1 Chronicles 11-12, Philippians 3

For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God. – 1 Chronicles 12:22 ESV

The chronicler provides us with a flash-back that revisits the time in Israelite history when David was running for his life, hunted relentlessly by King Saul. He was a fugitive, hiding in caves and moving from place to place in order to escape the professional assassins who had been hired by Saul to eliminate David from the face of the earth. Those were dark days for David. And to make matters even worse, the Scriptures tell us that David quickly found his situation becoming increasingly complicated as time passed. “David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him” (1 Samuel 22:1 ESV). David, living in the rough confines of a cave and forced to eke out a living from the harsh Judean wilderness, suddenly finds himself having to care and protect all his family members. Then the real fun started. “And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men” (1 Samuel 22:2 ESV). Here was the man who had been anointed the next king of Israel, hiding in caves, and commanding an army made up of misfits and malcontents. These people were depressed, indebted, stressed out and more than a little bit disappointed in how things had turned out in life. What a way to start your reign as king! But God was not done yet.

What does this passage reveal about God?

The book of Chronicles tells us that God was not finished providing an army for His new king. Chapters 11 and 12 tell us of the mighty men of David. As David continued his period of exile in the wilderness, God brought a host of highly qualified fighting men to his side. “From day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God” (1 Chronicles 12:22 ESV). While David's situation was less-than-ideal from a human perspective, God was providing him with a team of individuals who were “mighty and experienced warriors, experts with shield and spear, who faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles upon the mountains” (1 Samuel 12:8 ESV). They are described as valiant men, doers of great deeds, and mighty men who were renowned for their bravery and courage. God was not going to leave David defenseless and alone. Yes, David would have to suffer through a period of difficulty and unimaginable confusion as he watched Saul's reign continue and his own kingship languish in obscurity in the desert. But God was preparing David to be a king and providing him with the army he would need once he ascended to the throne. And when David finally did take over as king of Israel, God would be there with him, providing him with a new capital, Jerusalem, and an army of faithful, seasoned warriors to fight by his side. “And David became greater and, for the Lord of hosts was with him” (1 Samuel 11:9 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

It would have been so easy for David to have thrown in the towel and given up on any hopes of every becoming the next king of Israel. But he continued to trust God. Even when given the opportunity to take the life of Saul and end his exile, he refused to take advantage of the situation by taking matters into his own hands. He would trust God and His timing. He may not have fully understood why God was doing what He was doing, but he knew that God's ways were preferable to his own. God's plan would be better in the long run. He just needed to keep pressing on. If his path included a bit of suffering and difficulty, so be it. God was in control. Paul had a similar attitude. He wrote, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11 ESV). In those years David spent in the wilderness, he had suffered the loss of his job on Saul's royal payroll, he had lost his wife, his reputation, and his spiritual mentor, Samuel. But he pushed on. So did Paul. “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV). And Paul encouraged his readers to do the same thing. In essence, Paul was raising up an army of individuals who would be willing to face the obstacles of life and trust in the promises of God. “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

There are days when it feels like I am facing life all on my own. Like Elijah the prophet, I can feel like I am the last man left standing. But I must never forget that God is always raising up “a great army, like the army of God.” He is sending men and women who are of like mind and like heart, who share a passion for His cause and a commitment to His Kingdom. Like the mighty men of David, they are brave, valiant, faithful, and doers of great deeds. We should all aspire to be those kind of individuals, fighting together for the faith and in the strength provided by God's Spirit. Like Paul, we need to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:17 ESV). We need to keep our eyes focused on the promises of God and the consummation of His divine plan. He was not done with David. He was not done with Paul. And He is not yet done with me. He is making me a part of His great and powerful army, transforming me into a mighty man of God.

Father, I ask that You continue to raise up Your army on this earth that we might stand strong, fighting together side by side and carrying out Your divine battle plan against the spiritual enemies of this age. Amen