Chapter 16
v1 There is a time to greive and there is a time to live life.
v2 I have never been in a position where to follow Christ would pose a threat to my life. But I pray that I'll be willing when it happens.
v6-7 This is so exciting. These men are in the room, and yet the Lord is having a private conversation with Samuel. What was that like? Was it like a whisper in his ear? Was he speaking into Samuel's heart? How was the God whose voice is like thunder coaching Samuel in the midst of this crowd? I'm so curious!
v6 Saul was a huge, beautiful king of a man, and Samuel thinks he sees his replacement. v7 This verse pierces my heart. God sees not as man sees. Amen! Thank you, Lord!
v11 This is silly, but it reminds me of Cinderella when the prince is trying the shoe on the stepsisters' feet. Are these all the maidens in the house? And the answer Jesse gives (while not at all sinister like the stepmother in the fairy tale) is: Well, no. But my younger son is just a shepherd. Why would you want him? Because God sees not as man sees!
They will not sit down until David arrives. Samuel is already showing him kingly respect. And also--he won't let them rest until his assignment from the Lord is complete. I wish I had that kind of obedient focus!
v12 Not only was David beautiful to God, but God ha chosen someone the rest could admire as well.
v13 With the Lord's anointing came the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
v14-15 What is an evil spirit from the Lord?!? Here is what I think. God allowed Saul to be bothered to his very core, so that he would have a need. Something that would show weakness and the necessity for the Lord's help. Also the necessity for a successor.
v18 This is quite an endorsement for David!
v23 God uses our earthly talents and abilities for His glory--even to carry out His plans. We cannot neglect these things, and we also cannot discount these passions as separate from God's purpose for our lives. Who knows how God will use what you love to do?
Chapter 17
v8 Goliath called himself "the Philistine".
v11 Saul was dismayed and afraid.
v15 David is no warrior among men--yet he is a servant.
v16 Forty days!
v26 Everyone else is terrified by the stature and threats of Goliath, but David sees what is at the heart of the matter. Who is this man? Who does he think he is? Who would have the gaul to stand against the nation of the Lord? The circumcision represents the covenant with God. And this man has none. How could he possibly think he has a chance?
v28 Look at the change in tone of Eliab, David's brother. He feels threatened and embarrassed by David's obvious bravery and faith.
This reminds me of something that happened recently with Emma, age 5. I was checking her backpack after school one day, and in the bottom of the bag was a little Strawberry Shortcake doll. It was something that had come in a kids' meal recently, but I wasn't sure how Emma had gotten it. I thought maybe her cousin had given it to her, or maybe a friend at school had let her take it home. Who knows, right? So I asked her, "Hey Emma, where did you get this?"
Emma replied, "At school."
"Where at school?"
"On the ground."
"Where on the ground?" I was starting to wonder why these answers were so vague and what the real story could be, when Emma's tone changed completely.
"Anyway, why are you always looking in my backpack and taking everything out of it?"
Uh oh. Just like David's brother Eliab, Emma's embarrassment and guilt took the form of blaming someone else. Until that moment I was still unsure whether the toy had been a gift, or if she had taken it. Suddenly I knew exactly what had happened. We talked about it, and the real story was that her friend had dropped it on the floor, and Emma had decided it was fair game. We sent her to school the next day, and she returned the stolen item. But the amazing part of the whole interaction was witnessing the change in Emma when she tried to cover up her guilt.
Sometimes the attempt at covering up your guilt makes the truth abundantly clear to everyone else. Eliab did not succeed in making David look bad, but he did expose his true cowardly nature to everyone else.
v30 David keeps questioning and remarking about the situation his nation is in. He seems puzzled that no one has stepped forward.
The odds certainly looked like they were in Goliath's favor. The giant had age, training, experience in battle, height, weight, and armor like none other. And what did David have? The Living God. This didn't seem like enough to King Saul, but the Lord had already proved His faithfulness to David through the struggles with the wild animals.
God might have already chosen you to be His warrior. But don't be afraid! You will fight this battle with what is familiar to you, not the weaponry and armor the world would suggest. And you will be victorious, purely because the Lord has chosen you to be.
v42 In other words, he called him a sissy-boy.
v47 "...may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's" This was a Divine appointment from every angle.
v48 No fear!
Next time: chapters 18 and 19