1 Chronicles 12:1

1 Chronicles 12:1 says, Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war.  David had men who stayed near him because of the threat Saul posed to him.  As followers of Christ, we should never pose a threat to one another.  Verse two adds, They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.  These were kin to Saul but chose to come to serve David.  Our earthly birth parents don't determine whether we will serve God or not, but our rebirth through putting our faith in Jesus Christ does bring us salvation and should lead us to serve God.  It is a free choice. We are told that they could use a bow and hurl stones, or use a sling, with both their right and left hand.  Verse three continues, The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite.  We are told who six of these men were.   Once more, the names of some of the great men of faith will be remembered here, while others will not, but God will remember them all.  Verse four states, And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite,  Next, we are told of some of the men of Gad who were noted as being mighty men and serving David.  This continues for the next several verses.  Verse five adds, Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite,  Verse six continues, Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites,  Verse seven concludes, And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.  Verse eight says, And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;  The next few verses single out some of the men of Gad who served David in the hold and the wilderness.  They were also known as mighty men and stayed close to David.  If we are to be mighty men and women of God today, we must remain near Him at all times, and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we are, but we can still refuse to be obedient to Him.  Verse nine adds, Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,  Verse ten continues, Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,  Verse eleven says, Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,  Verse twelve adds, Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,  Verse thirteen continues, Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh.  Verse fourteen says, These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.  Thess men of Gad were over anywhere from a hundred to a thousand others.  We are not all called to be over the same number of people in God's kingdom today, if we are called to be, and must be content with serving where God call us, whether it is to a great or smaller area of service. Verse fifteen adds, These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.  These men were also willing to brave the raging river Jordan when it was flooding to pursue the enemies of Israel.  We should never allow conditions to stop us from presenting the gospel.

1 Chronicles 11:20

1 Chronicles 11:20 says, And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name among the three.  Abishai was the chief of these three mighty men of valor, having killed three hundred of the enemy by himself.  There is always going to be one who stands above the others in the fight against the enemies of God, but that doesn't mean that everyone else should just rely on that person nor give up because they aren't as successful.  Verse twenty-one adds, Of the three, he was more honourable than the two; for he was their captain: howbeit he attained not to the first three.  Matthew Henry points out that we learn later that one of these three was a Moabite and another an Ammonite, and that they were forbidden to enter the congregation of the Lord, but that they had evidently proven themselves to be worthy of having that law suspended.  I don't think we can ever just suspend God's law, but only He can, so I would have to believe in this case He did.  I do know that none are excluded from coming to God by faith in Jesus Christ, and we cannot prove ourselves worthy of that free gift.  Verse twenty-two states, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day.  Benaiah was note for having killed two lionlike men, and also for killing a lion in a pit on a snowy day.  Though not the same as killing three hundred by himself, these were also acts of valor.  At times, it may not be the number of the enemies of God that we overcome but the strength of the ones that we do.  Verse twenty-three adds, And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.  Benaiah also killed an Egyptian giant who was heavily armed when he himself had only a staff.  He killed the giant by taking his sword and killing him with it.  No matter how big our enemy may seem, if we are acting under God's authority, ultimately the victory is ours.  Verse twenty-four continues, These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties.  We are told that Benaiah did these things.  Verse twenty-five concludes, Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.  We are then told that though he was a mighty and honorable man, Benaiah was not considered as great as the three, but David did set him over his guard.  We should never be concerned if other Christians are held in higher regard than we are, as long as we are doing what God called us to do.  Verse twenty-six says, Also the valiant men of the armies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,  The rest of the chapter simply lists the names of many of the valiant men of the army of David.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,  Verse twenty-eight continues, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Antothite,  Verse twenty-nine states, Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,  Verse thirty adds, Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite,  Verse thirty-one continues, Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, that pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,  Verse thirty-two says, Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite,  Verse thirty-three adds, Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite,  Verse thirty-four continues, The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite,  Verse thirty-five states, Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur,  Verse thirty-six adds, Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,  Verse thirty-seven continues, Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, Verse thirty-eight says, Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Haggeri,  Verse thirty-nine adds, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armourbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,  Verse forty continues, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Verse forty-one states, Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, Verse forty-two adds, Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him,  We do have the added information that Adina was a captain of the Reubenites who had thirty others with him.  Verse forty-three continues, Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,  Verse forty-four says, Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the Aroerite,  Verse forty-five adds, Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite,  Verse forty-six continues, Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite,  Verse forty-seven concludes, Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel the Mesobaite.  Since these verses give us little more than the names of certain people and whose son they were and where they were from, there is little that can be said about how this applies to us today, other than to say that God calls people from everywhere to serve Him.

1 Chronicles 11:10

1 Chronicles 11:10 says, These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.  Though David was king by God's appointment, he still had mighty men around him to help him establish his rule over the people.  God doesn't send us alone to proclaim the gospel, though we should be willing to do so if necessary.  Verse eleven adds, And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.  The first mentioned, Jashobeam, had killed three hundred by himself at one time.  We should not allow overpowering odds to keep us from doing what God calls us to do.  Verse twelve continues, And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.  Then, Eleazar was called one of the three known as the mighties..  Verse thirteen states, He was with David at Pasdammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines.  Eleazar had been with David when they encountered a group of Philistines in a valley full of barley that the people of Israel had fled from.  Verse fourteen adds, And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.  Eleazar and David set themselves in the middle of the valley and killed the Philistines and delivered the valley back to the people of Israel by God's power.  Even if other Christians run away from the battle against the forces of evil today, we must stand firm by the leadership and power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse fifteen says, Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.  Then, we are told of another time when David had three of his captains with him in a cave in the battle against the Philistines.  He was basically hiding out at this point.  Verse sixteen adds, And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines' garrison was then at Bethlehem.  While David was in the hold, or cave, the Philistine's were in Bethlehem.  David did not always have an immediate and easy victory, and we may not either.  Verse seventeen continues, And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!  David expressed a personal longing for some water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, which was controlled by the Philistines.  We should never allow our personal desire to become more important than what God wants of us.  Sometimes, we seem to be dissatisfied with what we have and want something that we see as better.  Verse eighteen states, And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord.  These three great captains of David broke through the Philistines and got David the water he wanted, but he would not drink it and poured it out to God instead.  David recognized the sin of selfishness in his life and realized that men had put themselves in danger to satisfy his selfishness, and he would not put himself above his men, and he had by asking for or mentioning his desire for the water.  David poured the water out to God in devotion to Him.  This was something he wanted, but not more than He wanted to be devoted to God.  We need some of these same attributes today.  Verse nineteen adds, And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.  David said because these three men put their lives in danger just to fulfill a desire he had that he would not drink the water.  We need to consider what our desires might cost others if we are acting selfishly and refuse to endanger others just to fulfill our own selfish desires. 

1 Chronicles 11:1

1 Chronicles 11:1 says, Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.  All of the people of Israel gathered at Hebron before David and proclaimed themselves to be his kinsmen.  Though we may not be related physically, as followers of Christ we are all related spiritually, and Jesus is our King.  We should all gather around Him and proclaim ourselves to be brothers and sisters by our faith in Him.  Verse two adds, And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.  The people even acknowledged that during the reign of Saul that David had done more to keep Israel safe than Saul had, and that God had already anointed him king even then.  Of course, many of them didn't acknowledge this while Saul was still in power.  No matter who is in power in the world, we need to acknowledge that Jesus Christ alone can save us.  Verse three continues, Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.  All the elders came and anointed David as king as Samuel had proclaimed him already according to God's word, and David made a covenant with them.  Jesus Christ has always been the true King, and He has made a covenant with us if we will only acknowledge it.  Verse four states, And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.  David then relocated the seat of power from Hebron to Jerusalem.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we must relocate the seat of power in our life from self to Him.  Verse five adds, And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.  The Jebusites opposed this relocation, saying David would not be allowed to take over the city.  Our sinful nature will often oppose our allowing the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives and be our Guide.  Of course, unlike David and the city of Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit will never force us to allow Him to rule in our life.  Verse six continues, And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.  David promised that whoever defeated the Jebusites would be his chief and captain, and Joab did so and was made David's captain.  Our victory over sin and evil comes through God by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ on the cross and by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, so we must make God the captain over our life.  Verse seven says, And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David.  David took up residence in the castle in Jerusalem and the city became known as the city of David.  When we are saved, we should be known as God's people, no matter where we may live.  Verse eight adds, And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city.  David did not establish Jerusalem, but he added to it and repaired the damage that had been done to it.  Jesus Christ does not live in our lives to rule over us until we accept Him by faith, but once we do, He will add to our lives spiritually and repair the damage that sin has done.  Verse nine continues, So David waxed greater and greater: for the Lord of hosts was with him.  David grew stronger and stronger, because God was with him.  We should grow spiritually stronger because God is with us as Christians.

1 Chronicles 10:8

1 Chronicles 10:8 says, And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.  While the Philistines were stripping the bodies of the Israelites of everything of value, they came across the bodies of Saul and his sons.  For all his failures, Saul had been involved in the battle.  Even if we fail at times as Christians, we must always be willing to be engaged in the battle against sin and evil in the world, even if we die in the battle.  Verse nine adds, And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.  After stripping Saul, the Philistines took his head and armor to be put on display in their land before their idols and people.  They saw the defeat of Saul as a defeat of God as well.  People who worship other gods still have this view today.  Verse ten continues, And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.  They displayed Saul's armor in the house of their gods and fastened his head to the temple of their god Dagon.  Again, this was to show that their god was more powerful than Saul's God, but they were wrong, and so is anyone who claims some other god is more powerful than our God today if we are Christians.  Verse fourteen states, And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, Verse twelve adds, They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.  When the men of Jabesh Gilead heard what had been done to Saul by the Philistines, we are told being men of valor that they took the bodies of Saul and his sons and buried them under the oak of Jabesh and fasted seven days.  If we hear of bad things being done to Christians today, we need to be people of valor and do all that we can under God's guidance and power to stop it.  Verse thirteen continues, So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;  We are told that Saul died for his sins and for seeking guidance from an unfamiliar spirit, or a spirit not of God.  All sin will bring death a death penalty, but Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sin for all time when He died on the cross, and through faith putting our faith in Him, we can avoid the penalty of death.  Verse fourteen concludes, And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.  We are also told that God was responsible for the death of Saul and not the Philistines.  It was actually Saul's refusal to follow God that led to his death, and if we refuse to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will end up spiritually dead, forever separated from God.  God then turned the kingdom of Israel over to David, because Saul was not obedient to Him.  If God had called us for a purpose, we must look to Him for guidance in carrying it out.  Otherwise, He may give our role in His kingdom to someone else. 

1 Chronicles 10:1

1 Chronicles 10:1 says, Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.  It seems that the Philistines were often at war with the people of Israel, and the people of Israel ran from them in fear.  As followers of Christ, we should never run away from evil in the world out of fear.  Verse two adds, And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.  This was during Saul's reign and was when Jonathan and Saul's other sons were killed.  We aren't really given any information about Saul being king before this.  Still, if we don't run away in fear, and even though God will forever protect us spiritually, we may be defeated physically.  Verse three continues, And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.  We are told of Saul being wounded in battle.  Verse four states, Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.  Saul asked his armor bearer to kill him so he wouldn't be captured and abused by the Philistines.  We are not told that he looked for God for deliverance, and this should always be our first action no matter how hopeless things might seem.  The armor bearer wouldn't do it out of fear, not of Saul but of others if they found out what he did I believe, so Saul killed himself.  We should never allow ourselves to get to the point where life seems so hopeless that we kill ourselves, but if we do, it is not an unpardonable sin in my opinion.  Verse five adds, And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died.  Saul's armor bearer killed himself when he saw Saul was dead.  He may have thought he would be blamed and didn't want to face the consequences if he was.  We should never allow the death of another person to cause us to kill ourselves.  Verse six continues, So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together.  We are told that Saul and all his house died together, but we know that one of Jonathan's sons lived.  Verse seven concludes, And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.  When the people of Israel in the valley near Saul saw that Saul and his sons were dead, they fled, and the Philistines took over their cities.   We don't need to allow the defeat of others to cause us to abandon our faith in God and flee from those who oppose Him.  As long as we remain faithful, we are already victorious, so there is never a reason to run from evil in this world.

1 Chronicles 9:35

1 Chronicles 9:35 says, And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife's name was Maachah:  Gibeon's father was said to live in the land of Gibeon.  This seems to be a strange statement that he lived in a land named for his son, but if this was written later, it might have been by then.  Matthew Henry says it could have been an error in transcription, but though a redundancy, for whatever reason it is stated this way, we just need to accept it by faith.  This is the family that Saul, the first king of Israel, would come from.  Verse thirty-six adds, And his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab.  Verse thirty-seven continues,  And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth.  Verse thirty-eight concludes, And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren at Jerusalem, over against their brethren.  Here, we are told that these descendants of Jehiel lived near Jerusalem.  Verse thirty-nine states, And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.  We get to Saul, then follow with the sons of Jonathan and their children.  Verse forty adds, And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal: and Meribbaal begat Micah.  Verse forty-one continues, And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz.  Verse forty-two says, And Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza;  Verse forty-three adds, And Moza begat Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.  Verse forty-four concludes, And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.