I know a lot of people who others characterize as lazy: homeless men and women, who sit on the sidewalk and beg. But they’re not actually lazy – they spend more hours each day just trying to survive than most people do at their jobs. And if you think panhandling is easy, just try squatting on the concrete with your hat out until you have enough to buy food, pay the rent, clothe yourself and so on.

The Philistines have more than recovered from their defeat at the hands of Saul (vv 13-14). Now, twenty some years later they have a not so secret weapon. The weapon’s name is Goliath.

To this day the valley of Elah is a completely open area, no buildings in sight. On that day it was crawling with Philistines, horses and Israelites!

Jesse must have been anxious, he had three sons in the army at a time when King Saul was becoming increasingly unfit for his role and the enemy seemed invincible.

Eliab’s pride is pricked by David’s questions. He, like the rest of the soldiers, “knows they are in a hopeless situation”. Having his kid brother show up, challenging the negative “group think” of the army is embarrassing to him.

But David’s curiosity, faith and honest questions are like a breath of fresh air among the demoralized troops of Israel, so much so that word of David’s positive presence reaches Saul.

Outstanding athletes, musicians and actors often struggle to cope with the trappings of stardom. David the harpist turned giant killer also had to face the challenges that accompany heroism!

It’s a little surprising that Saul had to ask his general Abner who David was. After all David had been in the palace playing his harp for Saul during his bouts with depression (16:14-23).

How does this story relate to the commandment “Honour your father and your mother”? (Deuteronomy 5:16) What if one of your parents is an addict, mentally ill or demonized? How can you honour them? The obvious and general teaching is to honour your parents, but there are limitations to honouring parents that are incapacitated in some way. Jonathan understood this principle as he respectfully but persistently challenged his father Saul.

Even though David and Jonathan had remarkable chemistry together, their friendship was severely tested by their mutual relationship with Jonathan’s father, King Saul.

Good friends don’t hide their differences and struggles from each other. David and Jonathan put their differing perspectives “on the table”. For David, it was a matter of life and death. They did not argue or debate unnecessarily; instead they decided to invite God to show them the path they should take.

“Testimony” can be one of those “Christian words” that gets bandied about, as in “I shared my testimony with my friend.” Sounds holy, right? Or intimidating; after all, “testimony” is also what one gives in a courtroom. But put simply, a testimony is a story, a telling of what happened during a particular instance in your life.

For those who follow Jesus, it’s a chance to share how God is working in your life.