'David and Goliath' 

1 Samuel 17.1-58 

26. David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 
27. They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him." 
28. When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." 
29. "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" 
30. He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 

Eliab, the eldest brother - David, the youngest; six brothers in between. Eliab had not dealt with his own 'stuff' so David was blindsided by unbelievable accusations. Have you ever suffered verbal abuse at the whim of family or friends?

Some scholars believe David was a red-head. The Bible describes him as a "ruddy, handsome boy..." Can't you just picture a good looking, boisterous, red-headed kid going from man to man asking what was going to be done about that giant out there who was shouting insults at the Israelites?

Eliab was in no mood to even see that kid, much less hear him asking everyone what they were going to do about this 9 footer. Just a short time before this, Samuel had been in Bethlehem and had passed on Eliab, and every other man in Bethlehem, to anoint this mouthy, cocky redhead. What was that all about?!

Ever since that anointing, David had been bouncing back and forth between Saul's camp and home. He would tend sheep, kill a lion...go play and sing for Saul, then back to the sheep, kill a bear...go back to play and sing for Saul again. Over and over...quite busy, quite popular and Eliab, nor his father Jesse, were even known to King Saul yet the ebullient little brother was coming and going at will from the King's presence.

So that's what kind of 'stuff' Eliab had going on that 40th day of Goliath's taunts. He  'burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

Conceited? Wicked? Oh, that was low. That was uncalled for. That wasn't fair...that might sound familiar to you. You might not have been called conceited or wicked, but you probably have been maligned by family or friends at some point in your life.

Where's the lesson? What should be our response? I'm not certain I can come up with anything profound that will work in every situation, but I sure can appreciate David's response: 29. "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" 30. He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter...'

My advice? Keep on doing what you are doing. That's what David did. 'He turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter...' He was on a mission. He saw something that wasn't right. It didn't matter that he wasn't viewed as adequate or approved for the task. Nobody else seemed inclined to do anything - so he would take care of it!

If his youth was in question, that was someone else's problem. If his training and experience (or lack thereof) was in question, that was someone else's problem. If he hadn't been asked to be involved...that, too, was someone else's problem. If his own family was embarrassed by him, that, my friend, was their problem.

David was singularly fixated upon this one thing: somebody has to shut that guy up! As he was later to sing, "...by my God I can run through a troop and leap over a wall, hallelujah, hallelujah!" And - he ran toward the enemy...the enemy fell!

Conceited? Wicked? No, David was convinced that God and he made a majority. Pity the giant.

Facing any giants? Have any family or friends who would rather discount you than encourage you? "If God be for you, who can be against you?"

Charge hell, even if all you have is a garden hose. God is at the faucet.