PRAISE FOR VICTORY BELONGS TO THE LORD
As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyfulH8057 songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.
1 Samuel 18:6
Saul’s men had been shaking in their sandals at the challenge of the Philistine’s champion Goliath. The young man David had brought food for his brothers who served in the army. David did not fear Goliath because his trust was in the mightiness of his Lord and not in his own ability to fight. David went out in the strength of the Lord and killed the monstrous man, Goliath, using only a stone hurled from his sling and chopped off the giant’s head with Goliath’s own gargantuan sword. This earned him the love and respect of King Saul’s son Jonathan, and God knit their souls together like brothers for life. Jonathan made a covenant with David and presented him with items that effectively recognized him as taking Jonathan’s place as the heir to the throne. Saul continued to send David into battle, and their victories over the Philistines continued to increase. Upon returning from one of these victorious campaigns, the women greeted King Saul with joyful dancing as they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7b). The women were celebrating the fact that God had given Israel the victory as they should have. However, because they attributed more glory to David than to him, Saul became extremely jealous of David. In reality, the praise, glory, and rejoicing belong to the Lord rather than any human instrument He used. When we forget that truth, we descend into a rabbit hole. If you know the rest of Saul’s story, you know that his rabbit hole was jealousy and rage, and he did not finish well. David respected Saul’s royalty and authority as God’s chosen king and waited on the Lord to remove him from the throne even though Samuel had already anointed David as the next king of Israel.
The women were celebrating the victory over the Philistines with joyful singing, playing of instruments and dancing. They celebrated Saul and David, but the victory was ultimately the Lord’s (Proverbs 21:31). Saul got caught up in jealousy instead of celebrating the fact that God had given both he and David the courage and skill to defeat the Philistines. How many times are we jealous of others’ accomplishments instead of celebrating what the Lord is doing through them? If our focus is on God at work in others and ourselves instead of striving to be esteemed above others, we will work together in unity. We need to keep our eyes on what Jesus is doing rather than ranking others above or below ourselves.
Father, let our rejoicing be in what You are doing through Your people rather than feeling we have accomplished more than someone else. Let us celebrate all victories as gifts from You (James 1:17)! Let all praise and glory be ascribed to Your mighty name!