31 Oct 2024
What would you do if you were Saul?
"David said to Saul, “Your Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.”
“No,” answered Saul. “How could you fight him? You're just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!”
“Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father's sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death. I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God. The LORD has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine.”
“All right,” Saul answered. “Go, and the LORD be with you.” "
(1 Samuel 17.32-37 GNB)
David was not a soldier. Saul himself said "you're just a boy" to David. Saul could have stopped David from fighting Goliath. But something clicked in his brain.
Whatever it was, Saul took a giant leap of faith in letting David duel Goliath. Faith in God or hubris desperation, I cannot tell. But Saul, unknowingly, set God's plan into motion towards putting David on the throne to replace him.
If I were Saul, as foolish as me and probably worse than Saul, I hope I also would have let God's plan move through me to accomplish his will.