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just a word

1 Samuel 17:23-31 (JDV)

1 Samuel 17:23 While he was speaking with them, (notice) the champion man among the single fighters — Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard.
1 Samuel 17:24 When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.
1 Samuel 17:25 Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”
1 Samuel 17:26 David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Yes, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
1 Samuel 17:27 The troops told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
1 Samuel 17:28 David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart — you came down to see the battle!”
1 Samuel 17:29 “What have I done now?” protested David. “Wasn’t it just a word?”
1 Samuel 17:30 Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.
1 Samuel 17:31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him.

just a word

Eliab accused David of going beyond his station, and David could not understand his brother’s anger. Sometimes a word may be just a word, but it needs to be spoken. David understood how humiliating it was for the Philistine challenge to go unanswered. May God give us the courage to speak up when fellow believers are being derided.