The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah (the son of Jehoiada, a principal officer) [he was] head; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.
A long list of David's officers gives one line to each captain of his twelve monthly army divisions. Behind the line for the third month stands one of David's most tested men, and a title readers have taken in two ways.
The numbers in this chapter carry part of its meaning.
In 1 Chronicles 27 we see the kingdom more in its outward arrangements… The number twenty-four stands out here, whether as an actual number or in thousands. Twelve is the number set apart for perfection in human government — in government by man. In the Church it is seven, because that is spiritual administration. In Israel it is twelve — twelve tribes, not seven. So it is here in the kingdom that is still to come; only here there is a double witness of it. It is twenty-four. Twelve on its own established nothing. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." The Millennium will be the great establishment of the kingdom.
Twelve captains, twelve months, 24,000 men each time. One man in the pattern gets a fuller notice than the rest.
This chapter (verses 1-15) deals with the service of the king… It deals with what belongs to the kingdom on earth, with the twelve tribes at its center. There were army divisions of 24,000 men each, one for every month of the year. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, gets special mention among David's thirty mighty men (compare 2 Samuel 23:20) as head of the third division. God delights to remember him.
Each of these names carries God's own name inside it, and one writer reads Benaiah's whole story through them.
Older versions put a second reading in the margin here. Commentators differ over whether the title names a sacred office or a civil one.
Father of Benaiah, one of David's officers. 2 Samuel 8:18; 1 Kings 1:8-44, and so on. In 1 Chronicles 27:5 he is called "a chief priest"… but in the margin he is called "principal officer."
Another writer takes the title as a priestly one, and points to Jehoiada's place at the head of Aaron's descendants.
Jehoiada, Benaiah's father, was leader of the sons of Aaron (1 Chronicles 12:27). The family came from Kabzeel, one of the farthest cities of Judah, toward Edom in the south. In 1 Chronicles 27:5 he is called "a chief priest." Through all the strife and jealousy around Solomon's rise to the throne, when even Joab turned aside to follow Adonijah, Benaiah stayed true and loyal.
Command over 24,000 men was not the top post. It was one step on a longer road.
Benaiah is of special interest to us. In David's time he already held a leading place in service (1 Chronicles 27:5). Was he not worthy? He had followed his master's footsteps in everything, step by step, and later he was made chief captain over the whole army. Still, this man has no ambition except to stay faithful to his king and to be like him. He is not like Joab, who seized the stronghold of Zion to gain the first place. No, he is humble, because his whole aim is to reproduce David in his own conduct.
One phrase keeps coming back through his life.
"With David" in his rejection and his battles; "with David" as captain of his bodyguard; "with David" in his kingdom in places of honour; now he was raised to be captain of the army of Israel with David's son Solomon, sharing his glorious reign when the wars were over. Tested and proved trustworthy, he reaped a rich and blessed reward. In the glory of the coming day, how welcome it will be for those who follow our Lord Jesus Christ now to be "with the Lord" whom they have loved and served.
- Order — The chapter shows the kingdom in its outward arrangements. Twelve marks perfect government by man. The doubled twenty-four speaks of a kingdom made firm.
- Built — Benaiah means "whom God has built," and Jehoiada means "Jehovah knows." The man God knew and built up is the man named here.
- Remembered — Twelve captains served in turn, one for each month. Benaiah is the one singled out, because God delights to remember him.
- Title — One reading calls Jehoiada "a chief priest." Another calls him "principal officer." Commentators differ over which office he held.
- Rewarded — He wanted nothing except to be like his king. So he rose step by step: bodyguard, then this division, then captain of Israel's whole army under Solomon. Those who follow Christ now look on to the same reward: to be "with the Lord."
This Benaiah was a mighty man among the thirty, and above the thirty; and in his division was Ammizabad his son.
1 Chronicles 27 lists David's army commanders month by month, mostly as bare names and numbers. At the third month the writer says more: this is the Benaiah, and his son serves under him — so why does the writer honour this one officer, and why does his son hold a place in his division?
The numbers in this chapter are not random, and one name in it gets a comment the others do not.
This chapter (verses 1-15) deals with the service of the king. In all these lists, the number twelve and its factors always appear. The chapter deals with what belongs to the kingdom on earth, and the twelve tribes are its centre. There were army divisions of 24,000 men each for the twelve months of the year, one division for each month. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, gets special mention among David's thirty mighty men (compare 2 Samuel 23:20) as head of the third division. God delights to remember him.
David's monthly militia had a long history behind it.
Remember that Israel were the armies of the Lord, keeping His charge and fighting His battles. Exodus 12:41; Joshua 5:14. Until the time of the kings, Israel's army followed the old tribal organisation. In Saul's time there was a bodyguard, 1 Samuel 13:2, and a captain of the army, 1 Samuel 17:55. In David's days those heroes who were with him in the cave of Adullam formed the core of his 'mighty men.' 2 Samuel 23:8-39. They were devoted to the service of God's king. David afterwards organised a monthly militia of 24,000 men under 12 captains. 1 Chronicles 27:1-15.
The thirty were David's mighty men, and this verse puts Benaiah both among them and over them. It points back to a record the first readers already knew, and one writer walks through those victories to show the believer's own conflicts.
Benaiah's valour in accomplishing many mighty acts is not forgotten. He defied and overcame the two lion-like men of Moab, the people of whom it had been said that not one should enter the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation. On a snowy day he did not hesitate to go down into a pit and kill a lion. The faithful are like him now. They sometimes have to enter the closest conflict with Satan in the most distressing circumstances, and they overcome him by the sword of the Spirit. He also killed an Egyptian with the Egyptian's own spear. We sometimes see the same thing today: a man of the world opposes the servants and the truth of God, and the very weapon he used against them defeats him. So God turns the anger of man into praise for Him. Many other names are also listed among David's mighty men with no special mark of devotion and no victories recorded.
Benaiah's high standing did not make him a rival. One writer sets him beside Joab, and the contrast turns his rank into a lesson about ambition.
Benaiah is of special interest to us. In David's time he already held a leading place in service (1 Chronicles 27:5). He had followed the footsteps of his master in everything, step by step. Was he not worthy to become chief captain over the whole army later on? Yet this man has no ambition except to stay faithful to his king and to imitate him. He is not like Joab, who takes the stronghold of Zion to gain the first place. No, he is humble, for his whole purpose is to reproduce David in his conduct.
The verse ends with Benaiah's son serving in his father's division. One writer draws from that a word to parents.
What a comfort to a father's heart to have a son on whom, in his increasing years, he may lean. What understanding, what confidence, what fellowship those two must have had. It reminds us of Timothy, who as a son with a father worked with Paul in the Gospel. For one who has tasted it, there can be nothing much sweeter. May God help you. While the children are small, may He give you the wisdom to make them your companions, so that when they are older you and they will work together naturally.
A chapter of lists can look like mere record-keeping. Yet David arranges here for service that has not yet begun.
What is interesting here is that David orders and arranges everything, even the doors of the house that was not yet built. So, in Christ, all is appointed before it is shown in glory.
- Ordered — Twelve divisions of 24,000 men, one for each month. David settled every place in advance, as in Christ all is appointed before it is shown in glory.
- Remembered — Benaiah heads the third month. Others in the list get only a name, but his deeds are recalled, because God delights to remember him.
- Tested — Moab's lion-like men, a lion in a pit on a snowy day, an Egyptian killed with his own spear. The faithful still meet conflicts like these.
- Humble — He already held a leading place under David, yet wanted only to stay loyal and copy his king. Joab grasped at first place; Benaiah did not.
- Passed on — His own son serves in his division. Companionship built while children are small becomes shared work when they are grown.