Something in the story appears to be out of sequence. The narrative tells us that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, but an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (I Samuel 16:14). This is already puzzling: does God send evil spirits to torment people? It is awkward to think so. Yet the text reflects the conviction that God is in charge of all things; we might be skeptical of explaining Saul’s growing mental illness via the “evil spirit theory,” yet we at least need to reckon with the notion that whatever the cause of Saul’s distress, it was not outside of God’s sovereign rule.

Saul’s servants responded to the situation by saying, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our Lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better” (16:15-16). As it turned out, someone in the court was familiar with David son of Jesse, “skillful in playing” (16:18), and he was called to the king’s palace: and “whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him” (16:23). And “Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer” (16:21).

So it comes as a surprise when we read in the next chapter that David was traveling back and forth from Bethlehem to bring supplies for his brothers in the army, as the Philistines and their champion Goliath defied the army of the Israelites (17:12-18). David was brought before Saul, and expressed his willingness to fight Goliath. There is no indication that David has been working as musician and armor-bearer in Saul’s household; it appears to be their first meeting, as Saul says to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine, as you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth” (17:33). But Saul equipped David with a coat of mail and a bronze helmet – which David then had to refuse, as he could not walk well with this unaccustomed weight (17:38-39). He switched to the armament he was used to: a sling and a pouch of stones from the brook; and he ran forward to meet Goliath, fired a stone at him, and Goliath fell and died (17:40-51).

Yet as the chapter comes toward its close we see Saul not knowing who David is: he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” (17:55). Abner also did not know. After David returned from the encounter, with the head of Goliath in his hand, Saul asked “Whose son are you, young man?” (17:58). Clearly the sequence of the story has become jumbled somehow: we have gone from David as beloved musician in Saul’s household prior to the challenge from the Philistines, to Saul meeting David and trying to equip him just before the battle, to Saul and Abner never having met David until after the battle was over. Yet for all the uncertainty about the chronology, the ringing affirmation of David stands clear: “the battle is the Lord’s” (17:47).

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The sequence of events within our own lives frequently seems just as jumbled, O Lord: yet our confidence is in you. In the midst of our misunderstandings, in the rush of the battle, in all our fear and our confusion, we trust in you.