Man Talk
“And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines…”
The above scripture reads like a scene from the movie 300, which retells of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars. 1 Samuel 17:52 is a scriptural account of the David and Goliath. There are 3-lesson to be gleaned from this one verse concerning leadership:
- The definition of leadership
- The effectiveness of leadership
- The outcome of leadership
The event surrounding 1 Samuel 17:52, begins in 1 Samuel 17:1, at a placed called Shochoh, which belonged to Judah. The Philistine army came onto Judah’s land, and gathered themselves in preparation to do battle with Israel. The King of Israel, Saul, and his men responded by lining up for battle. With both armies lined up on opposite sides of the mountain, Goliath, who stood 6 feet, 9 inches, stepped forward and challenged Israel to send out a man to fight with him, and whomsoever won, that nation would serve the other.
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
1 Samuel 17:11
Only a young shepherd boy, named David was willing to step forward to fight Goliath. The definition of a leader is one that leads. Leadership is not about an important position, degree of authority, the most popular, or the one that looks the part. King Saul was all of those things, and was just as afraid of Goliath as his men were. But the young shepherd-boy named David, without position of authority, title or reputation, was the true leader. Leaders are the first to make sacrifices. They surrender the right for self-preservation. They lead by example.
Under God’s anointing, David slew Goliath, which demonstrated the effectiveness of David’s leadership. Leadership ability is the covering [a protector, to bring upon oneself] that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower the covering, the lower the ability to lead. The higher the covering the greater the effectiveness.
In 1 Samuel 17:33-37, when King Saul attempts to discourage David from fighting Goliath because of his young age, David told Saul of an experience, while tending to his father’s sheep, he delivered a lamb out of the mouth of a lion, and out of the mouth of a bear. David said to Saul, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine… In other words, the Lord was David’s covering, and as the Lord had been a faithful covering in David’s lion and bear experience, the Lord would be David’s covering against Goliath. When your covering is in your personal ability, you’ll reap the effectiveness of your personal ability. However, if your covering is in the Lord, you’ll reap the effectiveness of the mighty hand of God.
How did Israel go from being dismayed, and greatly afraid of the Philistine to rising up, and pursued the Philistines? That’s the outcome of effective leadership. By destroying Goliath, David removed the barrier that had paralyzed Israel’s army with fear. David exercising faith in God ignited Israel’s faith to pursue the Philistines under God’s power. People’s capacity to achieve is determined by their leader’s willingness to allow God to put them on display, and demonstrate His power.