1 Ch. 12: David's Warriors

1 Chronicles 12:22 "Day after day men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God."

The content of this chapter is new to me, as far as I know. I don't remember reading this in depth about David's exile to Ziklag during Saul's reign in 1 Samuel 27 (entry). The thing about these men is that they are all Benjamites. Like Saul. Why would Saul's kinsmen defect to his enemy? Saul generally became a clown after his anointing. He abused his office, and was a jerk. 

So what's with these guys? They all have impressive attributes like physical strength and skills. They could handle their weapons very well. Being able to throw a stone or shoot an arrow with either hand was probably important. I'm no ancient combat expert, but the strong hand would be the first target I'd take out. These guys could switch and be just as deadly. Can you imagine the dedication that would go into perfecting a skill on your weak side? 

So powerful were these men, that amazingly, in verse 14, of the Gadites, the wussiest guy was match for a hundred, and the he-man a match for a thousand. 100 on it's own is staggering. Can you imagine the razzing? "Ah, that Macbannai, he only killed 114 Philistines."

I find verse 22 amazing. The army of God. I would not want to oppose anything that bore a comparison to such a thing. I imagine the army of God being in formation farther than the eye can see, but necessitating only one person.

Verses 23-37 describe the number of fighting men that joined David at Hebron to go against Saul. The numbers are impressive, but I don't see Saul's army anywhere. Do you think it was just as big? Even the Levites, who didn't have to enlist were so loyal they offered their services to David.