My kids and I were reading a Storybook Bible the other day. One of the accounts was about David and how God looked at David’s heart to choose him as king. Later, I read through 1 Samuel 16 and 17 and was once again amazed at how intertwined Saul and David’s lives were.
Usually Sunday School gives “snapshots” of the Bible. It was hard for me to understand why Saul would be jealous of David. To me, it was only because he killed Goliath so Saul was jealous. It didn’t make sense why Saul thought the people would want to make David King. Well, besides the fact God wanted him to be king. As I got older and started reading more Biblical accounts in one sitting and commentaries things started making sense.
David marries one of Saul’s daughters. It makes sense David would be a contender for the throne at one point, especially after everything David does. I also find it interesting many Sunday School lessons make it seem like Saul and David didn’t really meet prior to David and Goliath. In reality, we know David played music for Saul. David is already considered a “man of valor, man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.” Saul sends for David and likes him so much, Saul keeps David in his service and made David an armor-bearer. This speaks much about David’s character. Saul. rejected by God, recognizes what a good person David is. Saul isn’t trusting a random boy to save Israel. Saul knows who David is. Saul loves David and trusts David to some extent. Saul trusts God is going to be with David.
Something else that’s interesting is that Saul was pretty tall. In 1 Samuel 9 we learn, “From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” He may not have been the tallest person in Israel, but he must have been taller than the average Israelite. One commentary suggested Saul was well over 6 feet tall. It only matters to help put into perspective that people thought Saul was tall. Seeing Goliath coming would be intimidating since Goliath was about 9 feet tall. That’s anywhere from 2-3 feet taller than one of the taller people they knew. Goliath’s armor and weapons alone weighted about 150 pounds.
Understanding some of these details helps us understand why this man was terrifying. We can claim, “They should have trusted God and went for it.” Do we do that in our lives? There are many things that divert our trust away from God. It’s easy to be distracted by these things because they’re in our face. Peter struggled with this on the water walking to Jesus. God was in the flesh before Peter. Yet, the wind distracted Peter. Peter began to sink, he called out for God’s help, and Jesus saved him. Jesus was IN THE FLESH right there and Peter was still distracted. We can get distracted from many things in our life. We even have Jesus IN THE FLESH right there when we celebrate Holy Communion. Yet, other things in our life can overwhelm us that we can forget that God promises to be found in His Word and Sacraments.
Reading God’s Word can help return our focus to the Savior who loves us enough to die for our sins. It can also help us remember where God truly is and what His Holy Spirit, who we receive in our baptism, does in us. The things of this world can be overwhelming, but we have a God who is quick to save. One that doesn’t look at our sin, but rather at the hearts redeemed by the blood of Christ. Thank God! Thank God that our spiritual learning doesn’t stop at Sunday School or Confirmation. Rather, it continues through our whole life.