“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” (1 Samuel 17:12-19).
Introduction
While Goliath was prancing about on the hilltop, the Israelite army were cowering in the Valley of Elah. In many ways all hope of victory had fled from them. Fear had kept them from marching up the hill to destroy the one blaspheming the name of God and ridiculing the people of Israel.
Fresh supplies
Jesse was obviously worrying about the welfare of his three sons, Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, who may have volunteered their services to Saul. He must have known that the battle with the Philistines was not going too well, for the Valley of Elah was no great distance from Bethlehem. He needed to know that his sons were still alive, so he sent fresh supplies of food to the captain of their battalion. “The soldiers were volunteers or militia, who were supplied with provisions from time to time by their friends at home” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Bible Commentary).
It is interesting that Jesse sent his youngest son, David, to a place of great danger even though everyone thought of him as a “stripling” (1 Samuel 17:56). He did not go himself since he was an old man. If he was only a little boy, as story books make out, then his father was foolish as well as careless. But David was anything but a child. Jesse knew that he was capable, strong and courageous. Surely David’s reputation was known in his own household, that is, “A mighty valiant man, and a man of war” (1 Samuel 16:18). It is likely that David was not yet twenty, thus he was not eligible for the army. “Every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war” (Numbers 1:22). This also reveals to us something of the madness of King Saul, for he had made David his armour-bearer (1 Samuel 16:21).
Forty days
For forty days the Israelite army had been insulted by Goliath. For forty days no-one was found who was brave enough to go out against the enemy of God. It is certain that the soldiers were tired of listening to the tirade of boasts and blasphemies coming from the hilltop, but we can imagine that Goliath himself was growing weary of putting on the same performance twice daily for forty days.
Forty has significance in the word of God, for it is said to be the number of judgement or testing. The rain fell during the Flood for forty days (Genesis 7:5-10). Moses was in the courts of Pharaoh for forty years (Acts 7:20-23). The people of Israel wandered around the wilderness for forty years (Exodus, Nehemiah 9:21). The Lord Jesus Christ spent forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13).
Conclusion
Why was not David conscripted into the army to fight the Philistines if he truly was “a man of war”? Why he was not called upon to play music for the troops? David was just a shepherd who was untrained in the art of war, as we shall see, despite his obvious bravery. The answer to these questions lies in the concept of God’s timing and perfect will. David would enter the battle when the time was right and to bring about glory for God and victory for Israel.
© 5/1/2009