“Give me a man…!“ 

These words were shouted to a group of men.  How insulting!  After all, they were all men in the audience. 

Now I know if you were there (and if you are of the male persuasion) you would have been shouting back, “I’m the man!”  Right?  Cuz you’re a man!  You’re a man’s man!!  No one, and you mean no one, is going to shout those words in a crowd without you taking a stand.

Now for the context.  You’re in the audience at a WWE championship and John Cena is the one inside the ring taunting all the men.  Now are you man enough to be shouting back at him that you’re the man?  You ready to get into the ring with Cena?  Are you da’ man?  I’m guessing for most of us the answer would be probably not.  I for one would not be standing (or more like laying flat) in the ring with Cena. 

In a scenario not unlike this, we find an ancient giant—Goliath—taunting the men of Israel.  But none of them would stand up to Goliath.  None of them were da’ man!  I’m pretty sure I would have been right there with them as they are described in 1 Samuel 17:11-“they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” 

Behind the bleachers, however, God was doing what He does best…being God.  He had been preparing a young man to be the man.  No one would have guessed it.  No one could have predicted it.  There was nothing special about this young man that would cause anyone to see a fighter, a warrior.  After all, he tended sheep.  It wasn’t like he was pumping weights at the local God’s Gym.  But subtly God was preparing him to be the man.  

We’ll get back to this in the near future.