I Samuel 17:29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause
Have you ever dreamed of killing giants, of being the hero, of doing some grand thing in life? David was a man who defeated the giant Goliath. David was only a youth, while Goliath was a warrior from his youth, yet God gave David exactly what he needed to perform heroically when Israel faced the Philistines. Why did David come to the battle? David did not come to kill a giant. He was not going to the battle because he wanted to do some great thing. David went to the battle because his dad sent him there to bring food to his brothers and to see how things were going. In other words, David did not know there was some grand design afoot, that God was going to use him to deliver Israel. David was simply responding to his duty to his dad.
We are living in a day where people seem to be lacking purpose, direction, and meaning. Last week I read a Harvard study about depression and anxiety among young adults. The survey stated that young adults were twice as likely to be depressed and anxious as teenagers. You can take this for what it is worth, but one of the people in the survey said that the most common cause of depression and anxiety was a lack of meaning or purpose. Later it stated that Covid derailed these young adults from their pursuits of identity and career. So, people, especially young adults, are lacking a purpose and reason for being.
We look at David’s story. Was there a grand purpose? Yes, God was going to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Did David have a grand purpose? No! David had a duty. He was taking food from his dad to his brothers, and while he was there, Goliath came. We can learn from this that we find our cause when we follow our duty. It is so easy to spend our time wringing our hands about what our grand cause in life may be and neglect our duty that might be due this afternoon. David shows us that when we follow our duty, we end up finding that cause.
When David came to the battle, his older brother Eliab heard that he was there. He was angry at David and said, “Why did you come here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know the pride and naughtiness of your heart. You came down to see the battle.” How did David respond to this dismissive attitude from his elder brother? David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” The cause he was talking about was not the cause of facing the giant. The reason for his being there was just obedience to his dad.
Notice what following one’s duty provides. First, it provides preparation. Later on, when Saul asked, “Why do you think you can take on this giant?” David said, “Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.” He goes on to say that he killed both the lion and the bear. David was faithful in the basic areas of responsibility that he had and that prepared him for things down the road that he knew nothing about.
In I Samuel 16:11 and 19 when both Samuel and Saul sought for David, David was keeping his father’s sheep. David didn’t know this, but that very job was preparation for what God intended for David in the big picture. In fact, Psalm 78 is somewhat of a commentary of God’s working through David. The Bible says that God “chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds…[and] brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them [Israel] according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” Where did David learn to lead sheep? David learned that in part by learning to follow his dad. Where did he learn to lead people? He learned to lead people by following his dad and leading his sheep. So, following our duty provides preparation.
It also provides opportunities we would not otherwise have. Verse 41 says, “And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.” We don’t really think of this when we picture the scene, but when Goliath came out, he did not come out alone. There was an armorbearer going before him carrying the shield. You might recall that David himself had been commissioned to be Saul’s armorbearer in the previous chapter.
If this was totally equal, it would have been Saul fighting Goliath and David, Saul’s armorbearer, fighting this unnamed armorbearer of Goliath. That is not how it went down. It was Saul’s armorbearer killing the Philistines’ hero. The bottom line is that the reason David was there and had an opportunity was because of duty. He was doing the things that were his responsibility and that led to preparation and opportunity for grander things.
Ultimately, following our duty provides power. Verse 45 says, “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” We find in I Samuel 15:29 that God is “the Strength of Israel.” He gave strength to David. David did not defeat Goliath with a sling, stone, or sword; he did it by the power of God. In I Samuel 17:26 God is called “the living God.” He is not the God who was or will be, but the eternal God, the eternally existent Jehovah. In I Samuel 17:45 He is called “the LORD of hosts,” which is “the Lord of the armies.”
God had a grand cause for David. David did not know what that cause was, but he knew what his duty was before his father and Saul, and as David was faithful in those little things, he found his cause in life. It will be the same with you today because we find our cause when we follow our duty.