David was a man’s man. During his life, he often showed great courage. He was a man after God’s own heart. He believed what God had said and acted accordingly.
As a young shepherd, he protected his flock from bears and lions. He faced and killed these predators with the simplest of weapons (1 Sam 17:34-36). I would not have done that.
The most famous account of David’s courage is his facing the giant Goliath in hand-to-hand combat. We are told that Goliath was a Philistine from Gath (1 Sam 17:23). David was still a young man. Goliath was about four feet taller than David and probably outweighed him by over a hundred pounds. But David killed him (1 Sam 17:50). I would not have had the courage to face such an opponent with only a slingshot.
David was also a brave soldier. He fought in Israel’s battles and killed many of the enemy (1 Sam 18:7).
David also had the promise that he would replace Saul as king of Israel. Samuel the prophet anointed him for that position (1 Sam 16:3). His courage would serve him well in that role. He was a hero, admired by those who knew him.
However, 1 Samuel records a strange account regarding David. Needing to flee from the wrath of Saul, David went to the land of the Philistines. On the way, he was given the sword of Goliath (1 Sam 21:9). This reminds the reader of David’s great courage. Even though Saul wanted to kill David, the sword was a reminder that God would protect him. God had, after all, anointed this brave hero as His future king.
When David arrived in Philistia, he encountered the king of Gath. Like the sword in v 9, this reference to Gath reminds us of what David did to Goliath, who was from that city. David had nothing to fear while in enemy territory.
However, Scripture shockingly records that David “was very much afraid.” Employing deception, he pretended to be insane. He scratched doors with his fingernails. He slobbered on himself, letting his saliva drip through his beard (1 Sam 21:12-13). He acted as if he had lost his mind because he wanted the Philistines to think he was not a threat. Even though he had been a great soldier and had killed their mightiest warrior, that was all in the past. He wanted them to think he was a harmless, pathetic, shell of his former self.
I probably would have done the same thing. But it is weird coming from David. How could this brave hero have been so timid and afraid in Gath? God had even told him he would replace Saul. There was nothing for David to fear.
David’s actions were humiliating. They did not befit God’s anointed king. Since he is a hero and example for us, we look at him and are disappointed. How could our hero be afraid and that way?
But his actions reflect reality. In our own walk with the Lord, we will sometimes be brave. We will take the Lord at His word and act accordingly. But at other times, the flesh will take over. We doubt what the Lord has promised and fear what the world might do to us.
If we seek to please the Lord and follow in His footsteps, sometimes we will be heroic. But at other times, we will be pathetic and scared, metaphorically drooling on ourselves. We will have successes, and we will have failures. In that sense, we are very much like David.
