Story of the Month
Eliab’s Bad Day
Based on 1 Samuel 17:1 – 52
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Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse, woke up with a cramp in his neck just as he had for the last forty days, camped out on hard ground. Crawling over the still sleeping bodies of his two brothers and stepping out of the tent, he stood up fully to stretch his sore frame. Squinting in the morning light, he surveyed the sea of tents surrounding his own. Across the valley, the rising sun cast a red hue on the tents of the enemy encampment. Unfortunately, it had not been a dream…the Philistines were still here, he was still here, and in Eliab’s mind it was undoubtedly going to be a bad day.
To begin with, he and two of his brothers had been drafted into the service of King Saul. Normally, this would have been an honor, but there had been murmurings that the prophet Samuel had given Saul terrible news. Worse still, the rumors went that God had rejected him as the leader of the people of Israel.
The king on shaky ground with God? This was not the kind of news you wanted to hear. Not when your number came up to defend the land against the army of the Philistines.
The Israelite army had traveled to Sochoh and set up camp nearby in the Valley of Elah. It had been a short march from home, but a dry and dusty one, all the same. Upon arriving at the valley, the men had eagerly pitched their tents. After all, who didn’t look forward to the “opening ceremonies” of war? It was customary for two opposing forces to shout insults and battle cries at each other for a time before actually engaging in battle and the Philistines were in rare form.
But for the last forty days, Eliab, his two brothers, and the army of Israel had endured a taunting like never before. The Philistines had sent forth a champion. A man, no, a giant, almost ten feet tall. His coat of mail weighed over 120 pounds. The head of his spear, alone, weighed 16 pounds. Being hit with that spear would be like getting hit with a bowling ball…a sharp one. Even his name was scary…Goliath. The name did fit, after all, who would be scared of a bully named, Jimmy?
Whenever Goliath came out, which was once in the morning and once in the evening, he would flex his muscles…and his mouth. “Who will fight me? Are you men or mice? Where is the God of Israel and his army? Send a champion to face me! If he can best me, we will all become your slaves. When I best him, you will all become our slaves!
It was a challenge and an insult all rolled into one towering, terrifying ogre. And, as one man, the Israelites…ran. Each warrior dove into his tent, convinced he had not spent enough time polishing his gear or writing letters to home. The army of the Lord was shaking in its boots.
To make matters worse, every Israelite soldier had looked to Saul for courage, only to see their sullen king sitting in his field throne nervously gripping the armrests.
Watching the king behave like this, day after day, Eliab’s thoughts drifted back to a time not too long ago, when the prophet Samuel had arrived at the home of their father, Jesse. A visit from a prophet of God was rare indeed, even the elders of their village had trembled at his coming, but who could have guessed that the ancient seer had been sent by the Lord to select a new king of Israel?
Samuel had been admiring the impressive physique of Jesse’s first born when suddenly his smile turned sour. Eliab, locked in the prophet’s knowing gaze, sensed that the seer had detected something amiss that Eliab, himself was not conscious of. The Word of the Lord had cut through Samuel’s admiration of Eliab like a knife, “Not this one, for I have seen his heart and have rejected him.” Even now, Eliab recalled how his face burned when the renowned man of God lowered his gaze and moved on.
Not that his brothers fared any better. One by one the prophet passed them over until the runt of the litter, David, was summoned. Before a stunned Jesse and an even more stunned Eliab, the horn of anointing oil was opened and poured out upon the ruddy youth.
DAVID! Eliab winced at the thought of his younger brother as king as he came out of his reverie. Impossible, he mused, never happen. Turning his head, Eliab’s eyes focused on the field throne and the faded countenance of King Saul, and a sickening uncertainty gnawed at his innermost parts. No, it just had to be impossible.
Eliab fought the feeling off with a scowl, “Well, if I have to be here, at least I don’t have to set eyes upon…DAVID!”
Eliab’s cry drew his two brothers from the tent. They found him stunned as if by a slap in the face as he beheld the ruddy runt loping up to greet them. “Hi, guys, father sends his blessings. How goes the war? I bet you’ve already taken the heads of dozens of those Philistines yourself, eh, big brother?”
Abinadab and Shammah were happy enough to see their younger brother but Eliab gave him little more than a cold shoulder reception. Their reunion was cut short, however, by a coarse bellowing from the far side of the valley. The ogre had returned to issue his daily challenge; railing against the amassed might of Israel as one might chide a group of street urchins. And, like easily frightened children, Eliab, his two brothers, and the other soldiers dropped their weapons and ran into their tents, leaving David alone to listen to the giant’s boasting.
Eliab would have happily stayed hidden until lunch but he could hear the voice of David calling out from the surrounding tents, “What will be done for the man who rids us of this uncircumcised Philistine? Who does he think he is, anyway, trying to defy the armies of the living God?
This set Eliab’s teeth on edge, could this day get any worse? Bursting forth from his tent with a red face, he assaulted David, “Why have you come? And who’s watching the sheep? Does father know you’re here? You just came down to watch the war? Who do you think you are?”
David’s face showed genuine hurt at the reprimand, “Now what have I done? Can’t I even speak?” It was not the first time Eliab had levied his ire upon his younger brother. Nonetheless, Eliab didn’t reply but simply brushed past David and stormed off to his own tent, again, to brood. Eliab had been right, this was definitely a bad day.
About an hour later, Eliab again pulled back the tent flap to see why the Israelites were shouting. Men were running to the brink of the valley and Eliab was caught up with the press of soldiers struggling to glimpse the situation developing below.
The giant was…down…headless on the ground, his shield bearer scrambling back up to the Philistine line. And standing over the body with the ogre’s severed head held high like a trophy was…DAVID!
Several things happened at once. When the Philistine army saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The enemy line shrank back, turned and routed. Meanwhile on the Israelite side, there was no time for Eliab to think or react. The host of Israel exploded over the edge of the hill with a thunderous cry carrying Eliab along down into the valley toward the fallen giant and up the other side to pursue the enemy, now stricken with terror.
In the midst of the valley, thronged by their own warriors, Eliab and David exchanged a silent glance, and in that moment, Eliab’s mind was filled with the pictures of David being anointed king by Samuel, David being told what will be done to the man who kills the giant, and Eliab’s own harsh words to David not one hour ago.
Finally, Eliab broke eye contact with David and continued with the Israelites up the other side of the valley to join in harassing the fleeing Philistines even to the gates of Ekron and Gath. As he charged on, the eldest son of Jesse mused over the events that had transpired. The giant, dead. The enemy, routed. The army of Israel, victorious with David as their savior and, no doubt, soon-to-be king. Eliab had been right, all along. It was going to be a very…bad…day.
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