The Man After God's Own Heart 2
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Last time we got a bit of a foundation for the study, we covered the start of kings in Israel with Saul, and then the anointing of David to be king. Remember the nation wanted to be like everyone else and have a king, which they already had God. After Saul was named king he was disobedient to God’s commands and this is where his downward spiral begins, God removes His Spirit from Saul and has Samuel anoint David. Today we are going to pick up after David’s anointing to be king, remember He is still a young man and some time passes before he actually becomes king. He was probably around 15 years old when he was anointed. One of the important things that I want us to keep in mind as we go through this is the link between Jesus and David, as we encounter David in the Old Testament we need to see him as a type of coming Messiah, that is the role he fills within the nation of Israel, is the same that his messianic descendant would fill.
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.”
We are now moving forward past the anointing of David, and looking at the first interactions between David and Saul. We know from last time that God was displeased with Saul because of his disobedience, and how chosen David to replace him. Once God’s Spirit had departed from Saul, David’s ascent to king started and Saul’s slow descent began. In God’s sovereignty he allowed an evil spirit to torment Saul for His purpose of establishing David. We need to be careful to distinguish this troubling spirit from a troubled emotional state brought on by sin, or the consequences of sinful acts of others. This spirit attacked Saul from without, we have no evidence the demon indwelt Saul. Saul who was already predisposed to questionable judgement and the fear of men (remember how he gave in and they kept the things they were supposed to destroy of the Amalekites), so he began to experience God’s judgment with bouts of depression, anger, and delusion brought on by the harmful spirit.
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
One of the thing I want us to highlight here is what Saul’s servant said of David at the end of verse 18. Remember David’s anointing the Spirit of the Lord came to David. God’s presence and influence in David’s life was noticeable to those around him, as well as the Lord working His plan for David to be king. Even though it may not seem like it God is always working through His plan. It started with His promise to Abraham, and that promise continues to be fulfilled through David.
20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
And so we see David’s introduction into the kings court. We see that Saul loved David, and this was for his ability to sooth Saul when the harmful spirit would torment him. You have heard the saying music soothes the soul, well David’s playing would actually calm Saul and help him relax. It helps Saul so much that he requests that David be left with him, and he would be one of his armor bearers as well as playing the lyre for the king. Now we must remember that David would have been one of many servants to the king who would carry his armor as well as play music for him.
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
The Philistines were are common enemy of the Nation of Israel. But this battle would be different.
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze 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 javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
It is believed that Goliath was a descendant of the Nephilim found in Numbers 13:33. Saul who we remember was described as head and shoulders taller than everyone else in Israel would have been better suited to fight Goliath than David a young man in his late teens. Goliath’s equipment is described in great detail to paint us a picture of his stature. His helmet weighed approx. 30 pounds, his coat of mail weighed approx. 150 pounds, his spear shaft weighed approx. 15 pounds as well as the head weighing approx. 15 (30 lbs total). There are many questions to why Goliath’s stature was told in such detail. Some say it was to show how formidable a foe he was to David, who was still just a young man. I think there a couple of ways that we can look at this, one is that it is to highlight that without God’s help David would not be able to defeat him, and two that it is giving us an early glimpse of David as the messianic forerunner, the savior of Israel. A third thing is that it sets David up to find favor in the eyes of the people who he will one day be king over, just another way of God getting things in order. Now lets look at the rest of the account.
14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
Now there are some who say we have some contradictions in the text in chapter 16 and 17 because back in chapter 16 David was a servant who played the lyre for Saul, and one of his armor bearers. but we see here in verse 15 that David was allowed to travel back and forth from Saul to his father. David being the youngest he was not yet of fighting age, which was 20 years old. Now we find David being sent back to take his brothers provisions. When we see David bringing provisions to his brothers Goliath has been coming out and taunting the men of Israel for fourth days. Everyday he would come out and taunt them.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
Goliath struck fear in the hearts of the men of Israel including their great leader Saul.
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And 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 but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
David was willing to face what no other man in Israel would. This young shepherd boy, was willing to face his fears because he knew God was with them. David did not let the lack of confidence in him from Saul change his mind.
37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
This is where we know David’s confidence is not in himself. He knew that all of his victories while tending his father’s flock we God’s. This gave him the confidence to know that God would deliver him again. All we need is Christ, and this is something that David exemplifies here. Everything we need to face our enemy we have, everything we need to conquer our Goliath's we have, God has provided for all of the needs of His people all through out time, and He continues to do so today. God’s plan is still working, just as we see it working here through David. Everything that we see of David is God working through him to put him where God wants him to be. As Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:17 we are equipped by His word for every good work, and what are these good works, they are everything that God is calling us to do for His kingdom. He works in and through us to build His kingdom, to bring honor and glory to Him.
38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
Saul tries to give David equipment from men’s hands, the same type of equipment that Goliath had, but we see that it is useless for David he was to small and unfamiliar with it. This further reiterates that this battle is the Lord’s not man’s (verse 47).
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and 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 down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
Here again we see that David’s confidence is not in himself, but in the God of Israel. He did not need a sword or a spear, because no matter what he used the victory was in God’s hands, and He does not need the weapons of man to win the battle. Do we have the same confidence that David had, are we being bold in the battles that we face everyday, resting in the confidence that God has already won the war. He has provided everything that we need, are we trusting in that truth. The example we see in the narrative of David, as well as all the other examples in Scripture should strengthen us, give us confidence. All we need is Jesus.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
We see the fact that David was able to prevail over Goliath without sword highlighted in verse 50. David had no need for conventional weapons because the battle belonged to the Lord. Once their champion had been defeated the rest of the Philistines fled, and Israel was victorious, the men of Israel had a renewed courage and chased the Philistines.
55 As soon as Saul saw David go 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 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down 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?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Now this is where some people try to say the narrative contradicts itself, why would Saul be asking who’s son David was if he was one of his servants, remember David played the lyre for Saul, and was an armor bearer for him. First off it is said that David would go back and forth from Saul to his father to help with the sheep in verse 15, so David was not constantly present around Saul. Another thing to point out is that Saul would have had many servants, and armor bearers. But another reason he inquired of David’s father is so he would know his lineage, because remember the reward fro the defeat of Goliath, Saul’s daughter and no more taxes. It is not like David is a stranger, but Saul needed some family history.
The Man After God’s Own Heart
The Man After God’s Own Heart
David put his complete trust in God, he knew He would deliver him, he knew God was all he needed. God uses many different people to accomplish His will. It doesn’t matter if you are older or younger, if your heart belongs to God, and you are being faithful to Him, He will use you to accomplish His will. But do we have the same confidence in God, or do we just say we trust Him. Do we have the boldness to face our enemies, and combat them with the truth. The Bible shows us what God has done for His people through his plan of redemption, and how He works in and through His people, this should serve as a reminder to us, and it should embolden us, God has equipped us with everything that we need, as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:17 we are equipped for every good work, by His word.