The mark of a great leader is how many great people will join his or her team. King David’s team was comprised of “mighty men.” Because David attempted mighty things, only the mighty could keep up with him. Those who could not keep pace could not join the team.
Don Bennett was the first amputee to climb Mt. Rainier. His testimony is simple – if you try such a feat with only one leg, “you can’t do it alone.” However, Bennett understood that not just anyone could help. Bennett did not recruit his helpers in a nursing home. He built a team of people who WANTED to climb a 14,410-foot peak and who COULD climb a 14,410-foot peak. One who attempts mighty feats had better be capable of recruiting a mighty team.
David did just that. His was one of the most celebrated teams in the entire Old Testament. This group was the all-star team of his battle-hardened warriors. Several things stand out as we consider how David pulled his team together.
First, he spent time with them in battle. These men were welded to David by the hot fires of battle. His inner circle consisted of those men who had fought alongside him. He knew their capabilities, because he had seen what they could do with their own eyes.
Second, he sacrificed for them. When three of his mighty men risked their lives to obtain drinking water for him during a battle, David refused to drink it, choosing instead to pour it out onto the ground (vv. 13-17). That act of sacrifice communicated a depth of devotion and love that had to have impressed those warriors.
Third, they enjoyed victory together. Time and time again David and his mighty men faced seemingly insurmountable odds and saw God deliver them.
Finally, David honored them. These men were well known throughout the land as “David’s Mighty Men.” That phrase served as a banner that set them as extraordinary. As you read this account, one thing becomes clear: David knew he couldn’t do it alone.
