We have come upon the end of our second week on our study of the life of King David. I pray that you have found a bit of a groove by now. Maybe you are still trying to still develop a routine. But if you are still keeping up with the readings and checking out this daily blog, give yourself a little pat on the back. It is ok to do so. Don’t worry about any false pride. We need to celebrate these little victories more often. Too often we don’t celebrate enough when it comes to our spiritual journey.
Our reading today picks up the story again in 1 Samuel 18. We read about the aftermath of the battle between David and Goliath. On this day the Israelites won a great victory in the battle. It seemed like a time of great celebration.
What were the blessing David received as a result of defeating Goliath (18:5-7)?
David was given a high rank in the army. Women from the towns came out to sing, dance, and celebrate David’s victory. From our previous readings we learned that Saul had promised to exempt David’s father from taxes and give David his daughter’s hand in marriage. However, the Scriptures do not confirm that David’s father was exempted from taxes. Also, while David would eventually marry Saul’s daughter, Michal, Saul did not willingly or freely give her away.
What were the consequences (18:8-9)?
King Saul became jealous and angry because of the attention and praise David received. Saul would even go further by seeking to take David’s life.
Why was Saul so jealous of David? What did his jealousy drive him toward (18:10-16)? What are the negative consequences of jealousy you have seen in your own life and in the lives of others?
Saul was jealous of David because David received the praise and the accolades of the people. Saul feared they would make David king in his place.
Saul tried to kill David multiple times, but he never succeeded. God protected David. Saul gave his daughter Merab, who had been promised to David, to another man. Saul’s other daughter, Michal, was given to David in a reluctant way after a failed scheme to have David killed.
Why did Saul really send David to kill the Philistines (18:25)?
His hope was that the Philistines would kill David. Instead David killed many Philistines. God’s plan could not be thwarted. If you find yourself scheming against God, it will not work out well for you.
Do you think that at this point in time, David might have longed to go back to the shepherd’s field? What does all of David’s success bring him?
David never asked for any of this. He fought Goliath because Goliath had defied the living God. David fought Goliath for God’s glory alone. David did not seek the praise or the recognition. But because he accomplished this great thing for God, Saul became jealous of him. When a person does great things for God he will have critics and worse yet he will have people who will seek to do him harm. It might have seemed like it would have been really great to have lived David’s life, but David lived a hard life. His life was filled with many challenges and much grief. He would not have become king if he had stayed in the shepherds field. His life would have been much simpler. Although, he would have missed what God had set before him to do. Doing God’s work will never be easy.
Life is filled with hills and valleys. David went from one of his highest highs to his lowest lows in a matter of days. But through it all, what was the one constant in David’s life?
The Lord, Yahweh, was the one constant in David’s life. He had people come to him and leave him all through his life. Often times those who stuck close to David did so only because of how they profited from the relationship they had with David. I think about the 23rd Psalm and how David expresses his confidence in the loving shepherd who was always present with him. That same loving shepherd promises to be with you and me as well no matter what.
