New Year: 1 Sam 16-17 for Mar 24

We should be not surprised that David spoke and acted toward Goliath as as he does in 1 Samuel 17:45-47. We have been prepared for something like this since 13:14.

So the events are just catching up with the actions of God taken prior. But even people who "know" that, don't always know it well. Samuel in 16:1 gets a push to get moving, because he's grieving over the current situation (15:35; cf 15:11): not just the situation regarding Saul's kingship, but over Saul himself. Samuel learns as he goes, just as we do (16:6-7). This "heart" emphasis echoes 13:14.

And how does David's heart relate to his actions? Is it simply that a great heart means an obvious outward superiority? That's what chapter 17 was for! ESPECIALLY 17:46-47. 17:46 was to convince the skeptic of the fact. 17:47 was to convince the reader of the reason behind the fact. God shows himself often in the negation of obvious outward superiority. We saw this recently in the choice of David himself -- the youngest, treated by his father as courier (17:17-19), and harassed by his oldest brother just as so many younger brothers can vouch for (17:28-29).