I SAMUEL 17 DAVID AND GOLIATH

 

The events in this chapter occurred near Lachish. Look at Jeremiah 34:6-7. The Lachish letters were 

written on pieces of broken pottery from a Hebrew scout just outside Lachish to his commander in the 

city. One of the letters states that the scout saw the signal light at Azekah go out, indicating that the 

Babylonians had just conquered it. Lachish was the next to fall. The same particular Hebrew word for 

signal light also appears in Jeremiah 6:1.

Another one of letters talks about a prophet who was warning the people and demoralizing them 

(“making their hands weak”). This same charge against Jeremiah and the exact phrase appear in 

Jeremiah 38.

Application: Jeremiah was accused of negative talk, being an alarmist, and hurting morale. But he was 

only telling the truth for the people's own good. Do we sometimes find ourselves in that situation? 

What is the response when Christians talk about the existence of Hell? John Lennon – “Imagine there's 

no heaven or hell.” The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell condemned Jesus as being immoral for 

scaring people with His talk about Hell.

Getting back to David.

17:1-3 Neither strong army could attack without crossing a river and charging up a mountain.

17:4 The oldest Philistine inscription was found at Gath, scratched in a sherd with a needle-like 

instrument. It contains two proper names, one is Goliath. However, it dates to about 100 years after the 

biblical Goliath. The Hebrew text says that Goliath was six cubits and a span. That amounts to about 9 

1/2 feet. If that bothers you, the Septuagint and Dead Sea scrolls have four cubits and a span instead, 

which is closer to 7 ft.

17:5 The weight of armor was about 125 lb. His poor mobility made him a standing target for David. 

 Historian Arnold Toynbee uses this story as an example of how a civilization can fall if it starts 

idolizing a particular technological advantage and doesn't see the danger in a new, superior technology. 

(David Noel Freedman, Divine Commitment I, pp. 292-3)

17:6 The rare word “greaves” for shin guards has been shown to be common term in surrounding 

cultures during the time prior to 1000 BC. This helps to confirm the historical accuracy of story.

General hermeneutical principle: In using historical portions of the Bible to draw applications to our 

life, the first step is to look at the actions of each person in the story to see where they are coming 

from, and then look for God's response to see if He approves or disapproves of the actions (sometimes 

not stated directly but can be implied by later consequences).

17:8-11 Who was the natural one to face Goliath? Saul was the king, the leader of the army, and the 

tallest man in Israel. But he not only refused to face the challenge, he resorted to bribery to try to get 

someone else to do it. Saul up to now could rely on his greater height and strength. His advantage now 

fails and he doesn't know how to cope with the situation.

What should we do when we come up against that sort of situation, individually and as a church? 

(change tactics, get back to basics)

17:17 This reminds me of Joseph being sent to check up on his brothers. An ephah = about 3/5 bushel.

17:18 It is not known what kind of token he is talking about – perhaps proof that David has delivered 

the wheat and that the brothers are well.

17:26 David takes Goliath's taunts as a personal insult to God and his army. (repeated in verse 36)

17:29 David doesn't try to defend himself or get mad at his brother for all his unjust criticisms.

17:28-30 This is reminiscent of Joseph and his brothers' jealousy. It is interesting that later on, Samuel 

will start to anoint Eliab as king because he is the tallest of Jesse's sons. God says, “Do not consider his 

appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. 

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7)

17:32 David steps up and volunteers when he sees that no one else will meet Goliath's challenge. He 

defers to King Saul as God's chosen (“your servant”). The Septuagint reads, “Let not the king lose 

heart.” Fear can paralyze us or we can face it head on. It is like the natural fight-or-flight response of 

the body to cope with stress and danger. If we can't do either, we become paralyzed.

17:33 Let's look at this briefly as an historical account. At first glance appears to be a fairy tale like Jack the Giant Killer. We picture a little boy of 9-12 years old fighting a huge giant 10 feet tall. Actually we don't know for sure how old David is at this point since the surrounding stories seem to be told out of chronological order (see 16:18). Saul, in this verse calls him a boy, which in the context of that verse means that he was inexperienced in warfare. He was probably an adolescent. In John Claypool's book Stages he describes the major stages in a person's life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and senior adulthood. He describes adolescence as follows:

“A time of transition between dependence on those older and being independent. He must take 

responsibility for his own life and ask for the right to face the challenges of the world with his own 

resources, not just those of others.”

I Samuel 17:33-36

17:33-37 David doesn't take no for an answer; he isn't afraid to mention his past accomplishments, but 

attributes them all to God's action. He takes past protection by God as a guarantee of future 

deliverance. Notice that God had been preparing him for this time.

17:38-40 David knew both his capabilities and liabilities. He took due precautions (five stones instead 

of just one), was prudent and wise. Even with faith in God's provision, one should still take advantage 

of natural resources. One could apply this lesson to those who refuse to go to a doctor in lieu of faith 

healing. Alternative, but less likely explanations for David's actions are that (a) it showed a certain lack 

of faith and (b) “five” is symbolic of the Pentateuch and reliance on God's word.

17:41-43 Through the whole story, Goliath appears as a man who only looks at the world through 

naturalistic eyes. Success occurs easily when one has the proper physical attributes (verse 10), superior 

armor (note verse 41), experience (verse 42), and weaponry (verse 43). Verse 43b also confirms that he 

is a believer in many gods, not the true God. He laughs at David for having none of these, and 

discounts the possibility that God could supernaturally alter the odds.

Goliath is distracted by David's shepherd's staff and does not see his real weapon. Lesson for us?

17:45-47 David proclaims his faith and glories in his weakness so that God can be praised instead of 

him. This is like Paul's statement: read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (God's strength can be shown only 

through our weakness). It is also a reminder of Paul's advice in Ephesians 6:11 to put on the whole 

armor of God. Richard Pratt: “If ever the church discards these tools of warfare for human wisdom, 

political power, or physical coercion, we have violated Paul's instructions as well as David's exemplary 

fight against Goliath.”

There is a seeming contradiction in the Bible:

II Samuel 21:19 says that Elhanan slew Goliath. However, I Chronicles 20:5 says that Elhanan slew the 

brother of Goliath. Possibilities: (1) I Chronicles is correct and II Samuel inadvertently left out “son 

of,” (2) there was more than one Goliath (as mentioned before), or (3) David's original name was 

Elhanan and he adopted the name David later.

17:58 If the story is given out of chronological order, it would explain why Saul didn't know that Jesse 

was David's father in this verse when Saul had been given that information in 16:18.

The Orthodox Church accepts as canonical an additional psalm, Psalm 151, which is ascribed to David 

and describes his battle with Goliath. [2] My hands made a harp, 

my fingers fashioned a lyre.

[3] And who will declare it to my Lord? 

The Lord himself; it is he who hears.

[4] It was he who sent his messenger

and took me from my father's sheep

,
and anointed me with his anointing oil

.
[5] My brothers were handsome and tall

,
but the Lord was not pleased with them.

[6] I went out to meet the Philistine,

and he cursed me by his idols.

[7] But I drew his own sword;

I beheaded him, and removed reproach from

the people of Israel.

The Greek form of this psalm is included in the Septuagint, and the Hebrew original has been found at Qumran among the Dead Sea scrolls.

Two seemingly contradictory lessons

A. Over-reliance on latest technology / techniques to win the battle – the use in church of fancy 

audiovisuals, latest sociological studies and business techniques. Willowbrook Church confessed 

several years ago that they were guilty of doing this and ignoring content in their church services.

B. Only when iron technology was obtained from the Philistines did the Jews begin to really conquer 

the land. One needs to be at the cutting edge of every aspect of society to make an impact.