I love the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. I’ll bet there’s not a children’s Bible story book that doesn’t include this amazing true snippet from David’s life. But has anyone besides me ever puzzled over the last four verses of this chapter? It’s the part where Saul becomes obsessed to find out whose son David is. He asks three times in four verses whose son David is. This wouldn’t be so odd, except if you read the end of the previous chapter, Saul was totally aware of whose son David was. Here, look.
After looking at these two passages next to each other, I can conclude one of two things. A) Saul had advanced dementia, or B) God thinks it’s really important that we all grasp whose son David is. If you can think of another reason, please share.
Jesse is the obvious answer to whose son David is. But was Jesse a remarkable character in the Bible? Look him up. His first claim to fame was that his son was David. Jesse is mentioned 47 times in the Bible, and 17 of those times puts David and Jesse in the same verse. Without being too wordy, I’m going to point out a few verses that add weight to whose son David is. All the while, let’s remember that David is a type of Christ (mentioned in my last 2 blogs).
- The prophet Isaiah said in Isa 11:1: And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Jesse is the stem. David was a proxy for Jesus (Capital “B: Branch). This is Christ’s first coming.
- The prophet Isaiah continued in Isa 11:10: And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. This is Christ’s second coming. We know because of the reference to “that day,” which always refers to Christ’s second coming plus the reference to “his rest,” which refers to the Millennial rest. At Christ’s second coming He sets up the Millennial kingdom/rest.
If you can call a father’s children his branches, we will call Jesse the root stock, and king David is a branch from him. But so is king Jesus. Just a few years removed.
When Saul asked three times in four verses whose son this valiant David was, his curious thoughts and words were recorded to help us pay attention to this very detail. Later in Biblical time, we can all connect the dots.
Oh, by the way. Does it matter to us Gentiles that David (as a type of Jesus) was king of the Jews? Is this all for naught to us today living in a different dispensation and not part of Israel? This one is for us courtesy of the Apostle Paul: (Rom 15:12) And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. Ah. The Branch from Jesse wasn’t just for the Jews.
Jesus is King in our lives spiritually, and one day He will be our literal King. With Him reigning, our vexed souls will be at rest. Right now, we may feel that life as we’ve always known it is swirling down the drain. But when He finally appears, His righteous, just, pure, steady hand of control will be that much more glorious. And that’s by design.
As a proxy for Jesus Christ, David slayed that dastardly Goliath. Can we say that the spirit of Goliath lives today, and we are staring him in the face? It will take our real King to slay him. And let all the world ask… whose son is that?
Tell me what you think.
Jody
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