Goliath's Armor Bearer

Now King Saul was head and shoulders above all the men of Israel but he was a coward because he had lost his faith in God and the Spirit had departed leaving him with no anointing to fight the battle. He could only depend upon the arm of the flesh that is no match for the power of the devil.

Suddenly into his command tent ran several of his officers. King Saul, King Saul, there’s a big strapping young boy out here who says that he will fight Goliath for us! He’s a nice looking kid too.

1 Samuel 17:26, "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? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

1 Samuel 17:28-29, "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. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?"

Have you ever faced your “older brothers” in your walk with the Lord? I’ve seen the times when young Christians would walk into the church, bouncing off the walls, excited about Jesus and perhaps being just a little too rowdy to suit some of the older folks. They didn’t dress the same, act the same or have the right manners in the church. After all, this is the “Sanctuary”.

Now I believe in being very respectful to the House of God and keeping people from damaging or demeaning what we have all worked for and what God has given us stewardship of. But, I also believe that this House of Prayer is God’s house and somehow I don’t think that God gets upset when his newborn babes in Christ aren’t always perfect little gentlemen and ladies.

I’ve been to homes where the children were forbidden to touch things, or play in certain rooms and where the children had to obey such rigid rules that they couldn’t enjoy their own home. I never want God’s children to feel that restricted in their Father’s house.

David’s older brothers became angry. This impudent, braggadocios, little kid had made them look like cowards and they didn’t like it one bit.

That sounds like some Christians I know who won’t do anything for the Lord and then complain when someone else rises to the challenge and makes it all seem so easy, leaving the elder with “egg on his face”! In other words, it made them look and feel foolish.

But they weren’t about to take the blame, no sir! It wasn’t their fault that they were in hiding. They were just doing what everyone else was doing. Why should they take a chance on failure when no one else would?

King Saul was more than helpful in “allowing” David to go face Goliath in his stead. In effect, David became Saul’s armor bearer too.

1 Samuel 17:41, "And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him."