Benaiah- Mighty Man of God- Pt. 1

I had a great time teaching at the retreat with the men from LifeGate Church in El Paso, TX. The theme was ‘Putting the Pieces Together’ with the emphasis on being mighty men for God.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave fighter from Kabzeel who did mighty things. He killed two of the best warriors from Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. Benaiah killed an Egyptian who was about seven and one-half feet tall and had a spear as large as a weaver s rod. Benaiah had a club, but he grabbed the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. 1 Chronicles 11:22-23

Benaiah was one of King David’s mighty men and was the head of his bodyguards. In this blog and to follow I will talk about this extraordinary man and what he was noted for.

First off, he killed two of the best warriors of Moab. Who was Moab? The Moabites were a nation on the borders of Israel who were related to the Israelites. Remember when Lot fled from Sodom, he hid in a cave with his two daughters. They thought they would never get married & have children, so they got their father drunk & had sex with him. Sons were born, one was Ammon & the other Moab. They were closely related to the Israelites but always their enemies.

This Old Testament symbol is called “the flesh” referring to our selfish life. We are ashamed of what this “flesh” does and we have a hard time controlling it. Moab is a picture of the flesh throughout Scripture, everything involving an uncontrolled life to physical lust; from addictions to alcohol to addictive lifestyles involving self gratification.

Benaiah struck down two of the best men in all of Moab! He defeated the flesh! If we as pastors are to maintain our integrity and character, then we too must destroy the flesh and not give into its desires. My heart is grieving for a close pastor friend of mine who succumbed to the flesh and is facing the ruin of his ministry, the devastation of his wife and family, and disappointment of many people.

The need of the hour is to defeat the Moabites in our lives before they destroy us.