1 Samuel 18:1 When David had finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s throat was bound to David’s throat in close friendship, and he cared for his throat as much as he cared for his own throat. 1 Samuel 18:2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him go back to his father’s house. 1 Samuel 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he cared for him as much as his own throat. 1 Samuel 18:4 Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his uniform tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
Jonathan’s robe
Jonathan’s relationship with David immediately escalted into more than just friendship. His giving David his weapons and robe signify a sort of familial adoption. The robe signified an investment in David’s life. Their throats (meaning their lives) were bound to each other.
My prayer for you — brother or sister — is that you have friends committed to you like that.
1 Samuel 17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 1 Samuel 17:33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” 1 Samuel 17:34 David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 1 Samuel 17:35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 1 Samuel 17:36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God.” 1 Samuel 17:37 Then David said, “Yahveh who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may Yahveh be with you.” 1 Samuel 17:38 Then Saul had his own clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 1 Samuel 17:39 David strapped his sword over the clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So, David took them off. 1 Samuel 17:40 Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:41 The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 1 Samuel 17:42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, healthy and handsome. 1 Samuel 17:43 He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. 1 Samuel 17:44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” 1 Samuel 17:45 David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of Yahveh of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him. 1 Samuel 17:46 Today, Yahveh will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the land. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 1 Samuel 17:47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that Yahveh saves, for the battle is Yahveh’s. He will hand you over to us.” 1 Samuel 17:48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 1 Samuel 17:50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 1 Samuel 17:51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran. 1 Samuel 17:52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the valley’s entrance and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 1 Samuel 17:53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 1 Samuel 17:54 David took Goliath’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent. 1 Samuel 17:55 When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this boy, Abner?” Abner said, “Your Majesty, as surely as your throat lives, I don’t know.” 1 Samuel 17:56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!” 1 Samuel 17:57 When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 1 Samuel 17:58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, boy?” “The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.
our tested tools
David refused to use Saul’s armor and weapon, not just because they didn’t fit, but because he had not tested them in combat. He had already seen violent confrontations and was described as a man of war in the previous chapter. But he had to use the tools he was familiar with. Often we think that if we could afford the latest technology we could make a difference. The LORD is more interested in what we are doing with what he has already provided us. God used a rock at the hands of a skilled marksman with rocks. He can use us.
LORD, give us the courage to do what you call us to do, and the wisdom to use our tested tools to do it.
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.
1 Samuel 17:1 The Philistines gathered their camps for war at Socoh which is in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. 1 Samuel 17:2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they set up in battle formation to face the Philistines. 1 Samuel 17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a valley between them. 1 Samuel 17:4 Then a man among the single fighters named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall 1 Samuel 17:5 and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that examined one hundred twenty-five pounds. 1 Samuel 17:6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 1 Samuel 17:7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear examined fifteen pounds. Also, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him. 1 Samuel 17:8 He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations: “Why do you come out to set up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 1 Samuel 17:9 If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” 1 Samuel 17:10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!” 1 Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified. 1 Samuel 17:12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul’s reign was already an old man. 1 Samuel 17:13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, 1 Samuel 17:14 and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, 1 Samuel 17:15 but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem. 1 Samuel 17:16 Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 1 Samuel 17:17 One day Jesse had told his son David: “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 1 Samuel 17:18 Also take these ten wedges of cheese to the field commander. Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them. 1 Samuel 17:19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.” 1 Samuel 17:20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him. He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the efficient ones were marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. 1 Samuel 17:21 Israel and the Philistines set up in battle formation facing each other. 1 Samuel 17:22 David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were.
Goliath, from Gath
His name is now synonymous with someone or something gigantic, and indeed he was. Today’s text marks the first time David saw him. Although David had been soothing Saul’s frayed nerves with his music (on and off as he also tended his father’s flocks) this was the first time David encountered this Goliath of a challenge. He left his gifts of grain, bread, and cheese. He was anxious to see what the Israelite army would do to fix this problem.
There may be a Goliath in your future. You may even be fighting a giant right now. Don’t assume that the problem belongs to someone else. You were born to slay your Goliath.
1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Breath of Yahveh had left Saul, and an evil breath sent from Yahveh began to torment him, 1 Samuel 16:15 so Saul’s servants said to him, “Notice that an evil breath from God is tormenting you. 1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil breath from God comes on you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.” 1 Samuel 16:17 Then Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well and bring him to me.” 1 Samuel 16:18 One of the boys answered, “I have noticed a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is also an efficient man, a warrior, eloquent, handsome, and Yahveh is with him.” 1 Samuel 16:19 Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 1 Samuel 16:20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a wineskin, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul. 1 Samuel 16:21 When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul cared for him very much, and David became his armor-bearer. 1 Samuel 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor with me.” 1 Samuel 16:23 Whenever the breath from God came on Saul, David would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil breath would leave him.
the king’s musician
God is at work behind the scenes, without the awareness of Saul. The young man he has chosen to give him relief from his irritation is actually God’s choice to replace him. This is no human conspiracy. This is the sovereignty of God at work. When it comes time for David to be revealed as Israel’s next king, he will be a known entity. God is working out the details in his life.
He is at work in your life as well. You may not be slotted to become the next king, but God does have a purpose for your life. Trust his placement today. It will probably make more sense to you later. David had already been chosen as the next king, but he submitted to Saul and worked as his musician. He knew God was doing something.
1 Samuel 16:1 Yahveh said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:2 Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” Yahveh answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahveh.’ 1 Samuel 16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.” 1 Samuel 16:4 Samuel did what Yahveh told him and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?” 1 Samuel 16:5 “In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to Yahveh. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 1 Samuel 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly Yahveh’s anointed one is here in front of him.” 1 Samuel 16:7 But Yahveh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what Yahveh sees, for humans see what is visible, but Yahveh sees the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:8 Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “Yahveh hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. 1 Samuel 16:9 Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “Yahveh hasn’t chosen this one either.” 1 Samuel 16:10 After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “Yahveh hasn’t chosen any of these.” 1 Samuel 16:11 Samuel asked him, “Are these all the boys you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now (notice) he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 1 Samuel 16:12 So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then Yahveh said, “Anoint him, because he is the one.” 1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Breath of Yahveh came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
Jesse’s eighth
Jesse’s eighth son was not even invited to the party at first. Jesse probably figured that his older sons would make such an impression that Samuel would pay no attention to David. He was almost right. Samuel was impressed with Jesse’s older sons. But God saw what even Samuel did not.
A leader with God’s heart learns to lead by serving, and that was what David was doing when his older brothers were being paraded before the prophet. The best preparation for a life of influence is a willingness to serve others.
1 Samuel 15:32 Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek.” Agag came to him trembling, for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.” 1 Samuel 15:33 Samuel declared: As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women. Then he hacked Agag to pieces before Yahveh at Gilgal. 1 Samuel 15:34 Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 1 Samuel 15:35 Until the day of his death, Samuel never saw Saul again. Samuel mourned for Saul, and Yahveh regretted he had made Saul king over Israel.
disconnected leadership
Agag died that day at the hands of God’s prophet, who did what the king should have done. Saul did not die that day, but he might as well have. He lost the support and connection with bothy the prophet and God himself. What a terrible thing to have a position of leadership without the empowerment that comes from God and his people.
1 Samuel 15:24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed Yahveh’s command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 1 Samuel 15:25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship Yahveh.” 1 Samuel 15:26 Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of Yahveh, Yahveh has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:27 When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the corner of his robe, and it tore. 1 Samuel 15:28 Samuel said to him, “Yahveh has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 1 Samuel 15:29 Furthermore, the Endless One of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.” 1 Samuel 15:30 Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to Yahveh your God.” 1 Samuel 15:31 Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to Yahveh.
Why Samuel changed his mind
Samuel “finally yielded to Saul’s pleading, but not until he had, by his stern and solemn acts and words, made on his mind deep and lasting impressions of God’s anger against him. It was also one object of his turning with Saul to execute the judgment of God upon the king of the Amalekites.” (Whedon, D. D., Daniel Steele, and Milton Spenser Terry. Commentary on the Old Testament. New York: Nelson & Phillips, 1875. p. 397).
1 Samuel 15:10 Then the word of Yahveh came to Samuel, 1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So, Samuel became angry and cried out to Yahveh all night. 1 Samuel 15:12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel where (notice) he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May Yahveh bless you. I have carried out Yahveh’s instructions.” 1 Samuel 15:14 Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?” 1 Samuel 15:15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to Yahveh your God, but the rest we destroyed.” 1 Samuel 15:16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what Yahveh said to me last night.” “Tell me,” he said. 1 Samuel 15:17 Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? Yahveh anointed you king over Israel 1 Samuel 15:18 and then sent you on a mission and said: ‘Go and annihilate the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.’ 1 Samuel 15:19 So why didn’t you obey Yahveh? Why did you rush on the plunder and do what was evil in Yahveh’s sight?” 1 Samuel 15:20 “But I did obey Yahveh!” Saul answered. “I went on the mission Yahveh gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I annihilated the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15:21 The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder – the first of what was set apart for destruction – to sacrifice to Yahveh your God at Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:22 Then Samuel said: Does Yahveh take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying Yahveh? Notice: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahveh, he has rejected you as king.
people pressure
The people were under Saul’s charge. He had the responsibility under God to lead them on God’s mission. His fear of the people led him to compromise the mission. The LORD wanted to obliterate the Amalekites from the land. The people wanted to win the battle – and keep the best of the spoils. Saul knew that everything had to be devoted to destruction. He caved in under people pressure and lost his right to rule.
LORD, make our Christian leaders strong enough not to give in to people pressure – even when those people are us.
1 Samuel 15:6 He warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, go on and leave! Get away from the Amalekites, or I’ll sweep you away with them.” So, the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15:7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is next to Egypt. 1 Samuel 15:8 He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he annihilated all the rest of the people with the sword. 1 Samuel 15:9 Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to annihilate them, but they did annihilate all the worthless and unwanted things.
valuable enemy
Saul considered Agag a valuable enemy — too valuable to waste by destruction. The problem is that Samuel had already told Saul to destroy Amalek and all associated with him. Saul was making concessions where he should not have made them, and he would soon learn that he should not have valued what God had already dedicated to destruction.
Much of what we value in our lives will not last into the next life. We would do well to not get attached to so much.
Devotions 