Articles
An Army of Talent
An Army of Talent
The early chapters of 1 Chronicles recount Israel under King Saul. Sadly, Saul was a sinful man, and God rejected him as king, and instead chose David, a man after His own heart. But God anointed David king before God had removed Saul from the throne. Thus, for many years, David was on the run, while Saul did everything in his power to hunt him down and kill him. Even while dealing with Saul, David was helping the downtrodden of the land, and defending the people against foreign enemies, and shepherding them as their leader.
1 Chronicles 12 lists the mighty men of valor whom God sent to serve David during this difficult time of wandering and war, “while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish” (12:1).
First came some men of Benjamin, Saul’s own kin! They put loyalty to God above family. “They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow” (12:2). God knew David would need men of skilled precision, of legendary talent, to cast missiles at his enemies from a distance. They were so talented they were ambidextrous.
Then came some men of Gad who were equipped for hand-to-hand combat, “mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains” (12:8). They were so mighty that, “he who was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand” (12:14). God knew David would need support in the knock-down, drag-out fights, and supplied him with the best. In fact, God records the amazing exploits of some more of these individuals in the previous chapter (read 11:16-19; 22-23).
“Day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God” (12:22). God filled His own kingdom, lowly as it seemed, with bravery, skill, and talent. Of Judah, 6,800 men with spears and shields for war (12:24). Of Ephraim, 20,800 men so mighty they were “famous men in their fathers’ households” (12:30). Of Zebulun, there were 50,000 who fought “with an undivided heart” (12:33).
The next group is especially interesting. Of the sons of Issachar, came “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsman were at their command” (12:32). God had sent lots of muscle to David. He had, by my count, about 340,000 men, all of whom “could draw up in battle formation” and all of whom “came to Hebron with a perfect heart to make David king over all Israel” (12:38). David had thousands who could move swiftly to the front of a battle and grit their teeth and fight bravely in the trenches. David had hundreds who could stand behind the lines and fire missiles to wound and kill the enemy. But God’s people also needed discernment and leadership, the knowledge to know what the times called for, and the wisdom to know how to respond.
God has filled His kingdom today with much the same. Many brave men and women have reported to Jesus for duty. They are multi-talented, precise, organized. They are willing to serve a lowly, loving shepherd King, the greater Son of David, who promises future glory. They are not discouraged but have set aside their own desires to fill His ranks even in the less-inviting wilderness of this world. Among them is an awareness that this is a “perverse generation” (Acts 2:40). Leaders are taking God’s inspired message and applying it to the church of this age, just as God would require. It may be that the Apostles never heard the words “abortion, humanism, Darwinism, transgenderism,” but God has provided His people shepherds who are on the alert (Acts 20:28-31) and who know what steps the church should take to protect itself from such incursions.
Though it is 2023, the Lord’s battles must still be fought. May the ranks of God’s people swell with active volunteers, not sideline sitters. May God bless each person with many talents to use in His service (1 Peter 4:10-11)—teachers like Apollos, encouragers like Barnabas, helpers like Tabitha, writers like Tertius, praying people like Onesiphorus, givers, cooks, chauffeurs, and many more. And may God provide the insightful leadership to navigate these troubling times and know how the Lord’s people, young and old and in-between, should respond to materialism, aimlessness, immorality, false teaching, and anything else that threatens His reign. In Christ is victory! “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
-John Guzzetta
