Yesterday we spent the night near an important Old Testament site. I told the boys the story of David drooling in his beard. So you know where we stayed, right?
If not, here’s another hint:
Don’t tell me they all look the same! The white chalky cliffs are distinctive to this tell (and give it is Arabic name).
Excavations are on-going and very promising.
We saw at least 4 shepherds and flocks on or in the vicinity of the tell. This flock was grazing in one of the excavation areas.
That is Gath…Arabic names are Tel es-Safit, or Zafit…I knew Gath from the drooling on the beard (we acted it out with Josh Zeichik as David), but I have to admit I looked in my Tome for the Arabic names… =) hoping things are slower now…
Todd – I’m asking this seriously: Did you draw an application from the story for your boys, and if so, what was it (and if not, what would it have been)? I ask because (1) I just read the story myself and (2) I’m going to be a dad soon and I want to learn all I can about explaining and applying Bible stories to my son.
Gunner – I did not give an application. I do not believe (brace yourself) that every story has an application. At least for us. And I am absolutely certain that a correct application must only derive from a correct interpretation. And that’s not always easy. In the case of this story (1 Sam 21:10ff), you’re most likely to come up with a wrong interpretation if the story is not understood in context.
I would say that the main things we gain from this story are:
1. A recognition of how desperate David’s situation was
2. A curious episode where he flees to an enemy’s city (which also reflects point #1)
3. Acknowledgment by the Philistines of just how great David was
4. The method in which David was able to extract himself from this precarious situation.
What I don’t see in this story is a clear and immediate application. I’m sure that many applications have been given to it. But I’m not sure what correct application one should derive from it. And I am sure that to get a correct application, you must consider it in the wider context. When done so, you might could make a case that this story shows us an incident where David fails to trust God. And maybe that is so. But the problem with that interpretation is that the Bible never says so, and it never shows so. Stories in the OT often give the moral not in words but in results. But in this case, the results seem to be good for David. So I would be reluctant to strenuously argue that David sinned here.
It is quite possible, it seems to me, that the point of the story is one (or more) of the four listed above, and it was not intended by the biblical author to be applied by us today.
I believe it is most important for us today, in today’s world, to focus on discovering the correct meaning of a passage. The real and ready danger is coming up with an application that sounds good, or is based on a different passage, and missing the message of the passage.
Can you “tell”? Was that intentional?