The Lion and the Bear: Trusting God, Not Our Own Strength - 1 Samuel 17:34-37

Commentary

Revd. David Hall: Now, in human terms, David has every cause for confidence. He has killed both the lion and the bear. Now, apparently a lion will flee if you hurt it. It’ll even drop its prey because it can’t hold on to it and move quickly. But a bear is different. It will stand and it will fight. It’s stronger than a lion and it’s very fast. The Syrian bears that were around at the time could outrun horses over a short distance and were, of course, much more aggressive. The fact that David had killed both a lion and a bear is kind of next level. David is a top fighter in his own right. It would have been very easy for David to trust in his own human strength, but David does not rely on his own human strength. He is a spiritual fighter and says to Saul, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” As the psalmist says in Psalm 121, “I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” And that’s the temptation. You know, when we’re good at something, to rely on ourselves. David was a top fighter, but David trusts in God before the showdown with Goliath really begins. And it’s easy, isn’t it, to bring problems to God when we fail to fix them ourselves. Well, what about the things that we’re good at? Let’s bring our top skills and our top abilities under the lordship of Christ. Our hope comes from the Lord.