Yesterday we looked at Saul's life & today we want to contrast it with David's early life here in 1 Samuel.
"David Profile- Good things come in small packages"
45David shouted in reply, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47And everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The LORD will give you to us!" (1 Samuel 17:45-47 NLT)
David is a shepherd. He is the youngest of his family. He is the delivery boy to the soldiers on the front lines, not a warrior. He is not an impressive man of stature like Saul, but he sure can throw a rock. Not an impressive resume.
So, when the giant pagan warrior approaches the people of God and mocks them and their God, David is not happy! He asks, "Who does this guy thinks he is and why no one has stepped up to avenge the name of God and the people of God?" Everyone is terrified. Even Saul, the impressive king that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the people is terrified. Their lives are at stake. The kingdom is at stake. Their freedom is at stake. This is a man's job, not a boy's.
And yet, no men have stepped forward. Only a shepherd boy with rocks and a stick that can't even fit into armor required to protect oneself in battle. Now, David was able to defend his father's sheep by killing lions & bears with just his hands. That's impressive. David thinks the giant is equal to one of these wild beasts. He tells Saul, "I can do this. I do things like this all the time. God's name is at stake here!"
And so, David goes out to fight Goliath. He is mocked, made fun of, ridiculed. Can you imagine the scene? A 9 foot tall, seasoned veteran warrior equipped with armor & sword standing opposite a 5'7" shepherd boy with a stick & rocks. Who would you bet on? And yet David has something on this battle field that no one else has. He has something that Saul doesn't have. He has something that the people of Israel don't have. He has something that Goliath & the Philistines don't have. He has God. And, he comes not in his own name, but in the name of God.
See, David doesn't act because he wants renown for his name, he acts because the name of God is being blasphemed. He is not angry because he can't fight in the battle and win recognition for himself. What makes him angry is that a pagan warrior thinks he can mock their God & get away with it. It's one thing for their people to be mocked, but mocking God is a whole different story!
So, he goes out with God and rocks and God gives him the victory.
How is this different from Saul? Saul was an impressive man, David was an impressed man. Saul was tall, impressive in appearance, he looked like a king. People were impressed with Saul and he worked hard to keep it that way. David was small and not even invited to the party when Samuel came to anoint a king from among Jesse's sons. They had to run to the field to get him! The Bible tells us that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. David was impressed with God and not himself. He was focused on God not on himself.
David obeyed God. He didn't try to adjust God's commands to him, he adjusted himself to the commands of God. He wasn't out to make a name for himself, he was out to defend the name of God. David didn't ever build a monument to himself.
David wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. This is the type of life that God is calling us to live!
Who do we look more like, Saul or David? Who do our lives resemble more? What characterizes our lives?
How can we adjust to being people after God's heart instead of being people after our own hearts?
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