He’s Not so Tough

This is not primarily a story about human courage and effort; instead, it is about the awesome power of a life build around bold faith in the Lord.

This account demonstrates the power of a single faith-filled life to inspire an entire army to victory and the vulnerability of all who “defy the armies of the living God”.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

1 The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.

We do not know how long it was between the events of the previous chapter and this account.

Enough time has passed for Saul to have changes his policy of keeping David in his presence and allowed him to return to Bethlehem.

But not enough time has passed for David to be older enough for military service (20).

The forces have gathered about 15 miles west of Bethlehem.

Separating the two camps was a wadi, a usually dry river bed - this was their physical separation but there is also a psychological separation which we are about to find out about… fear.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

4 Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall 5 and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 9 If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

Goliath, the Philistine “champion” - in this case a champion was one who fought to the death in representative combat with an opponent from a foreign army.

One=on-one combat as a substitute as a substitute for combat between two full armies apparently was not regularly practiced in Semitic societies but probably more commonly employed the the Philistines.

Goliath was tall - 9 feet 9 inches tall -Shaquille O’Neal is 7 foot and 1 inch tall to give you an idea and the Guinness World Record holder as the tallest person is Robert Wadlow who stood at 8 feet 11 inches… so Goliath was huge!

His armor was impressive as well - Goliath wore all metal. The Israelites would have been in regular clothes at best a leather vest are armor.

His breastplate was chain mail and weighed around 125 pounds plus bronze knee and shin protectors - this amount of weight would have reduced Goliath’s ability to respond with quickness and agility in close combat - of course I doubt Goliath was expecting combat in close.

His weapons were just a impressive - the sword was a curved scimitar - he had a spear and the weavers beam could relate to the size and weight or the fact that it had a loop of cord attached to it. The head was massive with an iron point weighing about 15 pounds. This large of a weapon would have been hard to use and may have been more for intimidation but at Goliath’s size he could have handled it. Plus he had an armor bearer who went in front of him.

Goliath’s physical stature, armor, weaponry, and shield bearer must have made him appear invincible. One thing we learned from both Saul and David’s story is that we are not pay to much attention to outward appearances.

Goliath stood between the armies and verbally assaulted the Israelites - he taunted them wondering why they would bother to line up in battle if they weren’t willing to fight - then he set the terms, if you win we will serve you but if I win you serve us.

Goliath’s appearance and the words he spoke set fear into Saul and all the Israelites.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and during Saul’s reign was already an old man. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names were Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, 14 and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, 15 but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem. 16 Every morning and evening for forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 17 One day Jesse had told his son David, “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the well-being of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.” 20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had charged him. He arrived at the perimeter of the camp as the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other.

Here we get a brief genealogy of David - we can see that Jesse is old making him exempt from military service.

The family is represented by the 3 oldest sons which suggests 2 possibilities - the other sons, including David, may have been under the age of twenty or perhaps families were required to provide no more than 3 sons for military service.

David went back and forth between Saul and his responsibilities at home - a likely reason is that with 3 brothers off at war, David would be needed to help fill in for his brothers.

So far the standoff has lasted for 40 days- every day Goliath stepped forward and taunted the Israelites.

The length of the standoff would have strained the resources of the monarchy - it would have also made life difficult for individual Israelite families since this took place during the spring or summer when adult males would have been needed for agricultural chores.

It seem as though the families provided supplies for their relatives and others in the ranks - David had the responsibility of bringing his brothers rations plus some for their unit commander. He was also supposed to bring word of how his brothers were doing.

The writer informs us that David got up early and left the flick with someone to watch it - the inclusion of this subtle detail highlights the fact that David was a “good shepherd” - a significant metaphorical image of a good leader.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

22 David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. 23 While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, which David heard. 24 When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified. 25 Previously, an Israelite man had declared, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the family of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.” 26 David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 The troops told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

David gave the supplies to the quartermaster and went to check out the battle.

He immediately asked his brothers how they were doing and while talking with them Goliath comes out for his daily berating of the Israelites.

David heard someone ridiculing the Lord… all the people retreated in fear.

Word had spread among the soldiers that Saul was determined for Israel to take up Goliath’s challenge - of course he wouldn’t personally fight the giant but he would greatly reward anyone who successfully did.

Offering his daughter in marriage would be appealing because it would provide additional privileges reserved for the royal household.

I love David’s attitude - Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is? This is God’s army and if you go against it you go against God.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

28 David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!” 29 “What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” 30 Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before.

Eliab showed a little sibling rivalry here - for some reason David’s questions and attitude mad him angry - my theory, jealousy. Not just jealousy about David being chosen as the future king but jealousy at the fact that David was showing a deeper sense of faith and boldness. (this of course would make him look bad)

This brother relationship mirrors the relationship of Jospeh and his brothers right before he stepped in to save Israel.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. 32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” 34 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “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 may the Lord be with you.” 38 Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off.

David’s words were heard by others and told to Saul - so David got called before the king.

David express’ youthful idealism in full - first he exhorted those around him to stop being disheartened then he proposed and astonishing solution - he will go fight.

Saul’s response is reasonable - you can’t go you are too young and inexperienced and your enemy is battle tested.

David basically responds with - Sure I may not have been a soldier but I am not new to fighting. I have fought off lions and bears to save a lamb and have killed them when necessary.

David equates Goliath with those wild animals because he defies the armies of the living God.

The same God who rescued me David from those wild animals is the same God who will deliver Goliath into David’s hands. David is not just bragging as young people tend to do - remember the Spirit of the Lord is on David and is most likely prompting him to take this stand.

Saul put David in his military clothes and his armor - the irony is that the Lord had clothes David with the Spirit that enabled kingship and now Saul clothed David with the symbols that exemplified kingship.

The clothes indicate the greater value of divine enablement over human devices - second and more importantly, to symbolize David’s rejection of Saul’s approach to kingship. Saul chose to dress in royal clothing (like the other nations) and David would identify with the great shepherd-leaders of the Torah and live by faith in the promises of God.

A good preaching point - You have to walk in what God had given you and not someone else’s idea of how it should be.

1 Samuel 17 CSB

40 Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.” 48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.

David equipped himself with the weapons of a shepherd - a staff and a sling shot. The sling would have been a long leather strap about 3 feet long with a pouch in the middle. The stones would have been about the size of golf balls.

To work the sling, you put the stone in the pouch and hold the two ends of the strap and begin swinging it in a circle. Its quickly builds centrifugal force and it is said that a stone could leave the sling over 60 miles per hour.

Goliath was covered in armor except for one area, the face and forehead. A practices slinger could be accurate from 200 yards and some as far as 400.

Goliath was cocky when he saw David coming out to stand before him with only a stick. (At this point the sling is probably hidden

1 Samuel 17 CSB

52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54 David took Goliath’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent. 55 When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?” “Your Majesty, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied. 56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!” 57 When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” “The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.