David's Rag Tag Group

Before King David was king he was simply David.  David had been told by the prophet Samuel that he would be king but for a long time David was not actually king.  In fact, for a good chunk of this time David was in hiding trying not to be killed by the current king, King Saul. 

"David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam.  When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there.  All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader.  About four hundred men were with him." 1 Samuel 22:1-2

As I read this passage a few weeks ago I wondered why David was surrounded by such a motley crew.  This group of four hundred men could be described as a rag tag group.  These men that flocked to David was the Who's Who of Who's Not.  This group was as nobody as it gets.  David got promised that he'd be king and his army is a bunch of disenfranchised guys with credit card debt; meanwhile, King Saul had an army of thousands of paid professionals.

Why did this bunch of losers flock to David?  Why did the 'haves' stay with King Saul while the 'have-nots' gravitated to David?

Well, it's simple: those who's life is comfortable don't want a new kingdom and those who's life stinks want new management.

King David and King Jesus are parallels.  King Saul and king Satan are parallels. 

See, David was anointed king back in 1 Samuel 16 but didn't become king until 16 chapters later.  It took years for the nation to experience what Samuel had proclaimed in 1 Samuel 16.  Jesus, the Christ (which means Anointed One), is King but in this world it is a here but not yet here reality; we aren't fully experiencing life in King Jesus' Kingdom like we will will when the old king dies.  King Saul was still on the throne when David was anointed and Satan "the prince of this world" (John 14:30) still has some sort of reign now.

Who is most inclined to want a change of leadership in this world?  The ragamuffins, the downtrodden, distressed, the discontented and those in debt. 

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." Matthew 19: 23-24

The people that most long for a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, are those most dissatisfied with the current regime. Those most comfortable here and now are most likely to be the most uncomfortable in the here after. The: poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:3-6) most want the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, what can we learn from David's rag tag group?  What Gospel lesson is there for us in these two verses?

1) Proclaim the Gospel to the Outcasts of Society.

Everyone needs the Gospel, but the history of Christianity shows us that the Gospel spreads like wildfire amongst disenfranchised groups.  The people who aren't high on the hog here long for a new world order the most.  Reach out to those society labels weird or losers or a waste of your time.

2) Have a Holy Discontentment.

We are commanded to be content, yet we should have a holy discontentment.  I first heard that phrase from Pastor Matt Chandler and I'm stealing it, though he may have borrowed it, too.  A holy discontentment has a founded trust in Jesus but a deep longing to experience the fulness of King Jesus' Kingdom.

Be one of those that recognizes their indebtedness and is discontent with the current kingdom and flocks to King Jesus today.