1 Samuel 17:30-4030And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 38And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:30‑40).
What a beautiful picture we see in David here of the Lord Jesus Christ. When rejected by the leaders of the people of Israel, the Lord turned to those who looked for deliverance, just as David did, when his brethren despised him. The Lord Jesus had been sent by His Father in love to save His people from their sins, but was hated and despised by the scribes and Pharisees, who were envious of Him. Any of us too, who seek to please the Lord in the path of obedience, will find ourselves accused of pride sometimes, even by other Christians, but let us not resent it. Let us be gracious, and continue in the path of obedience to the Lord, regardless of what others may say. Obedience to God ought always to come before everything else. There will be a time of manifestation some day, when the Lord will reward all that is according to His mind, even though we have been despised for it. This encouragement is given to those who trembled at the word of God in Isaiah 66:55Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. (Isaiah 66:5).
When Saul heard that David was not afraid of Goliath the giant, he sent for him. David told Saul that their hearts need not fail because of Goliath, for he would go up and fight with him. Saul, the natural man, thought only of how Goliath was a giant, and a man of war from his youth, while David was young and inexperienced. He could not understand David’s courage. David then told Saul of how the Lord had enabled him to overcome a lion and a bear, which had come to rob his father’s flock, and this Philistine was no different seeing he had defied the armies of the living God. Poor Saul did not have faith and he could not understand David. He even forgot he ever knew him, though David had once played the harp in his court.
However, if David were willing to go, Saul would not hinder, so he said, “Go, and the Lord be with thee.”
Saul did not know anything of the strength of the Lord and thought only of natural means. He therefore put his own armor on David, and David took Saul’s sword in his hand and started to go. But he soon realized that this would never do, for he had not proved them. To wear Saul’s armor was not confidence in the Lord, but in the armor, and so he said, “I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.” He had not proved the armor, but he had proved the Lord and knew He was able!
David then took his staff and a sling in his hand instead, and went down to the brook where he chose five smooth stones which he put in his shepherd’s bag. Five, in the Scriptures, figures weakness, and this would, I believe, tell us of the Lord Jesus who came into this world in weakness, and in weakness He overcame all Satan’s power. He first met Satan in the wilderness, using the Word which, as man, He had hidden in His heart, and there He bound the strong man and went forth to spoil his goods (Matt. 12:2929Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. (Matthew 12:29)). In applying this to ourselves we see the importance of the Word in meeting Satan’s power against us through temptation. Of course the Lord Jesus, the blessed Son of God, could not sin, but the manner in which He met Satan became an example for us. He did not dismiss Satan in His power as God, though He could have done so, but met him as a perfect, dependent man should. Let us then form the habit of meeting Satan’s questions and temptations by the Word of God.
ML 10/03/1954