A Sudden Change of Calling

1 Samuel 17:29  And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

Many people know about the story of David and Goliath. Before this epic battle took place, David was given the less glorious task by his father, Jesse, to take supplies to David’s three older brothers and their captains who were at the battlefront against the Philistines.

1 Samuel 17:17-18  And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;  (18)  And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

When David arrived, he saw a situation that needed to be dealt with and wondered why no one else was dealing with it.

1 Samuel 17:22-23; 26 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.  (23)  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. (26)  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel?

David’s inquiry sparked an outburst from his eldest brother, Eliab. 1 Samuel 17:28  And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

To this, we have the now-famous response from David. 1 Samuel 17:29  And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

Notice the different responses:

“...and David heard them (Vs. 25). This is probably when David decided to take up the challenge to fight the giant. He heard the giant one time and was ready to fight him.

“And Eliab his eldest brother heard…and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David” (Vs. 28). When Eliab heard Goliath for 40 days, he didn’t get angry enough to fight Goliath, but when he heard his brother one time, he got angry enough to fight his brother!

David was ready to deal with the situation. 1 Samuel 17:40; 49  And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag…(49)  And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

David was ready when he had a sudden change of calling. It was a calling to step up when others were stepping back!  

What was David doing before he was launched into this role? He was working on himself. When a harpist was sought to play for King Saul, who had been afflicted with an evil spirit, the following was noted about David.

1 Samuel 16:18  Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite (speaking of David), that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.

We see that David was not just sitting around dreaming of a better day, but he was cultivating some useful skills. He was practicing his harp (cunning in playing), he was becoming more valiant (a mighty valiant man), he was working on his fighting skills in case he was called upon to fight (a man of war), he was attentive to the mundane everyday tasks before him (prudent in matters), he kept himself healthy (a comely person), and he was working on his relationship with God (and the LORD is with him).

Not all of these skills do we have to cultivate, though I believe being prudent in matters, working on our health, and working on our relationship with God are skills we should all focus on.

David went from watching sheep, to delivering food, to liberating an entire nation, and would eventually become the next king.

God gave David the vision and David did what he could do and eventually God did what David could not do!

What are some things you could be working on right now that could prepare you for the next season of your life?

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Thank you,

Pastor Fulmer