RSS

Tag Archives: Goliath

1 Samuel 29

18 Jun

29 Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:

‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 29

Dear God, the princes (I guess they were Achish’s brothers since he was a prince) were right to not trust David. Achish was being played the fool by David. We found that a couple of chapters ago when David was lying to him about where he would go raiding. He would kill enemies of Israel and take their stuff and tell Achish he was raiding the Israelites. This is just all so weird to me to seemingly hold up all of David’s activities here as noble. So much death and destruction. So much looting. So much deception. It’s no wonder you didn’t want him to build your Temple (spoiler alert) because he had too much blood on his hands. At some point, this apparently affected you too.

So David is spared from being in the upcoming battle. I can’t help but wonder what he would actually have done had he been there. I have to believe he would have helped Saul and Jonathan. If he saw men chasing them, he would surely have attacked them and killed them. He would have been the danger the Philistine princes foresaw. And that could have messed up his transition to king. Maybe David thought he was doing the right thing by being invited along with the Philistines to fight only to then turn on them, although it is definitely not clear which side his men would have been on. They had been chased by the Israelite army of Saul for years. Would they have been merciful and loyal to Israel or had they emotionally thrown in their lot with the Philistines? Keeping David and his men out of this particular battle saved some problems and answered some questions. It was a plan beyond David’s ability to know.

Father, you keep me from my own shortsightedness or foolishness all of the time. You shut down an opportunity here so that it will develop an opportunity there. In fact, one of my prayers is that the great sorrow in my life will be just that–you doing something through my pain that I cannot see. Making my pain count for your glory and your plan even if it costs me. So I submit to that and ask that you do for me what you did for David here–save me from myself.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 18, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

1 Samuel 17:40-18:4

01 Jun

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

1 Samuel 17:4-18:4

Dear God, I think there are a few main points out of this story this morning:

  • Goliath’s overconfidence was part of his undoing. Do I ever get overconfident and forget to ask you to lead me? Of course I do. I’m so sorry. I know that all of my good things come from you. I know I am a fool and I need you to lead me.
  • David was in the sweet spot of being led by you. A little like back in 1 Samuel 11 when your Spirit fell on Saul when he heard about the Ammonites attacking Jabesh. David was almost not even thinking. He was worshipping you through his actions. It almost seems to have been on instinct.
  • Why did you do this and give David the victory? He tells us in verse 47: “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.” That makes me think back to when Jonathan beat the Philistines by an attack on a few men, confusion, and an earthquake.
  • Speaking of Jonathan, where was he? He was obviously there (see 1 Samuel 18:1-4). Like Saul, it seems he was not in the sweet spot of our spirit at the moment. Even though he and his father were the only ones with armor and he was the natural choice to be out there, he wasn’t.
  • David wins. What happened to the armor bearer? Was he just so stunned that he turned and ran too? Was he afraid of David as well? It’s amazing how we can be beaten psychologically before we even fight. Even in conflicts or challenges in my life, if I don’t “believe” (I’m looking at you, Ted Lasso), I usually won’t even start. That’s what happened to the Israelite army here. That’s what happened to the Philistine army. The only two people who “believed” in this story were David and Goliath, and the difference between those two was that Goliath was egotistical and overconfident while David was full of faith and scrappy.
  • The Philistines run and the Israelites chase them.
  • David identifies his father to Saul (so he can get the tax exemption?).
  • Jonathan and David for their bond. What a remarkable thing for Jonathan to do.
    • Jonathan could have had a shame-filled ego. Instead, he was humbly grateful
    • Jonathan saw a kindred spirit in David, and perhaps he could see in David how much farther he had to go in his own faith. The would be brothers that would sharpen each other.
    • We do NOT go through this life alone.

Father, I guess it’s time for me to put this lesson together now. I have my parts for tomorrow night. Now, I need to assemble them. I like some of the things you’ve revealed to me through this story over the last few days. As I go out now to face my own Goliath in teaching these men about you through this story, help me to lean on you. I’ve had some of these lessons go well, but I don’t want to think for a second it was anything but your Holy Spirit guiding me. Speaking through me. I know my ego gets in the way a lot, and I am sorry for that. Give me the heart of the boy David, and not the man Goliath. I acknowledge you as the author of all of the good gifts and things that come my way. I worship you, my God and my King.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 1, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

1 Samuel 17:31-40

31 May

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 

1 Samuel 17:31-40

Dear God, I had a few thoughts as I read through this story this morning.

  • You gave David life experiences that prepared him for the job you put in front of him.
  • You gave David insight into the fact that he had done these things because you had done them through him.
  • What was Saul’s thinking here? Was he just so emotionally locked up that he was ready to accept any half-witted plan, or did the prophecy gift return to him long enough for you to tell him that he should believe in David’s ability to do this outlandish thing?
  • There had to have been something in David’s appearance to Goliath (shepherd boy with a staff) that gave David the advantage because Goliath underestimated him.

I really want to lean into the life experience part of this story. You rarely ask us to step out and do something you haven’t prepared us for. For example, the jobs I had leading up to my current job uniquely prepared me. Not that I didn’t have a lot to still learn when I got there, or that I don’t still have a lot to learn. But you prepared me for the basics in a unique way. And you also gave me a unique set of skills to do the job. But they are from you. The experience is from you. The gifts and talents are from you.

That’s another part of this: The knowledge of you as the source of the provision. David could have said, “King, I kill bears and lions all the time. I’ve got this.” But he invoked you in his story: “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” That might be a harder part for me. Sometimes, I really want to take credit. But I think back on the times I was unemployed in 2003 and 2005, and you answered our prayers and provided for us. Sometimes I was frustrated with you because I thought you were too quiet, but you were there. And in retrospect I could see what you were doing. You gave me experience with you in little things so that as big things came along I could turn to you and have faith that, if you wanted it done, you would provide.

Then there’s the part about Goliath underestimating David. Underestimating you. But I suppose we will get into that more tomorrow.

Father, show me when it is time to lay down all the weapons the world wants to arm me with and simply pick up my five smooth stones. Remind me of the times you came through for me and sustained me–especially when I am in the middle of the storm. You have given me good skills. You have proven yourself to me time and time again. Help me to lean into that in my life today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 31, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , ,

1 Samuel 17:20-30

30 May

20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”

26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

1 Samuel 17:20-30

Dear God, I want to sit with Eliab here for a second. Part of the army. Scared. Facing a grave danger. Feeling humiliated because he is unwilling to face Goliath (as is everyone around him). This is serious business. This is “adulting” on a military level. This is what a responsible man does. And here comes his little brother who doesn’t have these responsibilities talking smack. Talking tough. He sees David as naive, and arrogant because he’s never been given a responsibility he failed at. He’s just a boy. And while the other men were probably able to blow David off as a naive kid, or maybe even a sacrifice to Goliath to save their skins, Eliab was both frustrated with David and loved him and didn’t want to see him sacrificed.

Then there’s David. Naive. Foolish. Perhaps a bit arrogant. But there was also something different about him. He had a level of faith. We will learn later that he had faced dangers of lions and bears that maybe Eliab didn’t know about. He did have something in his own experience that told him this wasn’t a foolish mission for him.

There is a time when my experience can hold me back. I assume I know the outcome of something because I’ve been burnt before. I remember several months ago I was asked about looking into a program that my experience in my job told me wouldn’t work for us. My inclination was to blow it off without even examining it. Then I had a thought occur to me that perhaps a younger more naive me would have followed up on this opportunity and looked into it. Maybe I was selling it short for no reason other than hubris and arrogance. Maybe I was grumpy old man, not willing to explore new ideas. So I contacted a clinic that was using the program and took a couple of staff people with me to visit them. Ultimately, we decided to not do it, but I felt good that we had explored it.

Father, I’m not sure what I’m taking with me from this story this morning, but I feel like part of the message to me is that I should not close my heart to the inspirations you give me and also be open to the inspirations of the younger, perhaps more naive people you have put around me. Help me to hear your voice when it comes to what you would have me do next. Help me to see over, through, and beyond the walls that might be in front of me. Help me to be what you need me to be for your kingdom in my home and in my community. Help my life to be a light that sees me decreasing, you increasing, and people being drawn to you like moths to a flame.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 30, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

1 Samuel 17:12-19

29 May

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 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

Dear God, I want to sit with David as the youngest boy. As the youngest child, I can empathize with feeling like you’re always playing catch-up. No matter how old I get, as long as the three of us are alive I will always be four years younger than my sister and six years younger than my brother. I’ll never catch up. Our daughter is almost three years younger than our son, and, especially when they were little, I used to watch her try to take back every day of that three years.

Sometimes, I think there is something important about accepting the role of the youngest. In this case, David had a job to do. He had a role in the family. He was to help care for his brothers, express his father’s love and support for his brothers, and then bring back news of his brothers to his father. He was old enough to travel alone but not yet old enough to join the fight. Still a boy but feeling more and more like a man.

Of course, we will see tomorrow that David’s brothers still treat him like the youngest. They will be mad at his impudence when he responds to Goliath’s challenge with indignation and defiance by calling out the men of Israel who won’t fight. Partly out of shame and partly out of this feeling of superiority they feel.

And even though I am the youngest in my family, I am currently the oldest at work. So I need to remember to ask myself if I am giving my younger coworkers the respect they deserve to not only do the jobs they have but to trust them with more than my preconceived notions of them might normally allow.

Father, help me to know how to still live into my role as the youngest child in my family. Help me to know how to parent my youngest child. Help me to be an encourager of the staff who work with me. Love them through me. Love me through them. Help us all to simply be yours. Be your worshippers. Be your servants. Be your people.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 29, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

1 Samuel 17:1-11

28 May

17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

1 Samuel 17:1-11

Dear God, I guess the question I have is why did they accept Goliath’s terms of battle? Obviously, I don’t understand war tactics from 5,000 years ago. I don’t completely understand the war tactics of trench warfare from World War I. But the idea that they would entertain this offer in a fair fight is somewhat silly to me. Why would they limit themselves to this offer when the advantage is definitely to the Philistines?

Maybe they were used to being the Philistines’ servants and this would just return things to the status quo. Maybe they didn’t want to die in a battle. Maybe they were scared. Maybe the option of sending one dude out to die (maybe Saul?) and then the rest of them just agree to live but serve the Philistines wasn’t the worst offer on the table. Maybe the devil they knew was better than the devil they didn’t know, with the devil they didn’t know being possible death.

Are there times when I’ve given up and just accepted a less desirable fate because the compromise was better than my fear of the unknown? Hmm. I need to really think about that. Have I settled in some area because I was afraid to break out? I guess I actually have an example of when I faced this fear, stepped out in faith, and took a chance on a path that could have led to disaster. It was almost 23 years ago when I prayerfully decided to leave a stable but awful job for what you had next for me. And the next three years were hard. 2003, 2004, and 2005 were challenging years from an income and career standpoint. My wife and I have said that if we had known how hard those years would be we might not have had the courage to do it. But I can say it was worth it. I stepped out and into an eventual career and also a life outside of my career that has really brought me a lot of joy and enabled me to serve you in unique and fulfilling ways. Life hasn’t been perfect. Life still isn’t perfect. But I know that when I stepped out in faith in 2003 it was the right thing to do.

Father, open my eyes to anything in my life right now that I am cowering before. Help me to see where I am settling. Help me to see where I don’t believe. Help me to find the right path forward in every area of my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 28, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , , , ,