1 Sam
17:38-40 (ESV) Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of
bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped
his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested
them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not
tested them." So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand
and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's
pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
NOTE: It wasn't that
the armor was too heavy for David, despite his youth and stature relative to
Saul, but he wasn't used to the armor. It was untested and uncomfortable.
Instead he went with what he was comfortable with and also he went defenseless.
God was his defense, but he was not without some prudence. He was comfortable
without the armor and he had his sling. He clearly would be much faster than
the heavily armored Goliath. He could easily maintain a distance and sling
rocks until he hit him in the right spot. It was a good strategy. But it is not
clear that David was strategizing. He was righting a wrong, and that wrong was
Goliath. I wonder if he had second thoughts. If so, he does not show it. He was
a man of emotions and not beyond fear, as he would later run from Saul in fear
of his life. But at this point, he was just doing the right thing and letting
things fall as they would. Also, the spirit of God rested upon him mightily and
so he probably had a peace that few would understand.
All of us struggle
as we approach difficult crossroads in life. Prayer is our tool to approach
those difficult times with the peace that comes from God. We can always be
prudent, but even more important is to be prayerful.
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