When Samuel pronounced Saul’s rejection as king, he did so with a heavy heart. Samuel had been instrumental in choosing Saul as king in the first place. He had been drawn to this young man. And he had watched him become the deliverer of Israel. But from this time onward, he would not see Saul again. And now, the Lord calls Samuel and sends him to anoint a replacement for Saul.

Samuel is no fool. He knows Saul well enough to know that he will do anything to hold onto his kingdom - including murder of a prophet. And so, the Lord instructs Samuel in a "cover story." This is not a lie, for Samuel will indeed offer the specified sacrifice. But neither will Samuel reveal to Saul the fact of the anointing which will take place.

As Samuel first looked upon Jesse’s oldest son, he found himself thinking, "Oldest. Firstborn. Leader. This must be the one." But it wasn’t to be. It didn’t matter which was the tallest (like Saul). Or the oldest. Or the strongest. Or the most handsome. What mattered was what was on the INSIDE.

That isn’t the way in which man normally judges. This is easily illustrated by looking at the men who have been elected as president since the advent of television.

The first three sons are given by name. We see in the next chapter that all three of these men were warriors in Saul’s militia army. One after another, they were rejected until Jesse had run out of sons.

Young David had not even been considered worthy of being called to the sacrifice. There were several reasons for this.

Jesus, the Son of David was to be born in the same town of Bethlehem. He would be deemed a bastard by his community and would also be rejected by his brothers.

David is described as being "ruddy," the same term which was used of Esau at his birth (it is from this same word that we derive "Edom"). This may have meant that he had red hair which was highly prized in the Middle East where black hair was the norm.

Up to this point, we have not seen the name of David. It is given here for the first time. It is an unusual name and its meaning is obscure. It seems to be from a root used mostly in the Song of Solomon where it is translated "beloved."

The purpose of this anointing was to set David apart as the new king of Israel.

The anointing with oil was accompanied with a spiritual anointing as the Spirit of the Lord came upon David. The Spirit of God came upon him in a special way that would empower him for ministry. There is an interesting parallel between the anointing with David and the baptism of Jesus.

David would go for many years before eventually coming to the throne of Israel. For many of those years he would be a fugitive. Perhaps there would be times when he would wonder whether Samuel had been mistaken in anointing him. I am certain that there would be times when he did not FEEL anointed. And in those dark times, he would of necessity depend upon the ministry of the Spirit to sustain him.

The Scriptures teach that we have the Spirit of God today in a special sense which is over and above that which was experienced in Old Testament times.

John 7:39 says that the Spirit in the days of Jesus had not yet been given "because Jesus was not yet glorified."

Romans 8:9 says that "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him."

What does this mean? It means that we are all the more responsible to be filled with the Spirit and to walk in His will and in accordance with His power.

Just as the Spirit of God comes upon David, so also it departs from Saul. Does this mean that Saul lost his salvation? No. The presence or absence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament says nothing about salvation. Prior to Pentecost, the Holy Spirit's presence was rarely permanent, usually coming only for special circumstances and needs. However, since Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers is permanent.

It is important that we keep in mind the various ministries of the Holy Spirit. There are certain aspects of the working of the Spirit which are temporary as well as certain aspects which are permanent.

There are also ministries of the Holy Spirit evident today which were not evident in Old Testament times.

The Spirit had departed from Saul. But the empty house which has been swept clean is now replaced by an "evil spirit." The startling thing about this evil spirit was that it was from the Lord.

What was the nature of this spirit? Let me suggest that it was NOT necessarily a demon. Rather, it was a messenger from God - and angel sent on an errand of trouble.

This should not surprise us. The Israelites had already seen the Lord send an angel of death against the firstborn of the Egyptians.

We need not take this to mean that music is a cure-all for evil spirits. And yet, God is going to use this situation and this advice to work out His plan and program.

What a wondrous thing is the providence of God! These things seemed to happen just by "chance." By chance, Saul had this dark depression come over him at this period of his life just after David had been anointed. By chance, one of his attendants suggested music as a treatment. By chance, one of those attendance had heard of the musical ability of a shepherd boy from Bethlehem.

Notice the reputation by which David had come to be known.

a. A skillful musician.

b. A mighty man of valor.

c. A warrior.

d. One prudent in speech.

e. A handsome man.

f. The Lord is with him. This was the most important quality of all.

Can you imagine how Jesse might have felt when he received order from the king that David was to be sent to him? What had just happened in the life of David? He had been anointed as the next king of Israel. The only problem is that there was already a king who showed no signs of abdicating.

I am certain what must have flashed through his mind. "Saul has found out about the anointing and is now going to execute my son!" But he hopes for the best and sends his son to stand before the king.

Saul would eventually come to the point where he would fear and hate David. But this was not his initial response. He went so far as to make David his armor bearer - a later age would refer to this position as a squire..

As you leave the coastland area of Palestine along the Mediterranean and move eastward, the first geographical feature you encounter is a range of low foothills known as the Shephelah. Over the years the streams flowing down from these hills have cut deep gorges known as Wadis. The Valley of Elah is one such Wadi.

Located about 15 miles west of Bethlehem, this Wadi served as a pass from east to west (the stream disappears entirely in the dry season leaving a riverbed of small round stones).

The Philistines held the seacoast plains of Canaan. The Israelites held the mountains. The Shephelah was the contested area between.

The name "Goliath" seems to be Indo-European in origin. He is described as having the latest armaments in modern warfare. This paragraph leaves us with a number of weights and measures.

When we put these together, we are presented with the following description:

The height of Goliath has brought about considerable speculation since there has been no man in recorded history to achieve such stature. The Hebrew manuscript of Samuel found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSam) contains a textual variant in this description putting him instead at four cubits and a span, making him six feet nine inches. This reading is confirmed both by the Vaticanus, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, as well as in the Antiquities of Josephus.

This does not change the fact that Goliath was the equivalent of a human tank. Standing head and shoulders over the rest of the population, he would have looked indestructible. And to even get to him, one would have to get past the large figure-eight shield which was held by his armor bearer.

Warfare in the ancient world was a violent and bloody affair (this is true for war in any age). It was not uncommon for 20 or 30 thousand men to fall in a single battle. Goliath was a part of a highly cultured race. He offers a relatively peaceful alternative. A representative from each of the two warring nations will fight and decide the issue. Instead of thousands falling in battle, only one man shall die.

The problem is that no one in the Israelite army was willing to accept the challenge. They were all "dismayed and greatly afraid" (17:11). This included Saul.

To make matters worse, verse 16 tells us that this challenge was issued every morning and every evening for 40 days. A total of 80 times, Goliath issued his challenge. And 80 times, the Israelites played the part of the coward.

Jesse was an old man (17:12). It was for this reason that he was not with Saul’s army. David was evidently on furlough from his duties in the court of Saul. He had gone back to his old duties of caring for the family flocks.

His errand was one of information. There was no post office in those days. And so David was to play the part of a postal worker. He was to learn the latest family news and bring it back to his father.

As David arrives at the battlefield, it is just in time to hear Goliath’s customary challenge. He is prepared to see men empowered with a holy boldness. Instead, he witnesses a scene of devout cowardice.

I imagine that David might have been a bit disillusioned. Have you ever experienced disillusionment? In the early 1970's Paula and I were at Florida Bible College when the president of the college was caught in an illicit relationship. This was a man who had been greatly used of God to lead thousands to the Lord. But he fell. And a lot of students went through a period of great disillusionment. There were some whose spiritual lives were shipwrecked as a result of that incident.

What is your reaction to disillusionment? Whenever you are disappointed with someone, that means you have appointed them to a position from which they have fallen. There is a lesson here. It is of the danger of placing people on pedestals.

David sees more at issue than a mere military campaign. The honor of God is at stake. Have you notice how commonplace it has become for the world to picture the church as an object of ridicule? It is easy to rationalize that the church deserves it, as the armies of Israel deserved the ridicule heaped upon them. But the honor of God is at stake. And for that reason, Christians need to be bold to speak out.

There is nothing a coward dreads more than to have his cowardice exposed. Eliab’s reaction is to shift the blame. He points his finger of blame at David. He finds fault with the actions of David. Whenever you see a fault-finder, there is a fault that the fault-finder is attempting to hide.

Have you ever noticed how often it is when a person determines to make a stand for the Lord that it is a member of his own family who tries to dissuade him?

One of the things that I treasure in my own life is the encouragement that Paula has been to me in ministry.

Saul's reaction was understandably dubious. He looks at Goliath and sees a giant of a man; a professional soldier who was raised in all the arts of modern military warfare. And then he looks at David - a young shepherd boy. David points to that which Saul has not seen - the presence of the Lord.

David and Saul are looking at different things. Saul is looking at David and saying, "He’s too small!" David is looking at God and saying, "He’s big enough."

David believes that he will be victorious over Goliath, not because HE is so big and strong, but because Goliath has set himself up against the "living God" and therefore cannot help but lose.

God has ordered David to be anointed. This was a covenantal sign. It was a sign that God had a special purpose for him. And if God had a special purpose for him, then he was not going to be slain by this Philistine.

There is a play on words here. The word for "paw" is the same as the word for "hand" (Yad). The Philistine is seen as just another animal from whom David will be delivered.

David's victory over a bear or a lion was not due to David's ability, his strength or his size. It was the Lord who had given him these victories. And it was the Lord who would give him the victory over Goliath.

Saul tries to make David over in his own image. He means well. People will often try to get you to wear their armor when you face your Goliath. But it is God who must design your own armor. My armor won’t fit you.

The fact that David succeeded in actually trying on the armor of Saul indicates that it must have come close to fitting. Otherwise he would not have been able to don it in the first place.

Remember that Saul was head and shoulders over all of Israel (10:23). His armor would have been sized as an extra-extra large.

David was not a little boy. But neither was he used to fighting in armor. He was untrained in its use. And he was unaccustomed to moving about while carrying this additional weight. And so, David put the armor of Saul aside, content to wear the armor of God.

A sling consisted of two long cords tied to a pocket at the center. The slinger would place a stone in the pocket, whirl to ends of the cord and then release one of them, letting the stone fly at its target. I’ve used a sling before. And I admit that it takes a LOT of practice.

The sling was one of the accepted weapons of the Israelites. It was not dependent upon the ironworks of the Philistines. There had been an entire brigade of 700 slingers from the tribe of Benjamin who could "sling a stone at a hair and not miss" (Judges 20:16).

Why did David take FIVE stones? I have hears a lot of possible reasons proposed. Because Goliath had four other brothers. Because five is the number of the grace of God. But I think that there was a different reason. I think that was in case he missed.

There is a point here. It is that Christians ought to be practical. It is okay for Christians to...

It is okay to utilize some of that planning for this life. On the other hand, the most practical thing that we can do is to make the major thrust of our lives the preparation of eternity.

When we read that "the Philistine cursed David by his gods", we should remember that the term Elohim can either refer to "gods" or "God." While it is possible that Goliath was invoking his own false gods to assist him against David, there is nothing in his demeanor to indicate that he felt the need of such assistance. On the other hand, it is likely that Goliath was cursing both David AND the Lord.

To come in the name of a person was to come with all of their authority, their rank and everything that they were. This was not merely a battle between two men. At stake here was the honor of the Lord of hosts. And David was here as the representative, both of the people of God as well as of the Lord Himself. There is a parallel here between David and the last son of David.

In both cases, they...

The later Greek helmets had a protective prong down the center of the face to stop such assaults. But the Philistine helmets left the face exposed.

Do you remember the incident of the Ark within the Temple of Dagon? There is an interesting similarity with the fall of Dagon and the fall of Goliath.

Do you see what happened? The Philistines forgot their promise. Goliath had promised that if he were to be defeated, then all of the Philistines would become slaves of the Israelites. Instead, they ran.

Jerusalem was a Jebusite city. It was closed to Israelites at this time. Why did David bring Goliath’s head to Jerusalem? There are several possibilities:

Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. (1 Samuel 18:1).

Jonathan recognized in David a kindred spirit despite very different backgrounds. Jonathan was the son of a king and heir to the throne. David was a simple shepherd boy.

Jonathan was a fully mature man in his prime. David was still a boy, though he had gained the respect of men due to his victory over Goliath.

They had both achieved overwhelming victory in a time when defeat seemed probable. They both were renown as heros. And this naturally kindred spirit led to a close friendship.

It has become increasingly popular to assert that the love between Jonathan and David was a homosexual relationship. The truth is that the Hebrew word used here for love is NEVER used of homosexual relationships in the Bible.

Incidentally, this same word is used in 1 Kings 5:1 where we read that King Hiram of Tyre had LOVED David all the days of his life. This usage indicates the friendly relations between two neighboring kings.

Both Saul and Jonathan began by loving David. When David first came to the court of Saul and played the harp in his presence, we read that "Saul loved him greatly" (16:21). Now, as Jonathan came to know this remarkable young man, he also came to love him.

The gift of his own personal weapons was made greater by the fact that weapons were not common among the Israelites. At the start of the campaigns against the Philistines, there had been only two sets of weapon in the entire army of Israel. One set had belonged to Saul. And the other set were Jonathan’s - now given to David.

As the victorious Israelites made their way back to their homes, they were greeted in each Israelite town and village with singing and rejoicing - the ancient equivalent of a ticker-tape parade.

At the heart of the celebration were the two heroic figures: Saul and David. The fact that Saul was held up as a heroic figure was rather gracious. He hadn’t done anything heroic recently. But Saul didn’t see it that way. Indeed, he saw it through the green eyes of jealousy.

In verse 5 we read that David’s promotion "was pleasing in the sight [eyes] of all the people and also in the sight [eyes] of Saul’s servants." Now we read that Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him (literally, it was displeasing in his eyes).

Saul knew from Samuel’s prophecy that the kingdom had already been snatched from him by God and given to another.

Saul was on the lookout for such a man. And here was one whose praises the people of the land were proclaiming.

What is your reaction when someone else is praised more than you are? Do you feel pangs of jealousy? And if you do, then what do you do about it? Become gloomy or morose? Look for some fault on the part of the one who has outshone you? Or repent of your sinful attitude and seek to further edify that one who has become the object of your jealousy?

There is a contrast here between David and Saul. It is a contrast that has been developing for the past three chapters.

For a military leader like Saul, the spear was a sign on authority (in a more peaceful kingdom, he might have held a scepter). Notice the contrast. David had in his hand a harp. Saul had in his hand a spear. David was seeking to minister to Saul through music. Saul sought to murder David with his spear.

David had done nothing to make Saul fear him. It was David who should have been afraid - he had been the intended target of Saul’s attack. But Saul was afraid. Why? Because he recognized that the Lord had left him and was now with David.

It is not entirely clear whether this was a promotion or a demotion. In verse 5 David had been set over the men of war. Now he was the commander of a mere thousand. He was out of the court and possibly away from public attention.

Saul had originally promised that whoever killed Goliath would have the hand of his daughter in marriage. Perhaps David had been a bit too young for that. Or perhaps Saul had conveniently forgotten his promise. But now he offers his daughter to David. Unfortunately, his motives leave something to be desired.

Saul wants David dead. But he doesn’t want to do the deed himself (he had already tried that and it hadn’t worked). Instead, he will try to set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.

Does this sound familiar? A later king would suppose, "If I put Uriah the Hittite in the forefront of the battle..."

David was a man of true humility. He was not seeking Saul’s throne. He was not even seeking the hand of one of Saul’s daughters. And so, the daughter that had originally been promised to the slayer of Goliath was given to another.

6. Michal, the Daughter who Loved David.

Just as Jonathan had developed a love for David, so also Michal, Saul’s youngest daughter, also developed a love for him. Instead of making Saul mad, it pleased him. Not because his attitude had changed toward David, but because he saw this as an opportunity to entrap him. This scene is played out in the form of a chiasm:

The offer of marriage is made again to David, who objects that he is "a poor man and lightly esteemed" (18:23). He is told that he will be given the king’s daughter in marriage for a dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins. David responds with not 100, but 200 such trophies from the Philistines.

Have you ever seen a snowball roll down a hill? It begins very small, but as it continues upon its course, it grows and grows. Saul was like that snowball. And he was rolling toward his own eventual destruction.

In what direction are you moving in your Christian life? The one thing that I can guarantee is that you are not standing still. You are either moving toward God or you are moving away from him. Going faster is not the answer. The answer is always a repentant heart.