Commentary - 2 Samuel 23:8-12

Bird's-eye view

This section of 2 Samuel provides us with a muster roll of David's most formidable warriors, the men who formed the backbone of his kingdom. It is a catalogue of gritty, faithful, and sometimes frankly unreasonable courage. These are not accounts of committee meetings or strategic retreats; they are snapshots of raw, masculine fidelity in the face of overwhelming odds. The world scoffs at such men, calling them toxic or reckless, but the kingdom of God is built on the shoulders of such men. God delights in using the few to confound the many, the weak to shame the strong. These accounts are here to show us what kind of men God uses to establish His purposes on earth. They are types, shadows of the greater David, Jesus Christ, and His mighty men, which is what we are called to be.

The chapter begins with David's last words, a prophecy about the just ruler, and then transitions into this list of heroes. This is not an accident. The kind of kingdom David prophesied requires men of the caliber described here. A just king needs valiant warriors. The list is divided into groups, with "the three" being the most elite. What we see in Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah is a pattern of defiance against the odds, a refusal to flee when everyone else has, and a divine deliverance that follows. This is not just military history; it is a theological statement about the nature of faith and the kind of salvation Yahweh brings about through His chosen instruments.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time;

The Chronicler begins his list, and it is a list of names. We must remember that God is the God of individuals. He does not save or use abstract categories; He calls men by name. These are not faceless soldiers in a collective. They are particular men, with particular histories, from particular places. Josheb-basshebeth is first. His name is a bit tangled in the manuscript tradition, but his deed is not. He is the chief, the first among equals. His claim to fame? Killing eight hundred men at one time. This is not the kind of statistic that makes it into modern HR reports. This is brutal, violent work. But it was necessary work. The kingdom of David was being carved out of a hostile world, and this required men who were not squeamish. The kingdom of Christ is established in the same way, not with carnal weapons, but with a spiritual violence against the principalities and powers. We are called to be mighty in the Spirit, slaying our own sins and pulling down strongholds with a ferocity that mirrors this man's physical courage.

v. 9 and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the son of Ahohi, one of the three mighty men with David when they reproached the Philistines who were gathered together there to battle and the men of Israel had gone up to retreat.

Next up is Eleazar. Notice the context of his great deed. He was with David, and they "reproached" or "defied" the Philistines. This is key. Their stand was not just a military tactic; it was a verbal and spiritual defiance. They were taunting the enemies of God. And where was everyone else? "The men of Israel had gone up to retreat." The army had broken. The rank and file had fled. This is a recurring theme in Scripture. Gideon's army was whittled down. Here, the army of Israel has evaporated. It is in the context of widespread cowardice and retreat that true valor is displayed. It is easy to be courageous when you are surrounded by ten thousand cheering compatriots. It is another thing entirely to stand your ground when your side is running for the hills. This is the calling of the Christian man in our day. The broader church is in a state of managed retreat on a host of issues. The call is for Eleazars to stand and defy the enemy, even when, especially when, they are alone.

v. 10 He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and Yahweh brought about a great salvation that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.

Eleazar's action is described simply: "he arose and struck." He got up and went to work. He fought until his hand was exhausted, until it had cramped and frozen around the hilt of his sword. This is an image of total commitment. He became one with his weapon. He fought until the sword was an extension of his arm. And what was the result? "Yahweh brought about a great salvation." Let's be clear. Eleazar fought, but Yahweh gave the victory. This is the divine synergy we see throughout the Bible. Man works, and God works. Our responsibility is to fight until our hand cleaves to the sword. God's prerogative is to grant the "great salvation." The people who had fled eventually came back, but only for the easy part, to "strip the slain." They came back to plunder the victory that one unreasonable man had won. This is often the case. A few faithful men do the hard fighting, and once the danger has passed, the crowds return to enjoy the benefits. We should not be discouraged by this, but rather resolve to be the men who stand when others flee, knowing that the victory belongs to the Lord.

v. 11 Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a portion of the field full of lentils; and the people fled from before the Philistines.

The third hero is Shammah. The scene is similar. The Philistines are gathered, and the people of Israel flee. The recurring motif is the cowardice of the many highlighting the courage of the few. But notice the setting. This great stand takes place in a "portion of the field full of lentils." A lentil patch. This is not some glorious mountain pass or strategic fortress. It is a field of beans. The world would say, "It's just lentils. Let them have it. It's not worth dying for." This is the logic of compromise, the logic of retreat. But Shammah understood something fundamental about the covenant. Every inch of the promised land belonged to God and His people. There are no insignificant territories to be ceded to the enemy. Whether it is a great city or a humble lentil patch, it is all God's, and it is all to be defended.

v. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of that portion and delivered it and struck down the Philistines. So Yahweh brought about a great salvation.

"But he took his stand." This is the antithesis to the flight of the people. Shammah planted his feet in the middle of that field. He made it his hill to die on, quite literally. He "delivered it," meaning he rescued or saved it. And then he "struck down the Philistines." The pattern is the same as with Eleazar. One man stands, one man fights, and then the text tells us, "So Yahweh brought about a great salvation." Again, the human action is the instrument of the divine victory. God did not send fire from heaven. He used the sword-arm of a faithful man who refused to give up a field of beans. This is a profound lesson for us. We are often tempted to abandon the "small things", a point of doctrine, a standard of conduct, a biblical principle in our family or business, because it seems like a lentil patch not worth the fight. But God honors the man who takes his stand in the small places, and it is through such fidelity that He brings about great victories. The kingdom is built one defended lentil patch at a time.

Application

So what do we do with a catalogue of bloody-handed warriors? First, we recognize that these men are icons of a certain kind of masculine faithfulness that our neutered age despises but which God honors. Our calling is not to take up literal swords against Philistines, but to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and to fight with the same tenacity, the same refusal to retreat, the same willingness to stand alone. Masculinity is the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility, and these men embody it.

Second, we must learn to despise the logic of strategic retreat when it comes to the commands of God. The men of Israel fled. They had their reasons, no doubt. The odds were bad. It was pragmatic. But Eleazar and Shammah operated on a different calculus, the calculus of covenant faithfulness. They stood their ground because it was their ground, given to them by God. We must cultivate a similar stubbornness when it comes to the truth. We must be willing to defend the lentil patches of Scripture against the encroachments of our age.

Lastly, we must remember where the victory comes from. These men fought with everything they had, but the text is careful to attribute the "great salvation" to Yahweh. Our effort is required, but it is not meritorious. We fight, we labor, we exhaust ourselves in the service of our King, but we do so in the strength that He supplies, and for the glory that belongs to Him alone. We are called to be mighty men, not so that our names might be remembered in a list, but so that the great name of our God might be glorified in the victories He wins through us.