Read 1 Samuel 22
Against All Odds
22 David left Gath and
escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household
heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress
or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About
four hundred men were with him.
THERE are two details in this scripture that point to God’s
strong hand on David.
The first is that
his brothers and father joined him. At first glance, you might think, “Seems
normal.” But when you look at how David’s brothers spoke to him on the day he
killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17), you will see some of David’s brothers aim animosity,
bigotry and disgust at him. Between Goliath and Adullam the Lord had given to
David great victories and a growing reputation as a strong leader. Apparently,
as a result of the Lord’s power on David, his brothers saw fit to join David’s
efforts.
The second
evidence of the Lord’s power on David is in verse 2. The men who joined David were
in distress, in debt or discontented. Those are really negative traits of a
group of men. Typically those who are discontented reject authority. They are
negative and reluctant to join the group. It seems they joined David not for
the righteous ideals of obeying God, but for their self-serving ideals of
avoiding debt and running from distress in their lives.
The only way these
400 men could become an effective fighting force, especially against larger
numbers, is through God’s power over David to lead effectively lead them.
God is at work in
this discontented remnant to take another step closer to lead you to Jesus.
A Moment’s Thought: The church must have God’s power to be an
effective fighting force for Jesus.
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