The passage we heard from 1 Samuel 17:1,4-11 is one of the best-known and most loved stories in the Bible. The story has embedded itself in the culture and language of humanity. It is so well-known that it has become the way of describing any conflict in which there is a marked difference between the combatants, whether they are athletes, companies, or nations.
This story has a special appeal for Christians, partly because of the natural support for the underdog. A larger reason for its popularity is that so many of us can identify with the situation. We are constantly challenged in our lives by the giants of the world, and we find courage and inspiration in David’s idealism and his faith in God. This is not just a story about a young man fighting a much larger enemy. It depicts the conflict of the ages. It is a story about the battle that has been raging ever since Satan rebelled against God-the confrontation between good and evil, between God and His enemy.
A deep ravine between two giant cliffs in Israel’s valley of Elah is purported to be the very site where this battle took place, The gap between the cliffs is about 100 yards wide-the distance of a football field. The army of the Philistines would have gathered on one side, and the army of Israel on the other, to witness the battle between David and Goliath. In the ancient world, wars were sometimes decided in a head-to-head battle between two champions. People believed that the gods determined the matter through these two warriors. Throughout the account, David’s youth and Goliath’s experience were emphasized. By earthly accounts, only one of them was a man of war.
Goliath came from a culture that was compromised primarily of mercenaries who traveled from the Aegean Sea and wrought havoc from Syria to Egypt. He was the fiercest warrior of the Philistines. He was the largest and strongest human, long experienced in warfare, and prepared for both hand-to-hand combat with the sword as well as distance battles with the spear. Despite his size, he was very quick and nimble. Notice that Goliath was fully armed, in spite of his massive size. He even had a shield-bearer who went before him.
David would leave Saul’s armaments behind and face his foe with only five stones, a sling, and the shield of faith. David looked at Goliath, saw his heavy chain mail and his spear and knew that he had the weapon that was needed-namely, a rocket launcher. Goliath would be far too slow to either get close enough to David or dodge the stone. The Bible consistently minimizes the importance of military weapons and emphasizes their relative uselessness in warfare. God laughs at enemies who put their trust in weapons.
In human terms alone, Goliath was invincible, but David counted on the Lord being with him and making the difference. David had a special background. As a shepherd he was used to protecting the flock against wild animals. It’s not that David was stronger than bears or lions, but that lifestyle helped shape David to focus on God.
What distinguishes David from all the other characters in this story is his trust in God. Goliath was confident in his size and weapons. The Israelite soldiers lacked confidence in themselves and did not trust God. David was different. His trust in God was complete, and in this trust he offered both a model for kingship and a posture for the people of Isreal.
If his presence created fear, Goliath’s words added shame to the fear. The speech that he gave each day for forty days, morning and evening, is recorded in verses 8-10, and it represented a challenge not just to the army of Israel but to the God of Israel. To either ignore the challenge or to decline it was a humiliation both to Israel and to her God.
Can you imagine the state of the morale among the army of Israel? We’re not being called out by a giant, but we all know what failure feels like. When we’ve lost our courage or made a poor choice, the enemy will tell us that we are a failure, that we will never succeed. His objective is to break our will so that we will never try again. We must not let Satan win this spiritual battle. Our God is a gracious God of second chances and third chances, and His power that formed the universe is available to us as we face life’s challenges. When we see His power at work in our lives, our faith will grow and we will trust Him to show Himself faithful again.
David was outraged that this godless man was insulting the God of the Israelites, even in front of the Israelite king. David knew and was confident that his God was with him in the fight. This was the God he probably got to know very intimately on the hillsides of his home country, when things were quiet and he was isolated with his flocks. May we, in the face of real and sometimes very deep fears, remember our God, and that He is for us.
When Saul was appointed as king of Israel, everyone was struck by his size. When the Holy Spirit came upon him, he became a fearless warrior. In our Old Testament reading last week, we read that God rejected him as king, and then the Holy Spirit left Saul. Now, there was caution and fear. The challenges that seemed so possible in God’s strength now appeared as impossible missions.
All of Israel felt the way Saul did. This is an example of what happens to a people when their leadership is frightened. There is no place where fear is more contagious than in a leader. It is sad to observe this in a nation and even sadder when it happens in the church. Fear, left unchecked, can ruin us both spiritually and physically. Saul and Israel had proven themselves to be greatly concerned with outward appearances and were able to be influenced by the fear of men. It was only natural that Goliath would be their worst nightmare come true.
Though the Israelites feared losing to Goliath, they forgot who called them to enter the Promised Land. They saw God fight for them in many previous battles, but they neglected to trust Him in this one. David’s focus was not on the size of the enemy, but on God.
There are certain things anyone knows not to do. You don’t fight a lion with a toothpick. You don’t sneeze into the wind. You don’t go bear hunting with a cork gun. And you don’t send a shepherd boy to battle a giant…unless you are out of options. Saul was. It is when we are out of options that we are most ready for God’s surprises.
We might want to contemplate the identity of various giants who shout out to God’s people. These giants may be a giant rift in our families or wounds in our hearts, or they may be doubts, illness, or anything else that threatens our well-being. We should explore how we usually respond to these giants. When we do, we have to ask ourselves how the Lord would want us to respond. God’s adopted sons and daughters of all times and places essentially think and act as if God is dead, powerless, or uninterested. God sides with oppressed and powerless people.
When we hitch onto the Spirit, it is impossible to know what the future will hold. When it comes to our faith, we have the choice of whether we will live in fear or in trust. That applies to all aspects of our lives, but especially to what we do at church. Church growth is fairly simple. If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten. It seems that many think that the way to promote the vitality of a church is to take old familiar ways and just push them harder. Seeking new vitality requires new directions, and that takes courage and faith. It takes faith to step into the unknown like David did when he confronted Goliath.
The punch line about David and Goliath was something to the effect that God uses insignificant people and unlikely means to accomplish improbable feats. When we’re gripped by fear, let’s follow David’s example and fix our eyes on God to gain a right perspective of the problem. The threat may be real, but the One who is with us and for us is bigger than that which is against us. When we face impossible odds, we receive divine guidance and energy, and we can do greater things than we can imagine. The impossible becomes possible as we tap into God’s energy. When we trust God, we can respond with courage and strength to the forces that threaten to defeat us.
When the enemies of God and His people become brazen in their attacks, it is imperative that those of us who love God and the truth take a clear and definite stand. Yet it is often in those moments that we are tempted to stand back and hope that someone else will confront the problem. We do not have to be afraid of our enemies, for God is more powerful than all of them put together. When we face the giants in our lives, we must remember the greatness of our God! Though Satan can look threatening, he is only a shadow, and he flees at the Name of Jesus. While Satan can intimidate and make noise, he has no power over our future, so we do not need to live in fear of him.
Bibliography
- Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 378)
- Chafin, K.L., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 8: 1,2 Samuel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1989; pp. 1126-128)
- Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
- MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
- Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2010; pp. 371-372)
- Roger Nam, “Commentary of 1 Samuel 17: [1a,4-44,19-23] 32-39.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
- Doug Bratt: “1 Samuel 17: (1a,4-11,19-23) 32-49.” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/doug-bratt/
- John C. Holbert, “In the Name of YHWH? Reflections on 1 Samuel 17:1a,4-11,19-23,32-39.” Retrieved from https://www.patheos.com/about-patheos/john-c-holbert
- Ralph W. Klein, “Commentary on 1 Samuel 17: [1a,4-11,19-23]32-49.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
- The Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm, “In the Name of the Lord.” Retrieved from www.thewakingdreamer.com
- Daniel Clendenin, “After He Killed Him, He Cut Off His Head: David, Goliath, and Sacred Violence.” Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net
- Albert Lee, “Overcoming Fear.” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
- Graham Slattery, “David and Goliath.” Retrieved from seeds@ellel.org
- Pastor Allen Jackson, “Second and Third Chances.” Retrieved form emails@allenjacksonministries.com
- Dr. Paul Chappell, “Don’t be Silent.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
- Bobby Schuller, “Giants Fall.” Retrieved from hourofpower@hourofpower.org
- Meg Jenista, “1 Samuel 1: (1a,4-11,19-23), 32-49 Commentary .” Retrieved from https://cepreaching.org/authors/meg-jenista/
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