It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west. - 1 Chronicles 12:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 10, 2019): 1 Chronicles 12

“We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf." The words are attributed to George Orwell. And there is a truth in the words that make some of us uneasy. We live in a world where evil men want to do violence. And the only thing that sometimes seems to stand in their way are the good men who do violence in our stead. And I wonder if there shouldn’t be another way.

Maybe our need for “rough men [who] stand ready to do violence on our behalf" is just a symptom of our broken world. I have often called myself a reluctant pacifist. My faith seems to lead me into pacifism, but my experience in this broken world reminds me again and again of the truth of Orwell’s words. In some ways, I get to be a pacifist only because others are willing to extend violence, offering it in my name.

David lived in a violent world. In some ways, he understood the ideas and demands of peace. We see evidence of his ability for peace when he holds himself back in his war with Saul, refusing to take that final step and kill the King. But David was also a fierce warrior and a masterful general. And he was smart enough to surround himself with rough men ready to do violence.

An example of these warriors were the Gadites that David had set-up as commanders of his army. The Tribe of Gad was one of the Trans-Jordanian tribes or tribes that existed on the other side of the River Jordan. Most of Israel lived on the West side of the Jordan, but Gad, Reuben and half of the Tribe of Manasseh shared space on the East Side of the Jordan River. But when David needed them, these commanders risked their lives by crossing the Jordan when it was at flood stage, probably because the snows that fed the River had begun to melt. It was a dangerous season and a time when most people would have avoided the River.

But these Gadites commanders decided that they would cross the river to come to David’s aid, and support him in his struggle against Saul. Charles Spurgeon sums it up this way.

“These Gadites likewise furnish us with a noble example of strong devotion. When the eleven men determined to join David, they were living the other side of a deep river, which at that season of the year had overflowed its banks, so that it was extremely deep and broad. But they were not to be kept from joining David, when he wanted them, by the river. They swam through the river that they might come to David.”

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 13