I Chronicles 12:1 Now these are they that came to David to Kiklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war."

In the phrase "Now these are they", indicating that there is no record of this elsewhere in the Scripture, beside here in the Chronicles. It is written by some Kenite scribe after the captivity, with no supporting written account elsewhere, as pointed out in the notes of the Companion Bible (pp-547). The "mighty men" stated here, are identified as "gibbor" in the Strong's Hebrew dictionary, as the gibbor were those offspring of the first and second influx of the fallen angels, those that came to earth not born through the womb of woman.

I Chronicles 12:2 "They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin."

I Chronicles 12:3 "The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the son of Shemaah the Gibeahite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite,"

I Chronicles 12:4 "And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite,"

This group of thirty named here is not of the group of thirty named in 2 Samuel 23:24, and is related to some other period, not recorded in the Scriptures.

I Chronicles 12:5 "Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Sheph-atiah the Haruphite,"

I Chronicles 12:6 "Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites."

I Chronicles 12:7 "And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor."

I Chronicles 12:8 "And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of Lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;"

This indicates that there was a small group of true worshippers that did not follow the religious customs of the House of Israel nation, that lived to the north of the house of Judah. This group of the tribe of Gad lived in Jerusalem and worshipped as the Lord instructed Moses. Remember that when King Solomon died, the nation of the whole house of Israel was split in two, with Rehoboam ruling, king of Judah, and Jereboam later becoming the king of the ten tribes to the north of Judah. Benjamin was part of Judah, in that when the tribe of Benjamin was completely destroyed in war, the six hundred men remaining took wives from the tribe of Judah, and reformed the tribe of Benjamin. So the tribe of Benjamin was made of men from Benjamin and the women from Judah.

1 Kings 12:16 "So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, "What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David." So Israel departed unto their tents."

Immediately following the death of Solomon, Rehoboam, became king of the kingdom, yet he refuse to give proper attention to the ten tribes to the north. Jerusalem was the place of worship, and thus all the families of each tribe was required under the law of God to come to Jerusalem each year for the holy sacrifices. The people of those ten tribes did not want to take the time, or the expense of traveling to Jerusalem each year, thus they set up their two places of worship in their own land. They appointed Jereboam as their king, and had made and started Calf worship in the house of Israel. The House, or nation of Israel turned it's back on the laws of God, and they establish their own man made form of Worship, calf worship, which is similar to what is going on today in many church houses, through their traditions. However there were a few that would not turn their backs on God's laws and ways, and we read of them in the next verse.

1 Kings 12:17 "But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them."

If you were going to worship at the temple and pay tribute, you had to live in the land of Judah, because the borders would soon be closed, sealed off: As Rehoboam would send his tax collectors with him north into Israel to collect the taxes. The people rebelled and killed the tax collectors.

1 Kings 12:18 "Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem."

When king Rehoboam himself went north to meet and reason with the people of the ten tribes of the "house of Israel", he saw the hate in their words and actions in the stoning of the body of his tax collector, and left immediately for the protection of Jerusalem.

At this point in time, the tribes of the house of Israel would never be joined again as a nation in this earth age of flesh man. Ezekiel 37:12-24 reveals this, as God instructed Ezekiel to take two sticks, and write the name Israel on one and Judah on the other. Then at the Millennium age, these two sticks would be joined together in the same hand, in the kingdom that our Lord Jesus Christ would set up at His coming, at the seventh trump. The two nation of Israel and Judah would never again be separate.

However those people of Gad and the northern tribes that chose to remain with Judah and under the control of king Rehoboam would no longer be counted as men of Israel, but of Judah. However, just by their presence, and under the king of Judah, king Rehoboam assumed the name of king over Israelites [these Gadites], and the house of Judah assumed the name "Israelites". This has thrown many Christians into confusion over the names of Israel and Judah as nations, and who should carry the name of Israelites. So these names we are about to read here are of those that chose to remain with Judah, to follow the laws of God, and worship and sacrifice in the temple.

1 Kings 12:19 "So Israel rebelled against the house of David uto this day."

1 Kings 12:20 "And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only."

The king lines of each of these houses would remain separate with the end to the house of Israel coming about 745 B.C. to 722 B. C., and the end of the house of Judah coming about 488 B. C. with the captivity into Babylon. The lineage of these people named in this chapter is not included in any of the other documents, thus it shows the independence of Chronicles and the writing of these Kenite scribes to the prophets of God's writing in the Scriptures.

I Chronicles 12:9 "Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,"

I Chronicles 12:10 "Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,"

I Chronicles 12:11 "Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,"

I Chronicles 12:12 "Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,"

I Chronicles 12:13 "Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh."

I Chronicles 12:14 "These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand."

I Chronicles 12:15 "These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to fight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west."

These Kenites are really jumping all over the place in this writing, for this time when the Jordan overflowed its banks was a thousand years earlier. When the Levites carried the Ark of the covenant in front of the army, and when their feet touched the waters of the Jordan river, God parted the Jordan, and the entire army and all the people walked across the Jordan on dry ground. When Joshua and the people were safely across the river, The river started to flow, and all the back waters flooded the land, came over the banks to flood the valleys. This is recorded in Joshua 3:12-17.

Joshua 3:13 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap."

Remember that there were well over two million people in all that had to cross over Jordan, while the back waters of the Jordan river stacked high, like being dammed, and then released all at one time, after the passage.

Joshua 3:17 "And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the People were passed clean over Jordan."

This is the story of reference told at this point in 1 Chronicles 12; some four hundred before David took the throne to rule the whole house of Israel, all the tribes. Now this record is going to jump back to the time after David, being king of Judah.

I Chronicles 12:16 "And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David."

I Chronicles 12:17 "And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, "If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is not wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it." "

I Chronicles 12:18 "Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captians, and he said, "Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee." Then David received them, and made them captains of the band."

I Chronicles 12:19 "And there fell some of Manasseh to David; when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, "He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads."

When David and his band of men and their families were under the protection of the Philistines, they knew the strength of David and his men, for they had faced David and his men in battle. (However there they had a common enemy, so they thought; that being Saul). Yet when these heads of the Philistines came together to face the army of Saul, they determined that it was not a good idea to bring David into battle with them, for if David had a change of mind while in battle, he could do far more damage to them than Saul's army. This is given us in 1st Samuel 28, 29.

I Samuel 29:4 "And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, "Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men?"

When they were told to go back home to Ziklag, and arrived at home, they found their homes destroyed and family gone. The Amalkites had been there while they were away to battle.

I Chronicles 12:20 "As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Admah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, and captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh."

When David was on the run from Saul, he went to Ziklag, in the land of the Philistines, to stay clear from Saul and his army. While David and his men were gone form their homes in Ziklag, the Amalekites came and took their wives and children and destroyed their homes. This story is given us in 1st Samuel 30:1-20. So these men came to help David against this band of rovers, and take back their families and property.

I Chronicles 12:21 "And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host."

I Samuel 30:1 "And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;"

I Samuel 30:2 "And had taken the women captive, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.

Needless to say, when David and his small army caught up to these Amalekites, they killed them all, and took back their women and children. This then is talking about those men that banded to David in these times of trouble for David; on his run from Saul. Of course in the battle with the Philistines, Saul was killed by an arrow, along with his son's, those that would have been heir to the throne, and it came time for the appointment of a new king. So here at Hebron, the tribes came together to crown David as their king, and the men committed themselves to David's army.

In each of the following verses, each of the tribes will come forth to commit themselves to David, and the authority of his kingdom.

I Chronicles 12:22 "For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God."

I Chronicles 12:23 "And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord."

I Chronicles 12:24 "The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war."

I Chronicles 12:25 "Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valour for the war, seven thousand and one hundred."

I Chronicles 12:26 "Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred."

I Chronicles 12:27 "And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred;"

I Chronicles 12:28 "And Zadok, a young man mighty of valour, and of his father's house twenty and two captains."

I Chronicles 12:29 "And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for heitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul."

l Chronicles 12:30 "And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valour, famous throughout the house of their fathers."

I Chronicles 12:31 "And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name to come and make David king."

I Chronicles 12:32 "And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment."

As each of these tribes made their commitment to David, they committed themselves to following all the orders that would come from the commanders over them, under the authority of David as king.

I Chronicles 12:33 "Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart."

I Chronicles 12:34 "And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand."

I Chronicles 12:35 "And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred."

I Chronicles 12:36 "And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand."

I Chronicles 12:37 "And on the other side of Jordan, of the Ruebenites, and the Gadites, and and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand."

I Chronicles 12:38 "All these men of war, that could keep rank, and came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king."

With Saul dead and Israel without a king; The people of all Israel knew that Samuel had anointed David also as the future king of Israel, and it was time for the coronation of their new king. The tribes of all Israelites were behind the crowning of David.

I Chronicles 12:39 "And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them."