I Samuel 17

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I Samuel 17:45-49, 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.

Today, we read the classic story of David and Goliath.  For those of us who grew up going to Sunday School, we know this one by heart.  Young, naïve David triumphs over the giant Philistine.  But as I read it again today, I was reminded of something.  This is not a story of human courage and power but rather incredible faith and trust in a powerful God.

Goliath was truly a giant.  He measured over 9 feet tall and was broad and strong.  His size alone would have been quite overwhelming for the Hebrew army but he also had state of the art armor and weaponry.  Goliath was a soldier who fought to the death in one on one combat.  He would fight against a single man from an enemy army and the solider who was left standing won the battle for his people.  The dead soldier’s people would become subjects of the victorious nation.  There isn’t much evidence that the Israelite army did much one to one combat; it was typically the whole army fighting together.  This was new to them and they were scared to death.  No one dared to face Goliath.

David arrives at the battle lines to bring food provisions to the soldiers.  His three oldest brothers were fighting with King Saul.  We don’t know why David wasn’t on the battle lines, possibly because he needed to stay at home and help his father.  He arrives in time to hear Goliath taunting the Israeli soldiers, who were quite fearful.  David was obviously disturbed that Goliath could so boldly insult the Hebrew army, the army of the living God.  He starts to ask questions, greatly annoying his older brother who, possibly out of fear himself, says some pretty awful and untrue things about David. 

David is unrelenting.  His offer to fight Goliath is initially refused by King Saul.  But David is determined.  Finally, Saul agrees and even offers David his own armor and sword.  Interestingly, David clothing himself in the royal armor is a foreshadowing of what is to come:  David will soon be king.  But David quickly abandons the royal armor; he wasn’t used to fighting in such things.  He dressed like a shepherd would have, using what seemed normal and natural to him – a stone and a sling.  Just so you know, the stones were not little pebbles but would have been about the size of a tennis ball.  Nothing to laugh at for sure.

But what’s most impressive to me is that David understood this was a theological battle.  It wasn’t just him fighting against this Philistine.  This was God’s battle.  When the Israelites went to war, it was supposed to be a spiritual battle.  They represented Yahweh, the one true God.  For that reason, they were only to go to war with God’s blessings and they were to be ritually pure.  David was making a point.  This wasn’t about him.  God would fight the battle for him. 

Of course, we know the rest of the story.  Goliath is defeated. 

I’m hoping none of us have to be engaged in any kind of one of one combat.  But we certainly have battles to fight.  What might it be like to allow God to fight our battles for us?  How would that change our perspective?  How would it change how we handle the situation, the words we speak, and our demeanor with the people involved?  Spend some time today thinking about your current battles.  Consider giving them to God, for real, and not taking them back.

Let’s pray…Lord Jesus, This world is filled with all kinds of hardships and battles.  On our own, we don’t do so well fighting these.  We need you.  We lay these problems, these worries, these battles at your feet and trust you with them.  Guide us, direct us, and lead us in the next step for us to take.  In Your Name, Amen.