It reads like the credits at the end of a movie . . . a list of names scrolling through the last half of 2Samuel 23. It starts out, “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had . . . ” (2Sam. 23:8 ESV). Behind every great king, there are mighty men. God raises up a man, and he raises up an army to support him. God places the call on a woman, and he invites a cast of attendants to sustain and strengthen her. And, it seems consistent with the character of David that, as his life draws to an end, to give credit where credit is due.

Many of these guys (maybe all of them . . . I probably should do a bit more study to find out . . . ) had been with David since the early days . . . since the days of the cave of Adullam. David was told to flee by Jonathan as it was certain that Jonathan’s dad, King Saul, was intent on taking David out (1Sam. 20). David ended up feigning insanity before Philistine rulers in order to save his skin (1Sam. 21:12-15) and managed to escape to the cave of Adullam. And there, in that desperate situation . . . in that dark, damp camp . . . with no resources . . . and no idea what God was doing . . . David’s mighty men started to come together and assemble. But what a rag-tag bunch of dudes they were . . .

David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. (1Samuel 22:1-2 ESV)

Check out, how Peterson puts it in The Message . . .

So David got away and escaped to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came around — losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. David became their leader. There were about four hundred in all. (1Samuel 22:1-2 MSG)

David became their leader . . . he was captain over them . . . whoo-hoo! Such an army! Not apparent that there was a lot of “might” in these mighty men. But read the “credits” in 2Samuel 23 and see what God can do with a rag tag bunch of misfits.

There’s “JB” who, with only a spear in his hand, took out 800 enemy soldiers during a single battle (23:8). And “the El-ster” who was with David when they went up against the Philistines and much of the Israelite army bailed on them . . . but he stood with David and fought “until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword” and the Lord brought about a great victory that day (23:10). And “Sham the man” who stood his ground to guard a strategic food source for David’s men. Even when most other men fled out of fear of the advancing enemy, he “defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory” (23:12).

And the list goes on . . . the stories are told . . . the names are listed . . . and the victories are recorded . . . and it is evident that David’s mighty men were, in fact, truly mighty. But it also becomes evident that their power came from beyond themselves . . . that the source of their victories was from another. And so, as the credits roll, I realize afresh that misfit men can be made mighty by the grace and power of God . . . and that, when all is said and done, He, and He alone, gets the credit where the credit is due.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2Cor. 4:7 ESV)