This is the list of the Israelites—heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men. – 1 Chronicles 27:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 18, 2022): 1 Chronicles 27

Mercenary soldiers are often regarded as soldiers who fight for money instead of a country's honor or belief system. Quite simply, mercenary soldiers fight for whoever pays them, not because they believe in the rightness or wrongness of a campaign. They are often foreigners hired to wage certain battles or attain certain goals. But not all mercenary soldiers are uninterested in the morality of a conflict. There are always exceptions if we are willing to look for them. Mercenaries have been active all over the world, helping to fight many of the earth's military conflicts.

The presence of mercenary soldiers involved in Russia's conflict with Ukraine is assumed to be a reality. But not all mercenaries are created equal. And here, it is not true that all mercenaries are foreign. Enter the Wagner Group. The Wagner Group is a mercenary force of Russian origin fighting on the side of Russia. The Wagner Group Mercenary Force is believed to be President Vladimir Putin's private army. But they are not ideologically driven; the Wagner Group is a mercenary organization that fights because they are paid to fight. They are made up of soldiers with various ideologies, including elements that have been linked to Neo-Nazis and other far-right groups. The Wagner Group is a Private Military Group, but, officially, like many fictional Special Forces military groups, it does not exist.

In Ukraine, mercenary groups like the Wagner Group are thought to have been responsible for various false flag operations. These operations are designed to look like they are being carried out by the Ukrainian Military Forces when they are planned by and accomplishing the Russian goal of discrediting the enemy.

Chronicles includes a list of Israelites that served in the army. The army was divided into twelve units, consisting of 24,000 soldiers in each division. All the divisions were on call and could be called into action at a moment's notice if the need arose. But in time of peace, only one division would be activated. Each division would serve for one month and then would be furloughed until the same month of the next year. As a result of these divisions, David never, and many of the kings that followed him rarely, had to employ mercenaries in defense of the nation. The Army of Israel was made of soldiers who fought for their country and their king because they believed in them and could do so at no additional cost to the state or king.

Today's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 15