5/26/2018 The Bible Character Abishai

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-Its something special to have a friend that has your back. Someone that you can count on when

the odds feel like they are against you.

-You could definitely say that that was Abishais relationship with King David

-Abishai was the son of Davids sister Zeruiah and was a brother to Joab and Asahel.

-According to 2Sa 23:18, 19, Abishai was a legendary warrior. Lets read this.

-From this, we can see that Abishai had a reputation that nearly rivaled King Davids top three

warriors. He was even said to have struck down 300 enemies single-handed.

-Abishai was also quick to fight for those who stood with Jehovah God.

-When Davids life was threatened by King Saul, Abishai wanted to protect him. Lets turn to an

account at 1 Samuel 26:6-9 that demonstrates this...

-So, Abishai would have killed King Saul had David not restrained him. Although Abishai waswrong to have threatened the Kings life, this account does demonstrate his love for his Hebrew

brother and a desire to see Godly justice realized.

-When King Davids own son, Absalom, headed a plan to overthrow his father, it seemed like

David could not trust anyone. Yet, Abishai stood by the King even when corruption was rampant.

Lets see an example of this at 2 Samuel 16:9-11.

-Clearly, Abishai stood up rebels like Shimei who denounced King David.

-Abishai fought against 18,000 Edomites and later an army of Ammonites for King David. He

put down the rebellion of the Benjaminite Sheba. In King Davids last recorded battled, Abishai

saved David from a large Philistine soldier.

-Sometimes, Abaishai readiness to jump into action was a fault.

-For instance, Abishais desire for vengeance led him to collaborate to kill Abner--a man who

had killed Abishais brother in battle.

-We can see from this how Abishai took Jehovahs plans into his own hands and had to learn to

let God take action in his own time. Abishai was not exercising Godly wisdom found at Leviticus

19:18.

-Nevertheless, despite Abishais impulsiveness, his example of loyalty and readiness to defendhis Hebrew brothers is something we should strive to imitate today as Christians

-We should all be the type of friend I mentioned earlier, ready to defend one another, because we

can only have success in this corrupt world as Christians if we are a united brotherhood

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5/26/2018 The Bible Character Abishai

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