The Total Package
“He was glowing with health and had …
handsome features” (1 Samuel 16:12).
Like Michaelangelo’s David,
this one had it all—healthy, good-looking,
musically gifted, and, now, chosen.
Although God told Samuel,
it’s not good-looks that impress me
but the heart, David’s handsome features
apparently helped.
Exorcism by Music
“David would take his harp and play …
and the evil spirit would leave….”1 Samuel 16:23
Better than wrestling with the devil,
shouting, Out! Out! damned demon!,
David merely plucked his lyre.
The evil spirit didn’t stick around
to enjoy the concert.
Shining
“He chose five small stones from the stream.”
1 Samuel 17:40
Seven shiny stones
sit on my window sill.
A generous granddaughter
gave them to me
from her own precious collection
one Christmas morning.
Polished in a machine,
rubbed smooth, their sparkle
is artificial but pretty.
The blues and reds
are slightly unnatural,
but I treasure them nonetheless.
The five stones David picked
from the stream bed
felt smooth in his hand.
Polished only by the swift
natural flow of water,
they didn’t glitter
like mine do.
That morning
the only things shining
were David’s eyes.
Peace in the Desert
1 Samuel 27
David escapes, so we’re told,
into enemy territory, sidles up
to the Philistines with his appealing grin
and his entourage of hard-bitten
desert warriors. The Philistine prince
generously grants David a town,
name of Ziklag, where the fleeing
Israelites make themselves at home
for a year and four months.
We’re not told what happens
to the citizens of Ziklag.
Do they share their homes
in a spirit of resigned hospitality?
Are they relocated?
Since this is irrelevant to the plot,
no mention is made.
Having long left his sheep-herding
ways and having no experience
in agriculture, David survives
the year and provides for his own
by doing what he does best—
raiding neighboring villages,
exterminating the inhabitants,
and bringing home the lamb chops,
donkeys, and winter garments.
That’s what a year of peace
in the desert looks like.
