His Ten Thousands

AM Psalm 31 • PM Psalm 35
1 Samuel 21:1-15 • Acts 13:13-25 • Mark 3:7-19a

One of our readings for today, from the first book of Samuel, finds the boy David having just won the most famous single-combat victory of all time, felling the gigantic Philistine warrior Goliath with a single hurl of his slingshot.

Previously God sent the prophet Samuel to find a replacement for the ill-tempered King Saul, among the twelve sons of Jesse in Bethlehem and, on God's instructions, Samuel chose the youngest, David. Almost nobody knew of this choice, certainly not King Saul, so when Saul hears of David's victory, he gives David command of his armies and offers him his daughter Michal as a bride. It takes Saul's gratitude about a day to turn to murderous jealousy, though, because he hears women singing in the streets:

Saul has killed his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.

Most of the rest of 1 Samuel describes David on the run from Saul, whose jealousy continues to be inflamed by recurrences of the “David his ten thousands” refrain. This is the most exciting part of the books of Samuel and features David at his best—closely connected with God, loyal to the king and to his men, smart but innocent, generous and forgiving, affectionate and free—before the accumulation of prestige and power wear down his moral purity (we get faint hints of that near the end of 1 Samuel) and before his loss of innocence, unsatisfactory marriages and nasty children destroy his happiness. 2 Samuel will depict the long and outwardly successful reign of King David, but let us readers pity his inward diminution as he ages; and may we adults pray to recover some of our own youthful innocence, warmth, generosity, and closeness with God.

Written by John DuVal

While working on this Reflection, John came to the conclusion that the combined Book of Samuel is one of the great novellas of all world literature. He has begun rereading it straight through from the beginning, has now finished 1 Samuel, and is well into 2 Samuel.