David
took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the
brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling
was in his hand; and he came near to Goliath, the Philistine. The
Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went
before him. When the Philistine looked around and saw David he disdained
him; for he was but a youth. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a
dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods. The
Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds
of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
Then
David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and
with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of
the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today, Yahweh will
deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and kill you. I will give the dead
bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the
wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with
sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our
hand.”
When
the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried,
and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:40-48
David
represents God’s beloved; outmatched, outgunned and with virtually no chance of
success against the troubles he faces.
Nonetheless,
David delivers his inspiring, confident war cry and then runs headlong against
his enemy.
God
will not necessarily deliver us from the cause of our suffering (“Yahweh
doesn’t save with sword and spear”). But
in the end, the day will be His and the day will be ours. In the story of Noah and the Ark, the Flood
did not represent the judgment of God, it represented Chaos. God did not make Creation from nothing, but
rather drew it out of Chaos - dividing light from dark, night from day, earth
from water, and finally humanity from earth.
Chaos will return in each of
our lives, but God tells us it does not have to sink us. He will invite us to float over it until it
recedes and dutifully close the door of the Ark behind us.
Knowing
that we are the beloved of God means that we never suffer alone and we don’t
have to let suffering demean us. We can
run headlong into it.
Image: David and Goliath by Caravaggio
