2 Samuel 21

When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

(2Sa 21:15-17)

These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

(2Sa 21:22)

The Giant is here… and he wants to kill the king. ALL of the giants talked about in this chapter are sons of a Philistine giant named Rapha; they are relatives of goliath, and they are bent on destroying Israel. I want us to spend a few minutes looking at this giant that goes after David, and see if we can learn anything about the spiritual battles that we fight.

1. ALL of these giants came from the same place; yet they all had different characteristics. In this life, attacks may come from many different sides in the Christian life. We are attacked in different areas of our life, from different angles… but we know the attacks are all coming from the same place. Just like all of theses giants were sons of Rapha, all of our battles can be traced back to Satan. We need to recognize who our enemy is… and remember that it is HIM we are fighting. Sometimes the devil uses other people, maybe even people we love. Remember, they are not the enemy, HE is the enemy.

2. The giant attacked when David was weak. This is so like our enemy the devil. When I read this story, I get the sense that Ishbi-Benob was waiting and watching… he wasn’t going to attack until David was good and weak. The name “Ishbi-Benob” means “taking captive”. Isn’t that just like our enemy? He waits and watches us, looking for signs of weakness, then he attacks FULL FORCE and his desire is to TAKE US CAPTIVE. We need to be aware of the strategies of the enemy so we can KNOW when he might attack.

3. David wasn’t alone. Never fear, Abishai was near! The name Abishai means “a gift from my Father”, and in this situation Abishai was a gift from the heavenly father. When Abishai showed up we are told that he came to David’s aid. The King James says he “succored” David. The word succor literally means to come alongside someone and encourage or help them. This reminds me of a couple of things in the Christian life. We have the Holy Spirit as a helper, and He is ALWAYS available to us. He is here to teach, guide, direct, and empower us as we live the Christian life. When we are walking in the Spirit, we CAN’T LOSE in our battles with the enemy. It also reminds me of my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord has placed them in our lives to HELP and ENCOURAGE us as we fight the many battles we face in this life. Do you have Abashai’s in your life? Are their other believers ready to come to your aid and help fight your battles with you? A little word of advice… BE AN ABASHAI, and FIND AN ABASHAI. Find someone you can trust, someone you can share your struggles with, someone who can help you when you fight the battles. When the giants come, let that person or people know, so they can come alongside you and help to bring you to victory.

Notice that at the end of the chapter David is given credit for at least a part of this victory. That tells me that even when the Abashais in our lives come to our aid, we still need to play our part. That part is trusting the Lord. Read Ephesians 6:13-18 to see what YOU need to do to be prepared for battle!