THE FIVE PEBBLES OF DAVID

Greetings to you from Shalom Family Enrichment Mission.  May the good LORD bless you and all your family throughout this month. I would like to share some of the great qualities of integrity of David, the shepherd boy which enabled him to kill the giant Goliath. The subjects of ethics and integrity have become unpopular subjects in modern times. Integrity is a dying quality and people don’t like to talk about it. A minister told his congregation one Sunday that his sermon the following week would be about the sin of lying, and he encouraged everyone to read the 17^th chapter of Mark in preparation for it.  So the next Sunday when he stood for the sermon he asked people to raise their hands if they had read Mark 17 as requested.  Almost every hand went up.  He looked around at them and said, “Mark has only 16 chapters.  So let’s talk about lying.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines integrity as “firm adherence to a code of values.”  A popular definition says, “Integrity is doing the right thing when no one else is watching.” David prayed, ”Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering” (Ps.26:1). He knew that the LORD is the God who sees us. There is nothing hidden from Him. God knew the values that David kept in his life from his childhood. He had five major values in his life which he kept before his encounter with giant Goliath, which helped him throughout his life and these values which he kept enabled God to lift him up to become a king.

Saul pursued him and David stayed one step ahead of him.  David has opportunities to kill Saul but was unwilling to do so.  On one occasion he cut off a piece of Saul’s robe to show him how close he had been and yet spared his life.  But even this did not deter Saul.  It is easy to imagine David praying this (Psalm 26) to God in this context.  He had done nothing wrong, but was under a death sentence.  Only God could help him, could know the absolute truth about his innocence.

Actually, many people could see the truth.  Saul’s own son Jonathan knew that David walked in integrity and his father did not.  They were as close as brothers, and Jonathan helped David escape his father’s wrath.  Saul’s daughter was married to David and she helped him to escape.  Because of David’s integrity, people were ready to embrace him as their king when Saul died.  The easy path would have been to lop Saul’s head off when he had the chance.  David’s integrity would not allow him to do that.  Later in life, of course, he began to compromise his integrity, particularly in the affair of Bathsheba and Uriah.  But at this point he was a man of integrity, and although he felt that God was the only one who could judge him rightly, actually many could see the truth clearly.  They could also see the truth about Saul, even if many were afraid to admit or act upon that truth.  There is a quote, “Integrity is when what you do, who you are, what you say, what you feel, and what you think all come from the same place.”

Let us turn to I Samuel 17:17-20 > Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grains and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. Early in the morning, David left the flock with the shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed”.

Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.  Without it, no real success is possible…”  Perhaps this is the real reason for the tremendous leadership void we experience in so many areas of life.  Here are a few other good quotes.  “Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain.”  “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take… integrity is taking it.”  “People may doubt what you say but they will always believe what you do.” About his integrity, we read in Psalm 25:21 > “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You”; 26:1> “Vindicate me, O Lord, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip”; 26:11> “But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me”. And in Psalm 41:12, we read “As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever”. Now let us turn to the verse I Sam.17:20

1. HE ROSE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING
   David had set principles early in his life that would guide his life later. In Psalm 63: 1, we read, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water”. “I rise before dawn           and cry for help; I wait for Your words”       (Psalm 119:147). “In   the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to         You and eagerly watch” (Psalm 5:3). “I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, and in the morning my prayer comes before You” (Psalm 88:13). “My soul waits for the Lord, more     than the watchmen for the morning; indeed,  more than the watchmen for       the morning” (Psalm 130:6).  Do you have the habit of rising early and waiting on the LORD? Jesus did it (Mk.1:35; Prov. 31:15).
2. HE MADE SURE THE SHEEP WERE IN CAPABLE HANDS. (Jn.10:1-15
3. HE WAS MINDFUL OF AND CARRIED OUT THE DETAILS OF HIS FATHER’S INSTRUCTION.
4. INTEGRITY IN HIS WORK HELPED LEAD HIM TO HIS DESTINY
   Vs 23 of our text: “As he was talking with them…… and David heard it”. Proverbs22:29> Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.
5. GOD IS THE ONE WHO OPENS DOORS, BUT WE NEED TO BE IN THE RIGHT POSITION TO STEP THROUGH.

When the Israelites saw Goliath, they all ran from him in great fear. But David said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”  He could not bear to hear Goliath defying the Mighty Name of our living LORD.  We know the end of the story.

Yes do we have integrity in our life? God expects integrity and He honors integrity. May the LORD grant you integrity.

Prayer: LORD, grant me integrity so that I may shine for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen