When Samuel goes to anoint David, we read a classic verse in I Samuel 16:7, “The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” It's a verse I've read a lot and heard often, but not one I always take to heart. I sometimes judge people based on their appearance. Here's a good reminder that God doesn't work that way. What really matters is in the heart. So Samuel anoints David with oil, and the Spirit of the Lord comes on him in power.
Saul is really struggling in this passage. An evil spirit sent from the Lord torments him (I'm not quite sure how that works). David is brought in for his great lyre skills, and his music soothes Saul when the evil spirit comes upon him. So Saul knew David before the whole Goliath thing, and he liked him.
David and Goliath. I love David's indignation that no one is challenging Goliath. He can't understand why everyone is allowing him to say what he's saying about Israel and about the Lord. David goes to Saul and tells him he will fight Goliath saying as his argument, “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.”
David goes up to Goliath and gives a speech that, I think, could rival that of many action films (think Braveheart, Return of the King, Independence Day.) David says:
"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."I love that David is so confident in the Lord and so willing to give him all the glory for his victory. As you know, David goes on to defeat Goliath, and God establishes him as a mighty warrior.
Because of David's success with Goliath, Saul sends him out on missions, and he earns a high rank in the army when he is successful on every mission. Here's where Saul starts losing it. He becomes angry when the people sing David's praises, and Saul begins to fear David because the Lord is with him but has departed from Saul. Saul becomes even more afraid of David and becomes his enemy.
One night David is playing the lyre for Saul, and Saul tries to kill David by pinning him to the wall with a spear. David gets away and begins his time on the run. He gathers up a group of about 600 men who travel with him and raid Israel's enemies. I thought it was interesting to read that David's men were made up of those who were in distress, in debt, or discontented.
David goes to the town of Nob where the priest gives him food and inquires of the Lord for him. Saul finds out and has all 85 of the priests killed. Then he has the whole town killed—men, women, children, livestock. Saul's completely lost it,. I find it ironic that he would do to a town in Israel what he disobeyed the Lord by refusing to do to the Amalekites.
David has two chances to kill Saul—once in a cave and once when he sneaks into Saul's camp. Each time, he does not. He refuses to lay his hand on the Lord's anointed. He says that the Lord will strike Saul or his time will come and he will die or he will go into battle and perish. He quotes a saying to Saul -- “from evildoers come evil deeds.” I thought that was interesting. David knows that it is God's will for Saul to die and for David to become king, but David is patient to wait and let God do it his way. He doesn't resort to evil to accomplish the will of God. I think that's a lesson the Church throughout history could have learned better from time to time. You can't accomplish God's will through evil means.
This is a really long post so I'll wrap up here. The last thing we read today was Saul hitting rock bottom and seeking out a witch to call up the spirit of Samuel. Samuel actually does show up and tells Saul what he already knew—as God had originally prophesied through Samuel, David will become king, Saul and his army will be defeated by the Philistines, and Saul will die.
Tomorrow's reading is I Samuel 28:20 through II Samuel 12:10
Peace.
Keep it up, David. I'm enjoying the posts.
ReplyDelete-Dr. S
I didn't know that Saul knew David before the whole Goliath thing. I feel like the story is always told where the first meeting of the two men is in the camp when David offers to fight Goliath. But in fact, Saul knew exactly who David was. Fascinating. It adds a whole new level to the story. Especially when you consider that all David's brothers had been passed over and watched as Samuel anointed David as the future king. I wonder if they told anyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for doing this reading in 90 days challenge. It's putting together pieces of the Bible that I never connected before because I had only read it in small chunks.
Saul: rock bottom.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that david would have so much success in everything, harp/lyre playing, sheperding, killing wolves, dodging kingly spears, etc after his annointing. joel is right the timeline can be sketchy but the spirit of the Lord came upon him in that moment, so power was with him. pretty cool.