David And Goliath

Faith's Power

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 hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head."

1 Samuel 17:45-46a

Wimp. Weakling. Baby. All his life, David had had to put up with his older brothers' banter just because he was the youngest in the family. Little did they know that he would one day become the most revered man in all of the land, and eventually, the King of Israel. David achieved these things by having one small thing that not one of them had: faith. David's faith in God was so great that when his brothers and all the rest of the Israeli army quivered in their boots, he mustered up enough courage to challenge and ultimately defeat Goliath, the nine foot tall giant of Gath (1 Samuel 17:4). David, in all his glory of victory, became the perfect representation of an unlikely hero, and serves as an excellent example to all Christians of one of great trust in the Lord God. In fact, the story of David and Goliath embodies, in whole, the main Christian belief that if one puts his or her full faith in God, great things can be accomplished.

The story of David and Goliath begins as the nine foot tall giant lurches forward once again to make his "usual" defiance to the pathetic Israeli army (1 Samuel 17:23). "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" (1 Samuel 17:8-9). The Israelites were terrified and could not find even a single man with enough courage to battle this colossal champion. They shook in their boots for 40 days until the answer to all of their prayers finally showed up. The little shepherd boy, David, who had brought a care package to his brothers from his father, had overheard the Israelite soldiers' jaw about the rewards that the victor over Goliath would collect. To David, Goliath was just some "uncircumcised Philistine" who was defying the armies of the living God (insert parenthetical reference), so battling him was not as big of a deal as it would be for any other person.

Well, Saul had heard about David and what he was saying and sent for him. One can only guess what Saul's reaction was when first laying eyes on David. "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth" (1 Samuel 17:33). Once again, David had been counted out just because of his adolescence and his minuscule stature. What Saul did not know was that David's awesome faith in God completely made up for his lack of size or strength. David's reply to Saul was one that was unexpected. David told him of two separate times when the Lord had delivered him from both the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear (1 Samuel 17:37). David trusted that if the Lord had saved him from these wild beasts, he would now deliver him from the hand of the mighty Philistine. This gained Saul's approval to fight Goliath. Now that he was going out to battle, David would now need armor. Saul provided him some of his own, but David was not used to such heavy, clunky, wear and therefore could not put it to good use. According to author Matthew Henry, "...this was from the Lord, that it might more plainly appear he fought and conquered in faith, and that the victory was from Him who works by the feeblest and most despised means and instruments." So David, equipped only with five stones, a sling, and the armor of the Lord, went out to face the great warrior that was Goliath.

So the scene is now set and the conditions are just right for the enormous upset that David was about to lay on Goliath and the rest of the Philistines. Goliath walked easily ahead to meet his facile foe. Expecting to see some other great warrior (but of course, not as great as himself) to come forth and challenge him, Goliath is met with the surprise that it is only a young boy, a young boy that he now despises (1 Samuel 17:42). This is where Goliath makes a terrible mistake; he curses David by his gods. This only strengthens David's faith that God will deliver him. 1 Samuel 17:45-46a says, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God if the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me and I'll strike you down and cut off your head." That, in fact, is just what David did. Goliath started toward David but met his true end when David flung his sling shot and connected with one hundred percent skull, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground(1 Samuel 17: 48b). David then proceeded to run over to Goliath, take his sword out of his sheath, and decapitate the nine foot high body. The victory was won, and all those who witnessed this great event knew that this