The Gathering Storm: God's Great Camp Text: 1 Chronicles 12:19-22
Introduction: The Tides of Providence
We live in a time of great political and spiritual turbulence. The allegiances of men are shifting, the foundations seem to be shaking, and many are tempted to despair, wondering where God is in all the mess. We see corrupt and failing leadership on the one hand, and we hear the promises of God on the other, and we struggle to see how He will get us from here to there. We want a clean story, a straight line from problem to solution. But God is a master storyteller, and He delights in writing straight with crooked lines.
The life of David is a master class in the providence of God. And this particular snapshot from 1 Chronicles is a beautiful case study in how God builds His kingdom, not in a sterile laboratory, but in the mud and grime of human history, with all its compromised situations, its political intrigue, and its shifting loyalties. David, the anointed king, is in the bizarre position of running with the Philistines, the sworn enemies of God's people. He is on his way to a battle where he might have to fight against his own countrymen, against the very kingdom he is destined to rule. It is a tangled, knotted, and deeply problematic situation.
And yet, it is precisely in this tangled knot that God is doing His most intricate work. While the established order under Saul is rotting from the head down, God is assembling a new order around David. He is drawing men, mighty men, not to a pristine and triumphant king already on his throne, but to a fugitive king in a borrowed town. This passage teaches us that God's kingdom often grows most powerfully on the margins, when the official structures are failing. It teaches us that true loyalty is not to a failing institution or a rejected man, but to the man God has chosen. And it teaches us that God's plan is inexorable. When He decides to build a great camp, He will build it, day by day, man by man, until it is a force that cannot be ignored.
We must therefore learn to read the times. We must learn to see where God is building and where He is dismantling. The men of Manasseh in our text saw it. They understood that the tide of God's favor had turned, and they acted accordingly. They abandoned a dead cause to join a living one, and in so doing, became part of the foundation of Israel's golden age.
The Text
Now from Manasseh also some defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines after counsel sent him away, saying, “At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.” As he went to Ziklag there defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. They helped David against the marauding band, for they were all mighty men of valor, and were commanders in the army. For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great camp like the camp of God.
(1 Chronicles 12:19-22 LSB)
Providential Rejection (v. 19)
We begin with the glorious irony of God's sovereign hand at work in the counsel of the pagans.
"Now from Manasseh also some defected to David when he was about to go to battle with the Philistines against Saul. But they did not help them, for the lords of the Philistines after counsel sent him away, saying, 'At the cost of our heads he may defect to his master Saul.'" (1 Chronicles 12:19 LSB)
Here we see the doctrine of providence in high definition. David is in a terrible ethical bind. He has been given refuge by Achish, the Philistine king of Gath, and is now marching with the Philistine army to fight Israel. What is he going to do? If he fights for the Philistines, he is a traitor to his people and his God. If he turns on the Philistines in the middle of the battle, he is a treacherous opportunist. He has painted himself into a corner.
But God is the master of getting His people out of corners they have painted themselves into. And how does He do it? He uses the shrewd, unbelieving political calculations of the Philistine lords. They look at David and his Hebrew army, and they do the math. They say, "This man's loyalty is suspect. The best way for him to get back in Saul's good graces would be to turn on us and bring our heads to his former master." Their reasoning is entirely secular, entirely pragmatic. They are not seeking to do God's will. They are trying to save their own necks.
And in their godless political calculus, they perfectly accomplish the will of God. They send David home. God spares David from having to make an impossible choice. He delivers him not by a thunderclap from heaven, but through the backroom dealings of pagan warlords. This is how God governs the world. He makes the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10). He uses the self-interest of the ungodly to protect His anointed and advance His kingdom. We should take great comfort in this. The political machinations of our own day, the decisions made in Washington or Brussels or Beijing by men who do not fear God, are all being steered by His invisible hand to accomplish His good purposes for His people.
Notice also the timing. Just as David is in this compromised position, men from Manasseh are already on their way to join him. They are "defecting." This is a key word. They are leaving the established, but spiritually dead, administration of Saul to join the king in exile. Their loyalty is not to the office, but to the anointing. They recognize that God's hand has left Saul and is now resting on David.
The Muster at Ziklag (v. 20-21)
So David is sent away from the battle, and as he returns to his base of operations, the momentum continues to build.
"As he went to Ziklag there defected to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. They helped David against the marauding band, for they were all mighty men of valor, and were commanders in the army." (1 Chronicles 12:20-21 LSB)
The Chronicler gives us a list of names. History is not an abstract force; it is the story of real people making real choices. These men, Adnah, Jozabad, and the rest, were not low-level grunts. They were "chiefs of thousands," commanders in the army. These were men of substance, influence, and proven skill. They were leaving positions of authority in Saul's kingdom to throw in their lot with a fugitive. This was a high-stakes gamble from a worldly perspective, but from a heavenly perspective, it was the only sane move.
They understood what the Philistines suspected, but they saw it from the covenantal side. The Philistines feared David would defect to Saul. These men knew that true loyalty now meant defecting from Saul. Saul was the apostate king. He had disobeyed God, consulted a witch, and the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. To remain loyal to Saul was to be loyal to a corpse. These men from Manasseh were discerning. They saw where the life was. They were transferring their allegiance from the king rejected by God to the king chosen by God.
And what is the first thing they do? They help David fight. Upon returning to Ziklag, David found it had been raided by the Amalekites and his family and possessions taken. These newly arrived commanders, these "mighty men of valor," are immediately put to the test. They don't just sign up for a pension; they sign up for a war. They help David pursue and defeat the marauders. This is a crucial point. Joining the true king means joining the fight. The kingdom of God is not a social club; it is an army. And those who are drawn to Christ are drawn into a conflict. These men proved their worth and their loyalty not with words, but with swords.
The Camp of God (v. 22)
The chapter culminates with a summary statement that reveals the divine significance of what is happening.
"For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great camp like the camp of God." (1 Chronicles 12:22 LSB)
This was not a one-time event. It was a steady, daily stream. "Day by day men came." This is how God builds. It is often not in one dramatic moment, but through a process of steady, faithful accumulation. One day a family joins the church. The next week, another. Day by day, God builds His kingdom. The growth might seem slow or insignificant up close, but when you step back, you see that something formidable is taking shape.
And what did it become? "A great camp like the camp of God." This is a stunning description. The "camp of God" hearkens back to the armies of heaven, the angelic host (Genesis 32:2). It speaks of a gathering so large, so orderly, so powerful, and so infused with the divine presence that it could only be compared to God's own army. This was not just a militia; it was a church militant. It was the visible manifestation of God's blessing and power shifting from Saul to David.
This is what the church is meant to be. Not a scattered collection of frightened individuals, but a great camp. A place of order, strength, and mutual defense. A community so vibrant, so unified, and so confident in its king that the world looks at it and sees something supernatural, something that can only be explained by the presence of God. When God's people gather under their true King, Jesus, when they submit to His Word and commit to His cause, they become a formidable force in the world. They become a city on a hill, an embassy of heaven, a great camp that testifies to the reality of the King.
Conclusion: Where Do You Pitch Your Tent?
The story of these men from Manasseh is a perennial challenge to every generation of God's people. They were faced with a choice between two kings, two camps. One was the official, established, and yet spiritually dead camp of Saul. It had the buildings, the titles, and the history, but God had departed from it. The other was the renegade, fugitive, and yet spiritually vibrant camp of David. It had nothing but a promise, an anointing, and a future.
These men chose wisely. They left the dying institution to join the living movement. They understood that true loyalty is not to a name or a tradition, but to the person whom God has anointed. And for us, that person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Son of David.
We are all faced with the same choice. The world, like the kingdom of Saul, is a dying order. It has its pomp, its power, and its institutions, but it is under the judgment of God. And then there is the kingdom of Christ, His church. It may often look like a fugitive camp, meeting in unimpressive buildings, populated by unimpressive people. But it is where the King is. It is the camp of God.
The question for us is this: where is our allegiance? Are we trying to maintain a respectable position in the dying camp of Saul? Or have we "defected" to the true King? Have we thrown in our lot, completely and without reservation, with Jesus Christ and His people? God is still building His camp today. Day by day, He is drawing men and women to Himself. He is making them into mighty men and women of valor, not through their own strength, but through His Spirit. He is assembling a great camp, the church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.
Therefore, let us be like the men of Manasseh. Let us have the discernment to see where the anointing is. Let us have the courage to defect from the world and its dying allegiances. And let us join ourselves to the great camp of God, taking our place in the army of the King of kings, fighting His battles, and waiting for the day when He will establish His throne forever.