Whose son is this?

August 19, 2017

1 Samuel 17:55-18:5

Whose son is this, the question was ask of Abner the commander of the army of Israel by King Saul, and he answered, I do not have a clue.  It is not reported what David did after killing Goliath, but it is hard for me to accept that he did not lead out with the sword of Goliath and begin to remove the Philistines from this earth.  In this passage of Scripture we only have this account; “And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Do you know an unsung hero, how would you define such a person?  The dictionary.com had this to say, “a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution; a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged.”  If you were to ask me it was my dad, he worked in a job he did not like but never complained.  But one job did not pay the bills, so with two bad knees he walked selling uniforms to anyone who needed them.  His family did not always understand him, and yet his friends valued him greatly.  Jonathan also fills the role of an unsung hero in everyway and he was destined to be the next King of Israel but was willing to allow David to take his place. 

Give thought to chapter 18:1-5, “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.”

Whose son is this? That question has been asked and debated about one who is more significant than David, and that discussion is still going on.  Who is the Father of Jesus Christ, and if you find yourself with the conviction He is as Nathanael said in John 1:49, “you are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!”   If you have come to the same conclusion as Nathanael, would you not be wise to do as Jonathan did with David?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice