When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine,

he said to Abner the captain of the army,

“Abner, whose son is this young man?”

[1 Samuel 17:55]

 

 

Here’s a cultural shift for you. In the midst of David’s battle with Goliath, the reigning King Saul recognizes a great warrior who is taking on the mightiest of their enemies, sees him refuse to don the King’s personal armor for protection, then slaying the Philistine with a sling and stone. Not a bad day’s work!

 

And what does King Saul ask about? He doesn’t ask about David’s personality; he asks about his lineage. He asks the question three times. First. he ponders by asking himself. Then he asks the commander of his army. Finally, he asks David in person. The ruler wants to know just where David comes from.

 

In that era, as through most of history, Saul’s inquiry is to determine David’s pedigree. David was unassuming. He wasn’t considered worthy of review by his own father when Samuel came to anoint the future king of the Jews. The prophet who came to Jesse’s home had to prod David’s father to discover if he had seen all of his sons. The unlikely shepherd was God’s chosen one.

 

For all of us who wish to have the love of a father, it is often the lack thereof that proves to be the launching grounds for greatness. Samson pushed his parents to gain a spouse outside their community. Gideon killed his father’s ox (but did so at night for fear of being caught in the act). And even David himself failed to grasp the significance of this deep need for paternal guidance as evidenced by his own flesh-and-blood embodied in Absalom’s uprising.

 

In the quest to discover what motivates a leader, we often overlook the spiritual state of candidates and look to familial roots. Sometimes we favor educational credentials. We are easily impressed by looks. David was qualified by his devotion to his heavenly Father, more than Jesse.

 

God shows us what works. He was a good father to Yeshua. As the Firstfruit of our Heavenly Father and as an obedient child, the Son of God did nothing unless His Father asked him to. 

 

David exemplified this relationship as Goliath faced off with him. The Philistine mocked the young warrior by telling him what he was going to do to him and his fellow Hebrews after their confrontation. David, on the other hand, did not claim his own authority, but rather that of His Father God’s. The rest is history.