Is There Not a Cause?

1 Samuel 17:1-30 

    1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
    12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
    16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
    17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
    20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
    26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes 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 in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”  28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
    29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

After Saul’s disobedience in failing to destroy all and to keep spoils for himself and Israel, after he subsequently lost his position as king in the LORD’s eyes, he does this.  The Philistines send their giant to defy the people of God and Saul sends nobody to meet the challenge, choosing instead to allow the blasphemous raging and threatening for forty days!  It took a young man who was the youngest of eight brothers, one who seemed insignificant by attending to sheep and running errands for his three oldest brothers in the army of inaction and fear of God’s enemy, it took such a one to speak up.  Of course, we know from the previous chapter that God had anointed David as king in calling (though not yet in position) to stand up for the LORD and His honor and the glory of His name in the face of these insults and evil taunting.  David here displays the core essence of why scripture shows God calling him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) who would do His will, willingly and with all devotion to His name.  He did not abandon his sheep nor come in pride to see the battle as his oldest brother Eliab accused him in defense of his own cowardice and hesitation to fight for the LORD.  No, David saw the reproach of the uncircumcised enemy who was defying the people of the LORD who were the army of His hand, and he was indignant and angry.  He had come for a purpose.  There was just cause for his arrival and presence on the battlefield.  This would soon become known to all there.  We are not David, yet the example of scripture here calls us to stand for God, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the battle for the souls of men and women who are trapped by the blasphemy of the adversary and their own resulting defiance of the living God in their minds and deeds.  He calls us to stand firm in faith, for His honor and glory, and be where He calls us to do battle in the unseen as well as seen realms (2 Corinthians 10:4-6, Ephesians 3:10, 6:11-12).  Is there not a cause?