My Taunt Is Better Than Your Taunt

The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.  The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." 

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands." (1 Samuel 17:43-47 NASB)

There is a lot of debate about the text of chapter 17.  There are plenty of seeming inconsistencies, theories to reconcile them, grousing about whether David was even a real historical figure, and so on.  If it weren't for these controversies, many scholars wouldn't have received their doctorates. 

But one piece which is not so hotly contested because it lacks inconsistency, is documented in the best texts, and fits well in the narrative as a whole are the taunts between David and Goliath.   The giant has been taunting all day, early to late, and no one comes to fight.  Finally out comes some good-looking shepherd boy and he's out of good insults.  But the shepherd's not.

Essentially, the giant said he would feed David to the birds and animals.  David said he was going to give all the Philistines to feed them, oh, and cut off the giant's head.  But David also reveals his motivation. He wants everyone to know, Israelite and Philistine, that the battle belongs to God, and He delivers however He wants.

David turns the issue around on the armies.  It's no longer about giants and swords, bronze and iron.  Now it's about God and those opposed to Him.  Once the battle is framed this way, giants, metal, and numbers no longer matter.  And neither do texts, theories, and archeological evidence.

I learn that the things I face aren't really about what I know or don't.  They aren't about what I can do or can't.  Not even what I want or don't want factors into the things I face each day.  The life I live is about my Master.  In a sense, David proclaimed that he had been crucified with the Messiah, and he no longer lived, but the life he lived he lived in faith in that Messiah having loved him and gave Himself up for him (Galatians 2:20).

As David lived and testified, so it is for me.  Can I stand before giants and assembly and proclaim that it is all about my Master?  Will  I?  What about today?  What about my work day?  Sure, perhaps in the drama, I can stand bold, but what about the daily grind upon my soul?  Can I stand even then?  And this is not about perfection, it's about being consistent, honest, and real.

The major problems in my life are not the crises, but the routines.   I can face the crises in faith, and have repeatedly.  It's the routines that grate on me, but it is also the routines that get the job done, any job.  If I don't face the routines faithfully, then I won't be prepared for the crises (ask a firefighter).  I may endure it, I may even shine during, but I will be working under a handicap I created, my lack of readiness.

I want the fun, the adrenaline, the surge of excitement.  I need to be faithful in the routines so when my Master calls me to stand before the assembly and giants to proclaim that this is all about Him I will be ready to obey.  Practice, practice, practice, small victories to gain more faith for the larger ones.

So today is about the routines, my giant to face.  Today is about doing what I need to do rather than what I want.  Today is about my Master; like every day, including tomorrow, and Saturday, and so on...

Bearding Bears and Lions, Building Faith

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."  But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God."  And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." (1 Samuel 17:33-37 NASB)

One of the things I did after high school and in the Army was to actually read the Bible for myself.  My parents had given me a very literal translation, and it introduced me to many of the peculiarities and vagaries of Scripture.  There are a lot of these, parts of stories I had heard from nearly infancy that were always left out.  Like David grabbing a lion or bear by the beard and clubbing him to death.  I didn't remember that story that way from the Bible stories I heard when I was young.

I've been to zoos.  I've seen lions.  I've seen the ones with big manes, and I've seen the California mountain lion which has none.  There were lions which once roamed Palestine, I believe now extinct (since the 1800's).  But I also believe they were somewhat like the mountain lions, though some had manes.  In any case, evidence suggests they did exist in David's time, they were often a plague on the populace, and killing one was rare or unheard of.  Except here.

Big cats are often huge, some more than 500lbs, and lions are second only to tigers in size.  Most researchers believe that Eurasian brown bears would have been the best option for bears in Palestine.  Any of these, male or female could easily have been 500lbs.  So, big bears and big cats versus a young guy.  This is one of those instances where it's hard to wrap the mind around such an event (which seems to have happened more than once to David).

David doesn't just fight the bear/lion, he grabs the lamb from the mouth, and when the bear/lion gets angry (go figure), then he grabs the face/neck (whatever is meant by 'beard' in Hebrew, Greek is 'neck') and 'strikes' it.  His list of implements later is a staff and a sling.  I'm guessing the sling was of little use when he had the thing by the neck/face, so I'm going with 'staff' as the weapon used. 

Can you get an image of this?  David goes up and grabs the 'meal' from the animal almost three times his weight.  When it gets mad ('rises ups against him'), he grabs it right near the jaw (the dangerous end) and beats it with his big stick.  This should have been caught on video, it would have redefined 'viral' on YouTube.  If you get a picture of this in your head, you can see why the 9-foot giant in the valley didn't seem all that big of a deal.  A couple of 500lb tooth-and-paw eating machines are a good warm up for a loud-mouthed 9-foot blasphemer with a sword.

The thing is, I'm not sure I'm ready to face the first, even to get ready for the second.  Not that there are many lions or bears where I live, but still, there are things, scary things, that when I face, build my faith in my Master.  Can I face boredom, meaning that I don't get to do what I want, but go ahead and do what I should but don't want to?  Can I face embarrassment, meaning that I do the thing that will draw the derision of others even though it's what my Master commands of me?  Can I face the anger of others, confronting the wrong instead of letting the status quo of sin continue?  Can I humble myself, letting go of my pride in what I know, what I've discovered, and what I've done and exalt others, even in my heart?  Can I?

These are the small animals, the basic faith-testers, not even the big animals or the giants.  Do I have the faith for even these?  These are the 'enemies' I face.  These are the ones I deal with daily, that howl about my day, prowling about my life.  There's no adrenaline, no surge of 'fight-or-flight' reflex, not that much emotion at all.  But there is fear, in each case.  And it is fear that erodes my faith, and therefore fear that must be faced and destroyed.  Obedience is the method, my tools are prayer and Scripture, and my time is now.