1 Samuel 17:1-18:4
1 Samuel
17
Vs. 1-11
It is possible that four to five years have passed by since the last chapter.
The boy, David, was no longer playing the harp for the king. Saul had serious
matters with the Philistines to tend to.
V. 4 A
cubit is about 18 inches, so a foot and a half. This would have made Goliath
about nine and a half feet tall: almost as high as a basketball rim. The
reading of four cubits would have made him only six feet tall. It should be
remembered that the people back then were short by our standards. Even in
Europe when you visit a castle and they show you a bed, your first reaction is
that you're in the kid's room and then you find out the king slept in that bed.
They obviously didn't have enough junk food back then. The people were usually
in the range of four to five feet tall. Saul himself might have been six feet
tall, head and shoulders above the others. Still, who'd be afraid of a
six-foot-tall man? Would that be a giant? Goliath was clearly in another
category. Nine and a half feet tall would stand out even today and he'd be
making millions in the NBA.
Vs. 12-16
Remember that Jesse was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. David would have been
their great grandson. There is something interesting in this trivia. Under
Moses, you couldn't fight unless you were twenty years old. Let's assume this
was the same here. Of the eight sons of Jesse, David was the youngest, and then
came four more brothers under twenty and then there were three brothers over
twenty. This means that with four other brothers under twenty, David couldn't
have been more than fifteen years old. This means that David would have been
12-13 when he was anointed by Samuel and played the harp for Saul. But, when he
was anointed at 12, the Spirit rushed upon him and began making him bold,
courageous and deadly. Even as a 12- or 13-year-old he was observed being
fearless and deadly. And, the faith to follow the Lord was already there.
Vs. 17-23
This is setting the stage for David to be on the battle line. The particulars
are interesting, but what catches my attention is the last sentence in this
section, And David heard him.
Remember how the Lord allowed Samson to be provoked and how the Spirit came
upon him? That is what is happening here. The Spirit is getting David worked
up.
Vs. 24-30
You can already sense the Spirit shaking David up, getting him ready for
action. David asks at least three different people to verify what the reward
was for killing Goliath. I think this is the adolescent in David coming out. I
think it's cute to see his scared older brother go after him. These are very
real and humorous family dynamics and David sasses him back.
Vs. 31-37
David may have been an adolescent, but his faith was full grown and energetic. In
contrast to Samson, notice how David is jealous for the glory of the God of
Israel. David had the Spirit with him, and God Himself had prepared David for
this moment. I would imagine that once you got good at fighting quick
aggressive animals like lions and bears, fighting this big guy would be like
swatting one of those big dopey flies out of the air with a newspaper. For men
like Caleb, and now David, giants were just big, slow moving targets.
For us as
disciples, it is good to think about God's presence in our lives and how He
might be preparing us for the future. He is definitely working in us now. I'm
sure David had no clue how God was preparing him for this battle and the ones
that would follow. All those years of being the youngest, getting the dirty
jobs, having to live out in the fields with the sheep, protecting them against
predators, were used to mold David into a fighter and a king.
Vs. 38-40
This is a small section with a huge lesson. The Lord who prepares us gives us
the unique tools and weapons we need to do His work in the harvest.
Vs. 41-47
I was reading this morning about Jesus telling His disciples that in the hour
we are dragged before councils to give testimony to Him, the Spirit will teach
us in that hour what to say. This is David talking but fully inspired by the
Spirit. Wow!
V. 42 This
is the editor's note. I doubt that Goliath stood there thinking, "what a
handsome little boy."
Vs. 48-49
Just like we've seen before, if we step out in faith, the working of the Lord is
such that it points back to His guidance and grace. This is David's story, but
as we follow in the harvest, God gives us our own stories of how He brings down
giants and saves the seeking.
Vs. 50-54
As soon as Goliath fell, everything broke loose. David was able to draw
Goliath's sword, finish him off and cut off his head; the Philistines ran and
Israel pursued. Verse 54 is a summary sentence describing what happened later.
First, there was a battle and ongoing fighting. In David taking the head to
Jerusalem, it would have fired up the celebration and shown the people God's
victory. In a way, that had been Saul's thinking in keeping Agag alive; but in
that case, God had said that no one should be spared.
Vs. 55-58
Back to the Battle. After David killed Goliath and as the soldiers were chasing
the Philistines, David was brought in to talk to Saul. Now, it could be that if
years had passed and David had grown and looked different, you could understand
Saul not recognizing David. If Saul had been self-absorbed in his dark mood, he
wouldn't have remembered much of David. But notice that David's identity is
never the question; it is his family. According to the promise to the killer of
Goliath, David's family would be freed from having to fight in the army and
this fifteen-year-old could marry Saul's daughter. (Saul's older daughter was
in her twenties. I'll bet she was really happy about marrying a
fifteen-year-old boy. David might have been excited, but I doubt she was happy.
It didn't happen anyway. David eventually married Saul's younger daughter
Michal.)
1 Samuel
18:1-4
One very
significant part of this story is the way Jonathan embraced David. It was
almost as if Jonathan recognized the Lord working in David and, in the Spirit,
gave David his own claim to the throne. That is certainly how the Lord made it
look, and Jonathan was a very spiritually perceptive man.
John 8:21-30
Vs. 21-22
All of this hinged on them accepting that Jesus had come from the Father, from
God. Then, they would have known where He would be going and would have been
terrified that they couldn't go there too. It is fair to say that Jesus was
being a little cryptic, but it is also true that the leaders asked none of the
right questions. They showed that they wanted to fight Jesus, not understand
Him.
Vs. 23-24
Verse 23 couldn't be clearer, unless your spirit was bent on not wanting to
accept who Jesus said He was. Verse 24 is the only unforgiveable sin, to die in
your sins without coming to Christ and receiving forgiveness.
Vs. 25-27
Again, this couldn't be a clearer declaration that Jesus was the Son come from
the Father.
V. 28 This
was Jesus saying that there would also be an opportunity after His crucifixion
for them to know that He was the Son of God and the Messiah. In Acts, it says
that many of the Pharisees came to Christ. One note here is that the words, lifted up, seem to be slang for
crucifixion. Later in John 12 when Jesus says, lifted up, the crowd immediately understood that He meant
crucifixion. That means here too, the people and Pharisees understood what He
was saying when he used this expression.
V. 29
Humanly speaking, what gave Jesus the toughness to thrive in these situations
is that He did what the Father wanted Him to do and, abiding in the Father,
knew that the Father was always with Him.
V. 30 The
truth and rationality of Jesus' Word was cutting through the darkness. This is
why Jesus never stopped teaching, so that the last person would have a chance
to understand and turn to Him. This is also why Paul told Timothy to preach the
Word. It is one of those things we do in the harvest as the night approaches.
Psalm 111
This is
one of those anonymous psalms. Still, I hear the voice of David in here.
V. 1 The
part of this psalm that speaks to me today is the first sentence, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole
heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. David felt that
his obligation to the Lord for His grace and deliverance was to proclaim to
everyone what God had done.
Vs. 2-9
You notice that in almost every verse there is a separate thing for which to
praise God. Because we have read so much, we can almost pick out events in
Israel's history as the writer names each thing. Notice that vs. 7-8 sound very
much like Psalm 119. That is another clue that David might be the writer.
V. 10 This
is an encouragement to the worshipers to submit to the Word and to pursue the
Lord.
With all
the things that press upon us, it seems like everything sinks its claws in us
and takes a piece of us. Here it talks about giving thanks to the Lord with our
whole hearts. I guess that means being so overwhelmed by His grace and
goodness, that nothing gets a piece of us or steals our peace. Abiding in
Christ and being His servant means that where He is, there is His servant also.
If we are serving Christ and we're in a mess, there is still peace in the mess,
because Jesus is there too.
Proverbs 15:11
This is a
good warning and a comfort if our hearts are submitted to the Lord.
If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year
Bible, click on this link http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/every-day-in-the-word/. If that doesn't
work, go to http://www.esvbible.org/devotions/
and click on “Every
Day in the Word.”
I'm writing these comments to and for those who are
following a One Year Bible and interested in growing deeper as a disciple,
following Jesus in the harvest. My hope is to see the growth of a discipleship
culture in the church. Groups of 3-4 disciples, meeting weekly, encouraging
each other to follow Christ and work to reach out and make disciples who make
disciples. The Bible itself is the most universal manual we have and key to our
growth and service in Christ. Nothing keeps us more focused on why we are here
or what we are to be doing. My comments are only meant to provide some
explanation of the events or to show the flow of God's plan of redemption. My
comments are in no way exhaustive, but are designed to keep us focused on
Christ and our role in His harvest. My hope is that the people in these groups
will grow in Christ and be willing, after a year, to find 3 others to meet with
and encourage in their growth as disciples, disciples making disciples in the
harvest.
If you would like a complete description of this model
of being and making disciples you can find it in my book: Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011WJIDQA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is
still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's
keyed to the NIV, so the result is the commentators are constantly telling you
what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible; in
fact, I read something you don't, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and is
encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the
comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding,
that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but
only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
Send comments or feedback to dgkachikis@gmail.com.
If you would like documents containing an entire month
of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes. You can download
these to use on your computer or to print.
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