The Lion in the Pit on a Snowy Day Text: 2 Samuel 23:20-23
Introduction: A Generation Allergic to Glory
We live in an effeminate age. It is an age that has traded glory for safety, valor for therapy, and rugged, objective reality for the soft, padded walls of subjective feeling. Our generation has been catechized to believe that the highest virtue is to be nice, inoffensive, and, above all, safe. We are experts in risk-management and novices in the art of glorious, godly risk-taking. And because of this, when we come to a passage like this one, describing the exploits of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, we are tempted to do one of two things. We either dismiss it as a relic of a barbaric, unenlightened past, something to be embarrassed about, or we try to spiritualize it into a bland, abstract metaphor about "fighting the lions in our heart."
But the Word of God does not give us that permission. This is not here by accident. This is not some dusty corner of the Old Testament that we are to hurry past on our way to the Beatitudes. This is the inspired, inerrant, and profitable Word of God. And it is here to teach us something essential about the nature of the kingdom, the nature of godly masculinity, and the nature of the Christ we serve. The kingdom of God is not advanced by cautious men who deliberate in committee meetings until all risk has been mitigated. The kingdom of God is advanced by men like Benaiah, men mighty in deeds, who see a lion in a pit on a snowy day and see not a liability, but an opportunity for the glory of God.
This brief biographical sketch is a splash of cold water to the face of our sleepy, compromised evangelicalism. It is a rebuke to our therapeutic sensibilities. It is a portrait of the kind of man God uses to build His kingdom. And we must understand that these mighty men of David are types, they are foreshadows, of the mighty men who would serve David's greater Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is not looking for men who are good at making excuses. He is looking for men who are good at killing lions, whether those lions roar in the jungles of Moab or in the halls of a godless legislature.
So our task here is to look at this man Benaiah, to see what made him mighty, and to understand how we are called to the same kind of faithfulness. We are to be men mighty in deeds, not men mighty in sentiment. We are to be men who leave a name, not because we seek our own glory, but because we seek the glory of our King, and in His service, we do things worth remembering.
The Text
Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. He had also struck down an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.
(2 Samuel 23:20-23 LSB)
A Good Pedigree and Mighty Deeds (v. 20a)
We begin with Benaiah's introduction:
"Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, mighty in deeds, struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab." (2 Samuel 23:20a)
Notice first that Benaiah comes from good stock. He is the "son of a valiant man." This is not incidental. Godliness, and its attendant virtues like valor, is covenantal. It is passed down. Fathers are to raise their sons in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, which includes teaching them how to be valiant. Courage is not an abstract ideal; it is a legacy to be bequeathed. Fathers, you are not just raising boys; you are raising future valiant men. And if you yourself are not valiant, if you are cowardly, compromised, and given to passivity, then you are bequeathing a legacy of cowardice to your sons. Benaiah had a head start because his father was the kind of man worth emulating.
He is described as "mighty in deeds." Not mighty in intentions, not mighty in feelings, not mighty in aspirations. Mighty in deeds. Faith without works is dead, and valor without deeds is just empty talk. The world is full of men who talk a good game. The church of Jesus Christ is to be filled with men who are mighty in deeds. This is the tangible fruit of a robust faith. Your theology is not what you confess with your mouth on Sunday morning; your true theology is what your deeds confess on Tuesday afternoon when no one is looking.
And what were his deeds? He "struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab." The name Ariel can mean "lion of God," which suggests these were two champion warriors, fearsome and renowned. They were Moabites, enemies of God's covenant people. Benaiah did not go looking for a fight with just anyone. He engaged the declared enemies of his king and his God. This was not random violence; it was righteous judgment executed on behalf of the throne of David. This is the task of the magistrate, to be a terror to bad conduct. Benaiah understood his calling. He saw the enemies of God's people, and he dealt with them decisively.
The Gratuitous Act of Valor (v. 20b)
Next, we have what is perhaps the most famous of his exploits.
"He also went down and struck down a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day." (2 Samuel 23:20b)
I want you to consider the glorious impracticality of this act. This was not a defensive maneuver. The lion was in a pit. It was contained. It posed no immediate threat to Benaiah or to anyone else. And it was a snowy day, which means conditions were treacherous. Every sensible, risk-averse bone in a modern man's body would scream, "Leave it alone! It's not your problem. It's cold, it's slippery, and the lion is trapped anyway. Let it starve."
But Benaiah was not a modern man. He was a man of valor. He saw an adversary, and his first instinct was not risk-assessment, but dominion. He saw a manifestation of the curse, a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and he decided, on principle, to go down and kill it. Why? Because that is what valiant men do. They don't avoid problems; they seek them out and solve them with sharp steel. This was a gratuitous act of courage. He did it because he could, and because the world is a better place with one less lion in it, especially when that lion represents the forces of chaos and death that stand against the kingdom of God's anointed.
This is a direct rebuke to the spirit of passivity that plagues Christian men. We see lions in pits all the time. We see cultural decay, theological error, and moral corruption, all nicely contained in their respective "pits," not immediately threatening our personal safety. And we say, "It's not my problem. Let's not make waves. It's snowy out." Benaiah teaches us that the righteous man does not walk by a trapped lion. He goes down into the pit, into the mess, into the danger, and he kills it for the glory of God. This is what it means to take dominion.
Disarming the Enemy (v. 21)
The third great deed shows not just his courage, but his cunning and strength.
"He had also struck down an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear." (2 Samuel 23:21)
Here we see a mismatch. The Egyptian is an "impressive man," likely a giant, a professional soldier. He has the superior weapon, a spear, which gives him reach. Benaiah goes against him with a simple club. From a worldly perspective, this is tactical foolishness. But Benaiah is not operating from a worldly perspective. He is operating from a position of faith in the God of Israel, the same faith that enabled David to go against a giant with a sling.
Benaiah closes the distance, gets inside the Egyptian's guard, and does something remarkable. He doesn't just bludgeon him with the club. He disarms him. He takes the enemy's strength, his primary weapon, and turns it against him. He kills the Egyptian with his own spear. This is the essence of Christian warfare. We do not fight the world with the world's weapons of manipulation, deceit, and power-grabbing. We go against the enemy with the simple, foolish club of the gospel. And by the power of God, we snatch the spear of worldly wisdom, of secular philosophy, of godless ideologies, right out of the enemy's hand, and we use their own logic to show them their folly. We take every thought captive to obey Christ. We turn the enemy's weapons back on him, demonstrating the superior power and wisdom of God.
Honor, Rank, and Service (v. 22-23)
The passage concludes with a summary of Benaiah's status.
"These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard." (Genesis 1:4 LSB)
Because of his deeds, Benaiah "had a name." His reputation was built on his actions, not on his self-promotion. In our age of social media and personal branding, this is a crucial lesson. Don't seek to be well-known; seek to be worth knowing. Do the work God has put before you with all your might, kill the lions in your jurisdiction, and let God take care of your name.
We are told he was honored among the thirty, a group of elite warriors, but he did not attain to the top three. This is an important lesson in humility and contentment. Benaiah was a spectacular warrior, but there were three men who were even greater. And he was content with his rank. He did not grumble or become bitter because he was not in the top tier. He faithfully served in the place God had assigned him. God's kingdom has different ranks and different roles. Not everyone can be one of the three. But everyone can be faithful where they are. True honor is found not in achieving the highest rank, but in faithfully executing the duties of the rank you have been given.
And what was his reward? "David appointed him over his guard." His proven valor and faithfulness in the field earned him a position of immense trust, close to the king. He was made the captain of David's personal bodyguards. This is the pattern of the kingdom. Faithfulness in small things, or in distant things, leads to greater responsibility. The man who proves he can kill lions in Moab is the man you want guarding your back in Jerusalem. If you want to be trusted with great things in the kingdom of Christ, prove yourself faithful now. Be a Benaiah in your home, in your church, in your business. Deal with the enemies of the king, go down into the pits, and demonstrate your loyalty through mighty deeds.
Christ, the Greater Benaiah
As with all Old Testament heroes, Benaiah is a pointer. He is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. Everything Benaiah did, the Lord Jesus did perfectly and ultimately.
Benaiah was the son of a valiant man; Christ is the eternal Son of the valiant God. Benaiah struck down the two lion-like sons of Moab; Christ went down into the strong man's house and bound him, crushing the head of the serpent and his seed. Benaiah disarmed the Egyptian and killed him with his own spear; Christ, through His death on the cross, disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, using the very weapon of death to destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14).
And most gloriously, Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day to slay a lion. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, went down into the ultimate pit. He descended into the grave, into the heart of the earth. He went down into the cold darkness of death itself, not to slay a lion, but to be slain as the Lamb of God. And in being slain, He conquered. He faced the roaring lion of Satan, the curse of the law, and the full wrath of God, and He emerged victorious on the third day. He went into the pit, and He killed Death itself.
Because of this, He has been given the Name that is above every name. He is honored above all others. And He is now gathering His guard, His mighty men. He is calling men who will not flinch, who will not make excuses, who will see the lions of godlessness and unbelief trapped in the pits of their own making, and who will, for the joy set before them and for the glory of their King, go down on a snowy day and get the job done. The question before us is simple. Will we be those men?