But the size of the giant doesn't matter. And the size of whoever opposes the giant doesn't matter. What matters is that the Lord is bigger and more powerful than anyone or anything. A young man is about to arrive on the scene who understands this. "Now Jesse said to his son David, 'Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.'" (1 Samuel 17:17-20)
We learned yesterday that David's three oldest brothers are serving in the army. Jesse doesn't know the army hasn't made a move for forty days and thinks his son and their comrades are "fighting against the Philistines". He wants to make sure his sons have not been injured or killed in battle. He sends David with provisions for the three men, along with a gift for their unit commander, and instructs him to ascertain their welfare and quickly bring back a report to him. David does as he is told without any questions or complaints, as he is used to doing. As the youngest son he appears to have been treated as a servant much of the time but it doesn't seem to bother him. Serving his family with a cheerful spirit has taught him to serve the Lord with a cheerful spirit and will help him to serve the people of Israel with a cheerful spirit when he becomes king.
"Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed." (1 Samuel 17:20a) He makes sure the sheep are in good hands before he leaves. I don't know whether he hires someone to watch them or whether he asks another shepherd to watch his flock along with theirs. But David is a good shepherd who cares for the sheep and this is a picture of the Lord: the Good Shepherd. "He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were." (1 Samuel 17:20b-22) This scene has played out every morning for the past forty days. It's not that the two nations are about to rush into combat at the very moment David arrives on the scene; they've been lining up in battle array facing each other for more than a month without an arrow being shot and without anyone charging at anyone with a sword.
Just as he has done every morning and every evening for forty days, Goliath steps out in front of the Philistine army to hurl insults and challenges to the soldiers of Israel and to curse the name of God. But there is something different about this day. On this day David hears him. "As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear." (1 Samuel 17:23-24) David doesn't flee in fear. I think he turns from his brothers to look at this man in shock and perhaps with his mouth open but not because he is astonished by Goliath's size. He's shocked by the defiant words Goliath speaks against the God of Israel. He's insulted and offended for the sake of the Lord's holy name and for the sake of the Lord's people Israel.
No man wants to engage Goliath in hand-to-hand combat. In order to encourage someone to step forward, Saul has made an offer he hopes someone will be courageous enough (or greedy enough or reckless enough) to accept. "Now the Israelites had been saying, 'Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.'" (1 Samuel 17:25) This is the sweetest deal Saul could make for anyone: that the man who kills Goliath becomes his son-in-law and therefore a part of the royal family, that the man will be given great wealth, and that the man's family will be free from taxation. The tax rate was probably quite hefty, for the prophet Samuel had warned the people that the king would demand much from them, not just in monetary taxation but in taking percentages of their crops and livestock. The person who kills Goliath will become a very wealthy and powerful man, second only to the king.
In spite of knowing this offer is on the table, and in spite of how great an offer it is, it hasn't been enough to induce anyone to enter the ring with a man who stands over nine feet tall. David catches a few snippets of conversation regarding the king's offer and asks for clarification. "David asked the men standing near him, 'What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?'" (1 Samuel 17:26) David asks, "Who does this guy think he is that he can oppose the Lord's people? How dare this heathen idolater speak against the holy name of our God? Whether or not Saul is going to do something for the man who puts an end to this blasphemer, it should be considered an honor to take Goliath out and put a stop to the abominable curses coming out of this mouth."
The soldiers repeat the words David overheard regarding Saul's offer. David's oldest brother is annoyed with him, thinks he is wasting time hanging around the camp, thinks he is being a nuisance to the men (because Eliab has always treated his baby brother like a nuisance), and scolds him in front of the men. "They repeated what they had been saying and told him, 'This is what will be done for the man who kills him.' When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, 'Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." (1 Samuel 17:27-28) There are probably quite a few years between Eliab's age and David's age since there were six brothers born between them. The age difference between them probably means Eliab has found David annoying ever since David was a small toddler and he still finds him annoying. In addition he may be jealous and resentful toward him because David was anointed by Samuel as the future king. As the oldest son and his father's chief heir, Eliab considers himself far more qualified to lead the nation than his baby brother.
In a fit of irritation Eliab says to David something like this: "Why are you still here? You've dropped off the supplies our father sent and you should have already been on your way back to Bethlehem to perform your 'important' job of watching those few pitiful sheep, which is the most responsibility you can be trusted with. What use do you think you can be to the army? Quit rubbernecking to see what you can see and head back home where you can at least be of some use with the flock."
David didn't come to watch the battle and David isn't going to watch the battle---he's going to start the battle! He's going to strike the first blow against the Philistines by taking out the man they thought would eventually frighten and discourage the Israelites enough to surrender without a fight. The reason David will be able to do this is because his trust in God is far greater than any fear of Goliath.
No comments:
Post a Comment