THE FOOLISH NATURE OF EVIL SCHEMES

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In Christ, Mark

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Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did, he had great success because the Lord was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them in their campaigns.

Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"

But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'"

They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."

When Saul's servants told him what David had said, Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.'"

Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.

The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers and his name became well known.

1 Samuel 18:12-30

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He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.

1 Corinthians 4:5

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever planned to do something you knew was wrong and thought you had plotted so well that you wouldn’t possibly get caught?

I know I can remember doing this a few times when I was growing up and I also remember how things never worked out the way I thought they would.

Why?

Because it seemed that every time, my seemingly undetectable plot ended up exposed with my sinfulness laid bare as a result. Thinking back on those times, I can recall the words of my mother as clear as day for she would tell me that everything done in the dark would come to light sooner or later. And so given this, she would further teach me that it was a waste of time to try and get away with doing wrong. Indeed, my attempts at evil scheming always ended up fruitless, showing me as foolish.

Well, as I grew older, I came to discover that my mother’s words were not born of her own wisdom but the wisdom of God’s word. For in the scriptures, I read verses in the Bible that served to validate my mother’s words.

For example, Paul’s words to the church in Corinth become important words for all of us as he wrote this:

He (the Lord) will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. 1 Corinthians 4:5

God’s Word is clear here. For if we decide to plot wicked schemes…schemes that only are done in the dark domain of sin, then we can expect that the Lord will shine His light into what we try to conceal in the darkness, exposing the evil motives within our heart. The bottom line is that God hates sin and he hates it even more when we give our attention to it instead of Him. Given this, He will not allow sin to have victory over goodness…or darkness over light.

And so in sum, He (the Lord) reveals evil schemes and exposes their perpetrators…and in doing so, He brings the dark to light.

Friends, this should serve to be a comfort for us as we face the prospect of others trying to possibly plot against us. For while we could easily walk around, always looking over our shoulder in fear of getting attacked from behind or stabbed in the back, we need not worry because God has our backs. He is always watching the motives of every human heart, ready to take action against those who allow evil to control their actions. In doing so, He (God) protects those who seek to do good…those who strive for living lives that are righteous, holy, and glorifying in His sight.

Well, we have seen where God definitely had His hand upon David, helping him allude Saul’s attempts to murder but as we see in the rest of the scripture from 1st Samuel, chapter 18, Saul wasn’t ready to give up as he had a few more evil schemes to try and get rid of David…even though he knew the Lord was with the young leader of his army.

In regard to his military duties, we read where Saul “sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men” which “David led…in their campaigns”. In all he did, we see that David found success, not due to his own efforts but because “the Lord was with him”. This made Saul even more afraid of David who found increasing favor from “Israel and Judah” with every success.

Despite this, Saul wasn’t about to stop trying to get rid of David and we next read of a plan he devised to try and do just that.

It begins with Saul saying this to David:

“Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord."

It wasn’t that Saul really wanted David to marry his daughter. Rather, he only was using her as a ploy to try and get David back onto the battlefield against the Philistines so they might kill him and spare Saul having to do it himself. Further, we see where Saul was so desperate to get rid of David that he was willing to even use the Lord’s name in his scheme, trying to entice him (David) to accept his offer to go and fight the Lord’s battles. Within these efforts, Saul must have forgotten that the Lord was with David for we see where his plan hits a snag.

For the scriptures tell us that David said this to Saul:

“Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?"

And so David passes on the Philistine battles and on marrying Saul’s oldest daughter who marries another instead but as we see, Saul wasn’t about to give up. For we read where he had another daughter Michal who “was in love with David”. This pleased Saul because he thought he could again use a daughter to get David killed. We know this because through Saul’s thoughts:

“I will give her to him…so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him."

Given this, Saul gives his evil scheme a second try telling David:

“Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

And this time, we even see him trying to use his attendants, giving them the following orders”

"Speak to David privately and say, 'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'"

And so the servants did as Saul commanded but again, Saul was unsuccessful as David tells them:

“Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."

This ended up being strike two for Saul and so he went back to the drawing board as he wasn’t ready to give up yet. His actions show us that people who are so caught up in sin will be stubborn in their attempts to make evil triumph over good…darkness over light.

So Saul tries yet a third time to scheme against David, sending his servants back to David with yet another request. This time, the servants relayed this message:

“The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies."

Again, Saul’s sole goal here was getting David to go out and war against the Philistines with the hope that he would be killed in the fighting and out of his way forever. And this time, it seemed on the surface like his plan had worked for “when the attendants told David” what Saul had said, “he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law”, accepting the assignment to go out against the Philistines to kill them and deliver the one hundred foreskins as ordered.

All this had to have Saul jumping for joy, sure that the Philistines would do David in so he would finally be rid of him but again, Saul seemed to forget that the Lord was with David and this meant his plan had no chance for success.

We see this come to fruition as “David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines” …”before the allotted time elapsed”, bringing “their foreskins….to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law”. Imagine the look on Saul’s face when David returned unscathed with the foreskins in hand. It had to be classic as Saul learned that his wicked plan had failed as he lost out to David again! And to make matters worse, now David would be his son-in-law because Saul gave David “his daughter Michal in marriage”.

Indeed, Saul’s plot had not succeeded and we read where he once again “realized that the Lord was with David”, a fact that made him “still more afraid of him”. Israel’s king, now David’s father-in-law, would remain his new son-in-law’s “enemy the rest of his days”. Meanwhile, David continued to find success as he battled the Philistines. In fact, he had “more success than the rest of Saul's officers” and “his name became well known”.

In other words, Saul’s attempts to eliminate David had only resulted in him growing more famous and powerful.

Friends, I think there are three important lessons for us in this passage:

1. Evil scheming is a fruitless, foolish endeavor.

There is no question that the Lord takes everything done in the dark and brings it to light. We know this because His word assures us of it and so none of us should think for a minute that we will find any success in plotting to do wrong against God or another. It’s simply never going to work out. We saw it with Saul and we will find it out ourselves if we choose to try it.

2. God protects against evil schemes.

The Lord will place His covering over those who place their hope, trust, and faith in Him…those committed fully to His service and carrying out His will. We saw where God was with David and kept him from falling prey to Saul’s evil schemes…and He will watch over us the same way as well.

3. Why would we ever think we would get away with anything in the first place?

Friends, God sees everything and looks deep into our hearts to a place where we can’t look when we see one another.

So what will He see when He looks in your heart?

Trust that if there are any evil motives, He will unearth and expose them.

Further, since God sees everything and will ultimately judge all of us when this life ends, how would we ever think that we might get away with doing anything?

He is going to see it…He is going to know about it…and He is going to judge it. We will be held accountable and so we might as well not even try it because as we see in today’s passage, it’s nothing short of foolish to think we can plan and get away with committing evil in the plain sight of the Lord.

So let’s not think we will get away with anything sinful in life. Instead, let’s direct our energy towards doing right and righteous things. We’ll always do this if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us instead of the enemy.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE DANGER OF A SINFUL NATURE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

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Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well.

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang:

"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him.

"They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"

And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall."

But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had left Saul.

1 Samuel 18:5-12

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we saw in the opening verses of 1 Samuel, chapter 18, Saul took David into his court and didn’t allow him to return to his family. There, David befriended Saul’s son, Jonathan, and was so successful in every assigned that Saul appointed him to a “high rank in the army”.

With this, all seemed well but then Saul and his men returned home from David’s defeat of Goliath and the ensuing Israelite victory over the Philistines. It’s then that Saul’s relationship with David took a turn for the worse, all because of the sinful nature of pride and jealousy.

For as Saul and his men returned home, “the women came out from all the towns of Israel” to meet them. They were dancing to joyful songs with tambourines and lutes as they sang these words:

“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Their voices were raised up to sing praise to two mighty warriors who had brought triumph for the nation of Israel but they ended up being offensive to Israel’s king, a king who you will remember had turned very self-centered…so much so that he erected a monument to honor himself.  The scriptures tell us that “Saul was very angry” at the refrain being sung.

Why?

Because David was given more credit than he was. In fact, Saul revealed his feelings on this when he thought to himself:

“They have credited David with tens of thousands…but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?"

Little did Saul know how prophetic his thoughts were as David had already been chosen by God to lead the kingdom of Israel.

Well after all this had transpired, we read where “Saul kept a jealous eye on David” from that day on and it was this envy that festered inside of Israel’s king, leading him to acts of even greater wickedness. For the “next day, an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul” and while David was “playing the harp”, Saul took a spear in hand and hurled it at him saying:

“I'll pin David to the wall."

Thankfully, Saul’s murderous attempts were unsuccessful because “David eluded him twice”, causing Saul’s anger to turn to fear because he knew “the Lord was with David” after leaving him (Saul).

Friends, this same thing can and will happen to us when we decide to turn our backs on the Lord and reject the power of His Holy Spirit in our lives. When that happens, we, like Saul, will turn to sin. For if we aren’t going to allow the Lord to rule in our hearts and minds, then Satan is ready to step right in and do it, sowing his seeds of evil within us…just as he did in Saul.

Saul knew it was wrong to covet and be jealous but he did it anyway. He did it because he didn’t have the strength or power within to resist it…the strength and power that only comes from the Lord and His Spirit. And so he fell prey to sin because he couldn’t obey God’s commandments (Exodus 20:13-17) without God to help him.

Moving to the New Testament, we find the Apostle Paul later writing about jealousy in his letter to the church in Galatia, providing the Galatians a list of acts that were born out of one’s sinful nature. Here’s what he had to say:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

In today’s passage, we see where Saul fell prey to the sin of jealousy but this isn’t the only transgression we can fall into if we decide to try to live without the Lord in our lives. Paul lists many others and if someone needed a reason to turn from these wicked ways, we see that this is given as Paul pronounces a terrible penalty for disobedience. For those people who choose to separate from God and partner with the devil can expect not to “inherit the kingdom of God”.

Now, I don’t know about you but that’s a consequence I don’t would never want to experience and the good news is that no one has to. Going back to Galatians, we find Paul also telling his readers how they were supposed to live. Here’s what he had to say on this:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25

Friends, the Word of our Lord is clear here. For if we truly belong to Christ Jesus then we are to crucify the sinful nature within us, living by the leading of the Holy Spirit instead…the only Spirit who can lead us daily into lives filled with righteousness and holiness…lives that are filled with fruits like love, joy, and peace…patience, kindness, and goodness…faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

The Lord was with David, who was a man after His own heart, and as a result, he defeated Goliath and eluded the murderous attempts of King Saul. In other words, David had victory because God granted it…and praise be to Him that we do as well.

Today and every day, let’s commit ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to make us fruit-bearing vessels as we go out to do what Jesus called us to do…make disciples of all nations. In doing so, we get to help them bear the same fruit, using the same Holy Spirit that helps us.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHAT TRUE FRIENDSHIP LOOKS LIKE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

From that day, Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt.

1 Samuel 18:1-4

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In 1st Samuel, chapter 17, we covered the well-known Bible account of a young boy named David who emerged as a hero among the Israelites after stepping forward and slinging one fatal smooth stone which killed the warrior giant Goliath. This sent the nation of Israel onto victory in their battle with the Philistines.

After this, David’s bravery and courage led Saul, Israel’s king, to not only want to speak to him but we read that he “kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house”. Little did Saul know that it was David who God had chosen to take his place on the throne.

Well, as David left his home and was given a high rank in Saul’s army, the scriptures tell us that he gained a friend as well…Saul’s son Jonathan…and it is in the early verses of chapter 18 that we catch a glimpse of what true friendship looks like.

Note here that I said true friendship. For it seems that it’s very hard to find friends who are loyal in life…friends who are devoted and caring and loving…friends who are willing to put themselves aside for the good of another.

Unfortunately, we find that people often just want to be with us because they want something from us. They don’t value us as much as what we have. With this kind of friend, we usually see that there’s always some string attached. For as long as you satisfy their wants, then they will be there for you…but don’t fulfill what they want from you and see how their devotion goes away quickly as they seek someone else to try and get what they want.

That isn’t friendship. Rather, it’s exploitation.

So how can we know when we have a true friend?

In examining Jonathan and his loving dedication towards David, I think we can identify the important qualities of a true friend…qualities we should look for as we seek genuinely faithful companions in life.

First, Jonathan became “one in spirit with David”. You’ve may have heard or experienced the expression “kindred spirits” before. It’s when you are so in tune with another person that you always seem to be aligned, even mirror images of one another.

I know my wife and her sister are like this. Talk about friends! They are closer than any two people I have ever met and are the best two models of what pure and true friendship looks like. This is because they are “one in spirit” with one another…and when I’m talking about spirit here, I’m talking about THE Spirit…the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, it was God the Father…the Lord Almighty…that Jonathan had placed his trust in when he bravely attacked the Philistine outpost with his armor bearer. Later, it was that same God the Father…the Lord…that David placed His faith in when he stepped out to fight Goliath. Individually, Jonathan and David had more than shown their devotion to the Lord and now they would be able to share that same sense of devotion as buddies for true friends are, first and foremost, one in the Holy Spirit.

This in and of itself would be enough but there’s even more for we see Jonathan making a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. The key word here is love…for it’s impossible to have true friendship if you don’t have true love.

Some time ago, I wrote a quote that simply goes like this:

“Communication is the lifeblood of relationship”

Then, I wrote a second one that is similar only in framework:

“Love is the heartbeat of relationship.”

It’s true, right?

For if we take love out of a relationship, it won’t survive…and don’t just take my word on it. Look at these words from Jesus when He was asked about the greatest commandment:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22:36-39

Looking at the Bible, we see that Jesus wasn’t the first to recite those words, “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Rather, He quoted words from His Father who spoke them in the Book of Leviticus:

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18

Here we learn that being a true friend means you have to love someone just as you love yourself…and that means you hold the deep desire to care for them just as you would care for yourself.

You see, true friendship, a friendship where two people each have the indwelling of God’s Spirit, is always grounded in love because the Spirit will always bind two hearts together perfectly.

So we have seen that true friendship involves being one in God’s Spirit and grounded in His love. It also requires self sacrifice.

For as we go back to our scripture passage, we see where Jonathan “took off (his) robe…and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt”. In other words, Jonathan was willing to freely give David anything he had…such was the level of devotion he held for him.

We should note here that there are no conditions attached to Jonathan’s giving. Not one. He gave to David freely, not because he had some ulterior motive or sought to gain something in return. Rather, Jonathan gave because he loved David as a true friend and would be willing to do anything for him.

And as we will see, this truth will further be revealed as we continue to study this friendship.

So our passage today contains a lot in just four verses. For in them, we find God giving us a glimpse of what true friendship requires:

(1) being one in God’s Spirit

(2) being balanced in love

and

(3) being willing to self sacrifice.

Come to think of it…we find all this perfectly carried out by our awesome Friend Jesus…the only Friend we can count on, no matter what…the Friend who will always be one in God’s Spirit with us…the Friend who is perfectly grounded in love…the Friend who showed us the definition of self sacrifice when He allowed Himself to be crucified on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

Friends, I could have maybe made this message shorter if I had used just one statement:

You can only be a true friend when you become a friend like Jesus.

I could have done that but He wanted me to say so much more to you today and I pray you will receive them as friends of the Savior of the world…the best Friend a person could ever have.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com 

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs, he wore bronze greaves and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."

On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

For forty days, the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

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."

Early in the morning, David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. 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 greeted his brothers. 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. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.

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 father's family from taxes in Israel."

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?" They repeated to him 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 did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" 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."

Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

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 delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you."

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them."

So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

David said to the Philistine, "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 hand you over to me and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, 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."

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.

As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?"

Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."

The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."

As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head.

"Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him.

David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

1 Samuel 17

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever come up against opposition in your life…someone or something that seemed to be insurmountable…someone or something that always seemed to oppress you and keep you down? Maybe, you have even found yourself frightened at the very thought of having to face someone or deal with a particular situation.

If we live life long enough, I think we’ll all maybe face times like this so it would be good to have some guidance from God’s Word as to how to handle it. Thankfully, He does just that in our scripture passage from 1st Samuel, chapter 17. There we find sound direction on how to deal with the challenging people or circumstances we encounter in life by seeing how a young boy named David defied the odds and found his way to victory…all because he chose by faith to be armed with God against his enemy.

The chapter starts off with a battle brewing between the Philistines and the Israelites and after they had assembled armies and set up camp, we read where the “Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them”. On the surface, it appeared that the battlefield was balanced and victory would come to the army who fought harder. But the Philistines had something that Israel didn’t have…”a champion named Goliath”.

So what made Goliath so different from any other fighter?

Well, for starters, he was a giant, standing “over nine feet tall”. As he stepped out to challenge the Israelites, he must have been a terrifying sight with the “bronze helmet on his head” and a “coat of scale armor of bronze” as well as “bronze greaves” on his body. Just bearing the weight of all this armor was a testament to the massive strength of the Philistine warrior who also carried a “bronze javelin…on his back”.

So as the Israelite army looked up at this giant of a man dressed for battle before them, Goliath shouted a proposition to them, asking that they “choose a man and have him come down” to fight him (Goliath) in battle. If the chosen Israelite was “able to fight and kill” Goliath, then all the Philistines would become subjects of Israel. But…if Goliath were to win, then the Israelites would become subjects of the Philistines and serve them.

The proposal seemed simple enough and would avert an all out war but the odds seemed very stacked in the favor of the Philistines and Goliath knew it. His challenge was made out of arrogance as he didn’t believe that Israel had anyone who could defeat him.

You know, we still see people evoking this same attitude of arrogance today as they mistreat others. Like Goliath, they constantly present a bully-like mentality, feeling that they are so superior to others that they can taunt them and nothing will come of it.

Well, Goliath is soon to discover that the arrogant confidence he had in his own strength and might was going to be no match for the God of Israel, the One who was (and still is) infinitely more powerful than anyone or anything in all creation.

And so going back to the scriptures, we see that “Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” after Goliath’s challenge…a challenge that would be repeated over the next forty days. It left the Israelites wondering how they were ever going to overcome such a belligerent adversary.

Before I go any further, I want to highlight an important error committed by the Israelites, one they had committed before. For nowhere in this passage do we find them going to God to ask what they should do.

And yet, God had a plan nonetheless…and that plan would play out in a way that showed He was at the center of things for only He could do what happened next.

For coming onto the scene was the anointed youngest son of Jesse…the shepherd boy David who had been chosen by God to become the new king of Israel. Now, he would be chosen once again, in this instance to go up against the mighty Goliath.

Now, it’s important to note that David wasn’t the only one of Jesse’s sons involved for we read where his “three oldest sons (Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah) had followed Saul to the war” while David “went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem”. On one of his trips to Saul, Jesse gave David the following orders:

“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."

And so after leaving the “flock with a shepherd”, David loaded up and set out in the morning, reaching the “camp as the army was going out to its battle positions” and “shouting the war cry”. As “Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other”, “David left his things with the keeper of supplies” and “ran to the battle lines” to greet his brothers.

Just as he did, out stepped Goliath who “shouted his usual defiance” and David, hearing this for the first time, watched the Israelites run in great fear at just the sight of the behemoth warrior. After viewing the spectacle, we see David asking some men standing nearby:

"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?"

So the  men told David what benefits would come upon any Israelite who could defeat the Philistine giant to include great wealth, the king’s daughter in marriage, and a tax exemption for his father's family.

Now, Eliab, David's oldest brother, “heard him speaking with the men” and was very unhappy about it. Perhaps, it was a bit of brotherly jealousy since he, the eldest son, was not selected by God to rule Israel. Whatever the reason, we read where Eliab “burned with anger” at David and asked:

"Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

In response to this, we see where David doesn’t back down from his older brother’s attack as he replies:

“Now what have I done?…Can't I even speak?"

David’s bold attitude got the attention of Saul’s men who told him about it and, in turn, Saul summoned David to him. David then said to Israel’s king:

"Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

Now, imagine you are Saul in this situation. A young shepherd boy is before you and wants to go out on the battlefield and single-handedly fight Goliath who no one else was willing to go against.

How would you respond?

Well, I think we would probably take the same approach that Saul did for he said this to David:

“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

But David was supremely confident before Saul and boldly replied:

“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 delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

And with those words, Saul was convinced that David could meet the challenge as he said:

“Go, and the Lord be with you."

So what was the difference maker in David’s attitude and words?

It wasn’t the fact that he had killed both lion and bear when they tried to attack the flock. Rather, it was because the Lord had been with him, delivering him from potential danger and its ensuing harm. God had done it before and young David was sure the Lord would do it again if he faced off against the Philistine Goliath.

Friends, we need to go forth boldly in our own lives as David did, especially when adversity calls. For the Lord is always with us and ready to deliver us from whatever adverse circumstance we might come under. We only need to seek Him, maintain our faith, and allow for His will to be done.

Well, as we go back to chapter 17, we see Saul rather comically try to dress David for battle using his tunic, a coat of armor, and a bronze helmet. Try and picture a young boy trying to wear adult armor and you can see where things just wouldn’t fit too well. This was affirmed when David tried to walk around in the armor but quickly discarded it because he was not used to it. And so he went forward without any armor, taking his “staff in his hand” and choosing “five smooth stones from the stream” which he placed “in the pouch of his shepherd's bag”. And with this, David took “his sling in…hand” and “approached the Philistine”.

Now, pretend that you’re Goliath. You have mocked and challenged the Israelites forty days…and each day ended the same, with no man coming forward to fight.

But this day would be different. For from the ranks of Israel comes a young boy who is wearing no armor and carrying no shield.

How would you feel at that point?

Well, if I were Goliath, I would be liking my chances of victory, and we see him definitely thinking this was as David came forward. Seeing the young boy, Goliath despised him and cursed him by his gods saying with arrogance:

“Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?…Come here and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

I’m pretty sure Goliath thought his words would intimidate David and cause him to flee like the other Israelites. But Goliath wasn’t dealing with any ordinary person in David who replied with the following:

“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 hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, 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."

Here we find David speaking boldly and with great confidence, not because he had any physical prowess like Goliath but rather because He had the power and might of the Lord on his side…a Lord who could and would deliver victory to David in reward for his faithfulness.

And so the showdown was set.

David versus Goliath.

The boy against the giant.

We read where Goliath made the first move as he drew “closer to attack” but David moved quickly “toward the battle line to meet him”, reaching “into his bag” and taking “out a stone” which he “slung…and struck the Philistine on the forehead”. The stone hot Goliath with such blunt force that it “sank into his forehead” and caused the giant to fall dead “facedown on the ground”.

In what had to be shocking to everyone who saw it, “David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone…without a sword in his hand”. And to complete what he said he would do, David “took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard”, using it to “cut off (Goliath’s) head”.

As for the Philistine army, they had to initially be in shock as they “saw that their hero was dead”. Then we read where they “turned and ran” while “the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron”. Then the Israelites plundered the Philistine camp while David took the Philistine's head to Jerusalem and put “the Philistine's weapons in his own tent”.

When it was all said and done, David had gained victory…not so much by his own doing but by the Lord’s who had helped him beat the odds and defy anyone who doubted his chances against Goliath.

Friends, this is exactly why we cherish, worship, and praise our Lord so much because He is the One who helps us in our times of need…He is the One who is our strength when we need empowered to gain victory in His name…and He is the One who delivers us from our adversity, no matter the odds might seem to be against us.

If you are facing opposition today, I encourage you to follow the lead of David and allow the Lord to help you through your circumstances. For He will always stand ready to help you find victory over the Goliaths of your life. All you need to do is call on Him and place your trust in Him completely.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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