Whose Son are You?

I Samuel 17:55-18:9

Hello and good morning!  We are continuing on in our series about David titled “Walking Through and Stepping Up.”  We’re still in the early going.  In the last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at the events leading up to David’s battle with Goliath through his triumphant victory over the giant.  David spoke to Goliath just before they fought one another.  His words are so powerful and give us a glimpse at what was in David’s heart that I want to share them again today.

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give all of you into our hands.” –I Samuel 17:45-47

David is not showboating or trying to drum up his own courage.  His words present a fascinating glimpse into the heart of one who is completely confident in the Lord.

We sing the song “Whom Shall I Fear” which says, “I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies.”  The words “whom shall I fear” can be found in the Bible in Psalm 27:1 where David wrote, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

For his whole life, David walks in that truth, “The battle belongs to the Lord.” We too can be confident that the battle belongs to the Lord in our own lives.  Even if our circumstances seem overwhelming or that no one is there to help, you can always be sure that the Lord is there with you. 

This is maybe an aside which is not shown in this passage, but I want to share it while we’re here: sometimes we think we are alone when in fact we aren’t.  Look for those who can come alongside you.

Let’s pray and move on with today’s passage.

Lord God, the battle indeed does belong to You.  Help us to have the confidence and courage of David as we face trials and challenges in our own lives.  Helps us to speak truth as David did without holding back.  Teach us from these verses we have before us today, we pray in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

We’re going to back up a bit in time and see the story develop from Saul’s point of view … starting with I Samuel 17:55 …

As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?”

Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don't know.”

The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”

As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head.

"Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him.

David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem." –I Samuel 17:55-58

If you remember, back in chapter 16, David had already been coming and playing his harp in the king’s presence to soothe Saul’s tormented spirit.  That makes this exchange with Abner seem a little strange.  Shouldn’t Saul know who David is, particularly when Saul had been so pleased with David’s service that he sent word to Jesse that David should remain with him?

We don’t clearly know if Saul didn’t know David, but it is true that David was not in the king’s court 100% of the time.  Earlier passages indicate he went back and forth between the king’s court and his father’s sheep.  Also, there were likely many attendants to the king, so David may not have had name recognition before Saul.  Perhaps he was just “that kid who plays the harp.”  He may not have even played in Saul’s view but out of sight behind a screen or something like that.

We can also keep in mind that Saul had promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to the one who defeated Goliath as well as absolving his father’s family from taxes.  Saul may have believed David had a chance to defeat Goliath.  Remember that the Lord had taken Saul from hiding among the baggage to leading a nation and defeating the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites in battle.  Saul had seen the mighty hand of God at work.  So Saul may have known who David was and possibly even Jesse’s name, but now he may want more details.  What family am I about to be connected to through the marriage of my daughter?

Abner is Saul’s cousin, and also commander of the army of Israel.  He seems to be a rather practical fellow.  Rather than going into a big investigation about David, he simply goes and gets David to bring him before Saul, so that David can answer for himself.

There are many parallels in David’s life and the life of Jesus.  David is a sort of forerunner of the Christ.  Many of the things expressed in the psalms written by David are fully worked out in Jesus.  Saul’s question about whose son he is can also be found among those who looked at Jesus with jealousy.

All four gospels (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3, Luke 4:22, John 6:42) give accounts of Jesus’ identity being questioned because of what they knew of his past, like this …

“Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? … Where then did this man get all [this wisdom and these miraculous powers]?”  And they took offense at Him.  –Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3

Then, in John 8, the religious leaders challenged Jesus’ authority.  When Jesus clearly spoke of God the Father,

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” –John 8:19

Jesus had already told them that His testimony was valid because He knew where He had come from and where He was going while the religious leaders did not know.  Jesus summed up their understanding by saying, “You judge by human standards.” (John 8:14-15)  This is very similar to the warning that God gave Samuel before He revealed David as His anointed, “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7) Saul, too, judges his situations including David by outward appearance and even by what people might be thinking.

Jesus clearly communicates about Himself to people.  It is then our decision how to respond to Him.  Just a couple of verses later Jesus continues,

“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.  I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am He, [the Son of God,] you will indeed die in your sins.” –John 8:23-24

Jesus is unlike anyone else in the history of the world.  He was born from a virgin womb.  He is both fully man and fully God.  He came for the amazing purpose to save people from their sins.  The wages or payment of our sins should be death.  Jesus came to save people from death.  He did not come to make bad people good.  He came to make dead and dying people live.  We then must choose whether or not we believe that Jesus is who He showed Himself to be. 

Jesus asks another question to His followers, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) That is the question to each person.  Who is Jesus?

For now, let’s get back to I Samuel …

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.  –I Samuel 18:1-4

Seeing Jonathan’s response to David’s conversation with Saul, you really wonder what they had talked about.  Did David explain his attitude and his actions in light of his relationship with God?  Were David’s responses to Saul’s questions filled with expressions of his faith in the Lord?  It would seem likely when you think back on David’s words to Goliath.  Wouldn’t he have shared those thoughts with Saul as he explained in detail what had happened down in the valley?

“I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel … This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands … The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give all of you into our hands.” (I Samuel 17:45-47)

David’s friendship with Jonathan would last through everything that would happen, even though David would be the next king after Saul, replacing Jonathan as the successor by birth.

Carl and I were talking about this passage, and he wondered about what a positive and peaceful transition of leadership between Saul and David could have looked like.  We will see more and more in the weeks to come that Saul will develop deep jealousy of and hostility toward David.  But it didn’t necessarily have to be that way.  It was true that Saul would not always be king, nor would his son be king.  However, a transition of power could have happened with repentance and humility by Saul.

It’s almost as if God had left that door open by the relationship which exists between Jonathan and David.  Jonathan sacrificially loved David, and there is nothing to make us think that he wouldn’t have been honored to call David his king.  For you Lord of the Rings fans, I can hear Boromir’s words (in the movie version) on Jonathan’s lips there on Mount Gilboa as he died, “I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My king.”

The love that Jonathan has for David is often lifted up as special.  It is special, and we will see that illustrated more fully in the coming weeks.  And yet, the way that Jonathan’s love for David is described repeatedly is the same way that it says twice there in the passage.  Jonathan loved David as himself.

Let that sink in.  The love that Jonathan had for David is the same love which we are told to have for our neighbor according to the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27, to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Look at the things that Jonathan does for David.   He gave him his clothes, the robe he was wearing along with his tunic and belt.  He gave him his weapons, his bow and even his sword.  Back in I Samuel 13:22, we found out that only Saul and Jonathan even had swords among the whole army of Israel.  These items that Jonathan gives to David are the things off his back, the very best articles of the son of the king.  He did all that because he loved David as himself.

Continuing in verse 5 …

Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul's officers as well. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” –I Samuel 18:5-7

God’s hand is with David, as it was with Joseph, and as it would be with Solomon and Daniel in the future.  Whatever Saul can think up for David to do, David is successful at it.  It naturally comes about that David’s success leads to his authority within the army continuing to increase.

People like to have successful people as leaders, people who know what they are doing and how to set vision and guide the group to success.  But there is more to it than that, I believe.  People are also pleased when there is a godly person leading them.  Bob shared this with me a number of years ago, but it has really stuck with me.  If you want to know where great workers and future all-stars come from, you actually find the answer in Scripture.  Let’s skip ahead, well beyond the end of this series to II Samuel 23 …

These are the last words of David: The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel's songs: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.'  … These are the names of David's mighty warriors … —II Samuel 23:1-4, 8

These are the “secrets of great leadership,” leading righteously and leading in the fear of God.  Even at a young age, David was keen to walk in faith.  I think the satisfaction of his people and even Saul’s officers comes from David’s righteous leadership in the fear of God.  Through leading this way, mighty warriors are developed.

Returning to I Samuel 18:5-7, David was “the hero of Israel’s songs” even from the time that he fought Goliath and God had given him the victory.  Here the women sang a song which is probably not true.  In I Samuel 14:47, we read that Saul had been victorious over the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Amalekites, Moab, Zobah, and Edom.  The accounts of the battles against the first three nations are already included in I Samuel.  Israel fielded armies of 200-300 thousand soldiers in these victories.  Therefore, it seems likely to say that “Saul” or more precisely, the army under Saul’s leadership had slain its tens of thousands.  At the same time, technically, David had only slain one, the giant.  It did start a rout, but the army of Israel had pursued the Philistines.  Even if you were a good king, I’m pretty sure you would have noticed the inaccuracy in the song.  A good king, though, would have laughed it off, but Saul …

Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. –I Samuel 18:8-9

The good news here is that Saul hasn’t completely turned to jealousy and rage toward David, yet.  (That’ll be the next day… see verse 10.)  Unfortunately, he was very angry.  Anger is a dangerous thing.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that anger at your brother will be judged like murder.  (Matthew 5:22)

Quite a very long time ago, I was a graduate student, and I went to a conference in Houston.  We didn’t even have enough money to rent a car, but we could get free public transportation.  One night, we rode a bus to go out and have dinner.  We had a good time, but when we went to leave the restaurant, the three guys I was traveling with decided that we should continue on the same bus outbound from the city rather than cross the street and ride back to town.  I really didn’t want to do that, but I also did not want to go back to town by myself.  I sat down at the front of the bus while they sat in the back.  We got to the end of the route, and the bus we were riding was supposed to go out of service.  Thankfully, rather than putting us off at a convenience store miles away from our hotel, the bus driver stayed over his planned shift and drove the whole route back to get us back to town.  We were on that bus for more than two hours.  For some strange reason, I decided to let that make me about as mad as I could get.  I didn’t lash out at anyone.  I don’t even recall doing anything other than sitting alone on the bus.  It did change my relationship with those other three guys though.  I felt much more distant from them.  I decided the reason was my anger.  I had been resentful, and it corrupted my belief about what I thought they thought about me.  It wasn’t a massively life changing experience, but it was needless and sad.  I tell the story just to say that you shouldn’t let your anger go.  Joyful living is the exact opposite of the Frozen song, “Let It Go.”

We need to be careful in allowing our anger to be stirred and even more careful in allowing our anger to go unchecked.  Ephesians 4:26-27 gives us this warning,

 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  –Ephesians 4:26-27

Scripture is so powerful and accurate at diagnosing our problems.  First off, anger can happen without it being sin in the first place.  Even God has righteous anger at injustice.  However, we are not to sin in our anger.  Second, our anger should have limits.  Do not let the sun go down while you are angry.  There are different prescriptions for different situations. 

I had a good example this week where someone let me know that I had done a bone-headed thing (with the proper approvals), but the result was some significant misunderstandings and risk of creating mistrust.  It took me over an hour to craft a proper response that expressed my apology, that was sincere, and that didn’t sneak in any jabs or excuses.  By God’s grace in that case, I didn’t let the sun go down in the sense that I dealt with it the same day.  It wasn’t easy because I was already late leaving work plus I had to set aside the necessary work that had been holding me late and then go through the challenge of not sinning in my own anger.

Avoiding sin while experiencing anger and working to forgive or apologize or make amends quickly helps us with the third point.  If we do not sin in our anger and we limit the time of our anger, then we prevent the devil from having a foothold.  This is crucial because it will keep you from sinning even more, kind of what I would call “kicking the dog” sin.  We don’t limit our anger, and then the anger starts to lash out on anyone and everyone who steps across our path.

This brings us to the contrast between David and Saul.  David has been righteously angry at Goliath who has defied God and threatened the people of Israel.  Saul has been insulted by a song from some jubilant people who likely don’t have enough information to know that their song is inaccurate and potentially insulting.

Saul has always been concerned about what someone else might think about him.  David seems to be quite accustomed to people thinking little of him.  His own father didn’t invite him for Samuel’s visit to Bethlehem.  Eliab, his brother, dresses him down in front of the Israelite soldiers.  Saul tells him he’s not able to fight Goliath.  Goliath curses David and follows it up with threats of what he will do after he kills him.  Through all these, there is no hint that David sinned.  There is no hint that he threw in the towel and stormed off, that he blew up and gave anyone a piece of his mind.

I tell you, sometimes life is hard.  Last week, I was feeling terribly alone.  I gave myself leave to think about how to describe my loneliness.  My adjective came pretty quick.  I described my loneliness to myself as bone crushing:  bone crushing loneliness.  That doesn’t sound like very much fun.  I look around and wonder why it has to be like that, and I think that I don’t know.

But then, I look at the saints who have gone before me, and I realize that their lives were also ones of loneliness and insult and unending effort.  Then, I look at Christ.  I see that His life was far more lonely and difficult and deprived than any life before or since.

I realize that my struggles are light and temporary in comparison.  I often tell Melissa that we live in fairyland.  What I mean when I say that is that our problems are so insignificantly small in comparison to what others deal with on a daily basis.  Someone was joking at work about how they don’t let any food go to waste and that they would eat just about anything.  That’s sort of a joke around our house, too.  Then, I idly said that no one would eat outright garbage, of course.  Then, after a deep sigh, I confessed that there are people who have to eat garbage simply to survive.  I live in a fairyland where people don’t have to eat garbage.  My challenges are real, but they need to be held in the proper perspective.

Then, I also see that the difficulties we face and sacrifices we make are not without their value.  Joseph told his brothers who had sold him into slavery that “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were first sent into the fiery furnace before being called out by Nebuchadnezzar where he exclaimed that no one could speak against the God of Israel because “no other god can save in this way.”  David had to face Goliath and fight him before “the whole world [would] know that there is a God in Israel.”

Most of all, there is Jesus who “[Though he was God’s Son], He learned obedience from what He suffered  and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” (Hebrews 5:8-9)  Jesus said himself, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Our message title today is, “Whose son are you?” which was based on Saul’s question to David.  We also looked at how it could also be applied to Jesus.  Let me rephrase the question to be fully inclusive.  “Whose child are you?”  I think the answer to that question then determines whether we go through this life as David did persevering under trials with hope for the future in God’s light and strength, or as Saul did anxiously, troubled, jealous, and ultimately undone.

Earlier in the week, I heard a teaching where the speaker referenced a quote from C.S. Lewis.  It comes from a book that I have read, The Great Divorce, but I would not have recalled it without some prompting.  The speaker pointed out that God gives us the dignity of our free choice.  We get to choose what we believe.  The quote says it this way,

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done.” and those to whom God says in the end, “Thy will be done.”  All that are in Hell choose it.  Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.  No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.

James 1:17 explains, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  Apart from God, there is no good.  Without good, there can be only bad.  We shouldn’t want to be separate from the Father of heaven above.  In John 8:42,

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me.”—John 8:42

Whose child are you?  If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you love Him, then God is your Father.  You are a child of God.  In faith, you can face the trials and challenges knowing that God is your hope and security.  In Him, you will never be disappointed.  As David wrote in Psalm 36,

How priceless is Your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. —Psalm 36:7-9

Let’s pray.

We are a forgetful people.  Help us to remember whose we are.  If there are ones here who have not believed and loved you Jesus, help them see in Your light.  Encourage Your saints, and give them strength in their respective trials and challenges.  Heal the sick.  Glorify Your Name, we pray in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.