I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 16-17.

    Today’s passage contains three stories about the start of David’s rise to power: Samuel anointing David as future king, David entering Saul’s service as a harp player, and David defeating Goliath. I believe that these were three separate stories about David and by the time 1 Samuel was compiled, no one knew when they occurred in relation to each other. My suspicion is that the story about David becoming Saul’s harpist happened sometime after the Goliath story, but that the compiler put it before that because the stories he had about David and Saul from Goliath onward fit together and there was no good place to put in the story about David becoming Saul’s harpist. On the other hand, the story of Samuel anointing David could have happened before the rest, but may have happened sometime after the incident with Goliath. I have never heard anyone comment on one aspect of that story which I find interesting. Samuel never told Jesse or his sons, including David, that he was anointing David as the next king. All that they would have known was that God had chosen David for something. I want to also note that it was David’s eldest brother who looked like a king.

    There are a lot of things which can be taken from the story of David and Goliath. However, I want to look at what this story tells us about David as a future king. When David arrived at the army encampment, he rushed out to the ranks, ostensibly to greet his brothers, but I suspect in order to see the excitement. When he heard Goliath’s taunt, and the reward Saul had offered the man who defeated Goliath, David began trying to egg someone on to fight Goliath. I think David’s brother, Eliab, was right in his estimation of David’s motives, David wanted to see the battle. However, David was also convinced that whoever took on Goliath in the name of the God of Israel would be victorious. When it became clear that no one else was going to step forward to fight Goliath, David volunteered. At some point someone thought they were calling David’s bluff. I imagine that conversation went something like this.

 David: “Wow, that is a pretty impressive reward Saul is offering. You ought to go out and claim it. How can you lose? You would have God on your side!”

 Potential Champion: “Are you kidding me? Look at the size of the guy, his sword is bigger than you are.”

 David: “It does not matter how big he is, or how big his sword is. Remember what God did to the Egyptians? Or to the walls of Jericho? Don’t you remember the story of Gideon?”

 Potential Champion: “Well, if you think it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”

 David: “OK”

David did not put himself forward as Israel’s and God’s champion against Goliath, he tried to encourage someone else to take the role. But when they tried to shut him up by pushing him forward, he stepped forward confidently. David did not seek a leadership role, but when one was thrust upon him, he accepted it willingly.