The Second Three: Godly Ambition and the Grace of Second Place Text: 1 Chronicles 11:20-21
Introduction: The World's Hunger for Fame
We live in an age that is pathologically obsessed with fame. It is an age of influencers, of viral sensations, of men and women who would trade their very souls for fifteen minutes of trending status. Our society has democratized the pursuit of glory, but in doing so, it has cheapened its currency to the point of worthlessness. Men want to be known, but they don't want to be known for anything of substance. They want the name, but not the character. They want the honor, but not the honorable deeds. They want to be in the first three, but they have no interest in the discipline, the sacrifice, or the bloodshed that it takes to get there. And so they settle for a digital ghost of greatness, a curated image that has no weight, no reality, and no permanence.
Into this flimsy, self-promoting culture, the Word of God speaks with the density of granite. The Scriptures are full of lists, genealogies, and catalogues of names. We are a people of the Book, and our God is a God who remembers. He remembers names. He remembers deeds. He remembers faithfulness, valor, and loyalty. And He records it all, not on a fleeting social media feed, but in the eternal record of His Word. In our passage today, we come to one such list, the catalogue of David's mighty men. These were not men who were famous for being famous. They were men who were famous for being faithful, for being ferocious in battle, and for being loyal to their king.
But even within this hall of fame, God makes careful distinctions. There are ranks, there are levels, there is hierarchy. And in the middle of this list, we find a man named Abishai. He is a man of breathtaking courage, a man of great honor, a commander of other great men. He is a hero by any sane standard. And yet, the Holy Spirit is careful to record a very important qualification: "he did not attain to the first three." This is a crucial word for us. It is a word about godly ambition, about the nature of true honor, and about the profound spiritual grace of accepting the rank God has assigned to you.
Our culture tells us that if you are not number one, you are a loser. The gospel tells us that if you are faithful in the place God has put you, you are more than a conqueror. And so we must learn to read this text rightly, not as a celebration of brute force, but as a lesson in the economy of God's kingdom, where the standards for greatness are not the world's standards, and where second place in the service of the king is an eternal weight of glory.
The Text
Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred who were slain by him; and he had a name as well as the thirty. Of the three in the second rank he was the most honored and became their commander; however, he did not attain to the first three.
(1 Chronicles 11:20-21 LSB)
A Name Forged in Blood (v. 20)
We begin with the man and his mighty deed.
"Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred who were slain by him; and he had a name as well as the thirty." (1 Chronicles 11:20)
First, notice that Abishai is identified by his family. He is "the brother of Joab." In the economy of Israel, you are never just an individual. You are part of a family, a clan, a tribe. Your identity is covenantal. This is a direct assault on the radical individualism of our day, which tells us we can be whoever we want to be, detached from all loyalties and obligations. Abishai was a son of Zeruiah, David's sister, which made him David's nephew. He was bound to the king by blood, and he lived out that loyalty with his spear.
He was "chief of the thirty." This was a band of elite warriors, and Abishai was their captain. This tells us he was not just a fighter; he was a leader of fighters. Leadership in God's economy is not a matter of political maneuvering or corporate backstabbing. It is a matter of demonstrated excellence. Men followed Abishai because Abishai was the kind of man you follow into battle. He led from the front. This is the essence of biblical masculinity. A man who will not lead, who will not take responsibility, who will not stand in the breach, is a man in rebellion against his created nature.
And what was the basis of his reputation? "He swung his spear against three hundred who were slain by him." Let's not sanitize this. This is violent. This is bloody. This is war. We serve the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of armies. And in a fallen world, protecting the people of God and the king God has appointed requires men who are willing and able to fight. Abishai's piety was not expressed in a quiet, monastic cell. It was expressed at the tip of a spear. He stood for his king against the king's enemies, and he was devastatingly effective. This is not toxic masculinity; this is protective masculinity. It is the righteous use of force in the service of a righteous cause.
As a result of this deed, "he had a name as well as the thirty." The word "thirty" here in the Hebrew is likely a scribal error for "three." The parallel passage in 2 Samuel 23:18 makes it clear he had a name among the three. His name was not manufactured by a public relations team. His name was the direct result of his actions. He was not famous for his brand; he was famous for his backbone. In the kingdom of God, your reputation is the wake that your character leaves behind it. You don't worry about your name; you worry about your faithfulness, and you let God take care of your name.
Honored, But Not Ultimate (v. 21)
Verse 21 gives us the crucial qualification, the part that grates against our modern egalitarian sensibilities.
"Of the three in the second rank he was the most honored and became their commander; however, he did not attain to the first three." (1 Chronicles 11:21 LSB)
Abishai was "the most honored" of his rank. God is not against honor. He is not against ambition. He is against selfish ambition. He is against honor that is stolen, demanded, or fabricated. But honor that is earned through faithful service is a good and godly thing. The world says that humility means pretending you have no gifts. The Bible says humility means knowing exactly what your gifts are and using them for the glory of God and the good of others, without needing everyone to notice.
Abishai received his honor and was made a commander. He had authority. He had rank. He was esteemed. And all of this was a blessing from God. It is not a sin to be great. It is a sin to make greatness your idol. It is not a sin to desire to be a mighty man. It is a sin to desire to be a mighty man for your own sake, instead of for the sake of the king.
And here is the linchpin of the entire passage: "however, he did not attain to the first three." Who were the first three? Josheb-basshebeth, who killed eight hundred men at one time; Eleazar, who stood his ground against the Philistines until his hand froze to his sword; and Shammah, who defended a field of lentils by himself. These men had performed deeds that, in God's estimation, placed them in a higher rank. The standard was objective. It was not based on feelings, or on Abishai's self-esteem. It was based on reality.
This is a profound truth that our culture despises. There are hierarchies of competence, hierarchies of faithfulness, hierarchies of glory. God's world is not flat. In the resurrection, one star will differ from another star in glory (1 Cor. 15:41). Not everyone gets a trophy. And this is not unjust; it is the very definition of justice. God gives rewards according to deeds.
The grace for Abishai, and for us, is to be found in accepting this. Abishai's greatness was not diminished by the fact that three other men were greater. His honor was real honor. His service was real service. His reward was a real reward. He was not a failure for not being Eleazar. He would have been a failure if he had refused to be Abishai because he was jealous of Eleazar. This is the temptation that plagues so many in the church. They are so busy coveting the gifts and position of the man in the rank above them that they fail to faithfully steward the gifts and position God has given them. They want to be the first three, and so they accomplish nothing as one of the thirty.
The Gospel of the Second Three
So what does this mean for us, who do not carry literal spears against Philistines? It means everything. This passage is a picture of the Christian life in the church militant.
First, we are all called to be mighty men and women for our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our enemy is not flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. Our spear is the Word of God. Our battlefield is the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are called to stand our ground, to defend the truth, to protect the flock, and to advance the crown rights of King Jesus. And we are to do this with all the ferocity and loyalty of an Abishai. Apathy is treason in the kingdom of God.
Second, we must pursue a godly ambition. We should desire to be effective. We should desire to do great things for God. Paul tells us to desire the greater gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). It is right to want to slay three hundred demons, to rescue three hundred souls from the dominion of darkness. What makes this ambition godly is its object: the honor of the King. Abishai fought for David. We fight for David's greater Son. Selfish ambition asks, "What will this do for my name?" Godly ambition asks, "What will this do for His name?"
Third, and most importantly, we must learn the grace of our God-given rank. In the body of Christ, God has distributed gifts as He sees fit. Some are apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Some are the first three. Many more are the thirty. Some are not even on the list of mighty men, but are the faithful armor-bearers who make the mighty men's work possible. Your calling is not to be someone else. Your calling is to be the most faithful you that you can possibly be, in the place God has put you, with the gifts God has given you.
The world is full of discontented people who believe they are entitled to be in the first three. The church should be full of joyful, contented people who know that being an honored member of the second three is a gift of staggering grace. Abishai's honor was not lessened because he was not Shammah. It was defined by his own faithfulness.
And ultimately, all our striving for rank and honor finds its true north in the one who holds the first rank permanently. There is one who is the firstborn over all creation, the head of the body, the church. There is one who has preeminence in everything (Col. 1:18). His name is Jesus. He is the ultimate mighty man, the champion who faced down our three great enemies, Sin, Death, and the Devil, and defeated them single-handedly at the cross. He is the one who swung His cross against all the hordes of hell and purchased our salvation.
And the glorious paradox of the gospel is that this King, who alone deserves the first rank, willingly took the last rank for us. He became the servant of all, that we, who deserved no rank at all, might be seated with Him in the heavenly places. Our ambition, then, is not to climb over others to get to the top. Our ambition is to be faithful to the one who is at the top, knowing that in His kingdom, the way up is the way down. Be an Abishai. Fight with all your might. Lead with courage. And if God says to you, "Well done, you were a magnificent second-ranker," count it as a glory that will outshine the sun.