1 Chronicles 12:1-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 12:1-22. Let’s go!
1 Chronicles 12:18 (NIV)
18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Success, success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.
On verses 1-22: In these verses we see gifted and outstanding leaders from various tribes of Israel – from Benjamin (v1-7, 16), Gad (v8-15), Judah (v16) and Manasseh (v19-21) – rallying around David. They came at a time when David was running for his life from a jealous King Saul and masquerading as an ally of the Philistines. You can sense the pressure and hurt David has been through when he says in verse 17, “If you have come to me in peace, to help me, I am ready to have you unite with me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.” It’s because David has been hurt before by people he trusted, so now David is wary of too trusting others too quickly.
Amasai in verse 18 responds with a word that reflects the spirit of the men who followed David: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Success, success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you.”
With such a devoted group around him, David had the team he needed to not only survive his enemy’s attacks but also to build a kingdom. I love what verses 21-22 say about this group that surrounded David:
1 Chronicles 12:21-22 (NIV)
21 They helped David against raiding bands, for all of them were brave warriors, and they were commanders in his army.
22 Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.
What can we learn from this?
For any organization to be successful and effective, whether it’s a church, a sports team, or a business, the members of that team have to be united and fully committed to both their cause and to the leader who leads them. As Jesus says, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:24), but when a team is united and committed to the one who leads them, they become an unstoppable army.
Since the church is the most important team you can be a part of, let me ask you this: how well do you support, follow, and fight for those who lead your church – i.e. your pastors? Remember that your pastors are not simply here to feed you spiritually. Your pastors are commanders of a spiritual army, of which you are an important part, to advance God’s kingdom. How quickly and willingly do you respond to your pastors? How well do you support and get behind your leaders? Are you quick to follow their lead or are you quick to resist their lead?
Imagine what kind of impact we as a church could make together for God’s kingdom if our attitude matched that of Amasai and the other mighty men who said to David, their pastor and leader, “We are yours. We are with you. Success to you and success to those who help you, for your God will help you.” (v18) May we as a church be a great and united army like that so that we can take on our city together in Jesus’ name.
Do you want to see God move mightily through your church and make your church an unstoppable force for hope in our city and around the world? Then pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, I pray that I would be fully united with and devoted to the pastors you have placed in my church to help lead Your army. May I show the same kind of love and devotion to my pastors as Amasai and all these other warriors showed to David. When I courageously submit and joyfully give support in this way, not only will this encourage my pastors but it will empower my church to become everything You made us to be: an unstoppable force for hope in our city and around the world. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
