1 Chronicles 12:29 says, And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul. There were three thousand descendants of Benjamin, who had mostly guarded Saul. These three thousand now followed David. No matter who we may have followed or protected before, we need to come to Jesus Christ if we are to have salvation, and we who are Christians should never reject others simply because of what they may have been before. Verse thirty adds, And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valour, famous throughout the house of their fathers. The men of the tribe of Ephraim who were supporting David numbered twenty thousand eight hundred, and they were called mighty men of valor as many others had been. I will say again that as Christians, we should be mighty in our stand for God. Verse thirty-one adds, And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king. Of the half of the tribe of Manasseh who did cross over the Jordan there were eighteen thousand and they came to make David king. They were separated from the other half of the tribe by the Jordan, but they were all still a part of the tribe of Manasseh. No matter where we may live in the world, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are a part of God's kingdom. Verse thirty-two states, And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. This was the smallest listed of the tribes in numbers, with only two hundred men listed, but it also says all their brethren were at their command, and they were said to understand the times. Matthew Henry says this could have meant the planting times, the ceremonial times of worship, but likely meant the political times of the world. They may have been small in numbers, but they were of great service to David. We need to be knowledgeable about what is going on in the world today, from the environment, to the worship of God, and even to the political affairs in the world. Verse thirty-three adds, Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart. Of the tribe of Zebulun there were fifty thousand men, who were noted as expert in war and who brought their weapons with them. They were said to be able to keep order and were not double in heart, or dedicated to anyone but David under God's guidance we would hope. It is good to be brave and devoted as long as we are brave and devoted to God and not doubleminded about our loyalty. Verse thirty-four continues, And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand. From the tribe of Nephtali, there were a thousand who were referred to as captains, or military leaders, and thirty-seven thousand men under them who brought their shields and spears. There should always be leaders in the church today, and we should follow them under God's direction and armed with the armor of God. Verse thirty-five states, And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. Of the tribe of Dan, there were twenty-eight thousand, six hundred men who were said to be expert in war. I believe this means they had experience in fighting wars, just as we should be experts in fighting the spiritual war in the world today. Verse thirty-six adds, And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. Of the tribe of Asher, there were forty thousand men who were also said to be expert at war. Verse thirty-seven says, And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand. Of all those who didn't cross over the Jordan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, there were a total of one hundred and twenty thousand men with their weapons. Though physically separated from the rest of Israel, they were still very much a part of Israel. Verse thirty-eight adds, All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. All these men came to Hebron to make David king. We must all come to Jesus and make Him our King today if we are to be saved, and then we must become engaged in fighting the spiritual war against sin and evil. Verse thirty-nine continues, And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them. These men from across the Jordan spent three days with the others, eating and drinking what their brothers, the rest of the people of Israel had prepared for them. We need be united as God's people and support one another's needs. Verse forty concludes, Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel. Those that were the closest to Hebron had brought an abundance of food to feed the others. We who are closest to God should be willing to give generously to help others who may be in need, especially our fellow Christians.
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