David, the early years - Part 4
Goliath's Defiance
19th November 2011
The Philistines and the Israelites had been enemies for generations. Both nations wanted to occupy the same land (and they still do). Now trouble flared up again; the Philistines invaded. King Saul led out the Israelite army to engage them in battle.
1 Samuel 17v1-3
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at
Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.
Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet
the Philistines.
The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
As was usual in those days, the armies occupied hills on opposite sides of a valley. What happened next, however, was not so usual:
1 Samuel 17v4-10
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.
He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armour 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.
Goliath stood and shouted to 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 him and kill him, you
will become our subjects and serve us."
Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."
Before God rejected him as king, Saul had been a brave man. For all his faults, he would lead them into battle, but now his courage failed him:
1 Samuel 17v11
On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
Meanwhile:
1 Samuel 17v12-15
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 old and well advanced in years.
Jesse's three oldest sons had 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.
David wasn't considered to be ready for war. He worked part-time for Saul as a harp player and an armour bearer (see Chapter 16) and part-time for his father as a shepherd.
1 Samuel 17v16
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
There was stalemate in the valley for forty days. No-one had the courage to take Goliath on in single combat - not even Saul.
1 Samuel 17v17-24
Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your
brothers and hurry to their camp.
Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some
assurance from them.
They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."
Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He
reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.
Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.
David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.
As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and
shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.
When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
For the first time, David saw what was happening.
Saul could have faced Goliath himself. He could have ignored Goliath and sounded the charge against the Philistine forces. Instead, he sent a message around, offering a reward to whoever had the courage that the king should have had:
1 Samuel 17v25-27
Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel.
The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and
will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel."
David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes
this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living
God?"
They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills
him."
David's perception of the situation was different from everybody else's. They saw a man defying the armies of Israel. David saw a man defying the armies of the living God.
And, today, we see individuals and organisations that stand against the church. We're insulted, ridiculed and, in many countries and to various degrees, persecuted, because we belong to God and because we proclaim the truth of the Bible. But they don't just stand against us - they stand against God. And each one of them will fall, sooner or later.
The question is: do we, like David, have the courage to stand and fight?
We don't fight like earthly armies. We don't fight like Moslem suicide bombers. We fight with love, prayer, sacrifice and patience, blessing those that persecute us and reaching out to those that ridicule us. And when we do, we achieve victory - not because of our own skill, or our own strength, or our own characters, but because we're fighting for God, and God fights with us.
Love is mightier than hatred.