May 18, 2025
• Rev. Rob Fuquay
St. Luke’s UMC
May 18, 2025
David: A Man After God’s Own Heart
“An Unlikely Choice”
1 Samuel 17:2-12
Thirty years ago, in 1995, this was one of the Superbowl commercials…video
So now we know that the stone David used to kill Goliath came from Wilson, not Spaulding. Been a lot of debate about that in history!
Did you notice that nothing in that commercial mentions who the characters are or what the story is. No mention of David or Goliath or the Bible. Why? Because ad executives understood that whether or not people know the Bible, they know this story! Even football fans know about David! He’s mentioned more than a 1,000 times in the Bible, more than any other character. No wonder statues and images of David present him as a larger-than-life figure. And so with the history we have around David, it’s hard to imagine that when David first appears in the Bible as a potential hero, he was an unlikely choice to be a hero and king.
He was just a boy who was small. Good-looking, but small. He had no military experience. When the prophet Samuel was directed by God to go to the home of Jesse of Bethlehem and anoint one of his sons to be the future king, he met seven of them but God doesn’t give him the positive sign. He asks Jesse if he has any more sons. Jesse says, “Well, there’s the youngest, David, but he’s looking after the sheep.” His own dad overlooked him! So what was it about David that made him an appealing choice to God?
We begin to get an idea in the very first story about David and Goliath.
The army of Israel had faced off against the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. David’s three oldest brothers were in the army, and the father became concerned about them, so he pulled David away from tending sheep to take supplies to the brothers and bring back a report.
When he reached the army he witnessed a scene that had been taking place for 40 days. Remember, 40 is a big number in the Bible. 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. Jesus fasted in the wilderness 40 days before starting his ministry. His body lay in the tomb 40 hours before resurrection. At the end of 40 something big always happens.
So for 40 days a huge Philistine warrior named Goliath would march out in front of the Israelites daring a man to fight him. It was a tactic of war. Rather than have entire armies fight and lose many lives, both sides would often agree to send their best fighters to square off. The winner determined the outcome of the battle. Well, Goliath was so imposing no one dared try. The King even promised his daughter in marriage to anyone who would fight and win, and not only that, he wouldn’t have to pay taxes ever again.
David couldn’t believe no one would stand up to the Philistine. But what sent him over the edge was hearing Goliath make fun of Israel’s God.
It what you could call a Popeye moment. Remember the old Popeye cartoons. Popeye the sailor man. In almost everyone there was a bully pushing people around or some other problem, and when Popeye finally had enough, remember what he said? “I can’t stands it, I can’t stands it no more!” Then he would open a can of spinach and then open another kind of can on people.
Discovering our potential usually happens when we experience something that makes us say, “I can’t stands it no more!” What can’t you stands? What should you not stands? That anyone in a resource rich world should ever go hungry? That some people face disproportionate obstacles to obtain housing? That there would be the amount of gun violence in our society that there is? What can’t you stands?
As Frederick Buechner said, “Your call is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep need meet.” But know this, that when you live out your calling, when you change something, you are going to hear a common question, “Who do you think you are?”
That’s what David heard and from his brother of all people! His oldest brother when he heard David talking about defying Goliath said in effect, “Who do you think you are?”
Ever notice how some people need to fell better about themselves by trying to make others feel less about themselves? And often, it’s the people closest to us who will do that. There’s a saying I learned living in the Appalachian mountains that “you are not better than your raising.” On the surface that sounds noble, don’t ever despise your upbringing. But that’s not what it meant. It meant, don’t try to become better than you are. Families would say that to their children. It was a way of keeping them from wanting to go off and go to college and get better work than they would staying home. Friends would say it to friends. You are not better than your raising.
But notice what David did when he heard that. “Ignoring his brother, he turned to someone else.” (1 Samuel 17:30 Message) He didn’t argue with his brother. He didn’t try to justify himself. He just ignored him. When you know you are being diminished, you need to ignore it, because the more you engage it, the more you allow it to get inside you.
But now, David is called before the king. And he proudly declares that he will fight Goliath. But, once again, he is treated as being unlikely. Saul said, “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.” (1 Samuel 17:33) Saul in fact goes beyond treating David as unlikely. He treats him as incapable.
I love how David responds, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and whenever a lion or a 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.” (17:34-36)
If you are a coach in this situation, whose hands do you want holding the ball? You gotta love that spirit of David’s. Notice how David looked back at a time when he could have felt forgotten, alone tending sheep. Even his father nearly forgot him! David could have felt like this period of life is wasted. But he considered how things he learned to do in that time prepared him for a greater moment.
Remember the movie Karate Kid, and how Daniel was getting beaten up by this bigger kids who knew karate. So he goes to Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate. What was the first thing Mr. Miyagi had him do? Wax all of his old cars. And he told him makes sure he does it a certain way, “Wax on, Wax off!” So Daniel finishes the work and he thinks he’s been Mr Miyagi’s slave wasting his time and then Mr Miyagi comes at him and Daniel reflexive moves his arms in the motion of “wax on, wax off!” He was learning karate and didn’t know it.
There’s really no such thing as wasted time. Every season and every location has assets to offer that can benefit us later on. What are the assets around you right now? What assets does this season of your life have to offer you? You never know how those assets can make you an unlikely hero to someone else down the road.
So back to David. One final time he has to experience being treated as unlikely. Saul admires his courage and so he puts his armor on David. Now picture this. We have already been told Saul stood head and shoulders over most men. David is just a boy. Cant you see him trying to wear armor that hangs on him. David couldn’t move. He said…
Sometimes, when people do give us a chance, and welcome us to test our potential, they will then try to tell us how to do it. “Oh, we are so glad you are going to take over the leadership of our Home Owners Association. You’ll do great and we will support you!” But the minute you change the way things have been done, you’ll hear about it.”
I remember when my mom took over teaching for an older adult Sunday School class years ago. They had always used a fairly boring curriculum so my mom contacted the conference office and found out they had a library of video resources. Adam Hamilton series and others like it. So she started using these. It wasn’t long before some of the women came to my mom and said, “Julie, we think your videos were a nice break but its time to go back to the curriculum.” My mom said, “Well, why don’t we bring it before the class?” They agreed. My mom said, “It has been brought to my attention that you might prefer the old curriculum. I don’t feel comfortable or capable to teach that. So I am glad to keep using the videos, or if you want to use the curriculum we can elect a new teacher.” They all decided they liked the videos.
David said to Saul he could fight with all that armor on. He had to do it his way, and here’s where David displayed some characteristics that probably made him a man after God’s own heart.
And we know the rest of the story, David defeats Goliath, and he becomes another example of God’s pattern to use unlikely people to do incredible things. Be careful about looking at the outward appearance, God warned Samuel, you may miss the one God can use.
Ever heard the story of Robert Smalls? He was born a slave in South Carolina in 1839. Though his mother started a slave in the fields she ended up working in a nice home in Charleston. Her owner took a liking to Robert and had him work nice jobs in the city, but his mother wanted her son to know what other slaves experienced. She asked for him to be made to work in the fields and witness whippings.
When he became a teenager he got a job as a longshoreman working on the docks in Charleston. This led to his learning about ships and eventually how to pilot ships. When the Civil War broke out he was assigned to a Confederate War ship which he piloted. One night when the ship was docked in Charleston and the crew was offboard, Smalls took the ship out, steered it through Confederate waters and led it to a Union Blockade and turned it over to them. Smalls became known through the Union Army as a hero. Congress even awarded him the prize money for the ship, the equivalent of about $48,000 today.
He fought in the Union Army and with the help of a Methodist minister persuaded President Lincoln to reverse course and allow African-American troops to serve in the army. Smalls went on to pilot several ships in the war but he was not allowed to have that title, because he didn’t graduate from a naval academy and wasn’t commissioned. In other words, he was too unlikely. But that never stopped him. After the war he returned to Charleston and became a successful businessman and learned to read and write. He helped start the Republican Party in South Carolina and became the first black member of the House of Representatives. He eventually became the vice president of the state party and was elected to three national conventions. Eventually he was elected to the US House of Representatives where he served two terms.
His impact was massive and learning about his life is well worth the time. Talk about being unlikely! Smalls was like David. He was an example of how unlikely beginnings is no predictor of outcomes.
So let me close this story of David and Goliath with a few observations.
--Our potential is usually developed by challenges. Nobody ever wants a challenge, especially the kind that scare you to death, that make you feel in capable of facing them. But Sometimes it takes a challenge we don’t feel we can handle to discover what we can handle.
Are you facing a hard challenge today? Something that’s making you feel incapable. Something you are running from. Something that is making you ask, “Why?” What if you changed the question? Instead of why, try asking, “God what can you do with this challenge?”
--Unlikely doesn’t mean unqualified.
That was true of Robert Smalls. Sure he didn’t go to the academy, but he learned all he needed to be a hero and make a huge contribution to the world. Sure he wasn’t commissioned, but he was trained in ways that didn’t come with a certificate. It was true of David. Sure he was small, but he knew how to use a sling. Sure he hadn’t been trained in war, but he had a heart bigger than the other warriors.
Unlikely doesn’t mean unqualified.
--Unlikely is not a description of God. I believe this is one of the reasons David was called a man after God’s own heart. He never associated God with the idea of unlikely. He had a radical trust in the power of God and he led that way. When he told King Saul about his days keeping sheep and how he learned to fend off bears and lions, that sounded like a tribute to his ability, but it wasn’t. Look at the next line he spoke to Saul, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” (17:37)
Closing…
***
Walter Brueggemann says, “More than any other person, Israel is fascinated by David, deeply attracted to him, bewildered by him, occasionally embarrassed by him, but never disowning him.” (David’s Truth, p13)