1 Samuel 17:17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

Introductory Thoughts

Our passage concerns a time when Israel and the Philistines were in the midst of a heated battle. David was not old enough to be a member of the army of Israel, but his father (Jesse) sent him to take some food to his brothers. When David arrived, he heard the blasphemous words of Goliath and began enquiring what would happen to the man who killed him. When David’s oldest brother heard David, he began to accuse him of being full of pride and coming to see the battle out of the naughtiness of his heart. The Bible points out that this was not David’s heart intention. David was there at the request of his father to bring food to his brothers. In the end, David did not allow this accusation to keep him from doing what he knew to be right.

Devotional Thoughts

 (For children): Satan misjudged Job’s motives in serving God. When Satan took Job’s possessions and health, Job proved he truly loved God (Job 1:9-11, 20-22; Job 2:4-10). Jesus was misjudged for keeping bad company, but He was not doing it to have a good time (Luke 5:29-32; Luke 19:1-10).

 (For everyone): Have you ever had someone misjudge the nature of your motives in your service to God? Did you allow that to keep you from doing right the next time?

 What are your motives for serving God? If your motives are pure, why worry about how others judge those motives?

Prayer Thoughts

 Ask God to help you do right regardless of false perceptions.

 Thank God for the opportunity to do something for Him.

SONG: WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE?