"King David: 'My Life as I Remember It'"

“It’s so hard to be the youngest child in the family!” young David mused to himself. “My big brothers are always fighting among themselves, but I’ve noticed that they stand together when they start picking on me. ‘Hey, runt, go and fetch me my bow and arrow’, or ‘Get out of my way, you sorry little twerp.’ Sometimes they knock me around simply because they are bigger and can easily do so. They treat me like I was an animal of some sort, a person of no value. They are rough with me in speech and in behavior. Well, all I can do is ‘grin and bear it’. I must say that I am not good at ‘grinning’, but I am good at ‘bearing it’, not because I want to, but because I can’t help myself….I’m forced to. It’s just not fair! My father gives my seven older brothers all the important things to do such as tilling the soil on our land, taking care of the donkeys and camels, going to the market to make purchases for the family, going to the livestock sales to buy or sell cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys and camels. He doesn’t trust me to do important stuff like that. Often I ask him why he never allows me to do the kind of work like they do; he always says, “Son, you are just too young; that’s man’s work.” My brothers often work together in doing those big jobs; they laugh and talk…and sometimes argue and fight….and seem to have a good time while working because they have the companionship of each other. What is the job that my father gives me to do? He says to me, “Little David, you are to take care of the family’s flock of sheep. You are to see to it that they have sufficient grassy spots on which to graze, and you are to see to it that they get a sufficient amount of water to drink. You’ll have to search for water and grassy areas, because you know very well that there is a great scarcity of streams or pools of water in these parts and that there are very few grassy spots on which they can graze. Above all you are to protect the sheep with your very life.” At first I was very proud of the fact that he thought that I was able to do the work of a shepherd for the family’s big flock of sheep. Later, however, I thought about the assignment he gave me and said to myself, “Hey, he’s giving me that job, because it is considered too menial for my big brothers to do. It’s just not fair!!! One of these days I shall become a man, and then I won’t have to be a lowly sheepherder. If there’s a war I can join the men of our nation and fight the enemy with all my might and main. Some of these days……..’’ It’s hard being a shepherd. I’m not talking about the physical labor involved, for my trusty sheep dog is a big help in keeping the flock together. Most of the time I sit on a big rock in the midst of the flock and watch my sheep as they graze so that I can be certain that a sheep does not wander away as it moves from one grassy patch to another. Yes, much of my time I sit, but I’m sitting unprotected from the rays of the sun. My ruddy colored skin has long since turned to a dark brown due to being baked in the rays of the Palestinian sun. When I realize that my sheep have nibbled up all the grass in one spot, I call to my sheep and cause them to follow me as I lead them once again in search of another grassy spot on which they can feed. All too often my sheep and I have to walk miles before we reach such a spot. The hardest part of being a shepherd is the awful loneliness. Though my sheep and I may have to trudge a great distance to find a desirable grazing spot, a spot that is miles away from my home and from the family’s sheep fold, that is easy compared to the great loneliness I have to endure. Often I have to go days on end without seeing my family and another human being. When occasionally I cross paths with another shepherd, there is no time spent in fellowship. We have to keep some distance from each other to prevent our flocks from mixing and mingling with each other. Also, there is a bit of competition with those shepherds I chance to encounter because we are each vying for the best grazing spots. So much for fellow-ship with other shepherds!