David's Crummy Army

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After some time serving in Saul's palace as a musician, David's presence began to anger Saul and Saul purposed to kill him. Tipped off to this by his best friend Jonathan (who was also Saul's son), David fled into the desert wilderness.

There, God provided David with the army he would need to accompany him, protect him, and fulfill the ultimate will of God in placing David upon the throne of Israel. You would think that God would send a big army, or at least a smaller group of Israel's very elite soldiers. But God didn't do that. In fact, in 1 Samuel 22:2, we see that God ended up sending David a crummy army.

The Distinct Qualities of a Crummy Army
The men that God sent to David had three distinct qualities:

1. They were all distressed. The original Greek definition of the word "distressed" in this verse speaks of a person who is oppressed or has a disability.

2. They were all in debt. The original Greek definition of the word "in debt" in this verse speaks of a person who is in financial debt, while noting the possibility that the person also may have been led astray, is mentally deluded, or has been morally seduced.

3. They were all discontented. The original Greek definition of the word "discontented" in this verse speaks of a person who has a bitter vitality (in other words, as opposed to a person who is grumpy sometimes, a person whose bitterness has a life of its own).

So this was the army that God caused to gather themselves unto David, the men with whom He surrounded him, the men of whom He would make David captain......

They were oppressed or had a disability, were in financial debt and perhaps led astray or deluded or seduced, and they were men whose bitterness had a life of its own.

What a crummy army.

Trained Up In The Pasture
David was anointed as a child by the prophet Samuel, Samuel initially looked upon the outward appearance of Jesse's sons and was unable to see God's elect. God admonished Samuel that "I do not look upon outward appearance but upon the heart." The moment Samuel began to approach his assignment in the Spirit, he was led to ask if there were any more sons, David was brought to him, and Samuel saw the chosen of Israel and anointed him.

And then David assumed the throne, right? No, he didn't.

David went back to the pasture where the sheep were. There, he had been learning all about caring for and protecting his father's sheep. And in quieter moments, he would simply worship God. Years later, having been trained up in an earthly pasture to care for and protect his earthly father's earthly sheep, David would be called to care for and protect His heavenly Father's sheep (the children of Israel) as king of Israel. And he never forgot the importance of the worship he had learned in that same earthly pasture.

One Man's Desert Is Another Man's Pasture
David may have felt that he would need a proficient army to survive the rigors of the desert wilderness and the pursuits of Saul, but the reason that God sent these specific men to David had nothing to do with David. It had to do with them.

You see, God had purposed that these 400 men would go with David to be trained up in the desert wilderness just as David had been trained up in the pasture.

As they traveled from plain to plain, mountain to mountain, valley to valley, cave to cave, God led and guided and protected David and his army at every turn. There were times when Saul would arrive at David's camp to find it abandoned just before, with the campfires still smoking, no doubt. Through His Holy Spirit, you see, God had warned David and his army of Saul's impending approach. They were learning what it meant to be men of war, men of obedience and men of worshipful adoration of God Almighty.

The desert wilderness through which they were chased was the same to those men as the pasture had been to David in his youth. It was God school, and they learned lessons to last a lifetime. Both the pasture and the desert were far away from their "home", their comfort, and their preferences, and so it is for us.

One man's desert is another man's pasture, and this is born out in the original Hebrew definition of the word "wilderness"; it means either "desert" or "pasture."

A Destiny Forged In The Desert, A Purpose Founded In The Pasture
We know of the Godly purpose, founded in that sheep pasture as a youth, that would eventually be realized in David.

But these 400 men, so marred and troubled when they first came to David, had a Godly destiny of their own. Having been trained up in the desert wilderness, they were later referred to as "the mighty men of valor". Yes, these 400 men in David's crummy army grew up in God to become the generals of Israel.

Going by their outward appearance, by their attitudes, by their actions, by their track records, no one could have predicted that these 401 men would amount to anything at all. But God saw their hearts, and knew their destinies, and had a purpose for each of them. For us, too.

Calling All Crummy Soldiers!
Say, are there more times than you'd like to mention when you feel oppressed? Do you sometimes feel like you have a spiritual disability? Are you financially in over your head, or feel confused or weak at times? Is it possible that you privately harbor bitter resentment that just won't go away, hard as you try?

There's a train pulling up at the railway station of your heart. Look up at the destination on the railside display, my friend. It says either "Desert" or "Pasture." Either way, this gut-wrenching but very necessary trip is in your future, and it leads to blessings unimaginable!

Be encouraged by God's Word that we've considered today, my friends. God knows your heart and He has a very special destiny and purpose for your life. He will never be disappointed in you, He will never leave you, and He will always be there to teach you about His thoughts and ways. He is your biggest fan, and He knows where you're headed. Trust Him, and He will lead you through the desert or pasture to a land of promise.

By the same token, do you have some people in your life that fit the "crummy army" description we've learned today? It is easy to look at others' outward appearance, attitudes, actions, and track record and form what we suppose to be a Godly, Biblical opinion. Maybe, though, we need to heed God's instruction to Samuel. Maybe we need to pause for a moment and ask God to reveal to us the hearts of those who stand at our sides. Maybe that's not really an annoying, obnoxious weirdo beside us at all. Maybe it's a future mighty man of valor.

If We Can Do It......
Whether it is in a pasture that is at times viciously attacked by lions and bears, or a wilderness seemingly devoid of any kindness or sustenance at all, we learn of God's plan for us. But we also learn something greater, a foundational Truth that is the underpinning of all else that we will ever learn from God. Whether it is in the pasture or in the wilderness, we learn one thing.

If we can do it, God's not in it.

Scary as it may be, we must release it all to Him. We must give Him our everything, and trust in Him alone. There will be wounds and failures in the desert and in the pasture but, in the end, God will have created within us something of eternal value...

A faithful child.


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Below is a skit version of the Max Lucado book entitled You Are Special. It is performed by young believers as someone narrates the story by reading Max Lucado's book. Please check it out; it ties in nicely with what is written above.