1 Samuel Chapters 16-17 Commentary

First Samuel Chapters 16-17 Chapter 16 In this chapter we will be introduced to David, whose life may be divided into three periods: David’s rise to power (1 Samuel 16-31), David’s triumphs (2 Samuel 1-10), and David’s troubles (2 Samuel 11-20).

16:1 The rebuke Samuel had given to Saul in the previous chapter, was the rebuke from a man who really loved and cared about Saul. Samuel’s task in correcting Saul had not been a pleasant task. In this chapter we find Samuel mourning over the failures committed by Saul. “It must have felt like a gray day in December, with raining falling and 41 degrees, especially for someone as perceptive as Samuel. Prospects seemed dark in the kingdom of Israel. Somehow Samuel couldn’t view Saul’s failure with professional detachment. Samuel may well have been mourning for Saul because he feared that Israel would disintegrate with Saul’s sin and rejection. The experiment with kingship that had looked so promising had ended in Saul’s polite rebellion against Yahweh and now, without leadership, God’s people might self-destruct. Would Israel’s enemies ravage her?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 26).

Yet there is a time when mourning must give way to trying again. No amount of mourning was going to change Saul, or God’s decision to replace him. In addition, God’s purposes had not begun with and neither were they dependent upon Saul. God does not lack resources and there will always be good and honest hearts who will be willing to serve Him. Instead of focusing our attention upon those who will not serve God, let us search out and find those who will serve Him. Instead of becoming preoccupied with someone who has rejected God, let us move on and give someone else a chance to hear the gospel. Note what moved Samuel to mourn and grieve. He wasn’t mourning because he had only a three-bedroom house. “Rather he was distressed over the spiritual disaster of a promising instrument of God, over the welfare of God’s people, over their condition and security. Do we ever mourn over such matters? Does

anything ever move us, aside from our own comfort and security?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 27).

16:1 Samuel was first to fill an animal horn flask with specially prepared olive oil (Exodus 30:23-25), then take it along with him to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse, to be the next king of Israel. Remember, Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4:18-21). 16:2 “To go to Bethlehem (located about five miles south of Jerusalem). From Ramah, Samuel would have to pass through Gibeah, Saul’s capital. Samuel’s concern was not unwarranted in light of Saul’s spiritual degeneracy and violent temper (cf. 18:11)” (Laney p. 56). Here we learn that Samuel perceived that Saul had already become a very jealous, suspicious and paranoid individual. A man so desperate, that he would even kill a prophet like Samuel in order to keep his power. Hence, it appears that even before the Holy Spirit departs from Saul (16:11), Saul has already adopted many sinful attitudes. “Samuel’s actions were of great interest to Saul. If Samuel were to make an unexpected journey, especially one to a location outside of his normal judicial circuit, it would likely be reported to the king” (Bergen p. 178). In addition, remember that Saul has already been told that the kingdom will be given to another (15:28).

I believe that it is wrong to accuse God of practicing sinful deception in the above verse (1 John 1:5). The Lord is simply reminding Samuel of an accompanying (if secondary) reason for making the journey, that is, to have a sacrificial meal. “The Lord did not suggest that Samuel deceive Saul in the matter, but told the prophet to perform the anointing in Bethlehem while officiating at a sacrifice to avoid arousing the suspicions of Saul” (Laney p. 56).

16:3 Apparently this sacrificial ceremony was for a select few (including Jesse, his sons, and the elders of Bethlehem), and was therefore by invitation only (16:5). The expression, “the one whom I designate to you”, makes it clear that when God spoke through the prophets, He spoke very clearly. 16:4 “Perhaps the elders ‘trembled’ at the sight of Samuel because they interpreted Samuel’s arrival with a heifer as an indication that a murder had occurred in their territory and that a legal action was being initiated” (Bergen p. 178). That is, they wondered if Samuel was coming to judge (condemn) the city. 16:6-7 “After the public sacrifice, Samuel retired to the house of Jesse to partake of the sacrificial meal” (Smith p. 290). Even Samuel found himself caught up in being impressed with physical stature. When he says “Eliab (e LIE ab)”, the oldest son of Jesse (17:13), he thought within himself, “Surely, this must be the one”.

Here we learn that what is in a person’s heart is far more important than their physical abilities. “This text, which I would call the key verse of 1 and 2 Samuel, sets itself not only against the likes of Saul and Eliab but also, in later pages, against everyone’s ideal Mr. Israel, Absalom (2 Samuel 14:2527). The text then contains a warning to prophets and others among God’s people. There is at least one thing we can seek to do: beware of the importance of external appearance. We stumble here, for example, when congregations select pastors (elders; and even when they select preachers, MD). What we seem to want are the movers and shakers, the aggressive extroverts, the pushers who meet people well and sell the church in a community, who are smooth in the pulpit. Do we ever ask.

How does he pray? Does he enjoy being with his wife? Can he weep?”

(Dale Ralph Davis pp. 29-30). Yet God has nothing against a good physical appearance, because David was by no means ugly (16:12).

“Sometimes Yahweh must save us from our saviors, our self-chosen solutions to kingdom needs or personal dilemmas” (Dale Ralph Davis p.

30).

16:8-9 Two other sons are Jesse are named and rejected. “Abinadab” (uh BEN a dab), and “Shammah” (SHAM uh), were the second and third sons of Jesse. 16:10-11 Having seen all these sons, and then hearing from the Lord that God had not selected any of them, Samuel was forced to draw a necessary inference, that is, there must be another son who was not present. “It was natural for Jesse to expect the eldest of the sons to be selected, but as in the case with God’s…plan, many times the younger is selected above the elder (Romans 9:11-13)” (Davis p. 65). 16:12 Here we find a physical description of David. He was “ruddy”, that is, “with reddish tint of hair and even skin” (Smith p. 290).

16:13 “On this occasion, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David (as He came upon the judges before him), thus enabling him to fulfill the specific tasks which God assigned to him (1 Samuel 10:6,10). This anointing was the first of three anointings. The second was when he was made king over Judah at Hebron (2 Samuel 2:4), and the third when he was chosen king over all the nation of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3)” (Davis p. 65). This coming of the Spirit was the supernatural authentication of God’s will, or God’s stamp of approval on David. This gave David the ability to speak by inspiration, but observe that it did not change his character. David was already a righteous man before the Spirit came upon him. Also learn that entering into service for God did not mean the end of troubles, but just the beginning for David. “David, the man with the Spirit, will be hunted and betrayed, trapped and escaping, hiding in caves, living in exile, driven to the edge---right to the end of 1 Samuel” (Dale Ralph Davis p.

32).

16:14 David’s new status before the Lord stands in sharp contrast to Saul’s.

There are various interpretations concerning the nature of this “evil spirit from the Lord”: 1. Some see this as demon possession, that is, God allowed a demon to torment Saul. “That may have been intended by God to drive Saul to his knees so that he might look to the Lord for help” (Laney p. 57). 2. Others see this as a psychological state sent on Saul as a divine judgment. 3. The word “evil” does not always mean that which is morally evil. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “evil”, can also refer to that which gives pain, misery, distress, or calamity. 4.

Some see this as a state of depression or anger which Saul lapsed into when He realized that God had departed from Him, and instead of yearning for God, He became increasingly bitter against Him. 5. Some think that this Spirit is called “evil”, because the message from this Spirit was one of doom and gloom, i.e., informing Saul of his eventual downfall.

16:15-17 Yet Saul did not take the initiative to deal with this evil spirit.

“Though Saul was the one being troubled by the spirit, the writer portrays him as being inert in dealing with it. It was ‘Saul’s attendants’, not Saul himself, who correctly diagnosed his condition” (Bergen p. 183). It is sad to say that the only thing which ever brought Saul to his knees was word of his own impending death, and then, it was too late to change (1 Samuel 28). 16:18-20 Before anyone can be selected, one of the attendants has a perfect man for such a job, that is, David. “By slaying ferocious wild animals (1 Kings 17:34-35), is where David probably got the reputation of being a warrior” (Smith pp. 290-291). So Saul immediately sent a draft notice to Jesse demanding that David be sent to the royal court. Jesse, appears here to be a very patriotic and generous man.

Along with David, Jesse sent a donkey loaded down with gifts for the king. “’Look at this! Doesn’t that beat all? David is not only Yahweh’s choice but Saul’s choice! Doubly chosen. What confirmation, eh? And it’s the chosen king who keeps the rejected king from falling apart.’ The chosen king is not a threat but a means of grace to Saul. But the sadness remains: Saul has therapy but not the Spirit of God” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 34). To me, God is doing everything He can to make Saul see that he needs God and that David isn’t a threat to his well-being. This evil-spirit gave Saul the opportunity to meet David, love him, and realize how beneficial David could be to his rule. Of course, none of this is accidental. God is providentially seeing that David gets to learn about Israelite court life— from firsthand experience. “The verses play an important role in the larger scheme of 1, 2 Samuel, for they serve as the first evidence that David was a loyal, trustworthy servant of Saul who used his abilities to benefit the king. In spite of Saul’s repeated efforts to kill David, Israel’s

next king made absolutely no efforts to bring down Saul’s dynasty. In fact, David performed feats in Saul’s behalf that no one else could, and the king initially appreciated David’s efforts. Any deterioration in the relationship between Saul and David would not be David’s fault” (Bergen p. 184).

16:21 In order to end up hating David, Saul must sin against God and his own well-being and best interest. The expression, “he became his armor bearer”, probably took place after he killed Goliath (17:55-58). “But is mentioned here because it fits well with the theme of David’s entrance into royal service” (Laney p. 58). “Although skilled men can expect to be pressed into service by kings, Saul also ‘liked’ David personally” (Gaebelein p. 690). 16:22-23 “The Hebrew verb forms in verse 23 suggest that Saul was attacked numerous times by the tormenting spirit; Scripture records two such additional instances (18:10; 19:9)” (Bergen p. 184).

“As Saul will hate David, and as he is rejected by God yet sustained by David’s service, so the world hates Christ’s people (John 15:18-21) yet, in its doomed state, is only benefited by them. They are the ones who are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), that is, who keep society and culture from rotting into complete decay, who keep the world from being worse than it is…they keep the world from drowning in its own vomit, which, strangely enough, it craves…woe betide the world if God’s people, for all their faults, are not in it” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 34-35).

Chapter 17 “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth—Thud!”

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17:1 “We are twelve or fourteen miles west of Bethlehem in the Valley of Elah (EE la); Socoh (SOW koe) and Azekah (a ZEE kah) were strong points on the south side of the valley, and the latter a little over two miles northwest of Socoh” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 38-39). “The Elah Valley would have been well adapted for the movement of the Philistine chariots had it not been for a deep ravine with steep banks in the middle of the valley that made it quite difficult to cross. The defensible positions of the two armies and the danger involved in advancing through the deep ravine help to explain the delay before engaging in battle” (Laney p. 58).

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Dale Ralph Davis p. 37

17:4 “Anxious to begin warfare, the Philistine giant, Goliath, suggested a contest between champions in behalf of the armies (17:8-10). In ancient times, battles were often decided by a contest between selected warriors (cf. 2 Samuel 2:12-17). The problem facing the Israelites was that of finding a challenger for Goliath” (Laney p. 58). The height of Goliath (goe LIE ahth) is given as “six cubits and a span”. Since a cubit is approximately eighteen inches, and a span is nine inches, it can be calculated that Goliath stood nine feet, nine inches tall. Many feel that Goliath was a descendant of the gigantic sons of Anak, who, according to Joshua 11:22, were still resident in the south-west corner of Palestine.

Yet, he calls himself, “the Philistine” (17:8).

17:5 “Adding to Goliath’s overwhelming appearance as a fighter was his combat gear. At a time when most Israelite warriors wore only basic clothing in battle (cf. 13:22), Goliath was sheathed in metal” (Bergen p.

189). The weight of his armor is given as being around 125 pounds. Like his helmet, and coat of mail, the rest of Goliath’s defensive armor was also made of bronze. Greaves protected the legs below the knee (17:6). 17:67 He was armed with both a bronze javelin thrown over his shoulder and a spear. “The shaft of that spear was as thick as a weavers beam (part of a large loom), its head weighed (15-17 pounds, considerably more than a standard shot-put). As if that were not enough, the warrior had a shield bearer who walked before him (17:4-7)” (Smith p. 292).

17:8-11 Goliath proposed that single combat replace fighting between armies. “This daily winner-take-all challenge dismayed and intimidated Saul and all Israel. For forty days the daily challenge continued. Neither army moved during that period” (Smith p. 292). “The fact that the Philistines later reneged on the agreement (cf. 18:30) suggests that representative combat was not taken seriously, even by those who advocated it” (Bergen p. 190). “Then we must listen to three verses of his hairy-chested braggadocio …No one has any trouble hearing him. Saul and Israel are both impressed and depressed” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 39).

But the reader has already been told (16:7), that appearances can be deceiving. 17:12-15 Here we learn that David was dividing his time between the royal court and tending the flocks of his aged father.

17:16-20 Apparently the families of the soldiers supplied the rations for their relatives and others in the ranks. “Though the journey exceeded fifteen miles, David arrived at the Israelite camp early in the morning” (Bergen p. 192).

“Had Jesse only known how much would rest on the parched grain, bread, and cheese David was lugging to the Valley of Elah. Had he only known how critical David’s mission would be! But it’s all so low-key and natural…Everything seemed to be casual, yet those things which seemed most casual were really links in a providential chain leading to the gravest issues. Then Goliath talked one time too many—and David heard (v. 23)” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 40).

17:21-25 “The mere sight of the giant was enough to cause the men of Israel to flee in disorder and panic” (Gaebelein p. 697). David was quickly informed that King Saul had promised riches, freedom from taxes and public service, and his daughter’s hand in marriage to the one could defeat Goliath. Look what happens when a man turns from God! Saul was supposed to lead Israel in battle (8:20). The Saul in this chapter is so different from the Saul we saw in chapter 11. If we depart from God, we will find ourselves paralyzed into inaction. 17:26-27 In the eyes of Israel, Goliath was “this man” (17:25), in the eyes of David, Goliath was an “uncircumcised Philistine”. “David brings a whole new world view…now David injects the godly question into the episode. Doesn’t having a living God make a difference in all this? This fellow has mocked ‘the ranks of the living God’. If God is so identified with Israel, do you think He is indifferent toward such slurs on His reputation? Do you expect a living God to allow an uncircumcised Philistine to trample His name in military and theological mud? Israel thought the Philistine invulnerable; for David he was only uncircumcised. A living God gives a whole new view of things. David’s question is not a magic charm for solving every problem; but surely it instructs us. It shows us how crucial it is that we hold the right starting point, that we raise the right question at the very first. All the believer’s life and all the church’s life requires theocentric thinking. The tragedy is that were someone to hear our thoughts and words in our dangers and troubles they would never guess that we have a living God” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 42).

17:28-29 David is immediately rebuked by his brother Eliab. “David gives a normal youngest-brother response: ‘What have I done now?’ Sounds like exasperation over a few years of carping” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 43).

There are many people like Eliab. Since he won’t move, he ridicules anyone who tries to be faithful. He doesn’t want to grow spiritually, rather he tends to want everyone to remain at his level, and accepting his excuses. This is one reason why we always need to be converting people, because the zeal and optimism of new converts can help us from becoming spiritual Eliabs.

17:30-32 Yet David will not be silenced, because God’s honor is at stake

17:33-37 Initially Saul in unimpressed by David’s confident assertions. But David isn’t spouting hype, rather he has the proof to back up his assertions. He has defeated enemies far more powerful and swift than Goliath. If God had delivered David out of the paw of the bear and the lion, then how much more will God deliver David from the hand of a man who has mocked God! This Philistine may have been a warrior since his youth, but David’s youth hadn’t been wasted on frivolous matters. “Sauls’ reference to David’s adolescence suggests that David was under twenty years of age, the earliest age at which an Israelite was permitted to serve in the military (cf. Numbers 1:3; 26:2)” (Bergen p. 193).

Give Saul this much credit, he was willing to take what was probably the greatest military gamble of his career. “One might say David has to fight three Goliaths in this chapter, for in Eliab he faces the contempt of Goliath and in Saul he meets the mind of Goliath (i.e., it’s only the experiencedverse 33, and the equipped-verses 38-39, warrior who carries the odds of winning” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 43). Consider that David doesn’t describe his prior victories over a lion and bear to luck or skill, rather God had delivered him. “This is instructive for the people of God. Faith is sustained in the present and for the present as it remembers Yahweh’s provision in the past. The rich history of God’s past goodnesses nurtures faith in its current dilemma. It is here that memory (Yahweh delivered me then and there) and logic (If He handled that, is He not equipped for this?), can be handmaids of faith. It is so crucial to remember God’s past deliverances.

If you’ve trouble doing so, invest in a diary….David will be delivered not because he has true grit but because he knows the true God. Circumstances vary, but Yahweh is the same whether among the sheep or in front of the Philistines” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 44-45).

17:38-39 Saul tried to clothe David with his personal armor, but David felt very uncomfortable in it. He had never proven it on the field of battle and felt it would be more of a hindrance than a help. God doesn’t necessarily spurn the latest technology, but this example reveals that the latest and best is no substitute for trust in God and going with what has worked in the past. 17:40 “As he moved toward Goliath he paused at a wadi (dry stream bed) in the valley and picked up five smooth stones” (Smith p.

293). “We should not, however, underestimate David’s sling-and-stone routine. Such stones would range from two to three inches in diameter and, when flung by an accomplished warrior, could reach speeds of 100 to 150 miles per hour” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 45).

17:41-44 Goliath is greatly insulted that the challenger is a but a youth.

He considered it a personal insult that the Israelites would send an

unworthy opponent to fight him. Goliath is typical of so many people in our world. He was arrogant, highly competitive (for himself), and really good at talking trash and trying to intimidate his opponents. “Winning a contest against a crudely armed, underage challenger would not be particularly prestigious for the Philistine giant” (Bergen p. 195).

17:45-47 Yet David has his own speech to give. “David can match Goliath for spicy speech; he can carry on about corpses and carrion…

More important, David avers that all the earth will know from the box score in tomorrow’s papers that there is a God, a real God, in Israel…

David especially stresses that Yahweh saves not by the instruments of human power but through the weakness of his servants….The theme of ‘weakness’ has been building throughout the chapter. All the important people regard David as weak. If we might colloquialize, Eliab tells him, ‘You’re a pain’ (28), Saul warns, ‘You’re green’ (33), and Goliath sneers, ‘You’re puny’. What matters is not whether you have the best weapons (or material resources) but whether you have the real God” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 46-47).

If we walk away from this chapter thinking that David won because he was clever or had more courage than Goliath, we have missed the point.

Goliath has mocked God (45). “The driving concern of this chapter is the honor of Yahweh’s name, His reputation, His glory. David is driven by a passion for the honor of God…Hence in this chapter David essentially says to Israel and to us: ‘ Yahweh’s reputation is at stake; that matters to me; that matters enough to risk my life for it’. Can we say that? Is that our vision, our point of view? ….Can we say that that matters to us more than our advantage or reputation or security?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 48). Our battles with Goliath may not appear to be as breath-talking as the battle in this chapter, but they are just as important. For us, maintaining God’s honor may be found in confronting someone at work about the way they use the name of God (as if ‘God’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ were punctuation marks). It may mean that the preacher in his study must refuse to marry a couple, because such a union would be mocking God’s laws on marriage.

17:48 Whereas Goliath ‘walked’, David ‘ran quickly’ and engaged him in battle. 17:51-54 “Energized by David’s undreamed-of success and the sight of panic-striken Philistines, the army of Israel chased the Philistines westward until they came ‘to the valley’ (NIV, ‘to the entrance of Gath’) and then along the coastal plain, ‘to the gates of Ekron’, a distance exceeding ten miles” (Bergen p. 197).

“Why David brought Goliath’s head to Jerusalem is unclear, since the city was not under Israelite control at the time. Perhaps David brought the gruesome remains of Israel’s most feared enemy to Jerusalem to intimidate the city’s inhabitants; mounting the Israelite war trophy by a conspicuous location would certainly demonstrate to this long-time nemesis that Israel was a nation to be feared. The fact that Jerusalem was the first city David attacked after he became king of all Israel (cf. 2 Samuel 5:6), suggests that he had prioritized the conquest of the city for some time” (Bergen p. 198). Remember, David is a man with the Holy Spirit, and this move may have been directed by Divine revelation.

17:55-58 Commentators are perplexed by this conversation. Because in light of the previous chapter, David had already served for a time in Saul’s court, Saul had become attached to him, and had even made him the royal armor-bearer. How then could it be that neither Abner nor Saul recognized him? Various solutions have been offered to this question: 1.

David may have matured considerably during his absence from the court.

2. In his disturbed state, Saul may have paid little attention to the features of David as he played his harp. 3. Some of the statements in chapter 16, may have actually transpired after the battle between David and Goliath. There is probably some truth in this point, for it appears that David does not become the personal armor-bearer of Saul until after chapter 17. The reason I say this is, if David was Saul’s armor-bear prior to chapter 17, then why had not David been at the battlefield from the start of the confrontation between Israel and the Philistines? 4. The question may be more in relation to David’s father, than David. “Saul knew David as his court musician (16:18-23), but had apparently forgotten the name of David’s father and needed to know it in order to reward David’s family for the victory (see 17:25)” (Laney p. 60). This last point has a lot of merit, for in re-reading the text, you find that Saul is perplexed about the ancestry of David, rather than who David is. “Saul asked David for his father’s name so that he could probably formulate an edict in behalf of Jesse’s family and perhaps also so that he could learn more about the family background of the one who had earned the right to become the king’s son-in-law” (Bergen p. 199).