David and Goliath
Hollywood often makes a mess of things when it takes on the Bible. Its multiple renditions of David’s battle with Goliath are frustrating. More than once it has portrayed David as a timid boy approaching the giant, while reciting his own Psalm 23. None of that is textual.
When the Philistines, the Israelites’ mortal enemies, “gathered their armies together to battle” (1 Sam. 17:1), they camped in the Elah Valley, about 15 miles west of Bethlehem. They were on one side of the valley; the Israelites were on the other.
The Philistines’ formidable champion, Goliath of Gath, challenged the Israelites to choose a man to fight him; and twice a day for 40 days straight, the 9-foot-9-inch warrior taunted the Israelites.
David wasn’t in the army because he was young and in charge of his father’s sheep. But his brothers Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah were there. Wanting news of his sons, their father, Jesse, told his youngest, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp . . . and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them” (vv. 17–18).
So, David left the sheep with a keeper and arrived just in time for one of Goliath’s rants. Angry with David, Eliab asked him, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” (v. 28).
David replied, “What have I done now?” (v. 29). Perhaps Eliab was embarrassed to have his youngest brother see the Israelite army so fearful and inept.
But David wasn’t fearful. In fact, he was the opposite. David was confident the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hands (v. 46). When vying for the chance to slay the giant, David told King Saul, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God” (v. 36).
David was incensed that a pagan would taunt God. So, Saul agreed to give David a chance. Imagine trying to kill a bear or a lion with a sling or dagger. In a world where people have been mauled to death by such animals, even with the advantage of modern rifles, David’s fearlessness speaks volumes about the type of person he was. And he refused to take the glory, stating plainly, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (v. 37).
Too young even to wear armor, David took his sling; gathered five smooth stones from the Brook of Elah; and told Goliath, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (v. 45). Before both the Israelite and Philistine armies, David declared, “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands” (v. 47).
David did not approach Goliath slowly, quoting his own ruminations. He loaded a single stone into his sling, used his agility, “and hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” (v. 48), possibly slinging the stone as he was charging forward.
The stone hit Goliath in the forehead. Goliath fell, and David cut off the giant’s head with the Philistine’s own sword. Then the Philistines fled, enabling the Israelites to pursue them to the gates of Ekron in Philistia (vv. 49–52).
Sorry, Hollywood. No hesitation. Just a deep faith in God. This battle was a defining moment for David. He treated Goliath like a wild animal, as he said he would. Only this time, he stepped up to shepherd God’s nation instead of his father’s flock.
by Tom Simcox and Cameron Joyner
Photo: Adobe Stock
