1 Samuel 17:32-51
David Defeats the Giant Goliath
Israel
and Philistine were in a confrontation. The Philistine warrior Goliath wore a
full set of armour. For forty days, he stood in the valley of Elah, challenging
the Israelites to a duel. No one in the Israelite army dared to step forward
and answer the challenge, because they had been defeated by the Philistine
repeatedly.
The
Philistines were stronger than the Israelites because they had the technology
to make iron weapons. The Israelites were terrified and dismayed in the face of
this strong enemy.
It
so happened that young David was visiting his brothers on the battlefield. He
saw the terrible scene and so he volunteered himself to face Goliath. He said
to King Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your
servant will go and fight him.”
King
Saul agreed to let David go into battle. He dressed David in his own tunic. He
put a coat of armour on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened his
sword outside the tunic and tried walking around, but he was not used to them.
King
Saul had lost the favour from God, so how could his coat of armour be suitable
for David?
David
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 and set off
to approach the Philistine. This would be a very lopsided battle!
The
giant Goliath kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he
was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised
him.
He
said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your
flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” (Verse 43-44)
David
said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear, but I come
against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel,
whom you have defied. 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.” (verse 45-46)
Goliath
got up and staggered towards David.
David
ran quickly towards the Philistine. You can imagine the wind catching his
shepherd’s cloak, making David look very elegant. Reaching into his bag and
taking out a stone, he slung it and shot it at the giant.
The
stone flew like a bullet and struck Goliath on the forehead. The stone sank
into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
But
David did not have a sword in his hand, what to do next?
David
ran and stood over the giant. He took hold of Goliath’s sword and drew it from
the sheath and cut off his head.
When
the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. The men of
Israel and Judah then pursued the Philistines and wiped them out.
Exposition
The
focus of this narrative is not about securing victory in battle if we have faith
in God’s authority and power. In fact, this narrative emphasizes God’s plan of
sending a redeemer to battle on behalf of the people and to redeem them.
Not
that we win the battle but God’s redeemer wins the battle for us. We will
explain this narrative according to the plots of the story.
There
are two main plot or storylines that climaxed at the part where David cut off
Goliath’s head.
Firstly,
King Saul said to David, “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.”
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, 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. 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.” (verse 34-36)
So,
the narrator highlighted the fact that David was a good shepherd who put his
life on the line to kill a lion or a bear to save his flock. Now, he stepped
out to face Goliath under the full view of the Israelites. He killed Goliath
and saved the people of Israel from their enemy.
The
narrator actually wanted to proclaim the birth of God’s chosen king, the
saviour of the people—David! David was the shepherd of the whole country, and
the people were the king’s sheep.
The
shepherd David put his life on the line to save the people of Israel. From then
on, people would say, “Saul killed thousands, but David killed tens of
thousands!”
Previously,
Samuel had secretly anointed David as king in David’s home, but now David
stepped out from all the Israelites with the royal demeanour of a saviour and
redeemer.
Secondly,
David defeated Goliath as a shepherd: he used a shepherd’s staff and a sling.
This showed that David defeated Goliath as if he was a wild beast. The words of
Goliath alluded this fact: “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” (V.
43)
The
narrator was emphasizing that this saviour David had a different perspective
from the ordinary people. They saw Goliath as a fearsome giant warrior, but
David only saw him as a growling beast.
Besides,
we also note that, David went into battle in a weak and powerless appearance of
a shepherd, yet was able to defeat the giant and brought victory to the
suppressed Israelites.
Jesus
Christ is foreshadowed in these feats of David. David is a type of Jesus.
Jesus
is our great shepherd. He died in a weakness and powerless state, to save us
sinners. Yet his death on the cross defeated the devil and freed us from the
wages of sin.
He
sacrificed His own life on the cross in order to save us, and He will save us
all the way to the end! As such, we live in the saving grace of our Lord,
having victory over all difficulty and challenges.
We
have hope in Christ for He has already defeated the devil. His victory is our
victory. Now, we can face all the “giants” in our lives – suffering, sickness,
failures, condemnation, difficulties. We do not have to be afraid in the face
of the “giants”.
Application
First,
we are to live a royal, honourable and victorious life.
When
we are living in this world, we will certainly face challenges from all kinds
of “giants”. They will frighten us, attack us, so that we will lose heart.
However, Jesus already have victory over these “giants”, His victory is our
victory.
1
Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1
Corinthians 5:17 says that we are new creations in Christ. The old had gone,
the new has come. So, we need to constantly depend on the Holy Spirit to renew
us, so that we may grow in our lives, so that we will be holy and royal, being
in the same state as a renewed creation.
We
should not be belittled by the people of this world, but live an upright and
honourable life as Christians, displaying the demeanour of a royalty. In the
effect, we should have courage to proclaim that we are Christians in all
situations. We do not have to be ashamed.
And,
we are to partner with God, to resist evil, uphold justice, so that God’s will,
righteousness and love may be done on earth as it is in heaven. We also should
glorify God by doing the best and be victorious in all areas of life.
However,
we do not need to despair if we should fail in some ways. This is because Jesus
loves us and he has already received us to be children of God. He will forgive
our weakness, failure and sins when we come to him in repentance.
So,
we must put an end to the inferiority complex, murmuring and self-harming
mentality. Jesus is our redeemer, his victory is our victory, and now we are
joint heirs with the King of glory! We must take pride in this new status in
Christ.
Second,
we should have the perspective of a king.
As
God’s royal priesthood, we should look at the world from the perspective of a
king when we do battle with Jesus on this earth. This perspective transcends
the perspective of the ordinary people of this world; it does not have the same
value as this world has.
Businessmen,
artists, environmentalists see different things when they look at a tree. This
is because they have different perspectives.
The
world admires strong people, strong nations and flatters them, thinking that
strong people will surely win. However, Jesus’ disciples are meek and merciful
to the weak, for we obtain victory through weakness; God’s strength is made
perfected in our weaknesses.
Is
your perspective today different from that of the world?
The
devil attacks us through ways of either coercion or temptation. The devil wants
us to compromise with evil, to forsake our stand of faith. We must not leave
any foothold for the devil, nor consider anything gain or loss from the
perspective of the world.
We
must not bow down the devil’s pressure or be bought over by money and sell out
our faith principles.
Money
is like a venomous snake to the people of the world; it causes them to fall and
commit crime. But we have the perspective of heaven, knowing that we are only
stewards of God on this earth. Therefore, money and riches should not harm us
like venomous snakes!
Our
decisions are made clearer by looking at the problems in our lives through the
principles of the Bible, law and authority of God.
Today,
you may be facing “giants” before you. Do not cower, do not be afraid. May the
Lord grant you a transcendent perspective, helping you see through the
difficulties in front of you and also see through the devil’s tricks.
Jesus
already has victory over the “giant”, His victory is your victory. May the Holy
Spirit empower you to fight the battle and to have victory and do great things
for Jesus. Have courage and move forward to resist and knock down the “giant”!
Now,
get up and recap your identity of a royalty, broaden your perspective and live
everyday with enthusiasm and without fear.
We
are weak, but Jesus is rich and full of grace. Stand on the promises of the
victory of Christ and you will be like David, knocking down all the “giants” in
your lives and live a victorious and colourful life, for you are destined to
reign with Christ.
