Pay Attention

Pay Attention
Words of Faith 10-28-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 17:55-58
[55] As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." [56] The King said, "Find out whose son this young man is." [57] As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head. [58] "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

Now, this seems odd. Really odd. After all, David had served in the court of Saul as a musician and then as one of his armor-bearers. And David had been called in before Saul, who had scoffed at the possibility of a shepherd boy battling Goliath. And wasn't it Saul who had put his tunic and armor on David? How could he not know who David was? How could Saul not recognize David?
Many explanations have been proposed for these apparent questions, but we won't go through them. Some are silly, and others deny the integrity of the scripture. So, let's take these lines at face value. If we carefully pay attention to these four verses, they may tell us much about Saul and help us in our walk.
We must remember that Saul was a worldly king. He was distracted by many things. He probably never took notice of the people waiting on him or serving in his court. He knew that one musician gave him peace, but he may have never bothered to learn his name. When sending for David, he may have said-- Get me that harp player who settles my sleep. Even when Saul sent messages regarding David, these would have been handled by his staff. And Saul would never have personally placed his armor on David. He would have ordered that this be done by an armor bearer.
So when Saul observed David charging into battle-- without any armor and whirling a shepherd's sling-- it was an odd sight to see! He asked his cousin Abner, who commanded the army, "Who is that young man?" The word used here in Hebrew is not the common one. It speaks of heroic strength and the vigor of youth.
Imagine a football team owner who is only halfway observing a game that is nearly lost 3 to 0. In the last few seconds of the game, the offensive coordinator calls a kid off the bench who doesn't even have his own pads and jersey. And suddenly, that kid runs like the wind to score a winning touchdown! That owner is suddenly on his feet, along with the whole stadium. He calls down to the coach-- Who is THAT?! Find out who that remarkable young man is!
So David was brought before Saul still holding the game ball. Well, actually, the head of Goliath. And the inquiry is made. "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem." The hero of the day, of course, was God Almighty. But the one who courageously trusted God enough to run headlong into battle was David, the son of Jesse. And this servant David had been right under Saul's nose the whole time.
The truth is that Saul was not paying attention, which is part of why he was such a poor leader and King. He looked to his own strength and the might of warriors based on an outward, worldly evaluation. He did not look to God. He was arrogant. David was one of the "little people" in his wealthy life. Saul had been exposed to David and his talent but had never bothered to learn his name or remember his family.
If we are honest, we will realize that finding ourselves in the same place is easy. In our busyness, we can miss the people God has placed on our path for a purpose. We can find ourselves missing the name of someone God put into our lives for a reason, but we were not paying attention. There is a disconnect that often happens in high positions and places. It was not an admirable quality in Saul, nor in us.
Perhaps the more profound message in these four verses is simply to pay attention. Watch for what God is doing and get involved in that. Watch for the people that God is raising up and encourage them. Remember the names of young people who will one day lead the church. Notice the children who are keen to the voice of God and are leading their families to the Lord. Notice that the ones serving faithfully may one day rise to be rulers. Pay attention.

Father God, give me Your eyes to see and Your heart to recognize those You are raising up. Help me see the future of Your Church in teens. Help me see in children the evangelists You are calling. Help me see in those who serve the powerful leadership qualities that are developed in places of servanthood. Help me to pay attention. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.