The Lord Delivers Me

1 Samuel 17:31-40

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. ³²And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³And 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.” ³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷And 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!” ³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, ³⁹and 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. ⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

The differences between Saul and David begin to take shape as each of them considers how to face the giant, Goliath.

Saul would not confront the Philistines without armor, but would confront them without Yahweh’s presence. David, on the other hand, valued Yahweh’s presence with him in battle more than he valued armor. Moreover, Saul, after his anointing, failed to confront the Philistines at the first opportunity, despite having Yahweh’s Spirit. In contrast, David volunteered to fight the Philistine at his first opportunity. The author is also careful to note David’s weapons of choice—his shepherd’s staff and sling, for which he carefully chose stones as projectiles.

Steinmann, A. E. ©2016. 1 Samuel. (p. 341). Saint Louis, MO: CPH.

David’s reliance upon God was built on experience. My imagination says that a teenage boy would take a small trophy from a ferocious animal he had killed in defense of his sheep, like a tooth or an ear. (I’m not a teenage boy, and I might ((would!)) have done that!) But he always gives the glory for those victories to God alone. He knows who has the power. Saul, on the other hand, relies on his armor, and attempts to outfit David in his own personal battle gear. Of course it doesn’t fit, and David quickly rejects wearing it into battle with Goliath. Saul’s problem was that he has exhausted all of his personal resources that might fix this problem. David’s victory lies in the fact that he isn’t looking to his own resources to defeat Goliath. While he takes his sling onto the valley floor, he’s still counting on God to win the day.

A few months ago, my husband met a guy who had just returned from a trip to Israel. As the tour progressed, they observed a teenage Palestinian boy firing rocks from a sling at the Israeli army. In his hand he held five smooth stones. This gentleman stopped the boy and asked him why he had chosen five stones. The boy said, “Because that’s what fits in my hand. And I change the size of stone I throw depending on what I want to hit.” That’s a reason for five stones I had never heard before. David chooses five stones and heads down into the valley.

This confidence in the Lord’s ability to provide is a trait worth pondering. I do know how to turn to the Lord for help, but I am sad to confess, most of the time that’s after I’ve exhausted my resources. I think that is why Saul allows a teenager to go into battle. He’s out of ideas. I suppose the idea here might be to follow David’s lead and lean into God’s power and ability before I even think about what I might have available to solve the problem. Or maybe I need to ask Him what to do first, because He may have already put what I need into my hands and I just can’t see it. Either way, God has already solved the problem. My faith just needs to kick in so that I can use it.

We are in the same situation as the army of Israel. God had a plan set in motion for their release from the Philistines. God had a plan for our release from the bondage of sin. David came onto the scene because God sent him there. Jesus came onto the earth because that was God’s plan from the beginning. We don’t even need a sling. We just get to receive the forgiveness of our sins.