Thus
saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. (2
Chron 20:15)
In elementary school, I was the older of two brothers and was therefore the
shield and guardian for my little brother against larger bullies. I often
wished for the shoe to be on the other foot. Little did I realize that I did
have an older Brother mightier than every bully, enemy, or hateful troublemaker
– the Lord Jesus Christ! A man that
hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. (Prov
18:24) For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Matt
12:50) But of far
greater gravity is the fact Jesus is our LORD and Master. He is our rock and
our Fortress. As related in 2 Chronicles 20:15 above, He is the victor of all
of our righteous causes.
There came a day when the first fleshly King Saul of Israel (God was first
King) was engaged in a standoff with the legions of the Philistines. They were
arrayed in intimidating numbers across the valley of Elah facing the armies of
Israel. The numbers of the Philistines was daunting for both appearance and
numerical advantage. To add to this seemingly hopeless imbalance, a new and
unexpected threat was posed by the Philistines: 4 And there went out a
champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose
height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass
upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat
was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon
his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was
like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron:
and one bearing a shield went before him. (1
Sam 17:4-7) By
ancient records, the height of Goliath has been variously computed to be
between 10 and 11.5 ft. tall. He was gigantic and struck fear in the hearts of
the Israelites who did not remember their God was greater than the largest man
ever born.
Consider, beyond the gigantic size of the giant, the size and weight of his
armaments. His coat of mail weighed over 150 pounds; he wore greaves of iron
sheaves on his shins and a large target (shield) of brass between his shoulders
(he did not bear the shield in hand due to his overconfidence); the staff of
his spear was like a weaver’s beam (about four inches in diameter and ten feet
long); the head of his spear weighed about thirteen pounds alone; and there was
an escort who went before the giant, out of formal courtesy, bearing a shield.
So the men of Israel were very fearful of this new development. Goliath
proposed to be the champion of the two sides to settle the conflict without
further bloodshed of many others. This seemed fair enough, but the advantage in
size lay overwhelmingly on the side of the giant. Moreover, he was a seasoned
veteran of battle.
While the mighty men of Israel shook fearfully in their boots and pondered who
among them of their strongest and brightest could challenge the giant, a young
lad was approaching the camp to bring victuals to his brothers. When the threat
of defeat looms most threatening, and hope grows forlorn, the Lord is preparing
a typical savior for His people in the form of the least among the Israelites
to combat the greatest man of the Philistines. This is another example of the
math of God. Gideon’s 300 against the enemies 120,000; and now this youthful
lad against the greatest giant in the land of the Philistines. Who would have
considered it? Have the Israelites forgotten that the battle belongs to the
LORD? He did not even need David except to emphasize His own glory and majesty
in preparing the smallest to defeat the largest of warriors.
Of course, David was a shepherd boy and not trained in the military arts of
war. He did, however, have one small strength that he had learned in defending
the sheep from the wolves and lions – a slingshot. He was a good shepherd who
found the greenest of pastures for his sheep, and he practiced his skill on the
slingshot in order to ward off predators in defending the sheep. Would it not
be a great blessing if the under-shepherds of our churches had at least one
means of defending the sheep from the wolves and lions rather than eating those
themselves?
So David evaluates the situation facing Israel through innocent and child-like
eyes. His child-like faith and courage were completely disappointed at the lack
of courage of the strong men of Israel. They had forgotten that one needs only
a single ally when confronting the battles of life – the Lord who is the God of
Battles. David asks, who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
(1 Sam 17:26)
David’s brothers were offended at what they viewed as
immature presumptuousness. But in spite of all, King Saul heard of this young
lad and sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail
because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. (1
Sam 17:32) Saul
could hardly believe his ears! The exchange continued thusly: And Saul said
to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him:
for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David
said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and
a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote
him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught
him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion
and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing
he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that
delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he
will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. (1
Sam 17:33-37) Though
Saul doubted David’s ability to down the giant, he had nothing to lose but
David’s life, so he relented and sent David to fight the giant. He went without
armor since that was too heavy to be borne by a small boy.
40 And
he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the
brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his
sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. (1 Sam
17:40) David took
neither spear nor shield, but only a shepherd’s staff and his faithful sling
whose stones the Lord had always directed in flight. On the way into the valley
of Elah to face Goliath, David gathered five smooth stones from the brook.
Running water smoothens stones just as the water of life smoothens the
turbulent heart. Why did David select five of those stones if he was so certain
that God would direct his sling to target? I believe the evidence can be found
in 2 Samuel 21. In verses 15-22 (too long to include here), the account is
related of four other giants who threatened David, but were killed by his men.
Each was of a similar size as Goliath and perhaps even larger. One of them at Gath,
the homeland of Goliath, had six toes on each foot and six fingers on each
hand. These four were all killed by men other than David, but at the favor of
God. They were sons of Goliath we are told. These four were born to the
giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
(2 Sam 21:22)
It seems to me that the courage of David and his unsurpassed faith in God are
under-rated in the account of his battle with Goliath. I believe David chose
five smooth stones because he was aware of the sons of Goliath and realized
that they may come to their father’s defense when they saw him defeated so
shamefully by David. David must have expected to fight FIVE giants instead of
only the father, Goliath, of four other giants. So, being wise beyond years
owing to his trust in God, David made adequate preparation for contingencies
that were possible, or even probable. If we are God’s people, we, too, must
take measures for unforeseen dangers that lurk in the shadows against our
brothers and sisters in Christ, against our nation, and against the Kingdom of
God. It is not because God NEEDS our help, but He desires to see in us
the courage and faith of a David.
As David approached the giant, Goliath was incensed at the absurdity of a lad
coming before him with only a stick (shepherd’s staff) to confront so
formidable enemy as himself. 42 And when the Philistine
looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and
ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto
David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine
cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to
David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to
the beasts of the field.
(1 Sam 17:42-44) This threat might intimidate our modern politicians and
clergymen of today, but it only solidified the mettle of David. 45 Then said David to the
Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver
thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and
I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls
of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly
shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the
LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. (1
Sam 17:45-47) Thus
did David proceed to do.
48 And
it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet
David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. (1 Sam
17:48) If God is in
the equation, no need to fear and cringe. Note that little David RAN to meet
Goliath! I wish our leaders of today would run to meet the enemies of freedom
and liberty. 49 And David put his hand in
his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his
forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to
the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the
Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him;
but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood
upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof,
and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw
their champion was dead, they fled. (1 Sam 17:49-51) Yes, the champion of the
Philistines was dead, beheaded by his own sword. The Philistines panicked at
this miraculous defeat of Goliath. But the strong men of Israel were emboldened
to battle by a mere boy – notwithstanding a boy who went forth in the favor and
strength of God his Father.
