Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 34
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surrounding area, while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem. And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
was with him.
These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors. Together with all Israel,
they decided to make David their king, just as the Lord had promised
concerning Israel.
Here is the record of Dav id’s mightiest warriors: The first was Ja
shobeam the Hacmonite, who was leader of the Three—the mightiest
warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy
warriors in a single battle.
Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendant
of Ahoah. He was with David when the Philistines gathered for battle at
Pas-dammim and attacked the Israelites in a field full of barley. The Isra
elite army fled, but Eleazar and David held their ground in the middle of
the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord saved them by giving
them a great victory.
Once when David was at the rock near the cave of Adullam, the Philis
tine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were
among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went
down to meet him there. David was staying in the stronghold at the time,
and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of
that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.” So the Three
broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the
gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But David refused to
drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord. “God forbid
that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the
blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did
not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.
Abishai, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used
his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats
that he became as famous as the Three. Abishai was the most famous of
the Thirty and was their commander, though he was not one of the Three.
There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kab
zeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions
of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit
and killed it. Once, armed only with a club, he killed an Egyptian warrior who was 71/2 feet tall and who was armed with a spear as thick as a
weaver’s beam. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and
killed him with it. Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the three
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