TOPIC: HAD DAVID OBJECTED…
Read: 1 Samuel 17:17-25
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.
18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.”
19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.
22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.
25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
MEMORISE:
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. (1 Samuel 17:20)
EXPOSITION
Today commemorates World Youth Skills Day. The young David was already in service with King Saul. Do you still remember how he got there? (1 Sam.16v14ff) However, the highly responsible young David still took time off to take care of His father’s sheep at Bethlehem that he had developed passion for, even as he served King Saul. God recognises your level of diligence and responsibility. He is never a cheat; He would pay you as and when due.
Once, when David’s older brothers were at the battlefront, his father sent him, bro g too young then to go to war, to carry some provisions to the brothers and their captain, and to ask after their welfare. The old man would have gone himself, but he was too old for that (17v12). Hence, He sent this young boy. It is likely the father had been noticing the quality of responsibility in David before then.
Can your parents, leaders, pastors, bosses, co-workers, etc. say that of you?
Ordinarily, David could have refused to go, just like so many children do today. They bluntly, or sometimes politely, object to their parent’s instructions/injunctions. So think It is civilization. But if David had objected.
As David obediently took off with those provisions in His hands, He didn’t know what laid ahead of him. He didn’t know he was walking into his destiny. He didn’t know it was the God-appointed time to test and reveal the stuff God had made of him. Just imagine that he didn’t carry out that errand. He would have thought that he was doing himself good at the expense of His father, not knowing that he had actually finished himself.
Are you the type (a child, subordinate, a disciple, etc.) who finds it difficult to joyfully carry out instructions from higher authority? It is high time you changed, lest you be missing God’s programme of promotion for Your life. If David had objected to his father’s errand…
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, reliever me from the spirit of obstainacy at all levels.
2. I rebuke in me the spirit of pride and arrogance that makes one feel too big to carry out instructions at any level, in Jesus 2.
3. Pray for our children, that God should devoid them of the spirit of intinacy and delinquency, in Jesus name.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Nehemiah 7:15 – 8:4, Acts 14:21 – 15:14
HAVE A REMARKABLE THURSDAY……………. SHALOM