Episode 18- Preparing for Promotion

Welcome back to another week of the Lord's wisdom! Today we are talking about young David's story. We will be reading from 1 Samuel chapters 16 & 17, Luke 16:10-15, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Deuteronomy 1:29-31, Psalm 32:8, and Joshua 1:9. Thanks for listening! 

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Full Armor of God podcast. My name is Taylor. I'll be your host. I am so thrilled to have you back for another week of the Lord's Wisdom. I am also so excited about today's story because we're talking about young David. David, before he was a king, he was a shepherd, and we are talking about shepherd boy David today. Now this seems fitting because a couple weeks ago we talked about Samuel, the prophet, and how he had anointed Saul over the king of Israel. God specifically chose Saul to be king over Israel. However, a couple weeks ago, we saw that Saul had been repeatedly disobeying the commands of the Lord. And God tells Samuel, You're going to anoint a new king over Israel. I have rejected Saul as king. That's where our story picks up today. We are mostly going to be reading from the book of 1 Samuel, chapters 16 and 17. We're going to be picking apart verses throughout because it would take us too long to read through verse by verse. However, I highly encourage you as always to read through these chapters, read through these verses sometime throughout this week or even later today when you have time or with me as we go. But 1 Samuel chapters 16 to 17, we're also going to be reading from the book of Luke in chapter 16, from the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 10, from the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 1, from Psalm 32 and Joshua chapter 1. Let's dive right in in 1 Samuel chapter 16, verse 1. The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul? Since I have rejected him as king over Israel, fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. In verse 2, but Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate. Samuel did what the Lord said. And in verse 6, it says, When they arrived, Jesse and his sons, when they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab, the sultest, and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen this one either. Jesse then had Shema pass by, but Samuel said, Nor has the Lord chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, The Lord has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, Are these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest, Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Just a quick note here that the youngest sibling in a family was typically assigned the role of shepherd because it gave them a job, it gave them something useful to do while being out of the way of the older siblings who were typically carrying more weight. The shepherd was the lowest position. It was not viewed as an important job. And that's likely why we see the dad, Jesse, leaving David out of this family meeting with the prophet, Samuel, because David's job was kind of insignificant. His role in the family was the lowest of the low. So when Samuel asked, Do you have any other sons? Jesse's answer is, Yeah, but it's not the one you want. Like he's over there tending the sheep. Our story continues. Samuel said, Send for him. We will not sit down until he arrives. Verse 12. So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, Rise and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. And from that day on, the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Now the second half of chapter 16 explains how God starts to weave David into the kingdom, even while Saul is still king. It says that the spirit of the Lord had left Saul and that an evil spirit was tormenting him. So one of his servants has a brilliant idea and says, Let's find someone who can play the lyre. That's like another version of the harp. To come here and play for you, Saul, so that when the evil spirit comes to bother you, this person plays the lyre and the evil spirit will go away. So Saul agrees, and one of his servants comes to him and says, I actually have seen this son of a man named Jesse in Bethlehem who can play the lyre really well. That guy is David. So they send for David, have him come to the king. He plays for the king, the king feels better, he likes him. He sends a letter to Jesse, the father, and says, Let him remain in my service. I am pleased with him. So David was now employed, if you will, by King Saul, and he would go back and forth between helping King Saul and going home to check on his father and the flock and make sure everything was good. He kind of bounced back and forth between the two. Chapter 17 explains how the Philistines, this group of people, are at war with the Israelites. It also mentions a key piece of information that the Philistines have a giant on their side, and his name is Goliath. This is the famous, famous David and Goliath story. But it's so so good. In chapter 17, verse 8, it says, Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects. But if I overcome and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us. And the Philistines said, This day I defy the armies of Israel. Give me a man and let us fight each other. On hearing the Philistines' words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. It was this style of champion warfare that did spare a lot of lives because it was one man from each side fighting each other, and the winner basically won that battle for their side, for their home team. In verse 12, it says, Now David was the son of an Ephraite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem and Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was very old. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The firstborn was Eliab, the second, Abinadab, and the third, Shema. David was the youngest, the three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend to his father's sheep at Bethlehem. Verse 16 For forty days the Philistine, Goliath, came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. 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 the men of Israel in the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. Verse 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the caravan shepherd, loaded up and set out as Jeze had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle position, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of the 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 his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel. In 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's getting fired up. But not because of the bounty that's been put on Goliath's head or the reward that awaits anyone who kills him. He says, Who is he that he should defy the armies of the living God? He's saying he's insulting our God. How can we stand here and let this happen? In verse 28, 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 lead 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. Verse 29, now what have I done? said David. Can't I even speak? This is said to older brother versus younger brother thing. The older brother says, You just came down here to see the excitement. And David's going, What can I not even talk to people? In verse 31, 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. Verse 33, 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 we see David tell Saul, No, no, I've been preparing. In verse 34, 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. When David goes to fight Goliath, it's for the Lord's glory, because he knows that the battle is the Lord's, and therefore the battle has already been won. In chapter 17, verse 40, it says he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand approached the Philistine. Meanwhile, the Philistine with his shield bearer in front of him kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was a little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. Verse 43, he said to David, Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Come here, he said, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals. Verse 45, this is so good. David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands. As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Without a sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. This is so exciting. This is huge. There is so much to unpack here. The first thing is that the Lord fights for us, the Lord is on our side. It's a partnership for our good and for his glory. David said, All those gathered here will know that it's not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, because the battle is already his. It's already won. And if you'll notice, this is one of the first mountaintop moments in David's story. But it is not the beginning of his story. We talked about him being a shepherd boy, the lowest of the low positions out of all his siblings. He wasn't even invited to the sacrifice that Samuel wanted the whole family to go to. So the question is, how are we preparing for promotion? How are we using this waiting season or this season of trial that we're in to prepare us for the next thing? In Luke chapter 16, verses 10 through 15, Jesus is giving a teaching on money and it's a teaching on stewarding it well. So the book of Luke, chapter 16, verse 10, Jesus says, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. And verse 14, it says the Pharisees who loved money heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight. There's that same line from 1 Samuel chapter 16. It says, The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. It's not about us justifying ourselves in the eyes of others, it's about us stewarding what he blesses us with. Well, big or small, David was being faithful with little. He took care of his flock, he fought off lions and bears. He could have felt frustrated that he wasn't fighting alongside his older brothers. He was anointed in front of his brothers as the next king over Israel. But there are years and there are so many trials and tribulations between that moment of anointing and the moment that he actually becomes king. And he could have thought, Well, what the heck? I'm king. I shouldn't be shepherd anymore. I'm gonna go walk into the palace and take it like it's mine. Because Samuel told me that the Lord said so. He could have been frustrated with that, but he stayed faithful with little. He didn't know what or when the next level would be, but he worked hard, knowing there was something to be learned and gained right where he was at. And the same is true for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31. It says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Whether we are at work or at school or at home, if you're coaching a team or you're leading a small group, or you're encouraging a friend, or you're facing your own giant, whatever we're doing, we're doing it for the glory of God. There was a great, great guest pastor at our church this last weekend, and he said something so profound. He said, All of us are giving our lives, giving our time to something. And our mission is to connect what we are giving our lives to, to the thing that Jesus gave his life for. That is just so good. Even if you're not where you want to be right now, the invitation is to walk through that door like Jesus sent you. If you feel like you're in a waiting season, when God tells us to be still, this is not a spiritual stillness. Being still is being patient and calm, knowing he's working everything together for our good and for his glory. It's reliance on him that we need to step into that next blessing. It's the Lord who orders our steps. In Deuteronomy chapter 1, verses 29 through 31. This is Moses recounting the time in the wilderness that he and the Israelites just went through before they go into the promised land. He says, Then I said to you, do not be terrified, do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son all the way you went until you reach this place. He wouldn't bring you all this way just to let you fall, just to leave you where you're at. Walking by faith isn't just waiting, it's preparing, it's trusting that God can use whatever season you're in to prepare you for the next, for his best. The waiting season you're in could even be to learn how to rely on him and glorify him through everything, big and small, so that when we get the platform, get the pay raise, get the answer prayers, that we give him all the glory, that we steward our blessings well and bring back to him what was and always has been his. In Psalm 32, verse 8, it says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. That is not a father who's going to leave us. God doesn't usually tell us how the story will end or what the finish line will look like, but he does tell us that he is with us the whole way. When David was anointed, it said the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. God was with him. If God told us what our next mountaintop would be, like he told the Israelites, I'm gonna take you to the promised land, but then he told us how we were going to get there with 40 years of wandering. Many of us would say, Nah, I'm good. He told David he was going to be king, but he didn't tell him when he was going to be king or all of the things he would need to go through before becoming king, because David probably also would have said, No, thanks. In the book of Joshua, chapter one, verse nine, it says, Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Friends, my prayer for us this week is that we would not let our waiting seasons go to waste, that we would not let our trials turn us away from the one who is leading us through them. Let's be faithful with what God calls us to steward and glorify him in all that we do. The Lord loves you, the Lord fights for you, and he will never leave you or forsake you. I hope you have a great rest of your week, and I look forward to seeing you next time. God bless you.