Things weren't looking so great when we left the story, but God has a plan to get Israel back on track. He tells Samuel to stop mourning over Saul, fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse of Bethlehem, because he has chosen one of his sons to be king. Samuel is afraid that Saul will hear about this and kill him, and God seems to think this is a reasonable concern because he comes up with a cover story. He tells Samuel to take a cow and invite Jesse to come to sacrifice the animal with him, promising to show him what to do from there, and so that it is what Samuel does.
When Samuel sees the oldest son Eliab, he thinks that this must be the anointed one, but he is mistaken. God tells him not to consider the boy's appearance or height, because "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". It's hugely reassuring to anyone who has ever felt judged by their appearance, and anyone who has thought that people would feel differently about them if only they understood them a little better. That really means it's reassuring to everyone, because who hasn't felt like that?
The same happens again and again, until seven sons have passed and God has still not chosen one. Samuel asks if Jesse has any more sons, and Jesse admits that his youngest is tending the sheep. We haven't met this boy yet, but we may suppose that he is the runt of the litter if Jesse has not thought to bring him, and if God has already rejected the strong and the attractive. Samuel tells Jesse to send for the boy, but when he does arrive he confounds our expectations as he is ruddy and handsome, which just goes to show that appearances don't count against us just as they don't count for us. God really doesn't care what we look like. The Lord tells Samuel to rise and anoint this one, and from that moment the Spirit of the Lord is on the boy, who we finally learn is called David.
Meanwhile the Spirit of the Lord has left Saul, and he is now being tormented by an evil spirit from the Lord. I think this raises a few interesting theological points. First, it makes it sound like the Spirit can only be one place at one time, which runs counter to traditional Christian understanding. Perhaps that was the case and this is an indication of the changed relationship between God and the world, or perhaps it is wholly unintentional. Second, it suggests that God can create and control evil, which again goes against what we think we know of him. This raises the possibility that good is as much a conscious choice for God as it is for us, so that his consistent goodness is all the more powerful for being deliberate, but may reflect more on the writer and his belief that all things come from God than on God himself.
Finally, much has been made of the connection between demon possession and madness, and that seems particularly pertinent as we consider Saul's state of mind. As someone who has struggled with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder, I have no qualms about suggesting that possession may have been a way of understanding or explaining various mental illnesses. That doesn't make the Bible unreliable or prove that religion is all made up, it just shows that the scriptures are a product of their time and that religion is as much about our understanding of truth as it is about truth itself, and these are simple facts it is vital that we remember in order to guard ourselves from fundamentalism
So maybe Saul really is being tormented or maybe he is suffering from some form of emotional or mental anguish. Either way, Saul's attendants suggest finding someone who can play the harp to soothe him. It turns out David is an excellent harpist and so the threads of the story begin to tie up. Perhaps their is method in Saul's madness. David goes to Saul and enters his service, being so favoured as to become his armour-bearer, and whenever the spirit comes upon Saul, David plays and the spirit leaves him.
We were told in a previous passage that bitter war with the Philistines continued throughout Saul's reign, and now we return to it with one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament and a Sunday School favourite. That's right, I'm talking about David and Goliath. The Philistines pitch up on one hill and the Israelites on another, and so begins a staring contest of epic proportions. The Philistines blink first and send out Goliath, their nine foot champion wearing armour that weighs as much as me and a spear that weighs as much as the fattest woman in Britain. He challenges the Israelites to send a champion of their own to come and fight him, the survivor claiming victory for his people. Saul and the Israelites don't like this one bit, because there seems to be now way anyone can defeat this giant in single combat, but of course we know better.
According to the last chapter, David is supposed to be Saul's armour-bearer, but now we read that he has stayed at home while his three eldest brothers have gone off to war. Presumably we must take what happens next as alternative origins story, like King Arthur variously getting Excalibur from the Lady in the Lake and pulling it out of a stone. Jesse sends David to take some food to his brothers and see how they're doing, so he runs to the battle lines, where he sees Goliath and hears him make his challenge for the umpteenth time. Saul has promised great wealth, exemption from taxes and his daughter's hand in marriage to whoever can defeat Goliath, but no one has taken him up on the offer.
David asks the soldiers about Goliath's challenge and Saul's promises, but Eliab overhears and tells his he is wicked and conceited. David asks "What have I done wrong? Can't I even speak?", which sounds like the irritated response of a boy sick of being told off and picked on by his older brothers, then goes off to ask someone else. Word of David reaches Saul and he calls for him. David tells his king not to fear because he will fight Goliath, at which point Saul probably laughs in his face. He tells David that he cannot fight the giant because he is only a boy, whereas Goliath is an experienced soldier, but David is undeterred. He tells Saul that he has killed lions and bears while protecting his father's sheep, and that the Lord who protected him from the lion's paw will protect him from Goliath.
Saul is obviously impressed because he gives David his own tunic and personally dresses him in a coat of armour, reversing the roles of the previous chapter and foreshadowing David's future role as king. David is not used to wearing armour however, and so he takes it all off and sets out with only his staff, his sling, and five smooth stones. David clearly has great faith in his own skills and in God, but its easy to forget that Saul must share his faith. The Israelites have one chance at killing Goliath, and if they mess it up they will be subject to the Philistines.
Goliath is not amused when he sees David walking towards him. In fact he seems quite insulted that the Israelites would send a boy to fight him and so he curses him. David tells the giant that he comes in the name of the Lord, who will will hand him over so that all the world will know there is a God in Israel, and that he saves by his own might and not by arms. Here we reach the climax of our story. As Goliath approaches David, he takes a stone from his pouch, fits it into his sling, throws it, and hits Goliath in the middle of his forehead. The giant sinks to the ground dead and David cuts off his head with his own sword. It seems nothing is impossible if you think outside the box and have God on your side. When the Philistines see what has happened they turn and run, pursued and ultimately killed by the Israelites, so that the victory is swift and complete.
This story has been told so many times before that I'm not sure what more I can add. I think perhaps what strikes me most is that David wins not only because he has faith in God, but also because he knows that he has what it takes. We're told so often that things are in God's hands that it can be easy to forget how much is in our hands, and we can place so much confidence in God that we forget to have any confidence in ourselves. We need to know who we are and what we can do because that way we can better understand what God is calling us to. And if we recognise that we are and do those things with and through God we can face that calling without fear or pride.
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