trails showed he moved the machine gun four times after being mortally wounded. (Source: Benjamin Louis Salomon | World War II | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient (cmohs.org)/Youtube, Today I Found out)
On the recognition of Faithful Christians
Paul taught his churches to follow his example Phil 3:17; 1 Cor 11:1
Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Jesus also led by example John 13:15
For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
The Scriptures tell us to be on the lookout for Believers that demonstrate bravery for the Gospel. Phil 2:25-30