The Mighty Men of Jesus

698 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 23:8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: (2 Sam 23:8) David's last words continue and here he singles out those mighty men who had served him so well. These courageous men had been victorious over David's enemies, against all odds. Before we begin to look at their individual exploits, let's look at the numbers. He starts out naming three of his mighty men. We might liken them to the three mighty men who served Jesus. (Peter, James, and John,) Then he names another batch of thirty men (v13) and finally mentions another 37 in v39. Do the math. 3+30+37 = 70. If we zoom ahead to the New Testament we read of the time that Jesus sent out seventy to do battle with the devil and his hordes. He sent them out by twos and though greatly outnumbered in the spiritual world, they came back victorious! We read about it in Lu 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” And in v3 we see the danger involved: “ 3 "Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.” They went out empty handed: (v4) "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.” They went forth healing the sick and casting out demons. And returned with great joy (V17) “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." These “mighty men” of Jesus were given authority and protection from Jesus, (v19) "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The names of David's mighty men, who I believe foreshadowed the seventy, who in turn foreshadowed all believers, had their names forever inscribed in Scripture, and they serve as a reminder to all soldiers of the cross, (followers of Jesus) that their names are noted in heaven because they are inked in the Lambs Book of Life! The 70 warriors of David are forever linked to him, and the warriors of Jesus (believers) are forever linked to Him by faith. Our warrior status comes only from being found in Jesus. For He is the Ultimate Warrior! And if we endure the battle to the end in Jesus, our names will likewise be written in heaven!