Benaiah, David’s Man of Valor – 2 Samuel 8, 15, 20 & 23; 1 Kings 1 & 2
In this blog I want to share an excerpt of a study I did with our men’s ministry a few years back. I felt is was relevant to where we are at today with all of the hoopla going on around us and such. I should like to take a closer look at a man from the OT we don’t hear much about, but need to as men of God. I am talking about one of David’s mighty men of valor; Benaiah. He was loyal to King David which extended to Solomon’s throne. His story, or what little we know of it, defines him as a masculine man of God; a warrior, and a servant leader.
Benaiah (“Yahweh builds up”) He was the son of the Chief Priest Jehoiada (1 Chronicles 27:5) of the tribe of Levi. He was one of David’s mighty men, a general and his chief bodyguard (2 Samuel 23:20). He commanded the Cherethites and Pelethites (1 Chronicles 27:6). He was one of David’s thirty mighty men, (1 Chronicles 11:31) and the captain of the eleventh monthly course. (1 Chronicles 27:14).“Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 23 And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, five cubits tall. In the Egyptian’s hand there was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 24 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 25 Indeed he was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.” – 1 Chronicles 11:22-25
This same passage of scripture is also recorded in 2 Samuel 23:
“Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honored than the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard.” – 2 Samuel 23:20-23
These events occurred during David’s reign. There are two groups of men mentioned, the thirty, and the three. These three mighty men, whose names are given in preceding texts, were the leaders in the Israelite army; they were the “command staff” of David’s men. There was another band of thirty men who were the commanders of various divisions within the military. It was among these thirty men, chosen from throughout the ranks of Israel, that our man Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, became prominent. He was made captain of David’s bodyguards. He was chosen for that position because of these three great events which had happened in his life.
The first thing he did was smite two ‘lion like’ men of Moab. Whatever these warriorlike men were from the Moabite army, Benaiah single handedly put them down. The second thing Benaiah did was kill a lion, in a pit, on a snowy day. A lion is a very ferocious adversary and this Benaiah engaged it in conflict, under adverse weather conditions, and in a confined space, a pit.The third thing Benaiah was known for was his victory over a nine foot Egyptian warrior, knocking his spear out of his hand and using it to slay the giant with his own spear.These three enemies whom Benaiah overcame are all used in the OT as types of enemies of the NT believer.
- “Benaiah smote two lion-like men of Moab.” The Moabites in the OT lived on the borders of Israel, they were related to the Israelites via Lot who fathered his son Moab via his own daughter. The Moabites were closely related to the Israelites and lived beside them; but they were always enemies. Moab is an OT picture of the enemy within us to which we are related. In the NT it’s called the flesh.
- “And he slew an Egyptian.” Egypt also is used as a prototype of our flesh enemy throughout the Scriptures. Egypt was the leading nation of the world of that day, the country was looked up to as a superpower. Egypt represents the sin of the world and its ways. In this incident we see the picture of a man who overcame the world.
- The encounter with the lion is symbolized by our adversary, the devil. Peter reminds us that “our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour,” – 1 Peter 5:8.
Every man must battle these three enemies, the flesh, the world, and the devil. The flesh is the enemy from within. The world is the enemy around us. The devil is our ‘soul’ enemy and adversary.
God desires that we learn to be valiant men who are determined to trust Him for our daily victories; in spite of our flesh, this world, or the devil himself. God has put something of Himself into each of us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be overcomers, like Benaiah, and define our wins in the end.
I encourage you man of God, be the man the Lord has empowered you to be. You must define your godly masculinity each day by honoring God’s Word, His people, and those He has entrusted to your care. We must be good stewards of our wives and families (if we have them), and serve faithfully in our local church, supporting our pastor and the leadership he has empowered.
As the day draws closer to the Lord’s return, we must be men who set our face like flint toward the fight and engage it where the Lord has instructed us. We must not shrink back into the ways of perdition, of which we were formally of, but press on toward the high call of God in Christ Jesus, laying hold of that which Christ has laid hold for us. We must not stop or grow weary in doing good, for if we endure to the end, we will be greatly rewarded by the Master Himself, who has enlisted us into His vast army of believers to win the lost, support the faithful, and represent His kingdom on this earth.
Our time is short, let’s keep at it until we hear the great trumpet blow and the Master calls us home.
Maranatha!
Encourage Men 