Hymns: Trust and Obey, We Are Called to Be God’s
People, I Then Shall Live
1 Samuel 17:19-49
17:19
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah,
fighting with the Philistines.
17:20 David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a
keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to
the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war
cry.
17:21 Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army
against army.
17:22 David left the things in charge of the keeper of the
baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers.
17:23 As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of
Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke
the same words as before. And David heard him.
17:32 David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because
of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
17:33 Saul said to David, "You are not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has
been a warrior from his youth."
17:34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep
sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from
the flock,
17:35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb
from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike
it down, and kill it.
17:36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the
armies of the living God."
17:37 David said, "The LORD, who saved me from the paw
of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this
Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with
you!"
17:38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze
helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
17:39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he
tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul,
"I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David
removed them.
17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five
smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch;
his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
17:41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his
shield-bearer in front of him.
17:42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained
him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
17:43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that
you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
17:44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I
will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the
field."
17:45 But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me
with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
17:46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand,
and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead
bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the
wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God
in Israel,
17:47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does
not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you
into our hand."
17:48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David
ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
17:49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung
it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his
forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
Good morning to you! I
am Darci Strutt McQuiston, a Lay Servant from the United Methodist Church up on
the hill, and it is my privilege to be with you here today.
The scripture today is probably a familiar one to many of you. It is the story of David and Goliath. I’m hoping we can apply the wisdom of David in our own lives today.
Some of the wisdom I’m calling out is:
Developing your talent
Being yourself
Acting while trusting
Developing your talent
David wasn’t picking up a stone and sling for the first time that day. He had developed skill with those tools over time.
17:34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep
sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from
the flock,
17:35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb
from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw,
strike it down, and kill it.David was the youngest and so the low job of tending sheep had fallen on him. He was a son, not just a hired hand, so took his responsibility seriously. Seriously enough he was willing to risk his life for his sheep. During his years as a shepherd he had become quite good with his weapons of sling and staff. He had also learned how to perform well in the face of fear.
Acting as a shepherd wasn’t a glamorous job but it was an important job. It doesn’t say he did, but I can imagine David practicing with his sling until he gained the confidence needed to protect the sheep from animals like lion and bear.
Being yourself
David had confidence in himself even when King Saul did not.
17:33 Saul said to David, "You are not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has
been a warrior from his youth."
Even though David didn’t fit Saul’s image as a brave fighter
he tried to turn him into one.
17:38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
17:39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them.
17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
Saul tried to make David into a warrior. That wasn’t who David was. He let Saul dress him and then tried to fit into the model of a warrior, but he had the wisdom to know that model didn’t fit. He was a shepherd. He was secure in his belief that being a shepherd was enough.
Acting while trusting
17:44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I
will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the
field."17:45 But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
17:46 This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
17:47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."
David trusted God would win this battle. He trusted but he also acted on that trust.
17:48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David
ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
David had developed his talent, he saw his skill combined
with God’s power to be enough for the situation, and he acted on that trust. The armies on both sides probably doubted his
ability to survive, yet in the end he was the victor.
17:49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
I see this scripture as an invitation to look at ourselves a
bit differently. We each have
talents. We don’t have the same talents
as others but that doesn’t mean our talents aren’t important. There are other places in scripture that more
directly state we are expected to develop the talents we are given.
David embraced his talents and become an expert. Being a shepherd wasn’t a cool job, but it
was who he was, and he made sure he was good at it. In this scripture, David used his talent in a
way that was different from how he had originally prepared for it to be
used. He didn’t sit on the sidelines and
think, “Gosh I wish a warrior would step up to this task.” He saw his talent and applied it to this
situation. David saw his ability to
fight lions and bears as equal to this task.
He brought who he was to do the work he felt called to do.
In just over a week we are celebrating our Independence
Day. This brought to mind two other
people that developed talents and used their skill for a different
purpose. The two people I thought of
were Betsy Ross and Francis Scott Key.
Betsy Ross and her husband ran an upholstery business. She was a seamstress not a fighter. She used her talents to repair uniforms and
make tents with other women of the time and created our nation’s first flag
that inspired the troops to win freedom for our United States. She was a warrior with a sewing needle.
Francis Scott Key was a lawyer and a poet. He wrote the poem we now claim as our
national anthem in 1812 after seeing the flag still flying after a night of
fighting. His song makes our hearts
swell with pride still today. He was a
warrior with a pen and paper.
A seamstress and a poet have done more to win battles than
you’d think possible!
Perhaps we need to look at what we can do in different
ways. Think about what talents you have
and what life experiences you can share. God doesn’t ask us to become anyone
else but our best selves. A quote by
Oscar Wilde I love is, “Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.”
It reminds me that it is good to have role models but, in the end, it is
important to develop into the best “you” you can be.
We are asked to trust God, but also to do our part. We are each unique members of the body of
Christ. Our talent is needed. Do not compare your gift to what others can give. Be willing to bring your best self in service
to God, and giants will fall.
Amen
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