2 Samuel 18:1

2 Samuel 18:1 says, And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.  David counted the number of men with him at this time and it had evidently increased, since he set captains over thousands and over hundreds.  We are not told where they came from, but Matthew Henry said they may have come from the coasts of Israel.  I believe we can safely say that God was providing David with assistance, just as He does for us today when we need it to carry out His will in our life.  Verse two adds, And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.  David divided the troops into three equal groups, with Joab over a third, Abishai over a third, and Ittai over a third.  We cannot all be in the same place at the same time in the war against evil today, but we must all go where God leads us to go.  David said he was going with them as well.  We can be certain that wherever we go under God's direction that He will be there with us as well. Verse three continues, But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.  The people told David to remain in the city because if they failed Absalom would not care about them, but he would pursue David.  Now, we should never ask God to remain behind when we are fighting against Satan and his forces today, nor would He anyway, but it is really not us but God Himself that Satan wishes to destroy.  Verse four states, And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.  David said that he would do what the people thought best, but I believe that he should have sought God's guidance and not just the guidance of the people.  We need to make sure that if our fellow Christians give us advice today that we have also prayed and sought God's will about the situation.  While David stood by the gate, people came to him by the hundreds and thousands.  Verse five adds,  And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.  Even though Absalom was attempting to claim the throne and kill David, David told his three captains to deal gently with him.  If David could have this much compassion for Absalom, I believe it tells us that we should have compassion on those who may be out to harm us  today, especially those who are our fellow believers.   Sometimes, they may not be forgiving toward us, but we are still to want what is best for them under God's guidance.  Verse six continues, So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;  The people with David went out to battle against those following Absalom, even though they were all Israelites, a part of God's chosen people.  As Christians, we are all a part of God's chosen people, and we certainly don't need to be at war with each other.  Verse seven says, Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.  As they fought in the woods of Ephraim, David’s troops killed twenty thousand of the men of Israel who were following Absalom.  It is a shame that so many of God's chosen people had to be slain by others of His chosen people because they mistakenly had followed the wrong person.  We as followers of Christ certainly don't need to be fighting against each other over some mistaken belief or the other.  Verse eight adds, For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.  We are told that more people were killed by the woods themselves, possibly in their attempting to flee too fast, than were killed by the sword.  God didn't need a powerful army to bring victory to His people, and He still doesn't today.  He has already claimed the ultimate victory by a cross on a hill.  We simply need to be faithful to His calling and follow His will for our life as Christians.