And three of the thirty chiefs went down to the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam, when the army of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
Three men leave the settled world behind. They go down to a rock and a cave, where the rejected king is hiding. A Philistine army holds the open valley. Everything that follows in the chapter grows out of this one choice of where to be.
The same list of mighty men appears in 2 Samuel, but in a different place in the story. That change of place changes the point.
This account lists David's mighty men at the beginning (vv. 10-47). 2 Samuel 23 lists them at the end. Here they bring in the kingdom. They showed themselves valiant with him in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king. So they carried out the plans which God had already made known... Our chapter refers to 81 mighty men, 30 of them recorded without being named, while 2 Samuel 23 names 37 of them. There they are supporters whom David needed to confirm his throne. In our present chapter they have only to acknowledge what God had done in establishing David as His anointed.
Going down to the rock meant walking away from somewhere else. Israel had two men to choose between, and each had a different address.
The choice lay between Saul and David. Saul is a picture of the man ruled by his own flesh; David is a picture of Christ. Saul is in the palace. He sits on the throne. The kingdom is at his feet. David is in the cave of Adullam. A band of men has gathered round him. Affection draws them, and they are devoted to his cause.
The list of those who came is also a list of those who did not. Jonathan, of Saul's own house, never came to the cave.
Now that David is the outcast one and hidden in the cave of Adullam, will Jonathan join him there, and own him in the day of his rejection? Sadly, in the record of those whose loyalty and devotedness drew them to David in the cave, Jonathan's name is missing! Saul, his house, and the city pulled the other way, and were too strong. The men who gathered to David in Adullam were, it is true, a mixed group; but they gathered to the right person, and in the right place, as the outcome proved. No matter where Jonathan was, he was not with David, and so he was not with God.
The parallel account in 2 Samuel 23 notes the season when they came.
These three mighty men came to David at harvest time, to the cave of Adullam (13). It seems as if they left the world in the day of its plenty, to identify themselves with David in the day of his poverty and reproach.
The famous act of the next verses was only possible because of this one. Distance would have made them deaf.
There are a few, and only a few, who care so much for David that they will link their destiny with his. They do it at a moment when, to sight at least, all is as dark as dark can be... If they are to share his triumphs and honours later, they will share his reproach and shame now... They are in the place to know his wishes. Had they not been in the cave with David, they never would have heard his longing for water from the well of Bethlehem. And they never would have been in Adullam, if David had not himself eclipsed all else in their affections.
The valley named in the verse was ground the enemy had taken.
This valley lies south of Jerusalem. There the Philistines gathered against Israel, and there David twice defeated them decisively. Older English translations twice call it the "valley of the giants" (Joshua 15:8; 18:16).
Pollock says what that ground cost the three:
The Philistine armies stood in tight ranks between the stronghold and the well. The three did not stop to count what it would cost to satisfy David's desire.
This story never gives the names of the three. There is a reason for that silence.
Why this remarkable omission of their names in the account of their exploit? It is because here it is no longer a matter of energy and perseverance, but one of the devotion of faith. And this devotion flows naturally from the hearts of servants who know and appreciate their Master. By its very nature devotion is something obscure. What man has the right to boast of devotion?
- Cave — David is the true king, but rejected. Only those who go down to the cave share his place.
- Choice — Saul held the palace, David a hole in the ground. Devotion shows in which address you walk toward.
- Cost — They came at harvest, leaving the world at its most profitable to join David at his poorest.
- Closeness — Nearness makes service possible. Outside the cave, no one hears the King's longing.
- Crown — Chronicles lists these men at the start of the reign. The men of the cave bring in the kingdom God had already promised.
And David was then in the stronghold; and the Philistines' garrison was then at Bethlehem.
This verse catches one moment from David's years in exile: the rightful king hides in a stronghold, while enemy troops hold the town where he was born. That one sentence sets up one of the most moving acts of loyalty in Scripture.
The two halves of the verse are a study in contrast. The rightful king is pushed to the margins; the Philistines, Israel's long-standing enemy, sit in his home town. One writer draws out how personally David felt this.
He lay in the stronghold. The armies of the Philistines were camped in Bethlehem, the place where he was born and brought up, every bit of it known and loved by him. As he lay in the stronghold, tired and thirsty, these three devoted men heard David say, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"
Enemy soldiers held David's home town while he lived as an exile, and the king on the throne did nothing about it.
The garrison of the Philistines had taken possession of Bethlehem while David was in exile in the cave of Adullam. Saul did not have the energy to drive the Philistines out of Bethlehem, the house of bread. And David expressed a longing for a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem.
That name carries weight far beyond David's day.
Bethlehem, meaning "house of bread," is a very fitting name for the place from which the Saviour should come as a man — He who was the living bread that came down from heaven.
While David hid in the stronghold, another king sat in a palace. Everyone in Israel had to choose between them.
The choice lay between Saul and David — Saul a picture of the man of the flesh, and David a type of Christ. Saul is in the palace. He sits on the throne. The kingdom is at his feet. David is in the cave of Adullam with a band of men gathered round him, drawn by affection, and devoted to his cause.
The timing of their arrival says as much as the fact of it.
These three mighty men "came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam." It seems as if they left the world in the day of its plenty. They chose to identify themselves with David in the day of his poverty and disgrace.
David gave no order. He only said out loud what he wanted.
David was in the stronghold, while a garrison of the Philistines occupied the place of David's early home. David thinks of the well by the gate of Bethlehem. He had no doubt often drawn water there in his youth. Now he expresses his longing for a refreshing drink from that well… It is not a command that needs obedience. It is not a call to service. It is only the expression of his longing desire. And yet this expressed desire calls out this devoted act of love in a way that no command would have done.
Duty could have argued its way out of it.
No command was spoken, duty was not appealed to. A need expressed like that could never have found its way to the cold heart of duty. And if it had, there were plenty of reasons ready to keep it quiet. The Philistines had a garrison in Bethlehem and the well was inside the guarded gate, and the way there was very risky. David's thirst could not be quenched without great danger — and why quench it? It would please him, but it would not advance his people or his kingdom. … "David has not told us to attack Bethlehem. It is only his personal need, so why should we risk our lives to meet it?" Is that not the language of duty? But is it the language of love? … Does our Lord have no need now? Is He not thirsting now for what can only be gained by the self-sacrifice of His people?
Earlier exploits in this chapter won battles and protected people.
If the victories we have considered had the blessing of the people in view, this touching act of service was entirely for the benefit of the King.
What David did with the water mattered as much as the risk the men took to get it.
David's heart was deeply moved by this simple act. The men had won that water at the risk of their lives. So he poured it out to the Lord as a drink offering, because it showed how devoted these dear men were. It was the motive behind the action that turned that simple act into one which placed those three men at the very top of the roll of honour of the kingdom. That was when the fighting was all done, when power was established, and the day of rewards had come.
- Rejection. The rightful king sits in a stronghold while enemies hold his birthplace, and Saul on the throne does nothing.
- Attachment. Men left the world at harvest time to join David in his poverty. The choice between palace and cave still stands.
- Desire. David issued no order; he only voiced a longing, and that longing drew out love that a command never could have.
- Love above duty. Duty asks whether the risk advances the kingdom; love asks only what pleases the King. The water served no strategy at all.
- Reward. A small errand placed those three men at the top of the honour roll on the day David gave out rewards.
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate!
David is shut up in a stronghold, thirsty, and the Philistines hold Bethlehem, the town where he grew up. He sighs out loud for water from one well there — and that sigh, not an order, became a high point in the record of his warriors.
The chapter has just listed deeds of raw courage. This one is different: it shows what those men felt, not what they could do.
Then follow the true worthies of David, the true warriors, not for what was to be got, but for David. To the end of the chapter we see in detail not only their great deeds in cutting down the enemy, but their intense love for David... He knew his native place, and longed after the water that he had, no doubt, often drunk. He said this without a thought of anything further.
David named nobody and sent nobody. That silence is the point.
There was no command issued. No one in particular was singled out and commissioned to go. There was the simple expression of the desire, and this is what gave the opportunity for genuine affection and true devotedness. A specific command to someone would only have given an occasion for ready obedience. But the expression of a desire brought out that warm attachment to the person of David which is so lovely to see.
One writer sets commands given to servants beside words spoken to friends.
This expressed wish of David never was a command, and was never meant to be. If we are to reach any worthy thoughts about it, we must distinguish between two things: the commands that are laid upon us — and there are such — and His "word," which shows us what is in His heart. In receiving that word we come into intelligent communion with Himself. The Lord Himself makes this distinction in His last words with His disciples (John 14:21, 23). Commands may be given to servants only, who are never let into the secrets of the heart. But words spoken to friends also claim a response, and will find one from the truly devoted. Not "what must I do?" but "what may I do?" is the language of attachment to His Person. Only so can we be in sympathy with the act of the mighty three.
Set this errand beside the victories recorded just before it, and the difference is in who gains by it.
Whether in David's day or in our own, one thing marks such mighty deeds: they are for the benefit of people as well as for the glory of the King. But when we come to the three mighty men who drew the water from the well, we have a very different form of service. If the victories we have considered had the blessing of the people in view, this touching act of service was wholly for the benefit of the King.
Commentators read David here as a picture of Christ, and his craving as a shadow of a deeper one. Bethlehem's name means "house of bread."
Our David has cravings and longings of heart which also need the water of the well of Bethlehem for their satisfaction. They are not passing desires. As His nature is, they are lasting, perfect, necessary to His perfection. Is it not living water that He longs to receive from us, water whose spring is at the outgoing of the Father's "house of bread"? In it He finds only the fruit of the travail of His soul, and with it alone He can be satisfied.
One writer hears the same note in what the Lord asked as His death drew near:
Is not David's "Oh, that one would give me" a faint anticipation of the Lord's dying request, "Do this in remembrance of Me"?
The three could answer a wish only because they lived close enough to hear it.
The three chiefs mentioned in 2 Sam. 23:13-17 must have been near enough to David to know the desires of his heart. His words were not a commandment, but the expression of his heart's desire. Do we live near enough to the Lord to know the desires of His heart?... Sometimes we find people of God saying, It does not say we are not to do this or that. They try to satisfy their natural desires on the plea that God has not forbidden the thing they want. Should we not seek to carry out not only the commandments of the Lord, but also the desires of His heart?
- Overheard. David names no one and orders nothing. The three act because they were near enough to hear him.
- Desire. A command would have produced obedience. A wish produced love.
- Friends. Servants get orders and stay outside the secrets of the heart. Friends get words — and ask not "what must I do?" but "what may I do?"
- For Him alone. Other exploits helped the people and honoured the King. This one profited nobody but Him — service aimed wholly at His heart.
- Echo. One writer hears in "Oh, that one would give me" the first faint note of "Do this in remembrance of Me" — a longing still waiting on willing hearts.
And the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate, and took it, and brought it to David; David however would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah.
David hides in a stronghold, enemy troops hold Bethlehem, his home town, and he sighs aloud for a drink from its well. Three of his men cut through the Philistine army to fetch it, and then the king pours it out on the ground instead of drinking it.
No one ordered these men to go. One writer weighs what that absence produced:
David gave no command. He picked out no one and sent no one. He simply said what he wanted, and that is what made room for real affection and true devotion. A command to a named man would only have given him the chance to obey. But a spoken wish drew out that warm attachment to David himself, which is so lovely to see.
One writer tests the errand by common sense:
Common sense would have said that water from some other place would have satisfied David's thirst just as well. And that would have been true. Water is water wherever it is, and there was nothing special about the water of the well of Bethlehem.
What moved them was the man who wanted it:
The Philistine army lay camped in tight ranks between the stronghold and the well. These three devoted men did not count the cost of the simple act of pleasing David. They wanted to please him. Nothing pleased them so much as pleasing him. Devotion put strength into their arms that day as they broke through the startled ranks of the Philistines and got the water for David.
One writer sets this errand beside the battles earlier in the chapter:
When we come to the three mighty men who drew the water from the well, we have a very different kind of service. If the victories we have looked at had the blessing of the people in view, this touching act of service was wholly for the benefit of the King.
The deed belongs to no military plan, and that is exactly why it stands out among the recorded acts of David's men.
It was no plan of war. It lay right outside the expedition. It was love. But David's act was more beautiful still. There are others too — not among the three mightiest, yet men who were most honourable. God loves to mention what is an honour to His people, and so after each of their names we find a record of their deeds. The Lord will do this and more for those who at any time have lived and suffered for the name of the Lord.
David will not drink. One writer explains why:
It was a sacrifice too costly for anyone except the LORD Himself. So David would not let anything interrupt its sweet smell as it rose to the throne of God.
Another writer finds two things in the refusal, and then a contrast with Christ:
His godly act showed two things. He judged the water too valuable for himself, and fit for the Lord alone. It also showed that the fear of the Lord was always before him. But One greater than David — the Son of God, David's Son according to the flesh — does drink the springing water that is brought to Him now, before He takes the throne of His glorious kingdom and dominion.
One writer looks at what David did with the water, and where the deed placed these men later:
David poured out the water, won at the risk of their lives, to the Lord as a drink offering. It showed the devotion of these dear men. It was the motive behind the action that turned that simple deed into one which placed those three men at the very top of the glory roll of the kingdom — when the fighting was over, the kingdom was secure, and the day of rewards had come.
One writer brings David's wish into the present:
We, too, may fight the Lord's battles, but how much do we know of this higher service that does something for the heart of Christ alone? "Oh, that one would give me," says David. Are there not times when we can give something to the One who gave everything for us?… Do we count it a rare privilege to give Christ something that brings joy to His heart?
- Desire — David gave no command; a longing spoken aloud drew out love that an order never could.
- Devotedness — the water had no special virtue, so the whole worth of the act lay in who wanted it.
- Difference — other feats in the chapter served the kingdom; this one served the King alone.
- Drink offering — David judged the gift too costly for himself and poured it out to God alone.
- Distinction — an act of love that no one ordered and no battle needed put three men at the top of the roll of honour on the day of rewards.
And he said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing! should I drink the blood of these men [who went] at the risk of their lives? for at the risk of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.
Three men broke through a Philistine army to fetch water from Bethlehem's well for David. He would not drink it, but poured it on the ground and called it blood — so why was a cup of water too holy to drink?
David's refusal is an act of reverence, not waste:
It was a sacrifice too costly for anyone except the Lord Himself. So David would not allow the sweet scent of it to be interrupted on its way up to the throne of God.
One writer follows the cup from their hands, through David's, to God:
The king valued their devotion, but he did not want to take advantage of it: "Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men?" He draws out the devotion of his men, and his own character is to give himself up for them. The water offered to him only passes through his hands, to be presented as a drink offering to the Lord. Everything done for Christ is done for God. God accepts it as an excellent sacrifice, offered up by Christ.
No one ordered these men to go. One writer says that absence is the whole point:
No command was issued. No one in particular was picked out and sent. There was simply the expression of a desire. This is what gave the opportunity for genuine affection and true devotedness. A specific command to someone would only have given occasion for ready obedience. But the expression of a desire drew out that deep attachment to the person of David which is so lovely to see.
One writer weighs this risk against service done for the kingdom's good:
Many would have been ready to risk their lives carrying out some service for the good of the kingdom. But these mighty men were ready to face death for something that served only David's desire.
Was the risk even necessary? One writer states the objection plainly:
Common sense would have said that water from some other place would have done just as well for David's thirst. That would have been perfectly true. Water is water wherever it is, and there was nothing special about the water of the well of Bethlehem.
What made the water precious was that David had named that well.
This account never names the three. One writer sees that silence as fitting:
It is no longer a matter of energy and endurance here, but of the devotion of faith. And this devotion flows naturally from the hearts of servants who know and appreciate their Master. By its very nature devotion is something hidden. What man has the right to boast of devotion?
Their motive is what preserved the deed:
How little those three mighty men imagined that their act of loving devotion would be recorded forever in Scripture, to be read by millions. They never thought of this. If they had acted to get a name or a place for themselves, it would have stripped their act of all its beauty. It would then have deserved to be despised and forgotten. But no — they loved David. This was the spring of their activity. They proved that he was more precious to their hearts than life itself.
The verse ends by crediting the deed to the three mighty men. One writer sees a pattern in how Scripture records honour:
God loves to mention what is an honour to His people, and so after each of their names we find a record of their deeds. The Lord will do this and more for those who now and always have lived and suffered for the name of the Lord.
One writer turns the scene into a question for the reader:
We too may fight the Lord's battles. But how much do we know of this higher service that does something for the heart of Christ alone? "Oh, that one would give me," says David. Are there not times when we can give something to the One who gave everything for us?
- Desire. No order was given; a longing was overheard. A wish drew out love where a command would only have produced obedience.
- Danger. The water had no special virtue. What made it worth a Philistine army was that the one they loved had named that well.
- Devotion. They risked death for no gain to the kingdom. It was service aimed at one person: their king's refreshment.
- Drink offering. David judged the cup too costly for himself. He poured it out to the Lord, treating their love as a sacrifice fit only for God.
- Record. God wrote their hidden act into Scripture. Commentators take it as a pledge: He will do the same and more for all who live and suffer for His name.