I have to admit it, I have always loved this short passage of scripture.  I think I like it so much because it deals with a very practical problem in all our lives - one which every one of us wrestles with from time to time - the problem of how to kill a lion on a snowy day!  "What? Pastor Steve, have you lost your mind"?  Well, perhaps so, but let me explain.  I feel quite sure you've faced this problem before, perhaps this very week!  Oh, you may not have recognized it, but you have certainly had it.  Shall I go on?

The story takes place during the days of David the King.  Our man, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, was one of David's thirty mighty men.  In fact, he was made captain of David's bodyguard because of the three great deeds of valor that happened in his life and for which he was widely known.

First, he struck down two of the tribe of Moab's best men.  Second, the scripture says that he went down and killed a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.  And third, he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, seven and a half feet tall.  This man had a tremendous spear like a weaver's beam!  That would be like using a flag pole, which would be a formidable weapon indeed!

"Well now", you say, " that's all very interesting, but what on earth does it have to do with me?  I mean, it's a great story, and Benaiah's an exceptional man, but how does it all apply to me"?

Friend, these Old Testament stories were not merely ancient legends, but the New Testament tells us that they were written as examples for us.  For instance, isn't it interesting that these three enemies whom Benaiah overcame are all used in scripture as types and symbols of the enemies we face in our lives everyday.  The N.T. speaks of them as "the world, the flesh, and the devil."

Benaiah "struck down two of Moab's best men."  So who was Moab?  The Moabites were an ancient tribe living on the borders of Israel who were also related to the Israelites through the daughters of Lot.  They became Israel's constant enemy.  That's a good picture of every one of us.  We, too, have an enemy living within us to which we are related.  In the N.T. it is called "the flesh", and sometimes referred to as our "self-life" or "the old man".  But it is related to us and we can't seem to get rid of it.  It lives in the back room of the house of our life like a poor relative....often we are ashamed of it, but it is there nevertheless.  Benaiah found a way to overcome this mighty enemy.

"And he slew an Egyptian,"  Egypt has always been a type or picture of the world.  In ancient times, Egypt was the world's leading nation, the source of worldly power with its vast armies, tremendous architecture, and great libraries.  All of it was a picture of the superficial impressiveness and empty glory of the world and all its ways.  Thus, Benaiah also overcame the world.

Who among us has not been confronted by these formidable enemies?  We have felt the pressure and the attack of the flesh.  We have felt the pull of the world.  We have felt it draw us away and, at times, like Israel, we have longed to go back to Egypt.

But then there was the lion - and this is where I want to focus my attention in this message - for this was the most dangerous of the three enemies.  The lion is the most powerful of all the beasts, the most ferocious of adversaries - the king of beasts!  Able with one blow of his paw to smash the human skull like you would break an egg.  Able to bite through any bone of the human body, even the thigh bone.  To face that kind of ferocious beast is a very dangerous thing to do.  Think about it...

THE WORST POSSIBLE FOE

The lion in our story represents your worst possible foe!  Each one of us has something like that in our lives.  It may flash into your mind as you read these words.  What is your worst possible foe?  It may be something you've dreaded, something you've been afraid of, something you thought could happen, but hoped would not.  The lions in our life can be different for each one of us.  For someone it might be a physical sickness or an affliction.  Maybe a heart attack or cancer, or a dangerous surgery.  For another, it may be some terrible, crushing disappointment.  For another, the fear of being financially ruined.  For yet another, the death of a loved one.  Whatever it may be, the lion represents your worst possible foe.

THE WORST POSSIBLE PLACE

Now watch, Benaiah met this lion in the worst possible place.  He met him in a pit!  Now folks, if you are going to fight a lion, certainly the one place you wouldn't choose is a pit.  I mean, there's no place of escape in a pit.  You can't run in a pit.  You can't even hide in a pit.  Have you ever been there?  You're faced with some terrible thing that you've dreaded to have happen and there is no way to avoid it!  You can't stop it, can't talk your way out of it, can't take a vacation, can't do a thing - all that you can do is face it.

THE WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS

I hope you noticed that Benaiah met this lion in a pit on a day in which the snow had fallen.  How treacherous is that?  Snow numbs the fingers and makes it difficult to handle a weapon.  Snow makes your footing slippery and dangerous.  Snow blinds your eyes and makes it hard to see.  It was the worst possible foe, in the worst possible place, under the worst possible conditions!  That's the way things happen sometimes in our lives as well. 

So, the thing we want to know is how did he do it, how did he survive and kill this lion?  Is that the question you're asking?  Well friend, the passage doesn't seem to tell us, does it?  OK, OK, forgive me, I wouldn't leave you hanging like that.  I believe that God has hidden certain clues in this story which tell us how Benaiah son of Jehoiada won this battle.  There was something about this man that enabled him to overcome all his enemies. 

In the Bible, when you want to know what a man is like, look at his name.  Names were deliberately given to call attention to something about the nature or character of the individual.  In the scriptures, there are some really good ones!  For example:

Ismahershalalhasbas!  How's that for a name?  But look at the meaning.  It means "hasting is he to the booty, swift to the prey".  Gives you a good idea to the man's character, doesn't it?

How about another?  A famous one!

Methuselah!  Listen to this...his name means "when he dies, it shall come"!  I bet everyone kept a close eye on Methuselah.  But Methusalah lived longer than any other human, 969 years, and when he died, the flood came!

So what does this name mean - Benaiah son of Jehoiada.  Herein is the clue to the kind of man he was.  If you take the meaning of these two names ( for they are always used together ) in order of seniority, you get the secret of how to kill a lion in a pit on a snowy day.  Jehoiada means "God knows" and Benaiah means "God builds."  These twin truths are the secret of how to meet a lion, the worst possible foe, in the worst possible place, under the worst possible conditions, and win!

"God knows" where you are.  He chose that place for you.  God put you where you are, and therefore, he knows.  He knows all about you.  He knows what you are going through.  He allowed all these things to come into your life.  Jesus has not left you alone.  He has promised to be with you even now.  Oh, but there's more, "God builds."  He has a purpose in mind.  He is using what is happening in your life right now and working it toward His desired end.  Paul the Apostle experienced heartache, sorrow, privation, pain and suffering, yet through it all he said,

"This light affliction is but for a moment and is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

Do you believe that?  My friend, those who go through heartaches and pressures always emerge, when they trust in Christ, softened, more loving, seasoned, and more compassionate.  Herein is the secret of survival:  God knows and God builds.  When you have that truth deep in your soul then you too will know how to kill a lion in a pit on a snowy day!