The story of David and Goliath is usually misunderstood to be a description of a clash between a champion and an underdog, but the story itself has far more meaning than that. It is true to say that Goliath was big and David was small, but because David is a ‘type’ of Jesus who was to come, the beginning of the story in 1 Samuel 17:28-37 emphasizes how David heard all of Goliath’s taunts and was willing to step into the breach for God’s people – something that the Lord Jesus did for God’s people to a greatest degree.

In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, Saul’s continued disobedience and hardened heart meant that his life soon began to spiral downwards. However in the providence of God, David, the youngest son of Jesse became instrumental in bring blessing to Saul in his torment. In this way David is a type of Jesus, his greater Son, who was to come and who brings the fullness of forgiveness, salvation and peace to all who come to Him in faith.

When Samuel went in obedience to the Lord’s command to the home of Jesse to anoint a new king in 1 Samuel 16:1-13, he must have thought deeply about the disappointments he’d known, the task he’d received and the obstacles he’d faced. The anointing of the previous King, Saul, had ended in disaster and now Samuel may well have thought that the same lay ahead. God, however, had other plans for Samuel and for His people in the anointing of David, who would not have been the world’s choice. The principle Samuel learned in all this was the need to wait for God’s instructions and then obey.