1 Samuel 22:1-2 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
When David was anointed king over Israel, he didn’t take his place at the throne immediately. He had to wait, and bide his time, until Saul was removed from power, before arriving at his destined place as King. Like His father David, Yeshua (Jesus) was received as Israel’s king/messiah at the triumphal entry, (often called “Palm Sunday”), and then, “anointed” King of the Jews, ironically receiving His true title from the Romans, while hanging on a cross. But He is still waiting to reveal His identity as King on earth, during the Millennial reign when His kingdom will replace the kingdoms of this world at His second advent. [Rev. 11:15].
Now, while David was waiting for his kingship to become a reality, he was chased and persecuted by Saul, driven into the wild, outlying places in the Land. There, he found other outcasts who became his followers; men who were in distress, in debt, or discontented in one way or another; those who felt they had no part in this life any longer.
Rather than casting these people away from him, because, after all he was a king, David drew them to himself, by the anointing on his life and the strength of his character; and they, of all people, recognized that he was the chosen King of Israel. David’s true kingly nature embraced these lowly men and transformed them into a mighty army.
Yeshua does exactly the same with us, even while He has been rejected as king of this world. Outcasts, broken, indebted, despised, discontented people [1 Cor. 1:26-28] are chosen out of the world, and transformed by Him into mighty vessels to serve his kingdom purposes while we wait and pray for His kingdom to come.
Perhaps you’ve been in distress, or struggling with debt, or discontented with life…have you met the outcast King of the Jews? Have you decided to follow the One whose own received Him not? Have you recognized that His present kingdom is not of this world, because He’s waiting for His house to be filled, before He returns? If you, an outcast, have recognized the One whom the world has not known, press on, following and serving Him! He has called you to be a mighty man of war, as were the men who surrounded King David. Only remember, your battle is not with flesh and blood.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When Moses sent out the 12 spies to report on the condition of the land of “milk and honey”, ten of the spies brought back a bad report. They focused on the giants, and the great obstacles in their way. They walked with eyes set on the physical realm and said within themselves, “We are but grasshoppers in the sight of these giants!
Living in Israel all these years, I often encounter amazing stories of God’s deliverance and grow increasingly fond of listening to the fascinating ways He shows His power. During our tour in England recently, we met a man whose family experienced a great miracle during WW1. He tells this incredible story…
In this world we will face all kinds of obstacles, trials and tribulations and we should be wary of any doctrines or teachings that say we shouldn’t have to face these things. Why? Because the Lord said we will have tribulations. So the encouragement He is giving is simply this: You’re going to face trials, but GOD is greater than any problem you will face in this world!
When the prophet Jonah entered Nineveh, he gave a message of hopelessness — in 40 days your city will be destroyed! He did not say, Nineveh will be destroyed “unless”, but emphatically prophesied destruction to the people of the city — seeming to say their situation was hopeless. Yet hearing this message …
If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named Louis.
The first is of Louis XIV, France’s absolute monarch. He represents one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philosophy of life was that the whole nation and the world, should serve him.
Knowing He was about to depart, Yeshua (Jesus) left His disciples with a final command: stay in Jerusalem, and wait…for the promise. Of the thousands who had witnessed His miraculous ministry and heard His amazing teaching, and the hundreds that had actually seen Him after the resurrection, we read in Acts that only 120 stayed and tarried until the promise arrived. But these 120 were steadfast. They waited the full term…
I don’t know about you, but it seems that the tests we’re going through are getting harder and harder. Do you remember when you took tests in high school? At the time they may have seemed hard. But imagine if you had to take an elementary school test when you were in high school. You’d probably think – oh this is so simple.