Daily Manna 19-July-2016

Topic: Safety is of the Lord 1

Reading: 1Sam 23:7-14

Scripture: And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. (1Sam 23:7)

Note: David’s watershed victory over Goliath could never be forgotten in the history of Israel. It was a victory that saved a nation from their eternal enemies, the Philistines. It saved a whole nation from the intimidation and curses of the Philistine bully, who for forty continuous days, continued to taunt and haunt Israel into fright from the battlefield and flight for their lives, some crossing into neighbouring countries.

David’s victory also saved Saul’s life, his reign and his throne. No wonder, as was characteristic of women in those days after victory in war, they sang songs of adoration in honour of the young, unsung hero, David. The songs were benign, without political intonation but became problematic for king Saul due to the wider political implications of the lyrics.

This was a time of joy and gladness. No one saw beyond the lyrics except the politically outraged king, Saul. For the spectacular victory over Israel’s bully, Goliath, the women sang thus:

Saul has killed his thousands
David has killed his ten thousands

Saul being the king and the one to have given the permission to the young man to go and face the giant in battle was given his due contribution to the conquest. David being the brave warrior to have risked his young life to face Goliath and much against the odds succeeded in killing the giant, cutting off his head in the process, to present as a trophy and a gift to the whole nation was rightfully deserving of the honour of being apportioned ten thousands.

Saul didn’t take this benign song lightly. He saw and analyzed everything that happened after Goliath’s death with political lenses. David was the real threat, not even the dreaded Goliath. If David ever thought that he had fought his biggest fight ever in his lifetime after killing Goliath, the lion and the bear, he was badly mistaken. The victory over Goliath was the battle that was to launch him into the next phase of his convoluted and tortuous journey that would finally land him into the corridors of power as the next king of Israel after Saul.

Food for thought: David’s biggest battle ever in his lifetime was how he managed to escape the 21 assassination attempts made on his life when Saul deployed the whole state military machinery and intelligence against him.

Declaration: The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord. (Prov 21:31)

©Author: Rev Fred Aboe