1 Chronicles 27 reminds me how quick we are to take the blessings of God as our own doing. Some people are blessed with intelligence and they credit their study habits, others have physical health and they point to their fitness regiment. But there is a wonderful joy that comes from using our God-given ability with a thankful heart. Psalm 40 expresses David’s heart, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!” But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me“. King David was blessed with the gift of administration. He created order and structure at every mention. Here David organized the army, the tribes, and his support staff. Important to note, this came immediately after David’s catastrophic error of taking a census. David was rebuked for numbering God’s people as his own. The clear lesson for us is; we can still be wonderfully used by God even after our failures. The chapter begins, “This is the list of the Israelites heads of families, commanders… who served the king“. David devised a way to keep the large army trained, yet allow each man to tend to his own affairs by creating the army reserve. “The army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year… Each division consisted of 24,000 men” and served for one month a year. Do you reserve time to be restored? Even armies need time off!
Many of the men assigned to lead the divisions were old trusted companions. Most of these “Mighty Men” came to David when he was at his lowest point, hiding in a cave. And before joining with David they were, “in distress… in debt, and… discontented“. It is amazing what God can do with a few humble and faithful people. David remained fiercely loyal to them and they were equally loyal to him. “In charge of the first division, for the first month, was Jashobeam…He was a descendant of Perez and chief of all the army officers“. “For the second month was Dodai the Ahohite…For the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest…was a mighty man among the Thirty and was over the Thirty“. These men were from a variety of tribes and families, with the only commonality being King David. “The fourth month, was Asahel the brother of Joab… the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite… the sixth month, was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite… the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite… the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite… the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjamite… the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite… the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite… the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel“. Like the church today, we are united by our relationship with the Savior and our “usefulness” has little to do with our own might.
The chapter ends with David organizing “The officers over the tribes” and “The King’s Overseers“. And there is a reminder that “David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less“. They were simply not considered for positions on the battlefield. This is probably a good reminder that young men are easily distracted and should always be supervised. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it“. It does not say, the child will not depart from it! I pray you will be able to find time to thank God for your blessings and be refreshed today.