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MAY 15
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.
Please Read
the Following Disclaimer
I'm writing the Reading Notes to and
for those who are following a One Year Bible and are 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, that is, 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 and important discipleship manual we have and it is the 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, or whom we are to be following. 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, as disciples, 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, making disciples in the harvest.
If you would like a more descriptive
commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC).
I read the BKC in doing background for the Reading Notes and refer to it quite
often. I also make reference to maps or charts in the BKC, though I will only
note where those resources can be found. Often you can do a search for these
and find them in Google books. Buying both volumes of the Bible Knowledge
Commentary would be a good idea.
I am not endorsing any particular
One Year Bible translation; in fact, I read something you probably don't, Die
Revidierte Lutherbibel, 1984. Unless noted, all Scripture quotes are from the
ESV Bible.
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. Often there is a breadth of opinion on certain events, both
historical and prophetic. Many of my views come from my church background,
theological training and my personal study.
I'm doing
this with discipleship in mind, meaning, I'm writing out thoughts that will
keep discipleship and our growth as disciples applied to what we are reading. Remember,
the real focus of the Reading Notes is to be a supplement, a disciple’s
commentary, giving motivation and insight so that we will keep following our
Lord in the harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make
disciples. Being in the Word every day,
sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning directly from Him, is the essential essence of
being and making disciples.
May the Lord bless you as you follow Him in the
harvest, reaching the lost and making disciples, who make disciples. Dan
If you would like documents
containing an entire month of the Reading Notes, go to https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
If you would like a full
presentation of discipleship read Simply
Disciples*Making Disciples.
Or if you are struggling with
insomnia and would like a long boring dissertation on disciple making, these
can both be found on https://sites.google.com/site/dlkachikis/reading-notes.
Reading Notes ©, Dan Kachikis
2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
The One Year Bible © by
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189
The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.
All charts/graphics/outlines
from the Bible Knowledge Commentary are used with the permission of David C.
Cook.
© 1983, 2001 John F Walvoord and Roy B Zuck.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary is published by David C Cook.
All rights reserved. Publisher permission
required to reproduce.
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