After God’s Heart (Part 3) (1 Samuel 16:14-23)                                                                           2008.11.09    Pastor Edward Cheng

At this point, we’ve been looking at the life of David for several weeks now, trying to gauge what it means to have a heart that is “after God’s heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).  What does it mean to pursue after God’s heart?  We try to answer this not only by looking at how David is described, but also how Saul is described because it’s clear to us that the books of 1-2 Samuel are about the contrast between the two men.  We’ve seen already how obedience plays a large part in being after God’s heart.  Saul was not only disobedient, but more specifically defiantly disobedient, knowing the command of God and not accomplishing it.  When confronted with his sin, he refused to repent, showing us how important the heart of repentance and “turning” is in the life of one after God’s heart.  Finally, we saw last time the way God evaluates a person: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  This is a lesson to us not only to do the same when it comes to how we regard one another, but perhaps more importantly, how we conduct ourselves knowing that our character is of so much more value to our Heavenly Father than is anything external.

This week we continue to examine the three successive stories found in chapters 16-17.  The grouping of these three stories is to show the comparison between David and Saul and why David was so much more suitable as a king than was Saul.  In the first story, which was looked at last time, David was anointed because of his good heart and not because of a lack of regal stature.  In the second and third stories it seems that the author is placing as a high priority the bravery of David when confronted with opposition toward the Lord.

In this second story, we are told of a situation in which Saul is not able to relax because of the affliction of an evil spirit.  He is told of a boy who can play the harp which will soothe his affliction and as this boy is described, it is said of him, “He is a brave man and a warrior.  He speaks well and is a fine-looking man.  And the Lord is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18).  What is striking about this description is the fact that being brave and a good warrior have nothing to do with playing the harp, does it?  Why would David be described this way?  In order to bring to prominence the linkage between this story and next, that vis-à-vis Saul (and Samuel), David’s bravery is characteristic of him being after God’s heart.

How was this bravery displayed in his life?  For that answer, we turn to the third story – the story of David and Goliath.  Many have read this story and have come up with a plethora of principles and “morals of the story.”  However, when we read it more carefully, we see once again that it is about the bravery of David as compared to the lack thereof from Saul.  First of all, as Goliath, this behemoth of a man, came out to taunt the armies of Israel, challenging them to a one-on-one fight, it should have been Saul to lead Israel into battle because that’s what good kings do.  We know that Saul was an imposing figure himself, being a head taller than everyone else, and yet, like everyone else, he was hiding in the back.  He was gripped by fear while Goliath daily taunted the armies of Israel and defied their God.  We notice the frequency by which the author tells us about Goliath’s defiance of the Lord (vv. 10, 25, 26, 36, 45) and recognize that David’s bravery does not manifest itself because his honor was being threatened, but because the Lord’s honor was being threatened.  Being after God’s heart doesn’t mean being brave in any and every situation, but being brave when we are standing up for the Lord.

We also see how David’s bravery set him apart from the rest, especially Saul.  What was Saul’s response when Goliath came to taunt and defy Israel?  Fear, followed by more fear (vv. 11, 24, 32).  Saul’s fear lead others in his army to also be afraid.  However, after seeing the bravery from a young boy in David, the other soldiers were edified and encouraged and found courage themselves (v. 52). 

What does it mean to be brave to the Lord?  It means not allowing fear to grip you and prevent you from doing something you should do.  It means being willing to face the consequences for standing up for the Lord.  In our case, those consequences might be ridicule, mocking, rejection, and in extreme cases persecution.  We pray that the Lord would strengthen us and give us David’s bravery so that when we find ourselves in such positions, we would not hesitate to stand up for the Lord.