Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah…2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
The people of God faced war with people who were not of God. Sounds familiar to our day.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was [9 feet 9 inches…] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing [125 pounds]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed [15 pounds]…8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
The enemy forces are strong and bold. They are mean and intimidating. And they don’t seem to quit. Day after day they continue their threats and intimidation.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this [36 pounds] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” 20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed.
David was a “nobody” – not a firstborn, not a priest, not a Levite, not a king. He was the seventh son of a sheep herder and his task was to care for the sheep. Yet in 1 Samuel 16 God had Samuel anoint David as the future king of Israel. Why did God choose David? At this point in the story, all we know is that God considers David a man after his own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14 NIV)
[David] reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
The supposed warriors of the regular army were fearful of this giant who shouted “his usual defiance.” The people of God can become fearful of people and things who “shout” regularly their defiance of God’s will and way.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” 31… Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
The king had set up rewards for the man with courage enough to face the giant. Our King Jesus promises his Presence, Spirit, and Faithfulness to us as we stand against the giants. David recognizes that this giant is coming against the people of the Living God, so he plans to go and fight the giant.
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Then, well-meaning critics told David why his plan wouldn’t work – in this case, because he was too young and Goliath had been a warrior from his youth. But David knew his past experiences of protecting sheep from bears and lions would help him protect his people from this bold, brash, and obnoxious giant.
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
There can be people around us that try to talk us out of doing things God wants us to do, or change our direction in those things. But when we know our identity we can stand on God’s plans and purpose for us. David had been anointed King – he knew God planned for him to be king. So, he didn’t need to fear this fight with Goliath because he knew his identity as the future king. And he didn’t need to wear Saul’s armor because he knew it wasn’t his – it didn’t fit him and he hadn’t practiced with it – so he chose for the battle the things that were his and which were familiar and useful to him – a slingshot and stones.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
The the enemy of our souls comes at us with arrogance, despising our seemingly small stature. Yet, when we come against the enemy in the name of the Lord Almighty, the Lord will deliver the enemy into our hands and the whole world will know that God is real. Ultimately, the battle is the Lord’s.
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
David watches the giant move closer to him, but doesn’t run away; instead, knowing his identity and purpose, he runs toward the battle line to meet the giant.
49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.
David uses the weapons of war he is familiar with, under the power of God’s direction, and kills the giant. Then he takes the giant’s weapon and finishes the job.
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines… Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
Once the giant’s bravado and arrogance were cut down, the momentum of the battle turned. No longer were the people of Israel afraid of the giant, but instead they pursued the enemy army, killing the soldiers and plundering their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent. (1 Samuel 17 NIV)
David took the severed head to Jerusalem to be displayed as a testimony to God’s success in the battle. And he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent as a reminder of what God had done.
Today, let us trust God in the battles we face.
Giant-killing God,
You are the victor over the enemy of our souls. You are the one whose power, presence, and faithfulness remind us not to fear, for you, the Lord our God, is with us. We believe that when we know our identity as sons and daughters of the King of Kings and we know the One who has our future in our hands, we can stand strong against the enemy of this world. We believe that when we know who you have created us to be, using the gifts and blessings you have given us, and when we are doing what you have purposed for us to do, you will fight the battle for us. No weapon formed against us will succeed because you are our shield and our defense. When the constant arrogant and intimidating voices of the enemy try to cause fear within us, remind us of your voice which calls us to a place of peace in the storm. Give us wisdom, discernment, and courage for the battles we fight, and cause the giants in our lives to fall before the power and strength of our God. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
“[N]o weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17 NIV)
“But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.” (Psalm 3:3-4 NIV)
“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:39-41 NIV)
(adapted from April 5, 2021 post)