What's Your Paramount Goal? – 5 Smooth Stones, part 2
Feel defeated, afraid, or unable to move? This second message in the Five Smooth Stones series reminds us that we’re never alone, and it challenges us to consider our spiritual awareness and paramount goal in life.
What is your ultimate goal? Are you staying spiritually sensitive to defend the glory of God?
Let God’s glory be the paramount goal in your heart as it was in David’s heart. At times spiritual battles will arise when you least expect them. Always be on guard and spiritually sensitive. Decide in your heart today that the battle is the Lord's. Decide and know in your heart that whatever you face in life, you are not alone. The battle may look impossible in your eyes, but it is not impossible for God Almighty. Don’t look at the situation with your natural eyes. Look at it with eyes of faith, with your spiritual eyes wide open and with a heart like David; a heart for God. Remember always, the battle is the Lord's.
What is paramount in your heart and life?
We began our study last week of 1 Samuel 17. This is the well-known story of David and Goliath. It’s a story of a young boy whose faith and actions glorify God Almighty. This story gives us a clear picture of a young lad who is simply doing what his father asks and he finds himself at a crossroads in life. A crossroads of faith and fear, of stay and fight or shrink back and run, of moving forward or remaining silent, of glorifying God or glorifying self.
Will David follow his older brothers’ actions and shrink in fear?
Will David listen to his brother and go home or will he take a stand for what he knows in his heart is right and face the enemy?
David refused to let his brother sway him. David wanted to know more, and he took the spiritual stance that King Saul should have taken.
David takes a stance for the glory of God Almighty. David defends the honor and name of God Almighty. David, by his actions, steps out in faith and God is glorified before the Israelites, the Philistine nation, and the entire world. David wanted all the world to know that there is a God in Israel. David’s faith did not waver. He trusted God with all his heart and life. God is with David every step of the way.
‘Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”’ (1 Samuel 17:12-28, NIV).
David took offence to Goliath defying God and the army of God. Look at verse 26. David sees Goliath as someone defying the army of the living God. Goliath was defying God Almighty when he spoke against Israeli army.
David takes it as a personal offence against God when Goliath defies the army of God. David asks: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Who is this guy who speaks this way about God?
The men in Saul’s army took it more as a threat against them. They did not take it as an offence against God or see any spiritual implication of Goliath’s words. They were spiritually insensitive. They were only concerned for themselves.
Look at verse 25: “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel.” How would you see it if you were David? David viewed the battle as a battle between an ungodly, uncircumcised enemy versus the army of the Lord. It was not simply a battle between two armies in David’s eyes. It was more than a physical battle. This battle had a spiritual aspect about it. It was for the reputation and glory of God Almighty.
Sometimes what looks as a common or as a normal physical occurrence is not so normal. What may start out looking like a physical battle is often a spiritual battle. We may not recognize the total spiritual significance of the event at first. Like David, we must learn to be spiritually sensitive to the things around us. We need to be people who take a stand for the name of God and push back against the enemy of God who defies the Lord’s name and glory.
If not you, then who? We need to ask the Lord to open our spiritual eyes and ears and to always be on the alert, daily.
In the text that we just read we learn a bit of background information regarding the battle that was about to take place. We already know that the Philistines and the Israelites were enemies. We now learn that David is the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons. David is a shepherd caring for his father’s sheep. We will soon learn that David defeated a lion and bear while caring for his father’s flock. Lions and bears are fierce and deadly animals that pray on the defenseless sheep. The enemy of your soul will try to do the same. It was David’s responsibility to care for the safety of the sheep no matter the size of the flock.
What is your responsibility as a person of faith? We are told “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” and that we are a chosen people who have received mercy (see 1 Peter 2:9-10).
David has already been chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel in chapter 16 of 1 Samuel. Sometime in the future David will become King of Israel and he will then become shepherd of the heavenly Father’s flock and lead them into battle. David will need to be cunning and listen to the Lord if he is going to be king and defeat the enemies of Israel.
But here in Chapter 17 we learn that David is simply an ordinary young man doing what his father tasked him to do. David was no one special, except that he had a heart for God. David, in obeying his father’s words, places his flock in the care of another shepherds and takes the supplies he is told and gives them to the keeper of the supplies and looks for his brothers.
David is inquisitive as to what was happening on the battle lines for two reasons:
He needed to report back to his father what was happening.
He wanted to know how things were going. Remember, it’s been 40 days now and they are still just lining up for battle, or so it seems.
God is preparing David to lead the nation of Israel. David’s passion for the name of God and his heart of faith is what drives him to be the person of God that God desired.
In 1 Samuel 15 we learn that Saul did not obey the command of the Lord that Samuel had given him. Saul was to completely destroy the Amalekites. But Saul did not have king Agag killed. Instead, Saul allowed King Agag to live, and they also brought back the best of the animals, that they were told to destroy. When confronted by Samuel, Saul attempted to tell Samuel that he had obeyed the Lord (see 1 Samuel 15:20-21). Friends, partial obedience is not obedience as Saul is about to find out.
Saul disobeyed God in several ways. Saul allowed king Agag to live. Saul did not destroy everything of the Amalekites. Saul saved the best animals that were once devoted to a false god, so they could sacrifice them to the Lord (see 1 Samuel 15:8-9). Saul then tried to blame the soldiers for his disobedience. But he was king, and he was told what to do. Saul should have obeyed. Saul’s disobedience of the Lord’s command is what disqualified Saul from being king.
Error mixed with truth is still error and partial obedience is not obedience. Both are sin in God’s eyes.
Saul was unwilling to do what the Lord had commanded him to do. Saul did what he wanted to do and not what God commanded him to do. Samuel tells Saul that God delights in obedience above sacrifice; to obey is better than sacrifice. But to rebel against God is a sin and, therefore, God rejected Saul as king because Saul didn’t obey (see 1 Samuel 15:22-23).
Have you ever considered that the sin of disobedience or rebellion to be on the same level as divination, or arrogance and to be like the evil of idolatry? I’m not sure many people do, but God does.
In 1 Samuel 16 we find that David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, is anointed to be king. Samuel first thought Jesse’s first born might be the one to be anointed king, but no. David’s three oldest brothers are the only sons listed by name in both chapters 16 and 17 of all the sons of Jesse that were passed over to be anointed as king. The seven older brothers who were passed over must have developed an awful attitude towards their younger brother who was anointed by Samuel. Think of it. David the smallest, youngest, weakest, least experienced is chosen before his brothers. This may have been one of the reason his oldest brother accused David of being conceited and to have an evil heart.
Then there is the time David is chosen to play the lyre to comfort Saul when Saul was being tormented by an evil spirit. David’s brothers must have become even more envious of David.
So, when David arrived at the front lines of the battle, his oldest brother accused David of being conceited and having a wicked heart. But that was not true.
‘When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”’ (1 Samuel 17:28).
It is David’s oldest brother who had a heart issue, not David. David is not perfect, but he has a heart for the Lord. The reason David was selected to be anointed by God to be king was because of his heart. Not because of his looks or position. The Lord doesn’t look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7).
Remember the nation of Israel was chosen for no other reason than God loved them (see Deuteronomy 7:6-9).
God often chooses people who are the youngest, weakest, poorest, least educated and the outcast. God looks at the heart and not the outward appearance. The least expected person to do the work that God desires to be done is often the individual who the world would ignore or disregard. The world would most likely not have chosen any of the Disciples, or someone like David, Rahab, Moses, Jonah, Paul, Ruth, Esther, Noah, or Isaiah. Many of them would have been passed over. They did not look the part outwardly. They may not have had all the credentials. Their background was not acceptable. They were not seen as being most successful to the world. But God looked at their heart and not their outward appearance or physical abilities.
David was looked down upon by his brothers. David was looked down upon by Goliath. Saul will tell David that he had no chance against a warrior like Goliath. David was inexperienced, young, smaller in stature. David, like many spiritual giants, would have been chosen last to be on a team, and yet it is David who God selects to be anointed by Samuel, and then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. This same young, inexperienced boy named David, is the one who defeats Goliath while Saul and the entire Israelite army looks on in fear. David honored the Lord in his heart. David was focused on God Almighty.
David believed in his heart that Goliath, this uncircumcised Philistine who defied the army of the living God was no match for God. David’s faith in the Lord was much bigger than the enemy he faced.
David does not fight Goliath for his own glory, praise, or profit. David fought Goliath for the glory of God, for his deep passion for God, for his concern for God’s honor and reputation. David had confidence in God and not in his own ability.
Within this story we find two different hearts. A heart for God and a jealous, envious heart of David’s brother Eliab. David’s heart was focused on defending the name of God and removing the reproach from the Israelites and God’s name. The heart of Eliab was focused on self. He accuses David of having an evil heart and motive that brought him to the battle. Eliab accused David of being conceited and wicked. This came from an envious heart. It came from a heart that was consumed with anger rather than love for his brother.
David’s heart was God-focused and looking to the future. Eliab’s heart was judgmental and jealous, and he was focused on self and the past. David was simply following his father’s instructions.
At times spiritual battles will arise when you least expect them. Always be on guard and spiritually sensitive. David was not expecting to face Goliath that day. But he was ready in his heart to stand and defend the glory of God. David was focused on God’s reputation. David ignored the false accusations from his brother and solely focused on the important battle ahead. David refused to be distracted or be entangled in an argument with his brother. Instead, David remained steadfast in faith. Eliab, Saul, and the whole Israelite army took their eyes off of the real battle before them that day. They allowed their hearts to become fearful. Their spiritual eyes were blinded to the real battle before them. Their natural eyes only saw the size of the problem and not the size of God Almighty. They had forgotten that the battle is the Lord’s.
Over time Saul and the army that followed his lead developed an insensitive and rebellious heart. Their insensitive and rebellious hearts started long before that day. Remember how they rebelled and refused to completely destroy the Amalekites? Oh, they destroyed the weak and despised animals but kept the best alive (see 1 Samuel 15:9). Remember, to obey is better than sacrifice.
Every physical battle you face in life will have a spiritual aspect attached to it. Paul talked of a thorn in his flesh that kept him from being conceited. Paul heard from God: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” which gave Paul the fortitude to embrace his weaknesses from the perspective of relying on God’s strength (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Decide in your heart today that the battle is the Lords. Decide and know in your heart, that whatever you face in life, you are not alone. The battle may look impossible in your eyes, but it is not impossible for God Almighty. Don’t look at the situation with your natural eyes. Look at it with eyes of faith, with your spiritual eyes wide open and with a heart like David; a heart for God.
David wrote the Psalms.
“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law. 30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding” (Psalm 119:28-32).
David demonstrated his passion for God to his son Solomon. David’s son Solomon wrote Proverbs.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Let God’s glory be the paramount goal in your heart as it was in David’s heart. What is paramount in your heart and life? Remember always, the battle is the Lord’s, and he will get all the glory.
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