Jump Start # 939

1 Samuel 17:33 “Then Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight  with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

This week we are taking a look at the life of David, the courageous and faithful servant of God. Early in David’s life he meets one of the greatest challenges of his life—fighting the giant, Goliath. David and Goliath—a story that so many of us grew up with. Goliath, the seasoned warrior stood over nine feet tall. David, the teenager, had never been in the army, yet was taking on Israel’s greatest enemy. Goliath is armed with spear, sword and shield. David is armed with faith in God. Five smooth stones, a sling and confidence in God and the giant came tumbling down. Great story. Powerful lessons. It’s easy to keep this superficial and miss some greater lessons for us.

Consider if you will:

1. Goliath wasn’t David’s problem. David was a kid by our standards today. He wasn’t military. There was an army. There was a king. There were many people who ought to fight the giant. What did David know about fighting? What did David know about Philistines? The reasons why David should not get involved are numerous, yet he went. He went to the king. He went to the brook to gather stones. He went before the giant. I think we find it too easy not to get involved because we say “It’s not my job.” So we stand on the sidelines of life. It’s not my battle. There are kings and armies that ought to do this. So we sit back and watch a country deteriorate, or a church fall apart, or a family degenerate. What can I do, we say. It’s not my job, we tell ourselves. That didn’t stop David. He made it his job. He got involved. Christians are not sideline people. They are engaged in the battle of life. They are teaching, showing, serving and helping. Shame on us for walking away from battles. Shame on us for allowing Satan to gain ground. Shame on us for doing nothing. Battles are messy. Battles are intense. Battles involve causalities. How can we say we care and then sit back and watch a family fall apart or a church fizzle out?  Goliath wasn’t David’s problem, but he made it his problem.

2. For any good that you want to do there are those, often on your side, that stand in the way. David had two sets of opposition to deal with. First was from his own brothers. David’s oldest brother, Eliab burned with anger against David (1 Sam 17:28). Why was his own brother angry? You’d think he support and be on his side. No. Was it guilt? Was it jealousy? Was it that he thought David didn’t know what he was doing? Had he not heard of his little brother killing a lion to save the family sheep? That would have been the talk around the dinner table. This wasn’t just a wild idea. There was some merit to what David was saying. There was some experience to what David had done.

David’s second opposition came from the king. Our verse today quotes Saul. You are not able. What defeating words. You are not qualified. You are too young. You are not good enough. You can’t do it. You will fail.

Sometimes the words of defeat come from our own sidelines. Those in the family, those in the church, those we count as friends—they throw water on any idea that you may have. It may be that they are trying to keep us from failing. It may be that they believe we can’t do it. Young David had to conquer those giants before he faced the real giant. You can’t do it has killed many ideas, suggestions and projects. David would have none of that. He knew. He believed. He pushed onward. If you let someone talk you ought of an idea, maybe you weren’t convinced yourself to start with. David wasn’t like that. He knew God. He knew it wasn’t about him but God. David stood his ground and was not going to be talked out of what he planned to do

3. Sometimes those of us that are older need to step back and listen to the younger voices. Experience doesn’t always trump youth—it didn’t here. Experience kept Israel on the sidelines. The soldiers and the king didn’t have a plan. They had no solution for the giant. This wasn’t a sudden problem. Goliath was taunting Israel every day for more than a month. What was the king and this generals talking about? What was the strategy? The text gives us no insight. This could have gone on as long as the Philistines were willing. David, the teenager, had a plan. Sometimes younger voices do know what to do. Sometimes that younger voice in the pulpit can say things better than the older seasoned voice. Sometimes parents need to listen to what their kids are saying—they may have a good idea now and then. I like to see churches using younger people.

Israel was saved, not by the wisdom of her king, nor by the strength of her army. No, it was by the courage of one of her teenagers. A sling instead of a sword. No shield. No backup plan. Charge at the giant and sling a rock at his head. That plan won’t make the military manuals. On paper that plan looks bad. With God, all things are possible.

David had trust in God. David had experience with God. David knew.

We must wonder if we are standing in the way of young David’s today. Are we telling them, “No,” when we ought to give them a chance. One of the hardest things all young people face is trying to find a job without experience. Everyone wants to hire the guy with five years experience. Where does a guy get that if he has zero experience? We must wonder, do we even listen to the ideas of those younger than we are?

I guess Saul was in the position that he could have stopped David. He could have called guards and had David escorted away. He didn’t. He didn’t know what else to do. He allowed David a chance. That’s more than some get.

The nation was saved by young David.

Roger