The Heart

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:6-7

It has the sound of something that should make us feel hopeful, yet the more I think about it the less hope I feel.

David - Part 1

If you grow up going to church there is a good chance some of the earliest stories you experience as are the epic Old Testament stories of Jonah, Moses, Joshua, and David. Felt board figures still decorate my recollection of these stories. The whale, the city walls tumbling, and a little boy and his sling against a mighty giant.

Even to those who did not go to Sunday school these set of stories are among those you never remember hearing a first time. Like your name you don't ever remember it, you simply know it.

That is the way I am with these stories, I can imagine it is that way for many, if not most people my age. I do not remember my introduction to David, he has always been there, but unlike many stories his has not remained fixed. David is not King Arthur, or Robin Hood. His story contains layers and themes beyond others. As I have grown, so has David's story.

I'm embarking upon a study of David. To be truthful I've read David's story many times, and recently I've heard several messages over his life. I found myself finding different aspects and lessons that I think are important, not knowing what else to do with all of the ideas I've got floating around in my head I've decided to start a blog series. I am not sure the extent of the study or how much I will actually have to say, I am not sure what I have to say is worth writing or reading. What I do know is that this will be much more likely to happen than the set of lessons I saw in my head for my Sunday School class, or the idea of a book that was in the wildest and most fanciful of daydreams.

I will start with the story everyone starts with, David and Goliath.

Its easy to see why a kid obsessed as I was with comic book heros would be so drawn to this story. How much bigger than life can you get? There is a boy, stepping onto a field to face an overwhelming opponent. His opponent has defeated all others, he is alone without any to save him if he should fail. While all others hide their face and despair this boy charges the enemy not with the might of a sword, or the fierceness of a bow, only a stone and his faith.

As a kid I read and reread that story in my picture Bible. I remember taking our big family Bible at some point and looking up the story of David and Goliath and was shocked to find a rather graphic picture very unlike the one in my little Bible. This picture had a severed head, I was intrigued, I had to get the rest of that story.

The longer I read David the more epic he became. He is a warrior, a priest, a king, a poet, a musician, a friend, a redeemer, an adulterer, a murder, an outcast, a mourner, and a repenter.

David is not a likely kind of hero, he is a shepherd when we meet him. He's the youngest boy, sent to take care of sheep and go bring food to his brothers.

Its not just that David has an interesting life though, its that David's life and struggles hold deep thematic symbols for the life of another man born centuries later.

We are all at one point hiding from a foe to large for us to defeat. We hide with no one to help us. We look to our government, but like Saul of the Old Testament they are unable to meet this foe. We look to our friends but they look out over the field and are unable to rescue even themselves. We look to our family but they are not capable. We are defeated, until we look to a boy, born of the house of Jesse. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't hide, he looks across the battle field and steps out to meet this foe.

He doesn't need armor, nothing of this world can help him in this fight. He will cast off armor because his strength and protection is not in this world. He will bring no sword, he will bring only a uncut stone. That stone will strike a giant and that giant will crumble like the statue in Daniel's vision.

We are not able to face the giant of death, and sin on our own. It stands on that field of battle having destroyed all others before us. We must look to our David, our shepherd King who walks onto that battle field for us.