"Now the Philistines gathered their forces of war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle lines to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them." (1 Samuel 17:1-3) The last time we saw the Philistines they were fleeing from the army of Israel. They were soundly defeated and chased out of the country. But some time has passed and now they want to recover from their shame by restoring their fierce reputation and by regaining a hold over at least some portions of Israel. Earlier in the Bible they were able to force many of the citizens of Israel to pay tribute to them.
It may be that the Philistines think this is a good time to strike because word has gotten to them that King Saul isn't in good health. In Chapter 16 we learned that, due to his rebellious spirit toward the Lord, he has fallen prey to some type of mental or spiritual malady. News of his weakness may have encouraged the Philistines to come out in battle against Saul's army, thinking he will not be able to lead Israel's army to victory again.
The author of 1 Samuel sets a dramatic scene for us. The soldiers of Israel are on a hillside facing the soldiers of the Philistines on the opposite hillside. Now an extraordinarily tall man steps out of the ranks of the Philistines and stands in front of the army. "A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him." (1 Samuel 17:4-7)
Different ancient cultures measured the cubit in different ways but the general consensus is that Goliath was several inches over nine feet tall. There's no reason to doubt this. In modern times there are many well-documented cases of gigantism; for example, I once stood beside a statue of the late Robert Wardlow who was measured at 8'11" in the 1940s. If you do an internet search for the world's tallest men in modern times, you'll find a very long list of men born between 1900 and 2000 who measured between seven and nine feet tall. I've known unbelievers to scoff at the idea that the giants of the Bible really existed but to scoff at that idea is to deny science. There are several conditions that cause gigantism, and some (such as when pituitary tumors are to blame) can be stopped by modern medicine that halts the overproduction of growth hormones, but in ancient times there was nothing that could be done to arrest such a medical problem. A person would grow to the maximum limit his or her condition was capable of producing. If the Bible says Goliath stood over nine feet tall, we can rest assured that he really was over nine feet tall.
Goliath's appearance would have been quite formidable to an average sized man. We are never told how tall King Saul was, only that he was head and shoulders taller than any other man in Israel at that time, but that didn't make him tall enough to be considered a giant. Goliath would have towered over him even if Saul were seven feet tall. When this next passage tells us Saul and his men were "dismayed and terrified", I think it's an understatement. I believe they are shaking so hard their knees are knocking together and their teeth are chattering. "Goliath stood and shouted at the ranks of Israel, 'Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.' Then the Philistine said, 'This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.' On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified." (1 Samuel 17:8-11)
Goliath says, "I'm here to offer you a deal. Your whole army doesn't have to come out and fight our whole army. That will only result in useless injuries and deaths on both sides. Pick your biggest, strongest, bravest man and send him out to fight me. He and I will fight to the death. The army of the winner takes all. Let's stop wasting time and let's avoid a lot of casualties by letting a fight between two men decide the whole issue."
The problem is, the Israelites don't have a man who can match Goliath's size and Goliath knows it. That's why he makes the offer. He's confident he will overcome and kill any man they send to fight him. The Israelites believe he will overcome and kill any man they send to fight him. And that would be true if success or failure depended solely on size and brute human strength. But this battle will depend on the Lord's strength and it will be won by an unlikely candidate: a young shepherd who isn't even yet on the scene in our text.
That young shepherd is David who was secretly anointed by the prophet Samuel as the next king of Israel. The youth who will slay a giant is also Saul's part-time musician. David isn't even old enough to serve in the army like some of his brothers but he will be more courageous than them all. "Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was very old. Jesse's three oldest sons followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem." (1 Samuel 17:12-15)
This stand off between the Philistines and the Israelites goes on for over a month. "For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand." (1 Samuel 17:16) Goliath challenges the Israelites twice a day for forty days. He makes fun of their fear. He blasphemes their God. He discourages their army from surging forward into battle by inviting them to send only one man out to fight him. He thinks they will eventually surrender without a fight at all. His twice-daily taunts are demoralizing to them, as he intends them to be. He is a war veteran who understands that battles are won or lost in the mind, not on the battlefield. He knows he can cause the Israelites to raise the white flag if he can make them lose hope.
Satan uses the same tactics we find Goliath using. He likes to bombard us day after day with negative thoughts and negative images. He tells us the lie that it's no use fighting because we have no hope of victory. He knows if he can cause us to lose the battle in our minds we'll surrender to temptations or give in to doubts and fears. If we give up in our minds, we'll give up with our hands and feet---we won't boldly move forward on the Lord's command. We won't step up and do whatever the Lord is calling us to do. As a result, we'll be poor examples of the faith. We can't lead anyone else to the Lord if they see us living in a defeated attitude. They'll reason that if there is no help, comfort, or power to be had from a relationship with the Lord, why should they give Him their allegiance? If we, as believers, live lives that are controlled by doubts and fears and discouragement, we are giving false testimony about our God. We are dishonoring the great name of our mighty Savior.
David will be offended for the Lord's sake and for Israel's sake when he hears Goliath dishonoring the name of the Savior. He will likely (though the Bible doesn't specifically say so) be astonished that not one man of Saul's army has stepped forward to defend the great name of the Lord or to defend the honor of Israel. David will do what no one else dares to do. He will do it because he trusts the Lord. The Lord has saved him from great danger before and he believes the Lord will save him from great danger again. David has already won the battle in his mind because his confidence is in the Lord; that is why he will win the battle on the field.
No comments:
Post a Comment