Three Davids

Spiritual Lessons

The David that Went in his Strength


Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and King Saul and the men of Israel were set in array against the Philistines.

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath.  And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel -- "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we might fight together."

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Now David, the son of Jesse, ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid.

And they said -- "Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it  shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."

And Eliab, David's eldest brother heard him speaking to the men, and his anger was kindled against David and he said, "Why camest thou down hither?  and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. "

And from that moment David desired to prove himself to Eliab, and to the men of Israel and to be enriched with great riches and went straightway to the King.

And David said to Saul -- O King I will fight Israel's enemy, Goliath.
And the King said to David -- "Thou art not able to fight against this Philistine.  You are but a youth."
And David once more addressed the King -- "I have saved my father's flock from both a lion and a bear, and this Philistine shall be like unto them, for I am David, the son of Jesse."

And Saul armed David with his own armor, and girded David with his sword.  And David went before the men of Israel to show the honor of the King towards him.

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David, and when he saw David he cursed him.
And then said David to the Philistine -- "Thou comest to me with a sword, but I come to revenge Israel and to prove the strength of David, son of Jesse, and I will defy you, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all of the earth may know the strength of an Israelite, and the valor of David!"

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and drew near that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine, in full confidence of both himself and Saul's sword.
And the Philistine drew his sword and prevailed against David, for David had trusted in his own strength and forgotten the Lord his God.

The David that Waited on the Lord.


Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and King Saul and the men of Israel were set in array against the Philistines.

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath.  And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel -- "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we might fight together."

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Now David, the son of Jesse, ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid.

And they said -- "Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it  shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."

And Eliab, David's eldest brother heard him speaking to the men, and his anger was kindled against David and he said, "Why camest thou down hither?  and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. "

And from that moment David feared the pride of his heart and continually questioned the motive of his heart.  Nonetheless he sought audience with the King.

And David said to Saul -- O King I will fight Israel's enemy, Goliath.
And the King said to David -- "Thou art not able to fight against this Philistine.  You are but a youth."
And David once more addressed the King -- "You have spoken truly oh king, I am a worm and unworthy, but the Lord will deliver Israel from this Philistine."

And Saul armed David with his own armor, and girded David with his sword.  But David said unto Saul -- "I cannot go with these; I will go with no weapon so I may prove the Lord God.  I will wait on Him to defeat the enemy of Israel, for the Lord our God is stronger than man and He will fight for us.  Have no fear, but wait on the Lord God."

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David, and when he saw David he cursed him and his God.

And then David sat peacefully before the Philistine and said -- "Thou comest to me with a sword, but I come in the rest of the Lord.  You defy me and curse God but I will wait on the Lord."

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and drew near that David sat and prayed and the Philistine drew his sword and smote the Israelites, and the Israelites were brought under bondage to the Philistines, and Goliath of Gath gloried in his victory over God's people.

The Real David


Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and King Saul and the men of Israel were set in array against the Philistines.

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath.  And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel -- "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we might fight together."

When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Now David, the son of Jesse, ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name.  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid.

And they said -- "Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it  shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."

And Eliab, David's eldest brother heard him speaking to the men, and his anger was kindled against David and he said, "Why camest thou down hither?  and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. "

And David knew the pride of his own heart, but also knew not to expect everyone to understand the true motives of his heart and said, "What have I now done?  Is there not a cause?"  And David left the apathetic and fearful brethren and sought the king.

And David said to Saul -- "Let no man's heart fail because of Goliath, thy servant will fight him."
And the King said to David -- "Thou art not able to fight against this Philistine.  You are but a youth."
And David once more addressed the King -- " Thy servant slew both a lion and a bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."

And Saul armed David with his own armor, and girded David with his sword.  But David said unto Saul -- "I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them."  And David took his own familiar staff and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his shepherds bag and took his sling which he had defeated the lion and bear with; for David knew the Lord God would use him and the things God had equipped him with.

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David, and when he saw David he cursed him and his God.

And David said -- "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied.  This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  And all the assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands."

And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and drew night to meet David that David hasted and ran toward the army, in full confidence that the Lord would fight through him.

And David put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone and slang it, and the small stone sunk into his forehead and he fell upon his face to the earth.  So David prevailed in the strength of the Lord over the Philistine with a mere sling and a stone.  And the Philistines fled when they saw their champion was dead.  And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines and were victorious.  And the assembly was convinced of God's faithfulness and strength and He was given glory.  All because one young man trusted in God and acted on it.



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A Witness

The Education of Bereavement

Spiritual Lessons

The Education of Bereavement

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest …. So the LORD alone did lead him,” (Deuteronomy 32:11 and 12)

“What a startling thought- that the breaking up of the nest is an act of God’s benevolence! I always looked upon it as a calamity. We are all familiar with the experience of the breaking-up of home. We remember the glad circle round the old fire, and how it grew thinner and thinner. One went to the colonies; one went out to be a governess; one departed with a stranger to a house of her own; more than one passed into the silent land. I always thought it a subject for tears. But here is an old writer who makes it a subject for praise, blesses God for it, declares it to be the first step of my education! I can understand God’s love in many things. I can understand why I should praise Him for His gifts to body and soul. But I lose my breath in surprise when I am asked to make the first stanza of my hymn the adoration of His mercy in loosing the ties of home! Nay, my soul, it is to strengthen these ties that my Father breaks up the nest. It is not to get rid of home He would teach thee to fly. It is that thou mayst learn by travel that thy home is wider than thy nest. He would have thee learn that in they Father’s house are many mansions, of which thy nest is only one. He would tell thee of a brotherhood in Christ which includes, yet transcends, thy household fires. He would tell thee of a family altar which makes thee brother to the outcast, sister to the friendless, father to the homeless, mother to the sick, son to the feeble, daughter to the aged- in kinship to all. Dost thou remember how the child Jesus in the temple lost His parents for a time. It was to Him the first breaking of the nest; it made Him think in His solitude of the wider house of His Father. So is it with thy temple, O my soul. They parents, they brothers, thy sisters, leave thee behind; and in the vacant place there arises a new altar- humanity. Thy Father has given thee wings in the night, wings in the breaking of thy ties. Thou hast soared by they sorrow; thou hast loved by they loss; thou hast widened by thy weeping; thou hast grown by thy grief; thou hast broadened in being broken; thou hast enlarged thy sympathy by emptying out they treasures. The storm that shook thy nest taught thee to fly.”

(George Matheson, Leaves for Quiet Hours p. 147-149)

This honestly has helped me. It encouraged me in my own time with ‘the education of bereavement’. Each of us has our own lessons to learn. Mine came in two seasons. My heart echoes the sorrow George Matheson must have felt at recalling old times. ‘We remember the glad circle round the old fire, and how it grew thinner and thinner.’  This was my nest once. And one by one- they left. I am the youngest of five children, and I’ve watched as three of my older siblings have gotten married or, at some point or another, moved away. It can be a hard lesson to learn when your family is especially close to one another. This was my first lesson in the education of bereavement. What once felt like a solid family unit, became scattered into isolated groups. It felt lonely at times. Like, you've been left behind in the shuffle and excitement that life brings, and then forgotten. But, as George Matheson has said, it can also teach you to fly. Oddly enough, I’ve never known something to strengthen the remaining few relationships at home, as when one member leaves. It is the sweet after tone of a bitter bite. I found that, it  also helped teach me to be confident in exactly who I was as a person. As an individual. You no longer hide behind the shadows of your brother or sisters- but step outside the comfortable conformity of many feathers in one small place. Maybe not everyone needs to learn this lesson, but when I was younger, I would often strive to be liked and accepted by other people; by my siblings, and especially by my peers, and even older sibling’s friends. I would sometimes emulate what they did in many small ways, because they were cool and interesting and a lot of fun. Not that I was ever not liked by others or somehow rejected, mind you, but it was my own personality tendency to “conform”. I still have to be careful of this even to this day. But though this education of bereavement, through this lesson, I learned to be who I was; who God had made me to be. And I learned to be confident in it. I was learning to fly.

The second lesson came much harder for me. It was when my family went through very trying times several years later. If I could ever say that my family was on the brink of completely falling apart, it was then. I dare not share the details of that time in our life. It isn’t necessary. But the verse in Psalms 27:10 became very real for me. “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”  I never understood the meaning David must have had to this verse, until then. My nest was stirred. And more than once I felt as if I would be falling to my death. But through this, Jesus taught me how to fly. He picked me up and through the shifting of my nest, my home, taught me lessons that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Change can be a hard thing. And the stirring of the nest can be too. But God is faithful. And He uses what would feel like our most sorrowful bereavements to strengthen and to grow our faith. They became reasons for praise.

Later, in this same chapter, we see David giving praise. He says- “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” (Psalms 27:13 and 14)

David would have fainted, unless He had believed to see the goodness of the LORD. Sometimes you have to believe, before you will be able to see it. He believed in order to see. Sometimes the stirring of our nests feels anything but that of the “goodness of the LORD”. But this is where we hold fast to our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and trust Him to work all things together for good. And He will. Just as He promised.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)