Several years had probably elapsed since the prophet Samuel had anointed David prospective king of Israel. David had gone back to his sheep, perhaps pondering what the strange interlude in his life could mean. He probably did not seriously think at this stage in his life, that he really would be king one day. He went back to his pipes and his harp. As the sheep wandered over the grazing land he kept an observant eye upon them while giving vent to his reverential feelings in the words of those pastoral psalms which were probably composed at this time. A few years later, when he was either fighting the Philistines for Saul or else on the run from Saul, he would have had little time for such poetic excursions; still less when he had all the cares of kingship upon his shoulders. So it might well have been in this period that he composed such gems as Psalm 23, "the Lord is my shepherd" and Psalm 8 "the heavens declare the glory of God" and Psalm 24 "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" and others like them. These are the psalms of Nature where the world of men and the deeds of men have no place. These were his reflections as he reclined on some grassy bank in the brightness of day, or watched his sleeping flock sitting beside his camp fire in the darkness of the night. This was the time when he learned from Nature herself of the greatness and the power of God, to such good effect that, despite his many failures and transgressions of Divine law, he never lost faith.

These were peaceful days that came to an end all too soon. They never came back. He was shortly to find himself a member of the royal court and implicated in all the intrigues and jealousies which that involved. One more short interval as a shepherd was to be his lot and after that he left his pastoral life and his family for ever. It was his very skill with, and his love for, harp and song that became the occasion for that change and the means by which he embraced the life that eventually led him to the throne of Israel.

King Saul began to develop fits of intense melancholy. He had been king now for perhaps ten to twenty years, it is impossible to say definitely, and the appearances are that the appealing and upstanding youth who Israel so enthusiastically adopted as their first king had become a hasty-tempered and embittered man, increasingly irresolute and uncertain of himself. The reason is not far to seek. At the beginning Saul had followed the Lord's instructions through his mentor Samuel implicitly and faithfully, and had prospered in consequence. His military prowess and leadership had enabled the Israelites to keep their old enemies, the Philistines, at bay. But for some time now he had been increasingly impatient of Samuel's guidance and more and more disposed to order things in his own fashion and without heed to the word of the Lord. In consequence he began to suffer defeat at the hands of the enemy, and when at last Samuel told him that because of his rebellious attitude the Lord had deposed him from being king and would shortly appoint another "after his own heart", Saul became morose and resentful. The account in 1 Samuel 16 says that "the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him". Saul's servants took his fits of melancholy as Divine retribution for his divergence from God's ways. That they knew the seat of the trouble was in Saul's own mind is evidenced by the remedy they proposed; the acquirement of a skilful musician to soothe and cheer the despondent monarch in his bad moments.

Saul agreed to their proposal that they should "look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it and you will feel better." One of them was immediately ready with a suggestion. He knew one such, a son of Jesse of Bethlehem, who was not only "skilful in playing", but "a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him". It would seem that Saul rather liked the idea of this paragon of virtue and straightway sent a request to Jesse that his son should attend court. This remark, that David was "a mighty valiant man, and a man of war" implies that he was quite a bit removed from the sixteen-year-old whom Samuel had anointed. He could hardly merit this description, or have earned this reputation, at less than nineteen. He must have waited some three years at least for the call, long enough to test his faith and his assurance that the anointing had not been in vain. Now he came to Saul, knowing not to what kind of life he was being introduced nor to what destiny the Lord was leading him, but like Isaiah in much later days with the ready response in his heart "Here am I; send me".

The experiment succeeded. Saul instantly took to this fresh and vigorous young man perhaps seeing in him an image of himself as he had been twenty years earlier, full of enthusiasm to fight the Lord's battles. He himself had come from a farming family and perhaps the pastoral songs which David sang and played before him, were reminiscent, not of royal courts and marching armies, but of fields and streams and serene skies. He was reminded of long past days when he had led a very similar life. At any rate, the consequence was that when the evil spirit came upon Saul, David played, and "Saul was refreshed, and the evil spirit departed from him".

This state of affairs could not have lasted very long. To fit all that is recorded of David's activities in the next ten years of his life it is necessary that each incident follow its predecessor quite closely. It might have been that David was less than six months in the royal court before there came a call to arms. The Philistines were invading Israel again.

The Philistines had always been a thorn in the side of Israel. From the days of the entry into the land, they had been there, occupying the strip of land along the sea coast more or less in the area that is now known as the Gaza strip. They were an alien race, hailing from the island of Crete, tall, muscular men arrayed in armour and equipped with weapons that the Hebrews could not equal. Saul had already had one encounter with them, in the early part of his reign, in which he gained the victory so that there was a period of peace from their attacks. Unfortunately on that occasion he had exceeded his authority in the matter of offering sacrifice to the Lord and Samuel had strongly reproved him. Then he had what appears to be a second chance when he went out to do battle with the Amalekites from the southern desert. Again he was guilty of flagrant disobedience and it was on this occasion that it is said the Lord formally disowned him. Now he was faced with the Philistine menace again but this time the Lord was not with him and he knew it. The victory this time, if victory there was to be, must be gained by his own might and that of his army. It must have been with a heavy heart that Saul prepared for the conflict.

The king and his sons took the field. 1 Samuel 17 tells the whole story. David was sent home for the time being; there was no time for music at court (I. Sam. 17.15). In any case he was needed to look after his father's affairs, for the three oldest of Jesse's sons had been drafted into the army and were fighting with Saul's men. Upon their arrival at the scene of operations, however, they found that the Hebrew forces had a problem. The Philistines had a champion warrior, a giant of a man, by name Goliath. He was of unusual height, broad and powerful, for his armour weighed five thousand shekels which is equal to 92 lb. or 42 kg. This would be quite enough for even a giant to carry into battle. The early Hebrew cubit like the Sumerian/Assyrian cubit was shorter than the Egyptian/Jewish cubit which exaggerates Goliath's height to over 9 feet. There is evidence in the records of Josephus and the Septuagint that gives his height as four cubits and a span, whereas the A.V. has six. Goliath was about seven and a half feet tall, an awe-inspiring proposition. He challenged Saul's army to produce a man to meet him in single combat, the side thus losing the contest to submit to the other, without further fighting. The more the Israelites looked at the Philistine champion the less they liked the idea. Ch.17 shows that they were in a state of complete panic over the issue.

This was the army that, only a few years previously, under the leadership of Saul and in the conviction that the Lord was with them, had decimated the Philistine forces and quelled them into submission. Now they had lost that inspiration, their king was apprehensive and undecided, and they were just about ready to give up. Their old national leader Samuel had retired from public life and was living in obscurity. The king they had chosen to lead them to victory in a battle had failed them and all the high hopes of Israel were laid low. This is the point at which David comes back into the story.

According to ch.17, Jesse had instructed David to take some provisions to his three sons fighting at the battle front, with a little gift for their company commander. He was then to bring their father word again as to their welfare. It would seem that army discipline was a little less formal in those days. He arrived at the scene and talking with his brothers, David saw for himself the Philistine giant advancing towards the Israelites with his repeated challenge to come out and fight. He saw the Israelites scattering and running away from their enemy and his indignation mounted. "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine" he demanded of those around him "that he should defy the armies of the living God?" That must have brought some of them up with a jerk; it was a long time since they had gone into battle with the high praises of God on their lips and faith in their hearts that He would give the victory. But somehow or other news of this youngster and his words of defiance were taken to Saul, and he, curious perhaps but probably no more, gave orders that David should be brought before him.

It would seem from the closing verses of ch.17 that Saul did not recognize David as his erstwhile musician. That is not surprising. There must have been many coming and going in Saul's court and David had not been there very long. The king now faced a sturdy and resolute young man who told him quite plainly that the army need fear no longer; he would go out and fight this Philistine. Saul probably leaned back and laughed scornfully. "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him for you are just a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth." Modestly but resolutely David responded "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them since he has defied the armies of the living God". Saul was suddenly serious. He looked again at the fresh-faced youngster before him, and he listened to his frank avowal of faith that the Lord would go with him and protect him and give him the victory, and a thought flashed into his mind. He was painfully conscious that he was the one who ought long since to have armed himself and gone out to meet Goliath in single combat on behalf of all Israel. But the Lord had departed from him and he no longer had faith in himself. He, Saul, king of Israel, was afraid. But might it be that the Lord would indeed honour the faith of this lad who so openly and avowedly relied upon Him? Was there a chance, after all, that the Lord could be brought back into the picture and induced to give Israel the victory through the instrumentality of this lad who seemed so sure of his standing with God? It was, at least, worth a try. Saul took a sudden decision. He leaned forward and said to David, "Go, and may the Lord go with you".

With the impetuosity of youth, David turned to go. He was stopped by an imperative gesture from the king. Taking off his own armour, a replica of that used by the Philistines, he fitted it on David, followed by placing the heavy bronze helmet on his head. Stepping back to judge the effect, he picked up his great sword, and put it in David's hand. "If you are going to fight the Philistine, you must do it on equal terms" he said.

David made as if to walk away, and found his movements impeded by the unfamiliar garb. He looked at the sword in his hand, and with a gesture of contempt threw it on the ground. He took off the armour, piece by pieces, and threw them down also. "I cannot go with these" he said "for I have not tried them. The Lord has no need of such weapons". Even as the king opened his mouth to expostulate, David turned his back on him and was walking briskly through the camp in the direction of the Philistine host gathered on the opposite hill half-a-mile away. Saul and his attendants watched him go. The Israelite soldiers, sitting and standing about, wearied at the inaction and lack of leadership from their king, looked at this shepherd lad with increasing interest as he made his way down the hillside, an interest which speedily changed to excitement as they began to perceive his intention. They saw him

pause and stoop as he crossed the brook at the bottom of the hill and pick up several pebbles from the bed of the stream, and then he was climbing the opposite slope, taking his sling out of his scrip as he did so.

The Philistine warriors looked on attentively as David crossed the intervening space, uncertain what this shepherd lad was doing between the armies. It was a little while before they realized that he was there to challenge their champion, and as he took his stance there were shouts for Goliath. Soon, the giant appeared, fully dressed in his bronze armour and helmet, carrying sword and spear, looking for his opponent. Discovering that this lad was the challenger, he at first looked incredulous then threw back his head in a gust of coarse laughter. "Am I a dog" he demanded, "that you come to beat me with a stick?" He stood and regarded David. "Come you to me, and by all the gods of the Philistines, I swear that I will feed your body to the birds and beasts". He moved forward menacingly David's clear voice sounded on the air. His own people, venturing now to approach within earshot, could hear him as plainly as did the watching Philistines. "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. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down ….so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel".The giant's expression changed to one of deep anger and he strode forward with long, quick paces, raising his spear threateningly. David also was advancing, running with lithe, quick steps, to meet his adversary. As he did so he was putting his hand into the scrip hanging from his shoulder.

No one saw quite clearly what happened; David's action was almost too quick for the eyes of the watchers. He had extracted a pebble from his scrip, fitted it into his sling a sudden circular movement of his arm; and the Philistine giant reeled back and slowly collapsed in a crumpled heap. David's sling stone had struck him squarely above the eyes on the only unprotected part of his body. There was a moment's stunned silence on the part of the observers. Like lightning David had leaped upon the body of his fallen foe, and taken the great sword out of his nerveless hand. A swift flash in the sunlight, first up, then down and David was holding aloft the severed head of the Philistine champion for all to see.

There came a great shout from the watching Israelites. In another moment the entire host was advancing across the valley, the noise of the clashing of weapons mingling with cries of exultation. The Philistines, aghast at the sudden and unexpected fate of their champion, took one look and ran in panic. Within a few more minutes the Israelites had passed David in hot pursuit of the fleeing enemy, a pursuit that did not stop until they had reached the gates of their cities Ekron and Gath some twenty miles away. Then the Israelites returned more leisurely and looted the abandoned camp.

Saul with his attendants stood outside his tent, watching this unknown shepherd lad making his way back to the Israelite lines, deep in thought, carrying the sword of Goliath in one hand and his head in the other.

1 Sam.17.54 says that he took the head to Jerusalem but that was much later. Another sixteen years or so were to elapse before Israel gained possession of Jerusalem. It was evident that the head of the Philistine was preserved in some way so that it could be permanently exhibited as a trophy when eventually David ruled in Jerusalem. In the meantime it must have followed David in all the vicissitudes of his adventurous life before becoming king. It was a barbaric act, but he lived in a barbaric age.

There is no evidence that Saul honoured God as a result of this deliverance. This was his third chance to reform and return but he ignored it. He honoured David, but not David's Lord. Nowhere is his unbelief more plainly shown than in this incident. The Lord had sent him the instrument whereby He had delivered Israel with a mighty deliverance, but he heeded it not. He was doubtless greatly relieved that the Philistine menace was lifted, at least for a time, but that was all.

He did not let David go again. This time he was attached to Saul's court and given high rank in his army. Saul attached much greater importance to David's physical valour, which he could see, than to his reliance upon God by which victory could be gained, which he could not see. That was his undoing. To the end of his life he relied upon the power of the sword, and at the end he died by the sword. David, despite his mistakes and misdeeds, did rely upon the power of God, and endeavoured to conform his life and his works to what he believed was the will and guidance of God. This was his first great test, and he came through it with flying colours.