I Samuel 17 contains the whole account about the showdown between the Philistine, Goliath, and David, Israel’s future king, who at that time was a young but daring teenager. Goliath, all nine feet of him, was challenging anyone in Israel to take him on in a winner take all bout to the finish. In keeping with a practice of that time, the loser, who would forfeit his life, would obligate his people to be in servitude to the victor’s people. It was a much more economical way of doing battle since only one man would be eliminated from both sides. Goliath had no takers. Not even King Saul would take him on.
Enter the shepherd boy David. He was on a routine mission, having been dispatched by his father Jesse, to bring some food to his older brothers who were part of the Israel army. David heard about what was going on and was appalled by the lack of anyone taking on the Philistine giant. David’s older brother, who considered his youngest brother to be a brat, told David to go back to his play pen and play “pick-up-sticks” with his shepherd’s sticks. But David was not so easily dissuaded. He made it clear that the big Philistine brute could be taken. In fact he was ready and willing to do the job and collect the reward that had been offered to anyone in Israel who would beat Goliath. This finally caught the ear of King Saul who already knew David somewhat. ( see Chapter 16:20-21; this passage needs to be compared with Saul’s further inquiry’s about David at the end of chapter 17 and the beginning of 18).
David is brought before Saul, who wanted to “meet” this young upstart who was in effect calling Saul and every other Jew a coward. Almost immediately, Saul tells David he is no match for the Philistine champion for obvious reasons. David, replies that he is no pushover. He has fought with lions and bears in defense of his flock. Besides, the Lord will be with him. At this point, I wonder why a skeptical Saul gave this lad the permission to fight. Was he taken aback by this young “upstart’s” bullheadedness and was ready to throw him to the “lions.” Was Saul insulted by David’s insinuation that he had no faith but David did? Did Saul want to insult Goliath and the Philistines and show his contempt for them by throwing David at them. Goliath for sure felt insulted (17:41-44). Maybe all this was true. But Saul never expected David to “K.O.” Goliath in the first round (one round for each stone from David’s sling shot).
David’s victory made him an instant celebrity, but it also was Saul’s last chance to do the right thing. Saul failed miserably. He never got the message that Samuel tried to teach him that God was running the show in Israel. David’s growing popularity made Saul more and more insecure as well as murderously jealous. Instead of nurturing and protecting this new found treasure of Israel, Saul began to plot against David. God’s will for David didn’t matter to Saul. As he began to see clearly that David was his designated replacement (see 20:31), Saul got desperate. If Saul could have been like his son Jonathan, who bonded with David, both he and his son would have prospered instead of losing their lives prematurely. Unlike Moses who nurtured his replacement, Joshua, Saul became God’s enemy and did all he could to thwart God’s plan. Saul is a constant reminder that whatever we are privileged to accomplish for God is by His permission, and we should never take such ownership of our positions, our programs, or our possessions so that we fail to humble ourselves before God’s sovereign will. When we fail like Saul did in several critical situations, we do miss out on certain achievements and privileges, but God does not throw us away if we just get with the program. Saul, unlike Moses, never learned that and he paid dearly for it. As someone once said, “I’d rather be a gatekeeper in heaven than a king in hell.”
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