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David Reading | Week 2 | Day 3

Prayer

Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Pray that God would open your eyes to wonderful things from His word today.

Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 17:17-37

Read these verses three times slowly.

Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.

Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”

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?”

They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”

“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord 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 the Lord be with you.”

Reflection & Questions

Yesterday, we read the description of the mighty, scaly Goliath. Today, we discover Goliath’s opponent.

We’re told that David isn’t at the battle. He’s watching the sheep. The only reason he shows up at the battle is because he’s delivering food for his brothers. Although he shows interest in taking on Goliath, no one gives him a second thought. His eldest brother Eliab has no time for David, “I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” King Saul says. “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

But the fact is, that as Goliath “shouted his usual defiance,” and the Israelites “fled from him in great fear,” David didn’t. His heart was strong. He tells King Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Where did he get such confidence from? The Lord Himself. “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” The heart of strength came from a heart confident in his Deliverer.

The battle was set. On one side a scaly giant named Goliath (who’s imagery clearly conjures up thoughts of the devil). And on the other side, a young shepherd boy from the town of Bethlehem, who no one gave a second thought. If you’re thinking that sounds a lot like Jesus, you’re right! The battle is set – tomorrow we see who is left standing.

1. How is David like Jesus? What battle did Jesus have to take on?
2. David drew his confidence from how God rescued him in the past. How has God rescued you? How can you draw on those stories when facing trials of your own?

Prayer

Talk to God in response to today’s reading.

Worship Song

You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:

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Questions?