October 24 | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 3–5; 1 Timothy 4

Fleeing from Turkeys

David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet him. 1 Samuel 17:48

1 Samuel 17:48

READ 1 Samuel 17:32, 40–50

Two wild turkeys stood in the country lane ahead. How close could I get? I wondered. I slowed my jog to a walk, then stopped. It worked. The turkeys walked towards me . . . and kept coming. In seconds, their heads were bobbing at my waist, then behind me. How sharp were those beaks? I ran away. They waddled after me before giving up the chase.

How quickly the tables had turned! The hunted had become the hunter when the turkeys seized the initiative. Foolishly, I had wondered if they were too dumb to be scared. I wasn’t about to be carelessly wounded by a bird, so I fled. From turkeys.

David didn’t seem dangerous, so Goliath taunted him to come near. “ ‘Come here,’ he said, ‘and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!’ ” (1 Samuel 17:44). David flipped the script when he seized the initiative. He ran towards Goliath, not because he was foolish but because he had confidence in God. He shouted, “This very day . . . the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (v. 46). Goliath was puzzled by this aggressive boy. What’s going on? he must have thought. Then it hit him. Right between the eyes.

It’s natural for small animals to run from people and shepherds to avoid giants. It’s natural for us to hide from our problems. Why settle for natural? Is there a God in Israel? Then, in His power, run towards the fight.

By Mike Wittmer

What problem or person are you avoiding? How might you express confidence in God?

Father, whenever I’m afraid, remind me that Your Spirit is in me. Help me run in Your strength.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Goliath considered it an insult to have David fight him because David was “little more than a boy” (1 Samuel 17:42). The Hebrew word translated “boy” means “a boy, from the age of infancy to adolescence.” It also has the connotation of status, one who was a lowly servant. Goliath was a highly respected warrior. King Saul highlighted this disparity when he told David, “You’re only a boy, and [Goliath has] been a man of war since his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33 NLT). Scholars estimate David would have been about fourteen or fifteen years old.