The section 1 Samuel chs.16 - 21 catalogues David's growing alienation from the people that mattered to him. In 1 Samuel 16:13 David is anointed. In 1 Samuel 17:51 he kills Goliath and is welcomed into the king's court as Jonathan's friend 1 Samuel18:1,2,5. However his popularity became the things which caused Saul to 'eye' David 1 Samuel 18:8. By 1 Samuel 19 Saul is seeking to have David slain 1 Samuel 19:1. Mical lowers David down out of the window 1 Samuel 19:12 and he fled to Samuel who was unable to answer his concerns 1 Samuel 19:18. We then see David fleeing from Samuel and is then spurned by the priests 1 Samuel 21. This catalogue of events has as it's terminus David the anointed king living the life of a fugitive.

Goliath taunted Israel for forty days (forty being the number representing trial) (v.16).  David accepted his challenge, being graced with the Spirit of Yahweh (1Sam 16:13).  Goliath was covered head to toe in armor (vs.5,6) being exposed only in the face area.  Thus, the target was relatively small.  No matter, the battle was Yahweh's (vs.46,47).  He guided the stone that killed Goliath (v.49). The tumbling of the giant by David's single stone echoes the tumbling of the image of world powers by the stone of Christ, the greater David (Dan 2:35).

A couple of points to ponder: Why did David select five stones instead of just the one? (v.40).  Surely, this was not a lapse of faith by David.  Didn't Goliath have four brothers who might have needed dispatching also?  Scripture tells us of one brother who was subsequently killed by Elhanan (1Chron 20:5). 

Another point concerns Goliath's head being taken to Jerusalem (v.54).  The Lord Jesus was crucified at Golgotha which means place of the skull (Mark 15:22) (Calvary (Luke 23:33), the same place, literally means cranium in Greek). Could this be the place where Goliath's head was buried?    

Vs.4-7 It is difficult to imagine the size of Goliath.  He stood almost 10 feet tall and was covered in armor.  His chain-mail alone weighed 125 lbs. and his spearhead weighed 15lbs.  Who wouldn't be scared of confronting such a giant?  Not David!  He had ultimate faith in Yahweh.  His boldness gives us pause for thought that any giant in this life can be overcome by faith in Yahweh.

Saul only made David a captain over his men because he wanted to kill him (1Sam 18:12-13).  It was likely that this motivated the otherwise strange question in 17:55, since Saul already knew who David was.  He was checking up on David's background in order to see whether he had strong family connections and would be a threat to his throne. This same enquiry, and same fear and desire to murder, manifested itself with Herod (Matt 2:2-6), and later the Pharisees (Matt 12:23-24, Luke 4:22, 28-29).

17:25    We have an insight into the draconian way in which Saul ran the kingdom. In offering freedom to the house of the one that killed Goliath we learn that Saul had put the people in bondage to him!

We are often left with the impression that David was not only young, but of a small stature, but, when we consider the facts we see differently. Saul would have the intelligence to know that his armor would have been next to useless for a person much smaller than himself. One of the reasons that Saul was appointed king was because of his large stature (1Sam 9:2). David had to be of a similar size, or at least very close to being so. David's encounters with the wild animals while looking after Jesse's flock suggest he would not have been a small boy. We also see his size in David's ability to wield the sword of Goliath, which would have been a large heavy weapon (V.51)

17:34  Notice the contrast with David. Saul was looking for lost asses. David actually kept the sheep – 1Sam 9:3

V.18 These cheeses were actually small clusters of curds.

V.22 David’s carriage refers to all the provisions he brought as listed in vs.17,18.  He left them with the soldier who took care of such things.

V.28 Eliab did not have a good opinion of the motives of his brother David.

V.42 David must have appeared as a good-looking, effeminate youth to Goliath, who was big, burly and rough.  

17:32 In saying ‘let no man’s heart fail’ David, quoting Deut 20:3, is reminding Israel what God had told them in the law before they entered the land to rid it of its inhabitants.

David as a type of Christ (part 1 of 2 - for part 2 go to 2 Sam.2):

1. David was introduced to the nation when he defeated Goliath, a giant with whom Israel could not cope. Jesus was introduced to the nation in defeating an even greater eneny than Goliath (Heb 2:14). 

2. In defeating Goliath, David made it possible for the Israelites to overthrough the Philistines. Jesus, by his victory, made it possible for his followers to conquer sin and death.

3. David was persecuted by the leaders and people of the nation he helped. The Jewish leaders opposed and finally crucified their Messiah.

4. David left Israel, to go into a "far country" where Saul could no longer seek him (1Sam 27:4). There he awaited the time when he would be called to the kingdom. The Lord Jesus has done  likewise (Luke 19:12).

5. During his absence, David gathered around him followers who left all to serve him, and who later helped him to rule the kingdom (1Chron 12:1). Christ is doing likewise today (Acts 15:14;Rev 5:9-10).

6. David returned to Israel at a time of great trouble, when the nation had been invaded and its army defeated (1Sam 31:1). Jesus Christ will do likewise (Zech 14:3-5).

The above from The Story of the Bible by H.P.Mansfield, V.3, P.31.

V.3 More wonderful insights into the Kingdom continue in this chapter.  The righteous are likened to trees which are the result of Yahweh's planting (Isa 60:21).  These relate to Ezekiel's vision (Eze 47:12) which is echoed in Rev 22:2.

V.7 Again, land (Israel) as an eternal inheritance is confirmed for the righteous (Gen 17:7,8; Gal 3:29).  There is no heaven-going at death here.

V.11 Righteousness (the righteous) will blossom forever in Yahweh (Psa 92:12-14; Prov 11:28; 1Cor 15:20-23).

V.11 The wonderful promises of God to Israel are as sure as the laws of nature.(Jer 33:20-21) They are also as certain as the fact that seed, planted in the soil under favorable conditions, will grow and produce plant life

I find it fascinating to see how some Old Testament passages are only quoted in part in the New Testament. Today we see Isa 61:1,2 quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18,19.  Jesus stopped reading after “To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”  Why didn’t He complete the passage, “and the day of vengeance of our God”?  The answer is, I think, that the unquoted part wasn’t what He was about, at that time. To preach, to bring good tidings, and to state that God’s kingdom was coming. But no vengeance yet.  That would wait until later.  This was, after all, His first and only speech in His home town of Nazareth.

61:5  That ‘strangers shall … feed your flocks’ speaks of the time when Israel will be the first nation and men and women will want to be associated with Israel. Zech 8:23

God sent His son for a special reason. He annointed him with the Holy Spirit with a special purpose in mind. This purpose is described her in Isa 61:1-3. When Jesus first stood up to address his Jewish brothers in Luke 4, he chose this scripture to introduce himself to them, in case they still saw him as "Joseph's son". But when he quoted this passage he stopped in the middle of v2.

There was a sinister side to the coming of the Messiah, which the audience before him may well have understood. He came to proclaim "the day of vengeance of our God". In stopping where he did, he brought the audience onto his side. The record says that they "marvelled" at the things he said, and the way he said them. Yet Jesus had an ace up his sleeve. Suddenly, when the audience was at it's most appreciative, marvelling at the way he opened up Isaiah's prophecies to them, he deliberately turned on them, pressing what he knew to be a sore spot: even the gentiles are more worthy of the Messiah than you are!

Why did he do this? Well, the answer as always is in the propecy he was quoting. Verses 1-2 speak of the year of Jubilee. We know this because of the reference to a specific year where liberty would be proclaimed. In quoting this passage Jesus changed one of the words: "to set at liberty those who are oppressed". This is because he was specifically referring to the year of Jubilee and what it was designed to liberate. Have a look in Leviticus 25. "You shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land" (v10). "You shall not oppress one another" (v14) and again in v17 "you shall not oppress one another". The Jubilee was designed by God to be a year where all the land and property of a man was returned to him. Thus, if you bought a man's field, you were in effect only renting it from him for the remainder of the current 50 year cycle. This ensured that the inheritance of the poorest people still remained with them, and that the rich didn't oppress the poor in taking away all their livelihood.

Jesus knew full well that this law was being ignored, and so did the people he was speaking to. God's plan, revealed previously in prophecy, was to remove those men who were oppressing His people by ignoring these laws of liberty. This was the day of vengeance. Even though Jesus didn't finish that part of the quote, the people did it themselves. By their reaction to his accusation, they sealed for themselves the doom of that prophecy by taking the son of God to put him to death (Luke 4:28-29, 20:14-16). Quite wonderfully it was the same prophecy that showed Jesus how to illicit this reaction. Isa 61:5 "strangers shall feed your flocks, and the sons of a foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers."

61:3 The ‘oil of joy’ is descriptive of the ‘oil of gladness’ – Psa 45:7 We are here looking at the time of the resurrection which is the theme of Psa 45.

61:1 In loosing those that are ‘bound’ we see a reference to Jesus’ healing powers as seen in his miracles. For example in the woman in – Luke 13:16,

V.6 The righteous shall be made priests in the new government order which Jesus shall bring on earth.  This promise equates to Rev 1:6.  Here, the KJV says kings and priests, but modern translations are more accurate when they say a kingdom of priests.

V.1 This verse is reflected in Luke 4:18.

V.4 See Isa 58:12.

V.9 Jesus will gather both Jews and Gentiles under Him (Isa 11:10).

V.10 Jesus is the bridegroom, and the Redeemed (the new Jerusalem) is His bride.  They shall be united in the Kingdom (Rev 21:2).   

When v5 says "strangers shall feed your flocks" this implies there aren't enough Jews to do the work. And v6 tells us that people will call the Jews "priests of the LORD" and "servants of our God" which implies the "strangers" serve God too, but need the Jews to show them the way to God.

This is a picture of the Kingdom time where the newly delivered Jews will become God's representatives to teach the ways of God to the general populous (or "strangers"). The Gentiles will be happy to provide for this priestly class (see v9). Verse 7 says "they shall rejoice in their portion" which would seem to be a reference to the sons of Aaron and the Levites which were provided for by the rest (Num 18:19-21, Deut 14:28-29). This organised group of priests and teachers will cause "righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations" (v11) in fulfilment of their original purpose (Exo 19:5-6).

61:6 Being named the priests of the Lord is echoed in Rev 20:6 and expounded as those who attaint o the resurrection of life. So we may conclude that Isaiah here is looking to the kingdom when Christ ahs returned

See also 'What Shall We Eat' in Study Papers.

The context is Jesus telling the people, especially the Pharisees, that they ought not to make long prayers in order to show others how pious they were, or make a show of it when they fasted or gave alms. Jesus’ comment on this in v5 and repeated in v16 is: “they have their reward”. Jesus means that they have their reward here and now, on earth, and will not attain to a heavenly reward. This is of course what he means when he says e do not lay up treasures on earth”. Building up ones own righteousness in the sight of others is storing up treasure on earth, and has its own reward. The reward Jesus talks about is the corruption of moth and rust, signifying the decaying and eventual removal of this evil self righteousness way of doing things.

Verse 21 shows how utterly misguided someone can be in his whole outlook on life when he believes he is doing right, but is in fact storing up treasure on earth. His whole body is dark, because his heart is in the wrong place. This is a very subtle thing, and just as the enthusiastically religious Pharisees fell foul to it without realising it, so can we. The answer to it is humility, shown in Jesus’ words in verses 12-15. We have to realise our own sinfulness, repent of it, ask God for forgiveness, then forgive others using the measure with which we have been forgiven of God.

V.10 The so-called Lord's Prayer in which Jesus instructs His disciples how to pray contains the statement: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven .  The Lord shows strongly that God's dealing with man is on this earth, not in heaven (Psa 115:16). 

When the Lord Jesus returns, He will set up a righteous kingdom which will never be destroyed (Dan 2:44).  At that time, God's glory will be known (Hab 2:14).  Then the will of Yahweh shall be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  Let us pray that we will be invited to be part of it. 

The Lord's Prayer v 9-13  teaches us to pray, not only for ourselves, but also for our brethren: note the use of the plural "our/us/we".

v 22,23  the eye is like a camera - light enters & an image is imprinted. However in the case of the eye, there is a connection to the brain/mind, which allows interpretation of the image. There are consequences to this - is it the mind of Christ or the mind of the flesh which is interpreting what one sees? Which is it that directs what the eye sees?

6:34 In saying ‘take no thought’ Jesus is not advocating carelessness about the future. Rather he is stressing that we should not be anxious about tomorrow.

6:23 The ‘single eye’ is one which is focussed on one thing only – God and His will. The ‘evil eye’, on the other hand, is actually focussed on self – see Deut 15:9

6:14 Notice that forgiveness is conditional upon our attitude to others. Now one might say actually it is not. Jesus died for us and we can benefit from his sacrifice. Whilst this is true we must live like he did. Forgiveness of others is a key element of his life. You might like to reflect upon how many times forgiveness is presented as conditional.

The Kingdom of God (lesson 4 of 20 from "Outline of Basic Bible Teachings" by Wes Booker)

I. Is it important to understand it? Matt 6:33 - "seek it". Part of "gospel" = power of God unto salvation to all who believe

II. What is it? Psa 72 

     A. Was there a kingdom of God in Old Testament times? Yes - nation of Israel - 1Chron 28:5;29:23  B. Who is the king? Jesus - Luke 1:32-33;John 18:33-37  C. When is it to be established? At Christ's return - Matt 25:31-34;Luke 19:11-12;2Tim 4:1  D. Where? On earth - Matt 6:10:Psa 2:7-8;Zech 14:9;Matt 5:5;Dan 2:44;7:27  E. Capital city? Jerusalem - Jer 3:17;Isa 24:23  F. Who will be in it? 1.) Immortal saints - Matt 25:34,46;Rev 5:9-10;2:26-27  2.) Mortal subject nations - Zech 14:16;Mic 4:1-4  G. How long will it last? One thousand years and forever - Rev 20:4,6;1Cor 15:24-28  H. What will it be like? Justice, righteousness, peace, prosperity for all, all knowing and worshipping God and His Son - Isa 35;Isa 11:6-9;32:17-18;40:31;65:17,20-25;2:2-4;Psa 46:8-10

III. We must pray for it, seek it, and want it more than anything else - Psa 122:6-7;Luke 12:31-32

Heaven And Earth (lesson 13 of 20 from "Outline of Basic Bible Teaching" by Wes Booker)

I. Heaven:  

     A. Definition:  Old Testament - SHAMEH = to be lofty; the sky. Also translated "air".  New Testament - OURANOS -  from the root "to rise", means something elevated. Translated air, sky as well as heaven.   B. God's abode - Matt 6:9;Ecc 5:2;Psa 115:16   C. NOT the home of the saved - John 3:13;Acts 2:34;1Tim 6:15-16   D. Jesus' temporary home - Acts 1:10-11;Heb 9:24   E. Used symbolically of Israel and/or rulers in authority - Isa 1:2,10;Deut 31:30;32:1

II. Earth:

     A. In the future it is to be restored to the Edenic state in the kingdom - Num 14:21;Isa 11:9;Hab 2:14;Eze 36:35;Mic 4:1-4;Amos 9:11-15   B. Neither earth nor heaven to be destroyed - Psa 104:5;148:1-6;78:67-69;125:1;Ecc 1:4;Isa 45:18

III. Wrested passage - 2Pet 3:10-13:

     A. If heaven = God's abiding place, why would He destroy His home? Compare Matt 6:10.   B. If heaven = sky, etc. (sun, moon, stars), why destroy His inanimate creation? Compare Psa 148:1-6.   C. If either heavens or earth or both are to be destroyed, that would contradict other passages (see verses under II. B.).   D. The "heavens and earth" to be destroyed by fire = society, civilization, just as Noah's society and civilization were destroyed by flood. See verses 5 & 6.   E. Heavens and earth are often used symbolically (see verses under I. E.); also see Zeph 3:8-10.

V.21 If you want to be in the kingdom, then your heart has to be there.

V.24 Yahweh will not entertain the worship of another god, whatever that is (Exo 20:3).

V.25 How much are we influenced by the self-indulgent, narcissistic society in which we live (v.32; Luke 12:29)?

6:20 Jesus repeats this teaching – Luke 12:33 – towards the end of his ministry, speaking specifically to his disciples. This is one of many times we see that Jesus repeats his message. This teaches us two things. Jesus’ disciples (we included) are slow learners and that he is incredibly tolerant of our forgetful nature.