1 Samuel 17:25-26
Verse 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
David was hearing talk as he made his way through the troops looking for his brothers. The man who was willing to go up against this giant and kill him was promised quite the bonuses from the king, including the king’s daughter in marriage. But it had been 40 days and none of those gifts sounded tempting enough for the men of the army.
But David sees the Philistine from a different angle, he wasn’t as focused on the physique of the man as much as what he was saying. The champion fighter had come out twice a day for forty days and the men had seen his size and felt threatened enough to flee without much attention to the words that he is chanting for the umpteenth time.
David doesn’t miss the words nor what the enemy giant was implying, that they represent the Lord and if they are afraid to fight, their God must not be all that worthy. We need to remember that David wasn’t an ordinary young man, David had been chosen by God and after his being anointed king by Samuel, had the Holy Spirit come powerfully upon him. He was young but he wasn’t having to rely on his own understanding.
When David heard the taunt from the Philistine, he knew that the giant could call all he wanted, but none of the men in the army were the champion of Israel that he was wanting. David wasn’t the champion either but he sure knew who was and he was going to make sure that no one was going to mock Him! David wasn’t asking what he could gain by standing up to the giant, he didn’t desire personal gain, he wanted to make sure that the one defying the name of the Holy God of Israel, would not go unpunished.
David couldn’t bear the thought that someone was making fun of the Lord. He loved the Lord in a way that few did, he wasn’t into gaining fame for himself at this point. Let’s face it, he wasn’t even there for the beginning of the ceremony of his being anointed as king, he was in the field with his father’s sheep.
Making It Personal
Have there been times in your life when you witnessed someone defying the Lord? What did you do? Do you get angry hearing God being mocked?
Making It Personal Kids
Have you ever heard someone mock Jesus? How does that make you feel? How can you stand up for Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Father, we are sorry for the times that we have not stood up for You. Help us to become more sensitive to being willing to defend Your glory. Give us wisdom in how and when to stand up for You and Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.