Saul eyed David

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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1 Samuel 18:6–11, “And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.”

Every time a victorious army returned from battle, not just in Israel, the people who supported that army would come out to watch them parade. The victors would come into their home towns with the trophies of war and march behind their king and the other notable leaders. Of course, by the time the army had finished all the mopping up, the message had already been sent home so the people knew that there had been a victory and were ready to show their pleasure. On the other hand, if there was a defeat most of the people would hide so that they would not be taken as slaves by the other side. When Saul’s army returned from this battle the people were there to welcome them. As they marched in the women sang that Saul had slain thousands but David had slain tens of thousands. This was just a literary device that they used but it demonstrated that David was the real hero and Saul had just played a secondary role in that battle. Saul was already deeply troubled over the fact that Samuel had told him he would lose the kingdom himself and none of his sons would form a dynasty. He saw that David might be a rival for the kingship. After all, David showed that he was the kind of leader that the Lord supported while Saul was just a king like the neighbouring nations had. Saul looked for a chance to eliminate David so that he would never be a rival for the crown of Israel. This caused Saul to sink into one of his black moods and David came to play music for him. While David was playing the music, and defenceless, Saul grabbed hold of his spear and tried to kill David. He threw the spear a David, hoping to pin him to the wall but David was able to jump out of the way twice and stay alive.

David and Jonathan

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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1 Samuel 18:1–5, “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.”

David and Jonathan were similar in nature. They both trusted the Lord and had been involved in significant victories over the Philistines. After David had defeated the Philistine giant, he was called to meet the king. While he was there, he also met Jonathan. Because these men were so similar they developed a strong and enduring friendship of mutual respect and admiration. Jonathan saw that David was only dressed as a simple shepherd to he gave David his own princely robes so that David would be dressed like the mighty warrior that David had proved himself to be. Saul realised that David was a great warrior as well and conscripted him into the army as well as being his musician. Israel was at war with the Philistines so Saul gave David command of one of his military divisions and everyone realised that David was a worthy man.

The stone sunk into his forehead

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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1 Samuel 17:48–58, “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Goliath was a bad tempered bully and wasn’t used to people defying him, especially a young boy who wasn’t even armed for battle. He came towards David expecting an easy battle but David ran towards the giant, just as he had run towards the lion and the bear. He was an expert at using the sling, which was a legitimate weapon of war. (compare Judg 20:15–17, “And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.”) David selected his projectile and swung his weapon, the stone flew and hit the giant in a gap in his armour. The giant was surprised, such a thing had never entered his head before. In fact, David’s aim was so good that the giant fell dead on the ground. It was customary in battle, in those times, for a victor to take the head from the senior soldiers from the enemy side after a victory to show the people at home that they had, in fact, triumphed. According to that custom, David removed Goliath’s head but he had to use the giants own sword because he didn’t have one of his own. The Philistines didn’t just lay down their arms and surrender as the giant had promised. Of course, he didn’t imagine that he might lose the contest. They all ran away hoping to save their own lives. Israel chased them to try and eliminate all the Philistine armies so that they would not be a threat in the future.Saul wanted to know who David was because he didn’t recognise him in that context. David was brought to the king and reminded him that he was Jesse’s son, the musician.

Am I a dog?

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1 Samuel 17:40–47, “And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.”

David was a shepherd and a musician when the Lord called him to this task. He didn’t tell the Lord to wait until he could go to the military academy rather, he went as a shepherd using the skills that the Lord had already given him. He used the same weapons that he was accustomed to using as a shepherd. He used these weapons when he fought the lion and the bear so why should he change went he went to meet an unbelieving Philistine who was blaspheming the Lord. There are many, mainly sporting, competitions today where people try to “psyche” out their opponent before they begin by telling the other person what will happen during the contest. Goliath was like this; he boasted to David what he would do to him. Of course Goliath discounted the fact that David came in the Name of the Lord God of heaven and earth. Perhaps he should have been aware of the advice that king Ahab gave king Benhadad, many years later. (1 Kings 20:11, “And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.”) Of course Goliath didn’t really get any chance to take off his armour that day. David, however, knew that the Lord had made promises to Israel that He would fight with them when they obeyed His Law. David was faithful to the Lord and His Law so he claimed the Lord’s promises and told Goliath that this was not a battle between a giant, who had been a soldier from his childhood, and a boy who was just a shepherd. He told Goliath that this was a battle between the Lord and Dagon.

I have not proved them

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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1 Samuel 17:31–39, “And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.  And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”

Before long, someone told King Saul was saying that the unbelieving giant should not be able to defy the armies of the living God. Deep in his heart, Saul knew that he should be Israel’s champion but he was too afraid to fight against Goliath. He knew that the Lord had rejected him as king of Israel and, perhaps, he wondered if the Lord would allow the giant to kill him. When he heard that someone was angry that the giant was defying the Lord he called for David. Even though David had worked for Saul before, Saul didn’t recognise him because the context was different and David was dressed as a shepherd rather than a musician or an armour bearer. Saul was also troubled by his depression when he had seen David before. We saw earlier that Saul and his son, Jonathan, were the only people who had proper armour and weapons. When Saul saw David he questioned him about his confidence to fight the giant. After all, the giant had been trained as a warrior from his earliest years while David was still just a child. David told Saul that he had been a shepherd for a long time and during that time he had to protect the sheep from wild animals, including lions and bears. David had killed these wild animals when they tried to take the sheep. He trusted in the Lord and the Lord gave him strength to kill these large, fearsome wild animals. If the Lord was able to save him from large, fearsome wild animals then the Lord would easily be able to deliver him from this unbelieving giant. Saul offered David his battle armour so that he would have some protection when he fought the giant. After putting the armour on, David felt uneasy, he had never used armour before and didn’t really know how to fight that way. He would really need to spend some time practicing before he could go to war in that armour. He took the armour off and went to meet the giant dressed as he had gone to meet the lion and the bear.

That he should defy the armies of the living God

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 17:12–30, “Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.”

So far we have met David in two different contexts, firstly he was chosen and anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel and, secondly, he was the sweet psalmist of Israel who was able to play for Saul and calm the king when he was troubled. We are now meeting David in a third context. Jesse’s three oldest sons went with Saul to fight against the Philistines. Before the Philistines mustered their armies, David left Saul’s service and went home for a furlough. When he arrived home he went back out to look after the sheep because he cared for his sheep. His father wanted to know what was happening at the battle front because he had three of his sons there. He sent his youngest son to find out as much as he could. He took some food for his brothers and for their commanding officer as well. When David arrived at the battlefield both armies were dressed in battledress and were ready to go and fight. While David was watching, the Philistine giant, Goliath, came out into the valley and challenged Israel to send out a champion to fight against him. Everyone was scared and hoped that Saul wouldn’t sent them out to be slaughtered by the giant. The soldiers told David that the king would make anyone who was willing to fight against the giant his son in law. David was just a boy but he had a simple and profound faith in the Lord. He was horrified that someone should defy the Lord God. David’s oldest brother found him talking to the soldiers and he was very angry that his cheeky baby brother was asking such questions. He reprimanded David and told his brother to get back to the sheep. David wasn’t upset by his brother but was still horrified by the fact that an unbeliever should get away with blaspheming the Lord God of heaven and earth.

Goliath

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 17:1–11, “Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.”

During Saul’s reign there was constant warfare between the Philistines and Israel. The Philistines could remember that they had defeated Israel before even though Israel brought the ark to the battle. Even though they had captured the ark and were forced to send it back to save themselves from a severe plague, they still believed that they could defeat Israel in battle. At this stage they were extra confident because they had a powerful giant on their side. Previously, Israel had been so afraid of the native giants in Canaan that they refused to obey the Lord and take possession of the Promised Land. Israel was on one side of a valley and the Philistines were on the other side of the valley. Goliath was over 9 feet (about 3 m) tall and was huge in every way. He suggested that he act as the Philistine champion and Israel choose a champion so that they could fight and decide who would win the battle. Saul was the natural choice to be the Israeli champion because he was the tallest man in Israel. We don’t have a record of Saul’s height but we do know that the next tallest man in Israel came up to his shoulders. Goliath was such a terrifying figure that every Israeli was afraid of him and he challenged them every day. He was confident that Israel would never be able to find someone who could defeat him.