As our study concluded yesterday, David's oldest brother Eliab was scolding him for hanging around the camp talking to the men. Eliab is resentful of his baby brother and considers him a nuisance. He thinks David has no business there now that he's delivered the things their father sent and he called David "conceited" and "wicked", claiming he was lingering in the camp hoping to witness a fight. In response to Eliab's harsh words, David replies: "Now what have I done? Can't I even speak?'" (1 Samuel 17:29) In my head his reply sounds like this: "What are you upset with me about this time? What's wrong with asking about the situation with Goliath here? What's wrong with letting the men tell me what Saul is offering to anyone brave enough to conquer the giant? I know you've never had much interest in talking with me but am I not allowed to talk to others either?"
David is shocked to learn that the army has remained stuck in one place for forty days and forty nights out of fear of the Philistines. He's amazed that no man has stepped forward to silence Goliath's blasphemous words against the God of Israel. It could be that Eliab is angry because he feels very uncomfortable when he sees in David's eyes a strong desire to fight for the honor of the Lord's name and for the glory of Israel, since Eliab himself does not feel this level of zeal. Though David is not rebuking his brother for not stepping forward to fight Goliath, in his heart Eliab may imagine he is being rebuked. He probably feels ashamed that he is too frightened of Goliath to fight him and he may think it looks bad to his younger brother that he hasn't volunteered. We don't know how big and strong Eliab is, but the prophet Samuel was so impressed with his appearance when he first met him that he thought surely Eliab was the man God had chosen as the next king. This indicates that he looks almost as physically powerful as King Saul, who we were told was the tallest man in Israel at that time. It may be that Eliab is the second tallest man in Israel and that he stands out in the crowd in a way that has caused many of his fellow soldiers to think he is the logical choice for fighting Goliath, not that anyone in the army comes anywhere close to being as physically large as Goliath. I've heard it suggested that when Eliab accuses David of hanging around in the army camp "only to watch the battle", he means David is hoping to see him fight.
David doesn't allow his thoughts to linger on how unwelcome his brother is making him feel. There are bigger issues at stake. "He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.'" (1 Samuel 17:30-32) David expresses to the soldiers his willingness to fight the giant and his words travel quickly through the ranks until they reach Saul's ears. Was Saul informed of the identity of the man willing to fight Goliath before he sent for him? If not, he was likely surprised and also disappointed when he saw it was his young part-time musician. Or, if he knew it was David before he called for him, did he call him so he could talk him out of it? It will be clear from our next passage that Saul doesn't think David is up to the task. I imagine he says the following words to David in a fatherly tone, for at this time Saul still thinks very highly of the young man who is able to soothe his troubled mind with music. "Saul replied, 'You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.'" (1 Samuel 17:33) He says something like, "Son, I appreciate your bravery in volunteering. I believe you are sincere in your desire to defend your nation against the enemy. But you don't have the experience to do what you're proposing to do. Even if Goliath were an average-sized man he'd still have the advantage over you. He's a veteran of many wars. He's been loaded down with medals for bravery in combat. Only a man with as much or more experience as he has would even have a chance against him. You can't go out to fight him. It means certain death!"
But David cannot be dissuaded. He respectfully disagrees with Saul's assessment of his ability to successfully fight the giant. The reason he disagrees with Saul is not because he thinks he is strong enough to fight Goliath but because he thinks God is strong enough to help him fight the giant. The Lord has given David extra measures of strength in the past to do what needed to be done and David trusts that the Lord will do the same thing again. "But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.' Saul said to David, 'Go, and the Lord be with you.'" (1 Samuel 17:34-37)
David doesn't argue with Saul about his own military abilities, or the lack thereof. He doesn't try to claim that the quickness of his youth and smaller size will give him an advantage over the older and bigger Goliath. He simply says, "My God will rescue me." His unshakable confidence in the Lord convinces Saul that he might actually be able to pull this off. Saul's own relationship with the Lord is pretty much nonexistent by this time but it's clear even to him that the Lord must have endowed David with superhuman strength when fighting off bears and lions that threatened the flock. He reasons that perhaps the Lord will continue to show such favor to David and will enable him to fight off the enemies of the flock of Israel.
Join us tomorrow as David, believing he cannot fail because the Lord never fails, readies himself to face down a giant.
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