Friday, December 6, 2013

God Encouraged David (1 Samuel 17:28-39)

6/9/2010 6:07:50 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God encouraged David

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  1Samuel 17:28-39

            Message of the verses:  “28  Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle." 29  But David said, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?" 30  Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before.
   “ 31 ¶  When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32  David said to Saul, "Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33  Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." 34  But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35  I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36  "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37  And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." 38  Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39  David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." And David took them off.”
            David knew that the Lord was with him, and he knew that the Lord was able to use him to defeat this giant, and yet his brother ridiculed him and Saul told him that he was only a youth and could not possibility kill this giant.
            As one looks through the Scriptures to find similar situations where family has discouraged another member of the family there are a few to look at.  Joseph comes to mind as his brothers even tried to kill him because of their jealousy of him.  Moses was talked about in derogative terms by his brother and sister.  And let’s not forget Cain killing his brother Able, the first murder on planet earth. 
            Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 10:36 saying “Your enemies will be right in your own household!’”  And think about how the household of Jesus treated him before they realized that He was who He said He was.
            I am impressed so much by the final statement in today’s Scripture, “And David took them off.”  It is hard to imagine what David looked like have Saul’s armor on as Saul was the biggest man in Israel and David was just a teenage lad, so it is no wonder that David took them off.  Saul was a man of little (at best) faith and so he saw things through human eyes where David was a man of faith and saw things through faiths eyes.  David was familiar with his weapons but not with Saul’s and so he would go with what he knew best. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been looking at the life of Saul and the life of David trying to compare them with each other.  The reason is that Saul was rejected by the Lord and David was a man after God’s own heart and so I desire to do the things that David did and keep away from the things that Saul did.  Here in this passage I can see the difference between Saul, a man of little or no faith, and David a man of great faith. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.     Continue to have my faith in the Lord grow from the reading about David.



6/9/2010 6:38:54 AM 

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