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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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1 Chronicles 12:38
“All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David King over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David King.”
Passion in evidence.
This is one of my favourite chapters out of the whole Bible. God is a tremendous God of encouragement. “These were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was banished from the presence of Saul” (v 1).
David had been anointed king and from that moment on, life had become one long struggle after another. He could well have been forgiven for thinking that he had been a lot better off before he was anointed. He was a shepherd out in the fields watching over the sheep. He knew what he was doing and was obviously well qualified, having dealt with both lions and bears. Then he was anointed king and everything appeared to go wrong.
First of all, his brothers became jealous, then he had a mighty victory over Goliath, the Philistine, and the king, Saul, was delighted ... for a while. But the delight soon turned to jealousy, then to envy and then to outright hatred, culminating in a campaign to hunt him down and kill him.
David had to endure some very tough times, often on his own as a fugitive in the rocky wilderness hillside, other times just with a few bandits (including having to live in Philistine territory - Ziklag).
But here we find something else. Just when he was feeling almost at the end of his tether, God brought around him these incredible people. Chapter 11 deals with his mighty men - the three and the thirty. What mighty exploits they did. (Well worth a read.)
Chapter 12 describes the others. “They were armed with bows and were able to shoot arrows or to sling stones left handed or right handed” (v 2). “... they were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains” (v 8). There were 11 of them. “The least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for one thousand” (v 14).
Verses 24 - 37 enumerate the troops from the 12 tribes who came to David. They are described variously as - “6,800 armed for battle; brave warriors; designated by name to come and make David king”; “men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do”; “experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon to help David with undivided loyalty”; “experienced soldiers ready for battle”.
Over 140,000. With officers on top. If you were going to need or lead an army, what sort would you choose? “Day after day men came to help David until he had a great army, like the army of God” (v 22).
Even as I read this again, my heart cries out - “Oh, that I had an army like that!”
A group of people, capable, willing and single-focused - whose one aim is to make Jesus King. King of their lives, their families, their neighbourhood, their workplaces, their cities, and their nation. Then we would really make an impact.
Tell me - Are you one? If not, what would convince you to become one?
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