David: A Faith That Meets Adversity Head-on

Is any story in Scripture more well-known than the story of David and Goliath? Are we not seeing, for the past week, a contemporary version of "David" overcoming the regional "giant" Iran?  The David and Goliath story represents the potential for a "lesser power" to overcome "the strength of a greater power." Goliath was a giant a word from Greek Gigas (usually in plural, Gigantes), one of a race of divine but savage and monstrous beings; e.g the Titans. 

The Titans were the first generation of Greek gods, born from the primordial deities Uranus and Gaea. The Titans initially ruled the cosmos, but Cronus, their leader, became a tyrant, eventually leading to a war against his son Zeus and the other Olympian gods, which they lost giving rise to the Olympian gods.  The Olympian gods were said to live on Mt. Olympus in the north of Thessaly in Greece while the Titans were said to lice on Mt. Othrys in the south of Thessaly. Want more info on the Greek myths?  Check out this article.

Personifying powerful or destructive natural cosmic forces, the Titans of mythology were Atlas (physical forces and laws) who carries the sky on his shoulders and represents the enduring physical structure of the Cosmos. Cronus (time) represents the destructive nature of time. Oceanus (the power of fluid dynamics and flow).  Hyperion (light, energy); Coeus (intellect); Mnemosyne (memory); Rhea (fertility and motherhood); Theia (sight and divine light); Themis (divine justice); Tethys (water); Phoebe (celestial light).  The Titans' roles often intertwine with the natural world, and their stories reflect humanity's attempts to understand and personify the forces that shape their existence. The Titans are the predecessors of the Olympian gods, with many of the Olympians being their children or grandchildren.

Goliath was not a Titan, but he was described as a giant.  The word in Hebrew could signify anything from a giant-like Titan, to a member of a particular race who were great warriors, e.g. the Spartans or the Vikings or any of the other war-like peoples of the Earth.  The giants represented a significant obstacle to achieving a desired end.  The giant Goliath kept Saul and Israel from proceeding with conquering Canaan; Iran, the regional giant,  was keeping Israel from peacefully coexisting with their neighbors – constantly threatening war-like action against them, and even sponsoring war-like action against them through others.  

Early in the story of David we learn that his ability, strength, and victories were not a product of David as a human, but the results of his confidence and reliance upon the Lord. The entirety of this narrative of David facing Goliath is recorded in chapter 17, but this study looks at  1 Samuel 17:3-8,  32-37,  45-47.

We all face challenges and roadblocks.  It is a part of being alive.  Some adverse situations are easily overcome and others lead us to choose a different path. But what do we do when the roadblock seems insurmountable and it’s blocking the path we need to walk?  David shows us that we trust God. No roadblock or giant is too much for God, and when we trust God he works on our behalf.  The point of this study is that faith moves with confidence in God.

So let's introduce the players in today's game.

1 Samuel 17:3-8

3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. 4 Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall 5 and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.”

The Bible first mentions the Philistines in Genesis 10:14 in what is called the Table of Nations. Both Abraham and Isaac are described as having related to the Philistines at different times in their lives. 

The Philistines were an ancient people who settled in the coastal area of Canaan (modern-day Israel) around the 12th century BC, the years 1200 to 1101 BC. This period is notable for the Late Bronze Age collapse, a period of widespread societal decline and upheaval in the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean. The Philistines established five major cities: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. Goliath was an inhabitant of Gath.

Historians generally believe the Philistines originated from the Sea Peoples, a group of migrating peoples from the Aegean region during the widespread societal decline in the late Bronze Age characterized by the collapse of major civilizations, disrupted trade routes, and a loss of literacy and artistic skills.  Cities (like Troy) were destroyed, andpopulations migrated.  The aftermath of the collapse is often referred to as the Dark Ages, especially in Greece, where the Mycenaean civilization disappeared and the subsequent period was marked by a decline in culture and knowledge as compared to the Bronze Age. This period also saw the decline and fall of major Bronze Age civilizations, including the Hittite Empire (in what we know as Turkey), Mycenaean Greece, cities likeTroy, and various kingdoms in the Levant. Many major cities were violently destroyed or abandoned. 

While the exact reasons for the collapse are debated, scholars suggest a "perfect storm" of factors including climate change (droughts), famine, disease, invasions (Sea Peoples), and earthquakes. For whatever reason, it became easier to wander and to destroy than it was to maintain a society in good relations with other societies.  

The collapse of empires and kingdoms led to political fragmentation and the emergence of smaller, less centralized entities, perhaps increasing the number of conflicts. This disruption to trade routes and increased conflict led to a decline in international trade and a decrease in literacy rates. The use of iron became more prevalent as bronze became scarce or unavailable due to disrupted trade. This shift towards iron technology would eventually revolutionize warfare and other aspects of life.

While some civilizations like the Mycenaeans and Minoans suffered complete collapse, others, like the Assyrians and Egyptians, showed resilience and adapted to the changing circumstances. As the Bronze Age concluded, the Iron Age emerged as a period of transformation and development. Much as the "Industrial revolution" caused much individual craftsmanship to become lost in our modern era, much knowledge and craftsmanship of the Bronze Age was lost. 

The 12th century BCE is also a period of increased settlement in the highlands of Canaan, connected with the emergence of the early Israelite culture. The Philistines were known for their advanced weaponry and military organization, including a monopoly on ironworking. 

The name "Philistia" is derived from the Hebrew word "Peleshet," which is believed to mean "land of wanderers" or "land of strangers".   I find it interesting that Cain, after murdering his brother, was exiled to Nod, a name meaning wandering.  Biblically, Canaanites are identified in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.

Goliath was noted to be 4 (or 6) cubits and a span, anywhere from six-feet-nine-inches to about nine-feet-nine-inches tall, and a fierce warrior.  No matter his actual height this man was a BIG man, even by modern standards.  

Saul knew his army and weapons were no match for Goliath for perhaps Saul was still using bronze weapons while Goliath had iron weapons. David, however, was confident that he could defeat this big warrior who had all the latest weapons....kind of like Israel defeating Iran’s military.

Let's look at the details.  As the armies of Israel and the Philistines prepared to go to battle, they stood on opposite hills with a ravine, a dry riverbed dividing them. The Lord’s anointed stepped into this valley to overcome the Israelites’ fear through a demonstration of faith in the power of the Lord to overcome even the most overwhelming enemy.  

While the Philistines had the latest and greatest weapons, they did NOT have God on their side who had raised up and trained a young man who trusted God enough to defend his flocks against lions and bears.  God would give the people of God victory—even over the giants. 

By mentioning giants here 1 Samuel seems to have been calling back to that time when the people of Israel were faithless and, as a result, were kept from entering the promised land. That shadow of fear, faithlessness, and disobedience was hanging over the army of Israel when David stepped forward to face the giant. That man of faith was the Lord’s anointed—David, the son of Jesse, and Jesus', something like 20th Great Grandfather if I guess nearly correctly.

Another evidence for Goliath being a giant is the description of his armor which weighed in at one hundred twenty-five pounds. Only a massively powerful man would be able to wield such heavy armor and still be able to carry out his duties. Currently, modern body armor weighs some 20 to 40 pounds and medieval plate armor suits weigh 35 to 55 pounds.  Goliath's armor was 2 to 3 times heavier still.  He was a BIG and POWERFUL man to wear 125 pounds of armor and still be able to wield a javelin, a sword and a shield.

Saul was taller than most other Israelites, which was the reason why the nation chose him as king, he was seemingly the man best suited to go to battle against the giant Goliath. However, by giving into his fear and trusting his physical eyes instead of trusting the word of the Lord, Saul walked in the way of Adam and Eve who trusted their own eyes and the words of the serpent instead of the word of God. In following in the way of Adam and Eve, Saul showed himself to be an incapable defender of Israel and, therefore, an unsuitable king,

The account of David and Goliath is an example of the ancient practice of representative warfare. In representative warfare, each side was to choose a solider. Those soldiers would fight to the death as representatives of their respective armies. The results of this one-on-one battle were clear and so would be the consequences. The side represented by the dead man would become the servants of the victor’s army and nation. Despite representative warfare being their idea, the Philistines would later show themselves to be unfaithful even to their own proposal, much as Iran has been in their taunting of the little country with a mighty champion (God) on their side.

So David, sounding much like a typical teenager, was saying "what's the big deal?  If no one else wants to, I'll go do it."  Saul, like we probably would say, replied "shut up kid, you don't know what you are talking about.  You're a kid and he is a ginormous armored, trained killer.  He will literally flick you off like a flea, and then WE would all be in trouble."  Let's look at what David said. 

1 Samuel 17:32-37

32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 33 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.” 34 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

 

David’s default response was faith in God. David didn’t see Goliath as an unbeatable giant. He saw him as just another animal threatening the flock of God.

Saul was exactly the kind of king Israel asked for earlier in the book—one who acted like the kings of other nations. Saul trusted in what he could see, in his own abilities, and in the power of his armies instead of the power of the Lord. A truly faithful king would have trusted in the Lord and had faith in His power rather than being filled with fear. However, when Saul saw that his own abilities came up short and that no one in his army was courageous enough to face the giant Goliath, he was full of fear instead faith.

The Lord had already rejected Saul as king, and David had been anointed by Samuel. The phrase “a man after his own heart” describes King David who, instead of being the kind of king that the people’s hearts desired, was the kind of king God’s heart desired.  “After God's own heart" means to be in alignment with God's will and desires, exhibiting a deep love for God and a desire to please Him. It implies having a heart that is sensitive to spiritual things, readily admitting mistakes, and seeking to live a life of integrity and obedience to God's commands.

Earlier commands from God to be strong and courageous were based not on the strength, cunning, or size of the Israelite army but on the fact that “the Lord your God is with you”.  While Saul had been rejected as king in chapter 15, and David had been anointed by Samuel  in chapter 16, David still humbled himself by submitting to Saul and to Saul’s kingship. This kind of submission would mark David’s relationship to Saul throughout the rest of Saul’s life. 

In the following chapters, David would have opportunities to dethrone and even kill Saul, but he would not take them. Instead, he would continually submit himself to Saul as king. This submission was not to Saul but to the Lord.  David’s loyalty and devotion was to the Lord—not to Saul. In this behavior, David showed himself to be the kind of king whom the Lord desired to lead His people. The Hebrew word translated youth suggests David was likely under twenty years-old.

David’s response shows that his confidence in facing Goliath was not faith in his own abilities. Instead, his faith was in the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear. David’s walk with God was a walk of trust, faith, and hope. David looked at all of God’s faithfulness to him in the past and demonstrated faith that God would continue to act in accordance with His nature.  

Let's look at what David says to Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:45-47

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.

Goliath was the first to speak. Goliath was not impressed by his young opponent and told David what would happen to him. David didn’t back down but guaranteed Goliath’s death in the name of the Lord.  Just visualize a 9 foot tall muscular MMA wrestler facing off against a "typical teenage athlete."  David reveals God’s charges against Goliath. Goliath defied God 

The three weapons represented some of the most advanced forms of military technology in the ancient world. By recognizing that Goliath had all three of these weapons at his disposal, David was demonstrating that his confidence in the Lord was not naïve optimism. Instead, David had true confidence in the Lord and His ability to save.

The two overlapping grammatical phrases—in the name of the Lord and the Lord of Armies—both represent significant theological ideas. First, “in the name of the Lord” recalls not just the vocalization of God’s divine name but the entirety of God’s work in the world—especially through Abraham’s descendants and even more specifically through the people of Israel since they had been rescued from slavery in Egypt. God had revealed His divine name to Moses at the burning bush. It was in that name that David was going into battle with Goliath. The reference to the name of the Lord is a subtle reminder of the Lord’s power to do the impossible—just as He had done when He brought thousands upon thousands of Israelites out of slavery in Egypt while drowning Egypt’s army in the sea.

The second phrase, the Lord of Armies, is a less subtle reminder of the Lord’s power, a reference to the power of God’s heavenly armies that dwarfs any and all earthly powers. God is the Lord over EVERY power in the universe.  

The phrase God of the ranks of Israel builds on the phrase the Lord of Armies. David was confessing that the Lord is the Lord over the heavens above and He is also Lord over the earth below. The Lord’s sovereignty will always accomplish exactly what He intends for it to accomplish. This phrase reminds us that the people of Israel belong to the Lord and not to any human king. 

The name Joshua means “Yahweh saves.” In the New Testament, the name Jesus is the Greek version of the same name. David’s confidence that the Lord would save him is an echo of the way that the Lord saved Joshua and His people as they entered the promised land and a foreshadowing of the way the Lord would save His people through the work of Jesus. 

David understood a fundamental principle about the life of God’s people—a principle that is seen both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Whenever we are faced with a challenge to living the life that God has called us to, we need to understand that those battles will only be won in the power that God provides, not in our own power, cleverness, education, background, or anything else. All of our spiritual battles belong to the Lord.

Military victory would be done by the Lord and His armies—not by David or any earthly army. At the end of David’s life, he would give credit to the Lord for all of the victories in his life. Or stated another way:

• David, the Anointed King of Israel, confessed God's power and PUBLICLY confessed that power to all the humans of the world.  
• Jesus, David's descendant, confessed God's power and PUBLICLY confesses that power to all the humans of the world.  
• We, as the spiritual spouse of Jesus, need to confess God's power and PUBLICLY confess that power to all of the humans that we interact with.

Just as David defeated Goliath through the power of God (and Israel IS defeating Iran through the power of God) we need to be a spiritual risk-taker and confess the power of God and proclaim it to all of the humans in the world.