These Were the Men Who Came

“David let 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.”

I Samuel 22:1-2

In the beginning man was created to lead. In the beginning man, along with the woman, was given dominion. In the beginning it was the man who was alone in the presence of his Creator. In the beginning the man talked and walked with God. In the beginning God spoke to the man. In the beginning the man knew the voice of God. In the beginning the man was at home in the Father’s presence. In the beginning God placed the man in the Garden of Eden. In the beginning there was only God and man. In the beginning!

In the beginning the man respected leadership. In the beginning the man’s leadership position encompassed his purpose. In the beginning the man knew that God was his Source. In the beginning the man listened to the instructions from The Lord. In the beginning the man was the only individual that God spoke to. In the beginning the man knew his responsibilities—to take care of things, to co-rule over God’s creation, and ultimately to maintain order. It was the man who shared rulership with his Creator. In the beginning the man acknowledged God as his priority.

Can men remember their beginning? Do they remember that God alone was responsible for leading them? Do men still recognize that their disobedience to the Lord’s command caused a temporary rife in their relationship with the Father? Is any man today aware that there is a leadership gap that he is responsible for? Are men in general aware that it is possible to lose an entire generation of sons because of their absence? Are there any men who are concerned that masculinity is endangered? In short, men are no longer in the beginning. Things have definitely changed since the beginning.

1 Samuel 22:1-2 says: “David let 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. (2) 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.” These were the men who came! Men came to David not because of their personal, financial, or emotional conditions, but because they needed a leader. Men—sons, brothers, etc.—continue to be exposed to leadership models that provide little or no opportunity for the next generation. Manhood is continuously under threat, and the fathers are asleep while their sons are under attack. Saul was king during this time. However, history confirms that he was not a leader of men. Even members of his own family abandoned his leadership for another. What happens when there are not enough leaders in one generation to be followed by the next generation? Men will always seek for leaders even if they are counterfeit leaders.

Men are drawn to leadership because they are seeking the confirmation of their identities and the affirmation of their purposes. Manhood must be both taught and then caught. Men must have leaders because manhood must be learned by example. Where else can can boys learn about leadership but from a leader? Where else can young men learn about fatherhood except from fathers? God is the Father of all creation and man is the only thing He created in His own image and likeness. God was specific in the beginning in making mankind-humanity. He took His time and made them male and female because only this pair could fulfill His purpose for creating man. Men are searching for spiritual direction and truth. Every man is seeking fulfillment of his purpose, and that can only be revealed to him by the One who created him. All men are seeking to know who they are and who they were create to become. Man’s quest for his identity and pursuit of his purpose will only be realized as a result of the anointing. It is the anointing that allows every created thing to fulfill it’s purpose—and it is only Jesus who knows the purpose for every living individual. This is true because only Jesus—the Word—was there with the Father in the beginning. He alone is the Anointed One!