The First Book Of Samuel. Day 50, David And Goliath, Part Four

For forty days Goliath has taunted the army of Israel. For forty days he has called to the Israelites to send a man out to fight him. Suddenly he sees someone step out of the ranks and start moving in his direction. When he gets close enough to the person to get a good look at him, he is astonished and insulted to see that the volunteer is a youth who is dressed in shepherd's robes instead of in armor and who is carrying a shepherd's staff instead of a sword. We don't know whether Goliath sees the slingshot in David's other hand but I suspect he doesn't because he only mentions "sticks" (a reference to the shepherd's staff) in this next segment below. 

"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!'" (1 Samuel 17:41-44) David is younger than any man the Israelites could have sent out. He has less training than anyone they could have sent out; in fact, he has no battle experience at all. On top of his youth and inexperience, he's so handsome he's what could be termed "beautiful" and this enrages Goliath because he assumes the Israelites are playing a joke at his expense. How do we know this? Because the word translated in verse 43 as "dog" is the same word used in other places in the Bible to denote an effeminate/transvestite male or a male prostitute. Goliath is saying to the army of Israel: "Is this the best you've got? Do you think this is funny? Do I look like a sissy boy to you that you would send out this young guy who looks like an underwear model to beat me with a stick? Well, come on then, boy! Come and let me tear you to pieces!"

David has never engaged in the trash talk that was customary before two men entered hand-to-hand combat but he rises to the occasion admirably. "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 you into our hands.'" (1 Samuel 17:45-47) David gets the last word and he gets the best word. We could almost call this a "mic drop" moment when he concludes his statement of faith.

Earlier in Chapter 17 we were told how tall Goliath is and how heavily armored Goliath is and how long and deadly his spear is. None of that matters because, as David says, the battle is the Lord's. Goliath could be ten times taller than he is, be wearing armor tough enough to stop a bullet, and be carrying a machine gun and he would still lose the fight. 

"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." (1 Samuel 17:48-51a) All the glory for this victory goes to the Lord. If David had outsmarted Goliath in battle somehow or had managed to strike a lucky blow with King Saul's sword, the Israelites and the Philistines both might have solely credited David for this stunning outcome. But David used a smooth stone, created by the Lord and unshaped by the tools of man, to slay a giant. David was very clear in his words to Goliath that the victory would come from the Lord alone. Everyone heard David glorifying the name of the Lord and giving Him credit ahead of time before he met Goliath on the field. David's confident prediction has come true and it's clear to everyone who witnessed what happened that the Lord had to have participated in the young shepherd's victory over the battle-experienced giant.

The power of the Lord on our behalf is never more evident than when we are facing an impossible obstacle. When we know we can't solve our problems with human strength or human ingenuity, and when victory comes in spite of that, there's no place we should point praise and glory except to the Lord. David knew he was no match for Goliath without the Lord on his side. He knew the Lord was on his side and, because he had that confident assurance, he was able to begin praising God in advance. The fame of the Lord's power on behalf of Israel spreads far and wide, as David predicted, because no one thought he could face down a giant and win. Even the heathen nations surrounding Israel are forced to conclude that the Lord is mighty on behalf of His people. The majority of those pagan people likely never forsook their false gods for the Lord upon hearing the feat He performed for Israel but the Lord is being merciful to them by displaying His great power in this manner. He's giving them an opportunity to turn to Him and be saved. We can only hope at least some of them did just that.