Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-Judah whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons; and the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced [in years] among men.
The giant has silenced Israel's whole army. At that moment the story stops and introduces David again — the youngest son of Jesse, an old man of Bethlehem.
Samuel anointed David in the previous chapter, so a fresh introduction of his father and family reads strangely. One writer explains the repeat as a change of camera angle.
1 Samuel 16 gave us a general description of David's character. It showed him in his position as the Lord's anointed, and in a special way in his relationship with Saul. 1 Samuel 17 takes up the description of his history from another point of view. That is why verses 12 and 13 repeat his family connections, which at first look unnecessary.
The verse calls Jesse an Ephrathite, a man of Ephrath. That town carries far more weight than its size suggests.
Samuel anointed David in the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite, so Bethlehem was apparently the place of David's birth (1 Sam. 16:4; 1 Sam. 17:12, 15). This is why Luke 2:11 calls it the "city of David." It was also the birthplace of Jesus. Though the town was "too little to be among the clans of Judah," that agreed all the better with His humiliation. Bethlehem means "house of bread." It is a very fitting name for the place the Saviour should come from as a man — He who was the living bread that came down from heaven. Apparently it was first called Ephrath, and later Ephratah, and from there the ruler of Israel was to come.
The number eight is not a throwaway detail. It settles which son Samuel anointed in the previous chapter.
"Then Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are all your sons here?' And he said, 'There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.'" ... God chose none of the previous seven, so the youngest must have been the eighth. Again we read in 1 Samuel 17:12 that Jesse "had eight sons."
Another list in Scripture counts David differently. The same writer weighs why, and finds meaning in the number itself.
If the seven are refused and the eighth chosen in Samuel, why does Chronicles number him the seventh? Some have supposed that one of Jesse's sons died, so that David would be the seventh. ... Seven is connected with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. In Samuel, David is the eighth. He points to the true David who will restore all things, and who will reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man. ... Eight means God stepping in with grace when all is lost.
Being the youngest of eight shaped how his family treated him.
David's family thought so little of him that no one called him to the banquet where such a distinguished guest as Samuel was to preside — a rare chance to hear his wisdom... But "a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household." It was the same with the One David pictured — "great David's greater Son" — "For not even his brothers believed in him" (John 7:5). So minding the sheep was thought fit service for the youngest of the family, but because he was faithful in the little, God would trust him with greater things.
After the anointing, David went back to his father's flock. That was no demotion.
He was again on the plain path of humble daily duty. No road is so good as this. On no other road will God's honour show more clearly when His time comes. It was there that God anointed him for the throne. It was from there that God called him to the court of Saul. And now, from the same tending of his father's flock, God worked to bring him into the great field of action, where the question between the Philistines and the living God had to be settled.
This verse brings David in at the moment Israel stands terrified. That order is the point.
The testing is complete, and it exposes the weakness and utter helplessness of Israel's armies. They are dismayed and in deep anxiety. No deliverer appears until they have a true and deep sense of their own feebleness. Then is the moment for God to step in. "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6). Yes, it is just then that the gospel comes out.
- Overlooked. David was the youngest of Jesse's eight sons. His own family left him out when the prophet came. That was the same treatment later given to "great David's greater Son."
- Obscure. Bethlehem, the "house of bread," was small among Judah's towns, yet it gave the nation its king and later gave the world its Saviour.
- Last. The count of eight fixes David as the son after the seven. Chronicles calls him seventh; some explain that by a son who died young, others by what eight means — God's grace stepping in when all is lost.
- Faithful. David went back to the sheep after his anointing. Every step of his rise, from sheepfold to battlefield, started on that plain path of daily duty.
- Timed. No deliverer appeared until Israel felt its own weakness. God brings His man in exactly when strength runs out.
And the three eldest of the sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle; and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
The battle scene stops for a family list: Jesse's three oldest sons marched off with Saul's army, and the verse names them. The youngest is missing from the list — and he is the man God will use.
David went back to Bethlehem to keep his father's sheep while his brothers went to war. One writer treats that ordinary job as the key to everything that follows.
David was again in the plain path of humble daily duty. No road is as good as this one, and none where God's honour will show more clearly when His time comes. It was there that God anointed him for the throne. It was from there that God called him to Saul's court. And it was now from that same care of his father's flock that God worked to bring him into the great field of action.
The three brothers joined an army that Goliath's challenge had left shaking. One writer notes the moment Scripture chooses to bring David into the story.
I think they were afraid and dismayed because they felt it was impossible for them to cope with such a foe. At this moment we get David brought on the scene. It is striking that while this man was issuing his challenge, the record turns to Jesse of Bethlehem and his sons. While the giant is shouting for a man, God introduces His man.
Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah were in the fighting force. One writer asks the obvious question: why did none of them act?
David was carried forward by an energy Eliab knew nothing about. Why had Eliab not acted himself for the defence of his brothers? Why had Abinadab or Shammah not acted? Because they were faithless; simply this. Not only did those three men stay powerless; the whole assembly stayed terrified in front of the enemy. And now one appeared among them whom God was about to use in a remarkable way — and not one of them could understand him.
The verse records birth order, and Eliab heads the list. One writer looks at the firstborn's name, his looks, and his place at the head of the family.
Eliab is the firstborn, and has a beautiful name and an impressive presence. Eliab means "God" — or "my God is Father"... Notice, again, that Eliab is the firstborn and David is at the other end, the eighth. This counts against Eliab, though his fine appearance may appeal even to a prophet. He comes under the law of Genesis, and shows the rule that the natural comes first and the spiritual afterwards (1 Cor. 15:46). But the Christ cannot belong to the natural line, and so cannot belong to the old creation. The eighth speaks of the new, and Eliab must give place to David.
David had already served in Saul's court as his armour-bearer. One writer asks what it meant for him to go back to the sheep while his brothers went to war.
I note this, because it shows the changes that are so useful and necessary for divine discipline. David had lived in the palace as the king's armour-bearer. Saul loved him dearly, and David had done him the most notable services. But he passes from this to the humble place of caring for his father's sheep in the wilderness. Out of sight, he serves with as much zeal and gladness as in the highest position. The ease with which he passes from one to the other proves the true metal of his soul. It proves the single purpose of a faithful servant in whatever he is called to do.
- Named — The verse lists the three oldest by name and rank. It records who stood at the front, not who would win the battle.
- Absent — The verse defines David by where he was not. His father's sheep were the one place God had always used to move him forward.
- Powerless — Standing in the army was no substitute for faith. The three brothers held their place in the ranks and did nothing.
- Passed over — Eliab is first in birth and fine in appearance, yet he gives way to the eighth son. The natural comes first, the spiritual after.
- Prepared — The move from palace to sheepfold was not a step down but divine discipline. God brought the shepherd forward when the giant demanded a man.
And David was the youngest; and the three eldest had followed Saul.
Three of Jesse's sons marched off to war with the king. The youngest went back to a hillside with the sheep. Why does the story of a national crisis stop to tell us where that boy was?
The eldest went off to the battlefield. David went back to the sheep. That plain road is where God had already found him twice.
He was again in the plain path of humble daily duty. No road is really so good as this, and none where God's honour will be more found when His time comes. It was there that God anointed him for the throne. It was from there that God called him to the court of Saul. And it was now from the same tending of his father's flock that God worked to bring him into the great field of action, where the question between the Philistines and the living God had to be decided.
Being youngest cost him at home. When Samuel came to feast with the family, nobody sent for David.
The rest of the family thought so little of David that they did not call him to the banquet. Samuel, a distinguished guest, was to preside over it... So minding the sheep counted as fit service for the youngest of the family. The flock was not even large. But he was faithful in what was least, so God would entrust him with greater matters. "He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance" (Ps. 78:70-71). Watch this tender youth following his father's flock with a careful, gentle eye on them. This marked him out as a man fitted to be the shepherd of Israel, a fitting picture of Him who was to be the Shepherd of the sheep.
The ranking inside Jesse's house was not the ranking in heaven.
And, what is still more remarkable, Jesse did not think of David in all this! The ruddy youth was alone in the wilderness with the sheep, and nobody remembered him while Jesse reviewed his other sons. But the eye of the Lord was resting on this despised youth. He saw in him the one who would stand in the line through which Christ would come as a man, to occupy the throne of David and rule over the house of Israel for ever. Truly "the LORD sees not as man sees," for "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (1 Cor. 1:27-29).
The story pauses here to re-introduce David. One writer reads that pause as purpose.
The history returns to David, and reminds us who he is. All this we are to keep in mind and carry with us. The three eldest of his brothers follow Saul, but David returned from Saul to his usual and meaningful occupation as shepherd of the sheep. God's king is in training, and he is not to be pulled away from it too soon.
This was a step down for David, and the ease of it reveals the man.
David had lived in the palace as the king's armour-bearer. Saul loved him dearly, and David had done him the most notable services. Yet he passes from this to the humble place of caring for his father's sheep in the wilderness. Out of sight, he serves with as much eagerness and satisfaction as in the highest position. He moves from the one to the other with ease, and this proves the true metal of his soul, and the singleness of his purpose as a faithful servant in whatever work he is called to do.
The giant was demanding an opponent. The nation had none. The timing of this family record is the answer.
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid (1 Sam. 17:11). I think they were afraid and dismayed because they felt it was impossible for them to cope with such a foe. At this moment, while the giant is clamouring for a man, God introduces His man. And who is he? David, a beautiful picture of the One who is David's Son.
- Least — David comes last in the list. His family thought little of him, so the youngest son got the sheep.
- Faithful — the flock was small, but David kept it well. God gives more to the man who is faithful in what is least.
- Chosen — people rank by age and appearance. God was already looking at the forgotten son, and at the throne He meant to give him.
- Trained — the return to the sheepfold is not a setback but a school, and God does not pull His king out of it early.
- Sent — the giant demanded a champion and the nation had none. God brought forward the brother who had stayed with the sheep.