David & Goliath

INTRODUCTION

Last week we looked at how God works through the unqualified and the disqualified in order to bring himself glory. David is no one’s idea of king material, but God sees a humble heart that is loyal to him, even if David himself is not perfect. This week, we’re looking at the most famous story of David, his battle with Goliath. When we read it, I think we have to try to set aside our Sunday-School glasses and see that there is nuance in this story that we’re often not dialed in to.

WHO ARE THE PHILISTINES?

During the later period of the Judges, until the early monarchy, the Philistines were Israel's sworn enemies. They live on the coastal plain on the Mediterranean Coast, while Israel occupied the hill country further inland. The Philistines had ruled over the people of Israel during the end of the Judges period (while Sampson was a judge), and they were a constant threat to Saul’s kingdom. The Philistines are seafaring people who came from the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean sea, and settled along the coast in a band of towns. This was part of the land that God had promised to give to Israel before the conquest of the land, but the Israelites hadn’t taken possession of it. So the presence of the Philistines in the land of Canaan is an insult to God’s people because it represents a theft of their God ordained land.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION?

Like present day Israel, Saul’s Kingdom was a narrow band running North-South. The Philistines knew that if they could take territory in the middle, they could cut the kingdom in two, Saul would be in an untenable military position. So the Philistines advanced up a valley in the middle of the kingdom trying to do just that. Saul, rightly sees this as an existential threat to his kingdom, so he goes out with full force to meet the army. The two armies meet in the valley of Elah with Saul on one hill, a valley between them, and the Philistines on the other hill. Neither side can move. To fight one army would have to cross the valley and ascend the hill where the opposing force held the high ground. So they are at an impasse.

In ancient warfare they sometimes used the idea of single combat. A champion from each side would have it out to determine the outcome of the battle, thereby sparing a lot of bloodshed. Since ancient armies saw warfare as a competition between their respective Gods, the idea made sense. If my god is more powerful than your god, then my god can just as easily help my champion win in single combat as in a much larger battle. It’s in this context that the Philistines send their great Warrior Goliath to challenge and Israelite to single combat.

Goliath is a freak of nature. Some of the ancient texts say he is six cubits and a span (about 9½ feet) while others say he is 4 cubits and a span (6½ feet). Considering that in ancient agrarian societies an average man was about 5’6” (about the average height of a woman today) Goliath would have made an imposing presence, even if he were only 6 foot 9. The Israelites have no man who can match them.

A THEOLOGICAL DISCONNECT

But of course, the Israelites and the Philistines are both forgetting something. The contest is ostensibly about the relative power of the gods represented, not the warriors representing them. If the greater god would be the victor in battle, then the size of the warrior isn’t the determining factor. That’s the theological principle that both sides would say is true. But it’s not the theological principle that either side is actually living.

Theology is an academic discipline. When you hear the word, you might feel the compulsion to yawn. You might fear a lengthy lecture of the meaning of the Trinity or on the relationship between Jesus’ divine and human natures. But theology is also about living out a life grounded in our assumptions about the way the world is put together and the way that world is governed (or not) by deities. What we see in David’s story is that the stated beliefs of the different people (both the Israelites and the Philistines) is very different from the lived beliefs of the two armies. If you asked Saul who God was, he might say that God is the True Living God, creator of heaven and Earth. If you asked him who was more powerful, Yahweh or Goliath, he would tell you it is definitely Yahweh. But. HIs actions tell us that, when it really comes down to it, Saul believes something else entirely.

Goliath makes the same mistake. He sees David and curses him by his gods, but this seems to be more a habit then a conviction. He doesn’t say, “My God Dagon is greater than your God, Yahweh, so I’ll feed your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. Dagon doesn’t matter. Goliath assumes that his great strength and combat experience are going to be what makes it easy for him to dispatch this little pipsqueak who is coming out to fight him.

DAVID’S PERSPECTIVE

David sees things differently. He understands that its not a battle between two men, but is principally a battle between two gods. His God--Yahweh, the creator of the universe--and Goliath’s god, Dagon. In that battle, David likes his odds. Saul has offered a great reward for the person who kills Goliath (tax exemption, riches, and his daughters hand in marriage) and David can’t believe his luck. For David it seems too good to be true. Imagine you got stopped in the streets and someone said, “I’ll give you a million dollars if you can solve this unsolvable math question. What is two plus two?”

David isn’t looking at the situation in which he finds himself in human terms. He sees them in theological terms, and so for him, the outcome is assured. So David collects 5 stones in his shepherd’s bag and goes down to the valley floor to meet Goliath for battle.

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, 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!”

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. 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. 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.”

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 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.

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.

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.

Notice how when David boasts that his victory is going to happen, he’s not saying it’s going to happen because he’s the stronger fighter, but because Goliath’s weapons and physique are no match against God’s power. David sees Goliath’s disrespect of Israel’s army as disrespect for God himself. He believes that God will vindicate himself when his honour is on the line, and so David believes God will deliver him. Whatever David’s faults, and they are many, at this moment David is living his theology. His actions reflect his stated beliefs about how the world works. In other words, when it comes to his theology, he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is.

THE ESSENCE OF FAITH

This is an inspirational story, but if we really stop to look at it from this perspective, it’s terrifying. David gives us an example of someone who lives as if his beliefs about God are actually true. Do we do that? If I went around this room and asked if you believe God is powerful. Whether God is loving whether God is able to deliver his people. We’d probably all say yes. And yet, Do we live out that conviction, or do we merely talk about it? I might say that prayer is powerful. But when something happens, and all I can do is pray, do I feel powerful? I might say God is my provider, but when something happens that threatens my financial security, do I panic, or do I trust that God provides? I say that I believe God transforms, heals and equips his people, but when I’m asked to do something out of my comfort zone, do I demur, saying that I’m not up to it? Am I willing to live out what I say is true if it would be a disastrous if it turned out not to be true.

That’s faith. Faith is a belief with consequences. It’s not enough to believe in my head, that’s not faith. That’s trivia. Faith means I’m willing to organize my life around an idea, a principle or, a person. Faith says, “Jesus is Lord” and then lives as if that is actually true.

Of course, if we’ve lived in the real world, we know this doesn't mean we’ll never struggle. If you have faith in a God who guarantees you will never struggle in this world, then you have faith in a false God. The God revealed in Jesus Christ makes no such promises. In fact, he says that we will suffer in this world. But he also promises that he walks with us through that suffering and that one day that suffering will be swallowed up in joy and victory. I can imagine if I were David, out in the pasture looking after my dad’s sheep and I have to keep fighting off lions and bears, I might think that God (or my father) were abandoning me to cruel dangers. “Dad, seriously, I don’t want to go out and look after those sheep again. I’m afraid I’m going to get eaten.” or “God, where were you when I had to fight off a lion and a bear?” God’s reply. I was right there teaching you the skills you’re going to need to fell a giant. Do we trust that God is working in even our most trying experiences or do we succumb to the belief that he’s abandoned us?

What do we say we believe about God? How does that line up with our lives? Think about the words we sing in our songs. The platitudes we exchange when we speak to each other. Do they reflect my true convictions, or are they simply religious sounding nonsense? It’s my prayer for each of us this week that we can take one thing that we say we believe about God and live it with reckless abandon this week. If I say that prayer is powerful then to pray with expectation that God will deliver. If it’s that God is my provider, then to let go of the stress and anxiety over how God will look after me, and instead to be generous. If it’s that God is loving, to stop believing that God is angry with me. My guess is that we’re all guilty on some level of believing cheap theology, theology that is all talk and no action. But I believe that when we come to live out of that place of deep and abiding faith, we will learn to live a life with far less fear and anxiety and far more love, grace and generosity.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

If you found yourself in David’s situation, would you be frightened by Goliath?

How is David’s faith different then Saul’s?

If someone asked me to tell them three things about God, how would I describe him?

Do I live like those descriptions are actually true? How might I change the way I live in light of them being true?