1 Samuel 17 – The battles
with the Philistines continue, this time at Socoh in Judah. Saul gathers the Israelites against
them. Now a Philistine “champion named Goliath, of Gath” comes forward; he is
over nine feet tall. He is armed in bronze mail.
Over
a period of forty days, this huge
foe shouts into the ranks of Israelites “Why have you come out to draw up for
battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are
you not servants of Saul? Choose a man
for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your
servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our
servants and serve us” (17:9). He scares people to death.
The
three eldest sons of Jesse are there with the army. David also is among Saul’s men, but he goes
back and forth—tending the sheep his father has and being with the army. Jesse sends David to the front with food for
his brothers. While there he hears
Goliath’s challenge and hears talk amongst the Israelites that Saul has said he
will give whoever takes up Goliath’s challenge one of his daughters in marriage
(17:25). David is upset that the man freely scorns “the armies of the living
God” (17:26) as he does. David’s brothers are put off by David in the same way, it
seems, that Joseph’s brothers were put off by his dreams and apparent pride.
Saul
hears of David’s offer to meet the Philistine in battle and accepts it. He clothes him in his own armor and gives him
his sword, but David cannot walk with all this on (17:38). David removes them
and picks up five smooth stones from the wadi to use with his sling. Goliath is insulted at the sight of David,
but David calls out, “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” (17:45). David’s first stone hits Goliath in the forehead
and he falls. He takes Goliath’s sword and kills him, cutting off his
head. The feat scares the Philistines
and they flee. Saul inquires into who
the young man is, whose son he is, and Abner brings him before the king.
Proverbs 19 – Today’s
best:
“Where reflection is wanting, zeal is not good; he who goes
too quickly misses his way” (Jerusalem
Bible 19:2).
“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then
are angry at the Lord” (19:3).
“Many seek favors from a ruler; everyone is the friend of a
person who gives gifts” (19:6).
“Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by
overlooking wrongs” (19:11).
“A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping”
(19:13).
“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord – and he
will repay you” (19:17).
Proverbs 20 – Today’s
best:
“Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person
with understanding will draw it out” (20:5).
“False weights and unequal measures – the Lord detests
double standards of every kind” (20:10).
“The buyer haggles over the price, saying ‘It’s worthless,’
then brags about getting a bargain” (20:14).
“Stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the
mouth” (20:17).
“The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of
experience is the splendor of the old” (20:29).
Augustine (354-439)
Confessions
24 - Hear my
prayer, O Lord; let not my soul faint under Your discipline, nor let me faint
in confessing unto you your mercies, whereby you have saved me from all my most
mischievous ways, that you might become sweet to me beyond all the seductions
which I used to follow; and that I may love you entirely, and grasp your hand
with my whole heart, and that you may deliver me from every temptation, even
unto the end. For lo, O Lord, my King and my God, for your service be whatever
useful thing I learned as a boy— for your service what I speak, and write, and
count. For when I learned vain things,
you granted me your discipline; and my sin in taking delight in those vanities,
you have forgiven me. I learned, indeed, in them many useful words; but
these may be learned in things not vain, and that is the safe way for youths to
walk in.
The mistakes we make as children or
“youth” (18 to mid-20s) are easier to look back on and see as forgiven. We are
so easily mislead by false promises, the false promises of people who might
mislead us and the false promise of ideas we think are “cool” but which do not
stand the test of time.
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