Here’s David, anointed as the new king of Israel, serving as musician to King Saul to soothe him during his bouts “with depression and fear” (I Samuel 16:14b, NLT). When David wasn’t in the court playing for Saul, he was back in the fields tending the sheep and goats – neither of which sounds much like a royal assignment. First Samuel 16:21b says that David did get one sort of promotion: he “became (Saul’s) armor bearer.”
David’s brothers “Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea – had already joined Saul’s army” (I Samuel 17:13b), “but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem” (I Samuel 17:15). David, the king virtually no one knew about, spent his time lugging around Saul’s armor; playing the harp; and herding his father’s goats and sheep.
Oh, and did I mention his job as errand boy? “One day Jesse said to David, ‘Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing” (I Samuel 17:17-18).
So “David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright” (I Samuel 17:22-24).
That wasn’t how David responded. He demanded to know “Who is this pagan Philistine… that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (I Samuel 17:26b).
That’s when everybody rallied around him in agreement? Nope. “When David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David… he was angry. ‘What are you doing around here anyway?’ he demanded. ‘What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of?’” (I Samuel 17:28a).
Doesn’t sound like David had many folks on his team. What he did have, though, was God on his side. And that was more than enough for David.
And He is more than enough for you and whatever you’re facing.
“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31b).
Copyright © 2012
Judy Woodward Bates
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