1 Samuel 17:1-58
17:1-3 Faith provides and protects the valley between us an enemy. Saul and the men of Israel find themselves gathered together against the Philistines. This chapter begins with Israel poised for battle, but this war against the Philistines is only symbolic. Ephesians 6:12 teaches: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The children of Israel charge into battle with the requested king. And their requested king is deconstructing, becoming living evidence of our true battle, the battle that is against unrighteous principalities, powers, rulers, and hosts. Saul rejected God; he presently rules the children of Israel with an unfaithful hand and selfishly corrupt motivations. If not for God's precision and foresight, they are about to follow their king directly out of their sphere of protection. For each time the children of Israel, or we, go wayward, we become fodder for our enemies.
From their respective mountains, the children and the Philistines each represent a principle. Righteousness and unrighteousness, the opposing forces. Compassion against cruelty. Patience against impatience. Forgiveness against vengeance. Humility against arrogance. God explained that a corrupt leader would descend the metaphorical mountain of righteousness and bring his subjects with him. But a righteous child of God can move mountains, Matthew 17:20, the mountain, the principle of righteousness against its opposition.
17:4-7 From their mountain, the Philistines present a near-giant as the representative of their army. And this supposed-champion of theirs is truly a representation of the temptation the other side can offer. There are near-giants in our own lives, people and circumstances which tempt us to fight for the wrong side or doubt the right(eous) side. These giants do not have the outward appearance of this Goliath, more often they are moments of anger and impatience. Selfish moments, arrogant moments.
Our spiritual proximity to God provides us with more resilient, invulnerable armor: armor against our physical enemies as well as figurative Goliaths. It does not matter the height, weight or decoration of our opposition, with the armor of God strapped securely to our body, mind and heart, the victory is ours. Returning to Ephesians,
Ephesians 6:14-18
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.Goliath's armor is not all that impressive after all.
17:8-10 Goliath mocks Saul's army; neither he, nor they, understand that they are not merely "servants of Saul." They are children of God. Goliath may not be intimidated by Saul, and he has no reason to be, but their True protector and defender can readily defeat any champion the Philistines present.
17:11 The children of Israel and Saul are dismayed and greatly afraid. And how many times have we been just the same when we could have chosen to be confident in God's ability to protect us? The only reason they should be scared is because they have allowed their faith to fall by the wayside. They divested themselves of their armor of God: righteousness, faith, peace, salvation, prayer and the word of God lay at their feet. If they would pick them up and put them on the mountain of opposition in front of them would crumble.
Instead, the children of Israel need to present a contender. Still, without God, they are hopeless. They desperately need God to have taken a compassionate interest in their predicament; that they know of, they do not have a suitable opponent to present.
17:12-15 God does take a compassionate interest in their predicament and readies the family of Jesse to take part. Jesse is now an older man but his three oldest sons are joined in battle with Saul - Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah. David, the youngest, journeyed back and forth between his father and Saul. David's brothers were soldiers, but David remained the care-taker of his father's sheep - only God understands how David is the most capable of his brothers for this battle which is, on the surface, far outside his sphere.
17:16 Goliath continues to taunt Saul's army forty days, the length of the flood of Noah. A period of rejuvenation as God built the foundation for a new king.
17:17-19 Jesse sends David with provisions for his brothers engaged in battle. Jesse asks David to return with news of the well-being of his brothers. These circumstances are orchestrated by God. David, the unlikely key to this problem, is sent directly into battle when otherwise, he would not have been there. No one realizes the significance of this yet.
17:20-23 Dutiful and brave, David accepts the command from his father and goes to the battle camp. David reaches the camp at a crucial point, the army's tensions are rising. He finds his brothers and as he speaks with them, Goliath arrives and speaks his same ultimatum. This time, David hears it.
17:24-25 The Israelite army is terrified! Whoever volunteers as their champion and wins, will be rewarded by the king with riches, his daughter as a wife and exemption from paying taxes. The reward is high; Saul tries to convince people to fight with the only things he has to offer - things which would normally be enticing to soldiers.
17:26 But David scoffs at Goliath. David scoffs while a large, trained army around him cowers. David, rather than intimidated by Goliath, is amused by the idea that a mere man could challenge, never mind defeat an army of the living God. David is able to scoff because he knows and loves God. The army cowers because they do not.
And truly it is ironic that they should fear Goliath. Not only do children of God have God's protection, their enemies face double retribution for having made God indignant; it is unwise to challenge God's ability to protect His own.
While the army offers enticement and worries of defeat, David wonders who will defend Israel's honor. David sees the broader picture: the enemy is not Goliath, the enemy is wickedness. David wants to know who will defend Israel against wickedness and restore its honor as a chosen and righteous people.
17:27 The people reiterate the reward Saul offers. It calls us to each ask ourselves: what motivates my actions: courage born of faith or material wealth? The Israelite army at this time is stagnant, neither desire nor faith moves them - precisely the ideal situation for an enemy, to have their prey surrounded and afraid.
17:28 David's oldest brother, Eliab, is angry with David for speaking. Eliab does not understand David's heart; he does not understand God either. Eliab tries to mock and scare David from the battle field.
17:29-30 But David is unapologetic. He tells his brother that he spoke only what was true and needed to be said. Israel indeed does need its reputation as a righteous body of God defended. He reemphasizes his point.
17:31-32 David is brought to Saul because he spoke out. While with Saul, David volunteers to fight Goliath. If no one else will trust in God, David chooses to.
17:33 Saul declines David's offer to stand in as Israel's champion on two point: he is young, he is untrained. The mindset of the world is that there are qualifications a person needs to have in order to be able and successful. The only qualification needed, however, to win any battle, is to have on the armor of God. And David does; David's trusts God and knows Him to be indefatigable on behalf of His children.
17:34-35 David has been protected sheep all his life. The symbol in this is that David has been raised by God to protect that which needs defending. Whenever a lion or bear would attack one of his sheep, David would strike it and rescue the animal. This is precisely the skill we need to be agents of God's will! The courage and skill, given by God, to disable predators.
17:36 To David, this near-giant Goliath presents no new challenge to him. After all, lions and bears are as fierce and large as the Philistine's "champion" is.
17:37 To solidify his point David explains that God delivered him out of harm from the lion and the bear. David trusts that God will deliver him from the harm of the Philistine. So, even if Saul did not trust in David's ability, based on his experience with large game, he should trust in God's. David basically tells Saul: even if I am unqualified, God is not.
Saul relents and gives David permission. God is behind it all.
17:38-39 David tries at first to follow custom. He puts on all of the armor of a soldier but finds that it is too cumbersome to benefit from. He takes all of it off. This is further evidence that armor is unnecessary when we have the protection of God. David will go into this battle as a child of God, armed only with his faith and the power of God.
17:40-44 David chooses to bring a sling and five stones. God-willing, his task will be quick and efficient. Arrogance and ignorance caused Goliath to mock David. The Philistine is ready and willing to tear this young man apart.
17:45-47 David's divine purpose is revealed: David will teach the children of Israel, the Philistines and all people of nature of God. David exists and faithfully serves to profess God's omnipotent authority:
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
David stands not for his own honor but for God's. David's intention is not to exalt himself but to exalt God. David, a man after God's own heart. David's declaration is that no matter how much humans try to manipulate the conditions of life, God reigns, and a child of His is not subject to their manipulation. David explains that we can plan, prep and plot but all of it is pointless and powerless when it is against God's will.
17:48 Goliath approaches David and David approaches Goliath, fearlessly. David walks directly, confidently, faithfully into his purpose, to confront evil and to profess God's authority.
17:49-51 David slings a stone at Goliath, he falls and dies. He falls on his face like all of the false gods and wicked people of the world always do when confronted by God.
Per Goliath's conditions, the victor of this battle would claim the other's army as servants. By faith, David brings the Philistines to their knees. The Philistine army flees... an army runs away scared because a humble soul had the faith and courage to deliver a Godly message.
17:52-4 The Israelite army takes over and pursues the Philistines. David brings the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, a gruesome prophesy that Israel intends to take it from the Philistines, and sets Goliath's army in a tent.
17:53-58 It is revealed that the entire time, Saul did not recognize David. Saul asks the commander of his army who the "youth" is. Perhaps David's identity was protected by God - in the next chapter, we will see that Saul begins to resent David. Finally, however, Saul learns that it was David, son of Jesse, who killed Goliath.
