--------------------------------------
Shield and spear, weapons in war both of offense and defense. The Christian should be taking ground for the Lord on the offense. This will mean destroying any lofty thing raised up against Christ and putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. This means using an offensive weapon. The sword (or spear) of the Spirit, the word of God.1 Chronicles 12
The Mighty Men Join David
23These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the LORD. 24The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops.
But making advances is not the only important thing in the Christian life. Steadfastness and holding fast the ground we have gained is important too. This involves defense, taking up the shield of faith. We are "protected by the power of God through faith" for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
And the defensive aspect can't be stressed enough. Paul said that he wrote to the Thessalonians to find out about their faith (1 Thess. 3:5). He was doing this because he knew that the devil would tempt and try these believers so as to make all the ground they gained offensively prove vain. It took a long time before my prayer life changed to reflect this. In high school all I really knew to do was to pray for souls to be saved. It wasn't until much later that I began to pray that the souls of my brothers and sisters would be kept.
--------------------------------------
25Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. 26Of the Levites 4,600. 27The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. 28 Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers’ house.Mighty in valor, i.e. brave and courageous. Living a crucified life takes guts and determination. And even this aspect of youth is interesting. Not that only youth can be valiant, but hey, I'm young, so I think this verse is cool. It makes me think of the often foolish but honorable zeal of my compatriots.
It's probably something of this spirit that penned the lines I love to sing, "Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease?"
--------------------------------------
29Of the Benjaminites, the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. 30Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ houses. 31Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were expressly named to come and make David king. 32Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.How important, to be discerning and acutely aware of things like: morality, true spirituality, and our culture; but most importantly eternal life. It is pitiable when men (because of the blinding effects of Satan) can't even choose the right side to join and the right King to follow. Why would you not want to follow Jesus!?
--------------------------------------
33Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war,I actually like other non-ESV versions better here which say "who could draw up in battle formation" (NASBUE) and also "stouthearted men who could keep ranks" (NKJV). Not just seasoned, but people that could clump together and keep ranks! The ESV seems to totally miss that. With my tiny understanding of Hebrew, I think they should've said something here, because the Hebrew seems to say these men stuck together like a flock. See here, scroll down and look at verse 33...
What does this mean, but that we need each other. We are weak when alone, but strong when walking in unity. Christians aren't meant to be lone warriors, but soldiers fighting together, in ranks. Some are in the front line, some are archers, some are medics, some are commanders etc.
--------------------------------------
to help David with singleness of purpose. 34Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. 35Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. 36Of Asher 40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle. 37Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.38All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king.
Blessed are the pure in heart. No waffling. If he's your God, then follow him. If Baal, then follow him!
--------------------------------------
39And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. 40And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.Serving and following a king has its benefits. Like peace, and love, and joy. And this is not just earthly joy like the Israelite feast described above. There is double joy for the Christian. There is blessing in this life (and it is good!), but most importantly there is full and everlasting joy in heaven, destined for every saint. How encouraging when Jesus said "Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you."
