I Chronicles 12:23 And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD
All of us have known a great team that wasn’t really a great team. They were not a team, but just a superstar who carried all the rest along on his shoulders. Such teams are not enduringly great. They come in, win for a season, and it doesn’t last because it is not a team; it is just the ability of one, two, three, or so men on the team.
In I Chronicles 12 we find the building of a truly great army, and you find there was a lot of skill involved in this army. Verse 2 says even among the brethren of Saul there were those that joined David in making him king. Verse 2 says they were ambidextrous in hurling stones or shooting arrows. Verse 8 talks about the Gadites who were skilled, fierce, and swift. Verse 32 famously talks about the tribe of Issachar who “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” Verses 33, 35, and 36 say that Zebulon, Dan and Asher were “expert in war.” In other words, these men who joined David were a very skilled group of men. They were brave, quick, and skilled in the art of war. Is that what forged them into a truly great army?
When these men came to David, David says in verses 17-18, “If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me…there is no wrong in my hands, and the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.” That is what these men were, men of united hearts. Verse 22 says, “For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.” A great army was forged of many skilled soldiers.
Verse 23 though tells us the real secret that forges a great army, “And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David in Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD.” In other words, it is purpose and not merely strength or skill that forges a great army. This was a great army not because they were ambidextrous, fierce, swift, or were skilled with weapons. They were a great army because they had a unified purpose. Specifically verse 33 says of Zebulon, “They were not of double heart.” Again, verse 38 says, “All these men of war, that could keep rank, with a perfect heart.” Later, verse 38 says they were “of one heart.” So, they weren’t just men who were strong or skilled, they were men who were unified of purpose.
Sometimes skill can actually be divisive. You can have a group of people in a church where some are skilled one way and some are skilled other ways, and instead of making a team, it makes them divided. One group looks down on the skills of the other. The tribe of Benjamin actually risked themselves by going to join David because Benjamin would have been keen to maintain Saul because he was of their tribe. So, skill is good, but it can be divisive.
Bias can be divisive. The truth is that each of us is a creature and that is because we have been created. God is the Creator and He has created you with a purpose and for a reason. In I Chronicles 12 we find a great army was forged because they found a unified purpose, the purpose that have been given by God in establishing David king of Israel. God had ordained David, but it wasn’t going to happen automatically. It took a lot of work for a lot of people who risked their lives and maybe turned from the easy way. Benjamin went against their own tribal interests to follow the leading, guidance, and obvious purpose of God in establishing David.
Today, God has gifted you. You may or may not know what your gifts are, but it is not your gifts, background, or family that is going to make you greatly useful in the army of God in the cause of Christ. It is purpose, a unified purpose. The Bible says these people had a perfect heart. They could keep rank. Sometimes people can have a great gift, but they can’t keep rank. They keep breaking out of line and trying to forge ahead of the team. They are not interested in teamwork but in gratifying themselves and appearing important. You may not be as gifted as you want to be or you may be more gifted than those around you, but either way it is important to remember it is purpose, not strength or skill, that forges a great army.