Saul, King of Manipulation

32 And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God."
37 And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"
38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." So David put them off.

1 Sam 17:32-39 (ESV)

When most preachers and teachers cover these verses, the focus is on David: his faith, his courage, and his wisdom. I want to briefly focus on Saul, King of Israel, King of Good Intentions, or is he simply the King of Manipulation? Did he have David's best interest at heart in offering David his battle armor? Did David convince Saul he could defeat Goliath?

Personally, I believe the situation was a win-win situation for King Saul, at least in his mind. Dressing David in his armor could accomplish three things. First, if David died in battle, Saul could deny sending him into battle. Second, if David one in battle and remained in full armor, some might think the king defeated Goliath, surely everyone knew his armor. Finally, if David won and was revealed to be David, he sent a champion out in a greater manner than other kings. He allowed his champion the best armor in the land, his.

In the previous chapter, we learned that David had become Saul's armor bearer. He had full access to the king's armor when he was present for service to the king. When David arrived, despite his brave speech, it is reasonable that he should reenter the service of the king. Therefore, it would be reasonable that should David die in battle to claim he took the armor unknown to the king. You can almost hear the speech, let us remember David, the impetuous youth, who with the best intentions took without permission the king's armor and sword, and died in valiant effort before Israel and Goliath. In this case, Saul would save face for sending a youth of no apparent skill against a seasoned warrior-giant.

Likewise, in the other two scenarios, Saul saves face. In one, he becomes the savior of Israel. In the last, he becomes the savior of Israel. "Thank you, Thank you, when no man stepped forward, I knew that I must take action, when the shepherd boy spoke, I knew I must take action. Normally, a king would not fight in one-on-one combat, but I knew I must take action. Today, the power of the Philistines broke. Tomorrow brings ultimate defeat for the Philistines!" Oh, the mighty speech Saul might have given. On the other hand, Perhaps this speech, "I knew the boy could win, I have spent many a day with this young man, heard his stories, trained him, and as my armor bearer made him strong, courageous, and ready for the challenge!"

However, God received the glory and the newly anointed future king began to grow in influence. Mark the moment of David's rise in the eyes of the people, the peak of his favor with Saul, and the beginning of a period of persecution, that prepared a shepherd for the throne.