A: The passage in question tells the story of three of
David's mighty men who break through the battle line of
the Philistines in order to bring David a drink of water
from the well at Bethlehem. Though David had longed for
the water, he does not drink of it because of the danger
the men exposed themselves to in order to give to him.
So, he poured the water out to the Lord. 1Chronicles
11:15-19 has a very similar parallel passage in 2Samuel
23:13-17. Here is the passage from 1Chronicles:
1Chronicles
11:15 Now three of the
thirty captains went down
to the rock to David, into
the cave of Adullam; and
the host of the Philistines
encamped in the valley of
Rephaim.
16 And David was then in the
hold, and the Philistines'
garrison was then at Bethlehem.
17 And David longed, and said,
Oh that one would give me drink
of the water of the well of
Bethlehem, that is at the gate!
18 And the three brake through
the host of the Philistines,
and drew water out of the well
of Bethlehem, that was by the
gate, and took it, and brought
it to David: but David would
not drink of it, but poured
it out to the LORD,
19 And said, My God forbid
it me, that I should do this
thing: shall I drink the blood
of these men that have put
their lives in jeopardy? for
with the jeopardy of their
lives they brought it. Therefore
he would not drink it. These
things did these three mightiest.
At first, I was not able to
see any typology in the passage.
It is a wonderful story of
loyalty and devotion to a leader
and we can certainly learn
from that. But a type is more
than a practical lesson. It
is a comparison of earthly
relationships in a story (usually
in the Old Testament) that
illustrates certain spiritual
relationships (usually from
the New Testament). Individual
items or people are often types,
but when a story is looked
on as a type, the key is found
in the relationships. With
this story, I had actually
given up on finding a type.
However, as I prepared to retire
for the night, I saw what I
will give to you below.
But before I tell you my ideas
on this type, I would like
to say something about types
and their authority. God establishes
and uses types. For instance,
He compares the crucifixion
of Christ to the lifting up
of the brass serpent in the
wilderness in John
3:14. However, types vary
in the certainty of divine
choice. That is, some types
are clearly identified by God
and others are not so clear.
For my own understanding, I
classify types into four categories.
For ease of understanding,
I call them A, B, C, and D
Types. Let me briefly identify
these four classifications
of types.
TYPE A - This is the kind of
type that is clearly said to
be a type in
scripture. This includes types
like the serpent in the wilderness
as above (John
3:14) and the Rock that
gave the Israelites water (see 1Corinthians
10:4).
TYPE B - Though no direct statement
says that this item is a type
of something else, the evidence
is overwhelming. I would include
in this class oil being used
as a type of the Holy Ghost.
These are types with which
we can be very confident.
TYPE C - This kind of type
involved a certain level of
speculation. However, it is
still based on scripture. For
instance, some elements of
this item may have scriptural
support but the relationships
used as a type are not clearly
identified. This is where common
sense and holy discernment
comes into play, for this kind
of type can quickly become
nothing more than wild speculation.
TYPE D - This is typology that
is pure speculation. It is
best not to use this kind of
type much. If you do use it,
be careful to inform your listeners
that you are simply making
your own analogy.
The type I am getting ready
to give is a TYPE C. It is
a C because it has some biblical
base. The water in this story
is a type of the water of everlasting
life. This water is defined
by Jesus. In John
4:14, He states, "But
whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall
never thirst; but the water
that I shall give him shall
be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life."
Now, let me give you the typology
I see here.
DAVID - David here is a type
of the lost sinner. Though
it is harvest time (2Samuel
23:13), he is "in
the hold"
(1Chronicles
11:16). That is, he is
practically imprisoned in a
cave. This is a picture of
the lost man who finds himself
imprisoned by sin even in the
time of salvation--harvest
time. David is in battle with
the Philistines, a type of
the world. The Philistines
control the water in the well
at Bethlehem and David is unable
to get the water from the well.
WATER - David longs for a drink
of the water of the well of
Bethlehem (1Chronicles
11:17). The water is a
picture of everlasting life
(John
4:14). Everyone who thirsts
is supposed to come to the
waters (Isaiah
55:1) and take of the water
of life freely (Revelation
22:17). This water comes
out of the town of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem means "house
of bread" and it is the
town out of which Jesus came
(Micah
5:2) who is the bread of
life (John
6:35). The water is "at
the gate"
showing us that the way of
entrance into heaven is by
way of the water of life.
THREE MIGHTY MEN - The three
mighty men hear David longing
for the water of the well of
Bethlehem. Because of their
love for David, they break
through the lines of the enemy
at great risk, draw water out
of the well, and bring it back
to David. This work of the
three mighty men is a picture
of the work of the holy trinity
in securing our salvation.
God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost work
together to offer us the water
of life. The Father sent the
Son, the Son came and died,
and the Spirit calls for us
to come to the water (Revelation
22:17).
POURING THE WATER - The three
mighty men brought the water
back to David. Therefore, he
received the water from them
as a gift. This is a picture
of salvation. However, when
he considered the risk the
men had taken for his sake,
he could not drink of the water
for his own enjoyment but poured
it out on the ground "to
the LORD." He saw the
water as the blood of the men
who put their lives in jeopardy
for his sake (1Chronicles
11:19). In this, we see
that the water of life can
be obtained only through the
blood. This came through the
death of Christ on the cross
and the offering of the blood
of God for us (Acts
20:28).
When David poured the water
on the ground, he was not rejecting
the sacrifice of the men who
had gotten it for him. Rather,
he was declaring their sacrifice
too holy to be used selfishly. 2Corinthians
5:15 tells us that since
Christ "died for all,
that they which live should
not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for
them, and rose again." We
should not be so selfish as
to live our lives for ourselves.
We should present ourselves
as a living sacrifice to God
(Romans
12:1). David poured the
water out on the ground to
the Lord. Although the sacrifice
was made to the Lord, it was
poured out on the ground. The
way that we can give our lives
to the Lord is by pouring our
lives out on the ground; that
is, minister to those on this
earth. In do so, we are taking
to them the water of life that
was graciously given to us.
I hope you receive half as
much enjoyment out of this
picture as I have. Thank you
for the question.
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan