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Have you ever been taken by surprise at the incongruity of a certain circumstance in your life causing you to shake your head in disbelief?
We all probably remember the account of David and Goliath from reading our Bibles. What an absolutely thrilling outcome when everything seemed like it was stacked against young David. David was the only person brave enough to courageously fight the giant who towered above him. Some say Goliath was almost 10 feet tall. What did David do to successfully kill the Philistine who could have crushed him like a grasshopper? Let us look at what the Bible says. 1 Samuel 17 contains the whole account.
Notice 1 Samuel 17:4 which mentions that Goliath was a champion from Gath amongst the Philistines. He was well known to be the strongest and most powerful from within their army. All the men of Israel fled when they saw Goliath for they were dreadfully afraid (1 Samuel 17:24). Just the sight of him caused such fear. Do we know anyone like that? It may be hard to imagine this aspect as the only tall people I can think of are sportsmen who play basketball. By comparison they would be at least 2-3 feet shorter than Goliath.
In preparation for this battle did you notice that Goliath, even though he towered above David, was clad in battle array? Protected by physical clothing covering his torso and legs, as well as a helmet on his head. Even a shield was before him (1 Samuel 17:5-7). David was given the opportunity to wear similar gear by King Saul but chose to fight without these physical materials, wisely deciding that they would be more of a hindrance and an impediment to his movements (1 Samuel 17:38-39). He did not need to rely on these physical objects of protection because he knew God always gave him the protection he needed as a shepherd boy, and just as much now when he was about to run towards the physical giant of all giants to slay him (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
Goliath pridefully taunted the Israelites by announcing in defiant terms that the winner of this battle to the death would reap the benefits of having the losing camp become their slaves for life (1 Samuel 17:8-10). Goliath and the Philistines never expected to lose this battle. In their eyes they were certain of their conquest. Hence their repetitive insistence that the battle occur by showing up for 40 consecutive days each morning and evening (1 Samuel 17:16).
During this time David was sent by His father to bring provisions of food quickly to his brothers, who were older and more experienced at battle. Jesse also asked David to take cheese provisions to the captain of the army and to gain a report on how things were progressing. David’s father was most interested and eager to know of any news (1 Samuel 17:17-18). This reminds me of how God our Father is watching all of us intently and is so eager to feed us with spiritual food while giving us the physical food we need to sustain life. He so desires that we fight our battles daily with our enemy in order to be successful overcomers. As Romans 8:31 states “If God is for us who can be against us?”
One would think everyone would have been most grateful for David to volunteer to go up against this seasoned man of battle who put dread and nothing but fear into their hearts. Not so. David’s own brother Eliab, who happened to be the eldest brother, became angry and questioned David as to his reasons why he came to the battlefront and what he had done with the few sheep he left in the wilderness, implying reckless abandonment with lack of foresight and wisdom. Then he even goes on to accuse David of pride and insolence in wanting to see the battle (1 Samuel 17:28). Could it be that Eliab felt insecure or jealous of David? Eliab had fear and as the eldest son perhaps more was expected of him than he could give. He may have been found greatly lacking in courage. Thankfully God knows the intentions of our hearts and we need not be concerned but it does hurt when family or brethren falsely accuse us of motives that are erroneous. Sad but true. We just continue to take it all to God like David did.
That is why David was successful in killing Goliath, because he fully trusted in God and was outraged at the insolence of Goliath when he defied the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17:36). David had opportunity to petition before the King and went on to explain to King Saul how he had killed lions and bears when they came to attack the sheep under his care — that is why he knew he could take out Goliath. David was a truly caring and skilfull shepherd, which reminds me of how Christ leads and shepherds His flock (John 10:11). And so David drew from his experiences throughout his formative years knowing that God was with him, which gave David unwavering confidence in his faith.
When David stood before Goliath with nothing but 5 smooth stones in a pouch and a sling, the giant scorned him (1 Samuel 17:40-43). Furthermore Goliath cursed David by his gods. That must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as it were, because David gave the giant a righteous mouthful (1 Samuel 17:43-47). Go David! We can all feel great relief and delight in David’s conquest. Imagine being there on that day in amongst the thousands comprising the Israelitish and Philistine armies. I can imagine almost deafening noise in cheering and encouraging David to win but then wonder if the crowds became suddenly quiet momentarily as they watched David deliver the stone adeptly through the air to hit Goliath with full accurate force on his forehead so that the stone sank in (1 Samuel 17:49-50). As Goliath fell some may have been holding their breath in silence, watching in jaw dropping awe whilst others roared out with pure uncontrollable joy in victory. The effects of the missile had not yet killed Goliath but David did as he said and mercifully put an end to the giant’s life with the sword. This is incredibly symbolic for God’s people. The Bible is our greatest weapon alongside having God fight our battles with us and for us (Psalm 118:6; Jeremiah 20:11; 1 John 4:4).
At the end of 1 Samuel 17, David gave great honour to his father in front of King Saul, by announcing that he was the son of the King’s servant, Jesse the Bethlehemite. Let us all stand firmly in the faith to give great honour and glory to our heavenly Father in front of our King of Kings, Jesus Christ by having the courage of David. We realise we are small by comparison to all the giants of this world, many of us are feeble and physically weak, infirm, some in wheelchairs, many without higher education qualifications, nothing much to look at, but we are God’s army, those who have been called out of the world for such a time as this, to fight the battle of all battles which is going on, day after day. Much of which is sight unseen but nevertheless it is going on around us daily (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Our advantage is that we have the element of surprise with us. Like Goliath, the devil believes he will slay us because he is powerful and knows our weaknesses. He sees us as puny weaklings because we are physical humans with limitations, limitations he does not have. Like David let's have solid faith; we know absolutely that God will never leave us because He tells us many times within scripture, and we know that God cannot lie (1 Chronicles 28:20; Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2). Instead of talking out loud to God in formal and informal prayer, pray with words only God can hear — that is just one way we can be wise in this battle. The devil cannot read our thoughts. He can see what we do and how we react and get many clues from us by watching. Only God and Christ can read our thoughts. It is time to fight this supernatural battle with every strategic method of advantageous stealth we can, with God’s help. And so we must fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12). Do all you can to stand. Put on the whole armour for warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18) and fight to win the battle of our lives (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).