“And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 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” (1 Samuel 17:30-37).
Introduction
This section is both inspiring as well as amusing. Inspiring because we find David willing to lay his life down for the Lord and His people, and amusing because we find this shepherd boy encouraging Saul, the warrior king of Israel.
Here is our man
We do not know why anyone would run to tell Saul that they had found a youth who was willing to go out against Goliath, but we can imagine the king’s disappointment when a young shepherd boy, his court musician, was brought before him. All his hopes would have been immediately dashed. “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12). No doubt Saul felt a little like Goliath would when David walked out to face him. You cannot send a boy to do a man’s job, but then everyone was still judging David by outward appearance. Saul made the same mistake that he had always made; he had left God out of the scenario. David “was not so inexperienced in hazardous combats” as Saul “took him to be” (Matthew Henry).
The bear and the lion
The king seems to have tried to patiently reason with this excitable youth rather than have him escorted away from his presence. Maybe Saul found the situation humorous. But his words of discouragement fell on deaf ears. So what if Goliath was a trained and war-hardened soldier, God was not with him!
David considered himself well able, despite the fact that he was only a shepherd boy, to do battle with the Philistine, but not only that, and to actually defeat him. Why? Because the same God who protected him from wild beasts would stand with him on the battlefield. He believed that, while he was not a trained soldier, he did have the anointing and skill to succeed against the giant. “Though David was young in years he was old in experience, because he had watched the hand of the Lord in its dealings with him” (Charles H. Spurgeon). David’s faith and feats were his credentials for fighting the enemy of Israel.
God will deliver
David had faith in the all-powerful God who was able to deliver those who put their trust in Him and not look at obstacles. The Apostle Paul knew something of this truth when he faced his own times of testing and tribulation. “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever” (2 Timothy 4:17-18). Later David would write, “Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright” (Psalm 20:6-8). The One who held our hand through the difficulties of the past will strengthen us to face the future. “For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me … Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:5-6, 8). If He saved us from the claws of the enemy of our souls, can we not trust Him to deliver us from all else besides? “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).
Conclusion
David had faithfully tended his sheep. He has known God’s presence with him as he wrestled lambs out of the paws of both lions and bears. He had been found faithful in little, so now God was going to entrust him with shepherding His people Israel. Even hardhearted Saul recognised that God was and would be with David as he went out against Goliath. He had left home that day as a mere shepherd boy, but by the evening he would have become Israel’s saviour.
How many want to do great things for God, but are unwilling to do the little things first. “And let these also first be proved” (1 Timothy 3:10). “Many men have lions and bears, but no experience” (Charles H. Spurgeon). The church has been guilty of giving people jobs to do to make them faithful, but instead only those who are proven to be faithful ought to be appointed to ministry. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10) … “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5). John H. Butler, in his commentary on David, writes, “You take care of your development, and God will take care of your employment.”
© 19/1/2009