David and Goliath Part 6 A Lesson on Submission To Authority

# 242 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 17:19,20a, “Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him.” (1 Sam 17:19,20a) The first thing we notice here is that David arose early in the morning. His father had given him an assignment and he didn't dilly dally. It is good advice to not put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Ec 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might;” Next we see that he didn't run off willy nilly. He took responsibility and found someone to take care of the sheep in his absence. Then we see that he explicitly followed his dad's instructions. He “went as Jesse commanded him.” He honored his father's position of authority. As it says in Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: 3 "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." All three of these things are good reminders for children of all ages, and can be summed up in this manner: Children obey your parents and those in authority over you expediently. Be responsible in your obedience and don't take short cuts. As long as it isn't something that flies in the face of God's Word, don't delay in whatever they assign you to do. This will not only help things go smoothly for you in your house, but it will do you well to learn it and apply it in all your future dealings with those in authority over you, including teachers, civil authorities, and yes, even church authorities, as we read in 1 Pet 5:5, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders,” (1 Pet 5:5) Submitting to authorities is commanded by God and comes with a promised blessing, or what part of “that it may be well with you,” don't you understand?