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Preparing to Lead, June 4
1 Samuel 17:1-37
When there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went
out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when
he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew
him.
1 Samuel 17:34, 35
, R.V.
David was growing in favor with God and man. He had been instructed in
the way of the Lord, and he now set his heart more fully to do the will of God
than ever before. He had new themes for thought. He had been in the court of
the king and had seen the responsibilities of royalty. He had discovered some
of the temptations that beset the soul of Saul and had penetrated some of the
mysteries in the character and dealings of Israel’s first king. He had seen the
glory of royalty shadowed with a dark cloud of sorrow, and he knew that the
household of Saul, in their private life, were far from happy. All these things
served to bring troubled thoughts to him who had been anointed to be king over
Israel. But while he was absorbed in deep meditation, and harassed by thoughts
of anxiety, he turned to his harp, and called forth strains that elevated his mind
to the Author of every good, and the dark clouds that seemed to shadow the
horizon of the future were dispelled.
God was teaching David lessons of trust. As Moses was trained for his work,
so the Lord was fitting the son of Jesse to become the guide of His chosen people.
In his watchcare for his flocks, he was gaining an appreciation of the care that
the Great Shepherd has for the sheep of His pasture.
The lonely hills and the wild ravines where David wandered with his flocks
were the lurking place of beasts of prey. Not infrequently the lion from the
thickets by the Jordan, or the bear from his lair among the hills, came, fierce
with hunger, to attack the flocks. According to the custom of his time, David
was armed only with his sling and shepherd’s staff; yet he early gave proof of
his strength and courage in protecting his charge....
His experience in these matters proved the heart of David and developed in
him courage and fortitude and faith
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Patriarchs and Prophets, 643, 644
.
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