You Have a Place at Grace - 4/13/2025

David’s Mighty Men: 2 Samuel 23:8-39

On a recent Sharper Iron interview, I had to talk about the above text. I must admit, I don’t remember ever engaging this text on a meaningful level. In summary, the passage describes the mighty warriors of David loyal to their God and King, who accomplished amazing, miraculous feats on the battlefield that were nothing short of divine. God certainly used these men of instruments of war to quash enemies hellbent on Israel’s destruction. That’s one good reason for their inclusion in Holy Writ—to highlight the work of God using strong men to thwart enemies for the sake of protecting others. In this case it was the lineage of Abraham leading directly to Jesus.  

This text also serves the purpose of stirring the imagination of seeing warriors on the battlefield facing and conquering insurmountable odds. Young boys especially benefit from these types of stories as they see strength and valor used for good, a storyline terribly lacking in this highly charged feministic society that advocates boys to be more like girls, and girls to be like boys. Men are given strength for a reason. Boys with daredevil attitudes, a penchant to push boundaries and take risks should be taught to forge these attitudes into something noble and good, like real courage for truth, boldness to face down enemies of the Gospel, and fight to preserve families at risk from the world. They’re this way for a reason and it shouldn’t be despised. Rather, good teachers teach them to use God-given attributes for the good, in the right way for the right purpose.

The Mighty Men also can’t be seen simply as swashbuckling barbarians with more testosterone than brains. This is shallow and wrong. These men were loyal to the King. Interestingly, one of the mighty men we know well was Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba killed in battle at the order of David. His loyalty to God, King, and his companions was exemplary and a contributing factor to his death. Also, when a coup under Adonijah occurs to take the kingdom for himself, the Mighty Men stand with David, hence they reason they along with Nathan and Solomon aren’t invited to the feast. Finally, just the adjective “mighty” is used for God in the Bible such as Psalm 24:8, “the Lord mighty in battle.” These men typify God Who fights the battles for His people, His Church Who wins the victory because of the Victor Himself ultimately conquering all things by His cross and blood.

This is a text worth reading for everyone. May God continue to raise faithful, courageous men. The battle is as fierce as ever, and the need for real heroes fighting for the Church hasn’t gone away.

--by Rev. Ryan J. Ogrodowicz, “You Have a Place at Grace,” April 13th 2025

Rev. Ryan J. Ogrodowicz

Grace Lutheran Church - Brenham, Texas

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod