Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Venerable Sisoes the Great
Kellia: 1 Samuel 17:28-40 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:24-30
1 Samuel 17:28-40, especially vs. 32: "And David said to Saul, 'Let no man's
heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.'" Contrasts fill this reading: the fear of the
soldiers in the ranks contrasts with David's indignation. The soldiers' preoccupation with rewards differs from David's
distress at the pagan's defiance of God. Eliab's opinion that his brother has a perverse and presumptuous desire to see a
battle is very different from David's readiness to present himself for combat. Saul perceives David as incapable of facing
Goliath, yet David believes that he has exactly the experience needed to prevail. Saul's attempt to equip David turns out to
be humorous, and it contrasts with David's own ideas of how to prepare for the fight. There is even the very obvious
contrasts in size and between David and Goliath their respective military experience.
Let us, then, look again at the passage and ask, "What fuels these contrasts? Why is it that David stands out from everyone
around him? What in him makes his responses and his attitude so very different from others?" The account itself provides
the obvious answer: David was a man who truly trusted in God and the others did not. This is evident in his indignation
and in his meeting with King Saul (1 Sam. 17:26,36,37). His trust in God is balanced, being neither arrogant nor timorous,
but is a trust supported by noble motive, considered reasoning, and reliance on proven skill. David truly reveals a wise and
indomitable trust in God.
Observe the motive of a man who genuinely trusts in God. Before King Saul, speaking of Goliath, David reiterates the
concern that "this uncircumcised Philistine... has defied the armies of the living God" (vs. 36). He cannot brook defiance
of the Lord in Whom he trusts. Further, trust in God was so very much a part of David's makeup that he could not even
reply to Eliab's accusation of evil motives (vs. 28). He simply "turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the
same way" (vs. 30). Trust in God was so natural for David that he moved through the ranks of Israel's army seeking the
fellowship of another soul who also believed that God helps His beloved. As he himself said later: "The words of the Lord
tried in the fire; defender is He of all that hope in Him." (Ps. 17:30 LXX). Let us trust God with every aspect of our lives.
Note that David's trust in God was not contrary to his reason or to his experience. His confidence in God brought him
before the king. Then, when King Saul questioned his ability to fight with the giant Goliath, David made a reasonable case
for his being delivered "from the hand of this Philistine" (1 Sam. 17:37). He said to the king, "Your servant used to keep
sheep for his father; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and smote him
and delivered it out of his mouth; and if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him and killed him.
Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them" (vss. 34,35,36).
As children of God, let us always use the reason our Lord has given us when faced with the insolence of those who oppose
God, and let us assess our experience and ability as David did in preparing to serve the Lord.
Also, let us consider how David's trust in God effected his methods. The ludicrous image of the young man David
standing in the armor of a huge veteran fighter and unable to move (vss. 38,39) reminds us to trust God when selecting our
methods for answering His call to serve Him. The text says of Saul's armaments: "David put them off" (vs. 39). He chose
instead what God had given him as a shepherd, through which also the Lord had given him victory.
O Lord, Thou dost ever resist the proud and dost never forsake those who make their boast in Thy mercy, grant us the
grace of sure and abiding trust in Thee in all our ways.