Benaiah–the Lion Killer

David’s Mighty Men
“Benaiah–the Lion Killer”
2 Samuel 23:20-21 “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 Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 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.”
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Now, when we read of David’s mighty men and their amazing exploits,
we don’t often connect it to the bigger picture of WHY they did what they did,
and how it fit into God’s plan of salvation through our Lord Jesus.
You see, the Kingdom of David in Bible prophecy is predicted to be an eternal kingdom, over which Jesus will be king.
Isaiah 9:6–7 “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would conceive the Christ child, he said to her:
Luke 1:32–33 “The Lord God will give to him (Jesus) the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
So Christ’s reign will be the ultimate “kingdom of our Lord” (Rev. 11:15), and will replace the earthly Davidic kingdom with God’s eternal rule!
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So David being established King over Israel had a high, eternal purpose in God’s plan for the ages!
Thus, the battles these mighty men fought had a much higher purpose than just winning a fight!
Though they fought with sword and spear, their battles on behalf of David had a deeply spiritual component!
That’s why these mighty men had put their very lives on the line–to be sure David became king of Israel!
The Bible says, “All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king” (1 Chr. 12:38).
This was their destiny, their calling, the cause they lived for!
You see, David’s Mighty Men were not just elite warriors; they were instrumental in securing David’s rule over Israel, and thus fulfilling God’s plan for the ages!
These OT heroes fought the enemies of God, such as the Philistines, that stood in constant defiance of God’s purpose in the earth.
–Now watch this: David and his mighty men are types and foreshadowings of New Testament realities in that OUR David is Jesus Christ, and the church is called to join in His fight against the forces of darkness!
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Now, that said, I want to turn our focus to Benaiah, who was part of the second group of three in David’s elite military force.
This Benaiah was a man of great faith and amazing courage!
David made Benaiah captain of his bodyguard, so that his whole purpose in life was to protect David and his kingdom.
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We’re given enough brief biographical sketches of Benaiah’s exploits to piece together a good picture of his character and exploits.
We’re told first that Benaiah took out two ‘lion-like’ heroes of Moab, famous for their ferocity and leonine strength.
But they were no match for Benaiah, who took the two out by himself!
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And he also fought a ‘spectacular’ Egyptian, meaning a man of awesome, intimidating appearance, much like Goliath had looked to Israel.
Yet Benaiah refused to be intimidated, even though the Egyptian had a great spear and all Benaiah had was a staff, a STICK!
He defied the odds, wrested the spear from his hands, and killed him with his own spear!
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In both of these situations, Benaiah took a stand against the sworn enemies of David, and protected him and his kingdom!
Which brings us to the battle I want to focus on most.
“He (Benaiah) had also gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.”
Now, here’s how this went down:
Commentators tell us that apparently a hungry lion in search of food in the middle of a cold, wintry snowstorm had wandered into town and was terrorizing the people.
To the average onlooker, that was the high and low of it.
But from Benaiah’s point of view, A LION had invaded his king’s kingdom!
A threat to David’s people was walking about, stalking them, seeking to bring harm.
Benaiah took this personally–if you were DAVID’S enemy, you were HIS enemy!
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Now, apparently the lion eventually wandered into a pit, perhaps to get out of the snowstorm.
The word “pit” can mean dungeon, cave, or a well.
The idea is that it was an ENCLOSED area.
Since it says he went “down into it” it must have been more like the dry, empty pit that Joseph’s brothers had thrown him into.
Benaiah learned that he was in there, holed up, just waiting for the chance to emerge and pounce.
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It reminds me of Peter’s warning about Satan:
“Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart” (1 Pet 5:8).
So Benaiah made a decision–this lion has to go, has to be dealt with, it cannot not be ignored.
It was take the lion out, or the lion would take him or someone else out.
So Benaiah decided to face him, fight him, and finish him.
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Now, let me bring this home–First, Benaiah:
I. Acknowledged it
There are lion-like enemies of our faith–thoughts, habits, temptations, grudges, offenses…threats to our spiritual health that we ignore only to our own hurt.
There’s the lion of fear,
the lion of doubt,
the lion of bitterness,
the lion of lust,
the lion of worry,
the lion of anxiety,
the lion of jealousy and envy…
These are lions that cannot be…
ignored,
compromised with,
debated with,
fellowshipped with,
or allowed to remain to devour our walk with God!
Benaiah acknowledged the truth of the lion.
He decided that this lion could not be ignored, compromised with, coddled, or caged.
As long as he was free to roam, David’s kingdom was threatened.
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So Benaiah did what had to be done,
what somebody had to do,
what no one else was willing to do–
Having ACKNOWLEDGED him,
II. He faced him
It says, “He also had gone down…into the midst of a pit.”
Notice! He didn’t slip in, fall in, or trip in.
He intentionally ‘went down’ into the pit of battle in the most inconvenient of times (winter), and the worst of conditions to FACE the enemy.
It was freezing cold, numbing his hands and feet.
The ground was slippery from snow, making it difficult to stand firm.
There was not much room to maneuver, it was a closed pit.
Once in it, it would be very hard to slip and slide your way back up and out with a lion at your heels!
So there was no retreat!
APP: The ‘best time’ time to deal with the lions of life is the NOW time!
It’s the ‘I MUST’ time!
The ‘CAN’T PUT UP WITH THIS ANYMORE’ time!
Never procrastinate with a lion….FACE him now!
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Having ACKNOWLEDGED the lion, and FACED the lion, Benaiah,
III. Fought and defeated the lion
Keep in mind–we’re not told the lion had personally attacked HIM.
He was facing the lion because the lion had threatened his king’s kingdom!
He was fighting David’s battle, David’s enemy, David’s threat.
If you came against his king, you came against him!
And your lion, and my lions, are threatening our King’s will for us, his kingdom purpose in our lives.
This is why they CANNOT be allowed to roam!
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So with all the odds against him,
with the lion having every advantage in the natural,
Benaiah “…went down into the pit and killed the lion on a snowy day!”
How did he do it?
He won the day because it was “the good fight of faith.”
He won because God was with him.
He won because it was the right thing to do!
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Is there a lion you need to acknowledge today?
Has the time come to FACE him?
Confront him?
Fight him? And,
Defeat him?
Are you, like Benaiah, in a battle with high, kingdom stakes?
Here’s your promises!
1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world!”
1 Cor. 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”