“What was David’s greatest moment?”
Elijah’s father used what we call the Socratic method of teaching. He asked his children questions. (Since Socrates was born about four centuries after Elijah, did Socrates call it the Elijah method?)
Our Sunday night small group answers:
Dancing before the Lord
Defeating Goliath
Writing the Psalms
Obeying God and following Him
Humility and brokenness after Bathsheba encounter
When Samuel anointed him king
When he was shown he had sinned with Bathsheba but was forgiven
My favorite is King David’s prayer at the end of first Chronicles.
Psalm 51. (Stopped hiding his sins; confessed them; pled for a clean heart and a renewed right spirit…)
I lean toward his youth: anointed as future king and he demonstrated unusual patience and long-suffering for his age. He also showed immense respect for God’s choices above his own (not killing Saul when he had the chance).
I want to go with the David and Goliath moment
it’s clearly historic,
it’s iconic, everyone from children to adults remembers
it’s a great story applicable to all cultures and many stages of life
it has profound theological implications
implicitly, I use the analogy whenever a huge problem arises
it has childhood innocence coupled with complete trust in the God of salvation
as stories go, it’s pretty clean, even though the Giant’s head is lopped off
even the king’s daughter was really impressed
and the people acclaimed him with exaggeration, 10 thousands and all
so much so that I’m sure I should cover something in this great story, even in my uncle Reggie stories! Even though it’s a story told many times….. But in my case I think that for China scholars, this has unusual implications.
Do get Coffee with Uncle Reggie. It’s a great book! And read his fun, fun stories at Reggietales.org
I think it was when King David killed the Philistine Goliath in the name of the LORD of hosts.
I am not sure he had one.
Sparing King Saul’s life when he had the chance to kill him.
Very moving and to the heart.
Killing Goliath — the first time he gave God all the glory in front of his peers.