David's journey was not an easy one. After he was anointed by the prophet Samuel in accordance with the word of the LORD, he had many trials to face. There is a scripture in Zechariah 4:10, which reads, “ 10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Well, David's 'small beginnings' started with his faithful work as a shepherd and led up to the epic victory against Goliath, the enemy from the Philistine army.
“4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! “ 1 Samuel 17:4. “'Why are you all coming out to fight?' he called. 'I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!' 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.” 1 Samuel 17:8-11. We are told that every morning and evening for forty days, Goliath strutted himself in front of them. At the time, three of David's older brothers were in the ranks of King Saul's army, while he, the youngest, was sent by his father to deliver food to them. Incensed, a young David asks, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Samuel 17:26.
32 “'Don’t worry about this Philistine,' David told Saul. 'I’ll go fight him!' 33 'Don’t be ridiculous!' Saul replied. 'There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.' 34 But David persisted. 'I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,' he said. 'When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!' Saul finally consented. 'All right, go ahead,' he said. 'And may the Lord be with you!'” 1 Samuel 17:32-37.
David declares, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”1 Samuel 17:45. “48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground,” 1 Samuel 17:48-49.
What lessons can we glean from 1 Samuel 17? Sometimes we may find ourselves doing small tasks, or things that are 'unglamorous' by society's standards. Are you a housewife, a stay-at-home-mom, an unemployed person, working in an 'average' job, serving as a teacher, single, married, childless? The list can go on and on. Do you ever feel unimportant? Well, here's the thing, Luke 16:10 tells us that, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” Do not despise small beginnings, because God never wastes our efforts. “23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ,” 1 Colossians 3:23-24. Join us next week as we look at how David worships God through the storms of life!
1 comment:
I'm loving your series on King David and blessed by them. Keep them coming!
God bless YOU!
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