C. David prepares to fight Goliath
1. (1 Sam 17:31-32) David's confident words become known to Saul
When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
They told them to Saul: It was not as if David's words were all that bold. He never said, "If I went out to fight against that Philistine, I would easily defeat him!" David did not talk like that, but at least he stood up to Goliath. David did not show a lot of backbone, but at least he showed more courage than anyone else in Israel. So it was worth reporting to Saul.
Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine: These are bold words! This is the first time David specifically volunteers to go in to battle with Goliath. It is one thing to say, "Someone someone should do something about the enemy." It is entirely another matter to say, "I will do something about the enemy."
Saul waited a long time (at least 40 days) for someone to say these words. But to hear them now from the mouth of this young shepherd boy probably seemed like a cruel joke. "The good news is that someone is finally willing to fight Goliath. The bad news is that he is a young shepherd boy." David's words to Saul almost made the matter worse. "Let no man's heart fail on account of him." These words almost seem like David says, "All right everyone. Calm down. I have the situation completely under control." It seemed ridiculous coming from such a youth. It probably seemed like boastful pride and overconfidence, but it was not.
2. (1 Sam 17:33-37) David's training as a shepherd prepared him
Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." And David said, "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." And Saul said to David, "Go and may the LORD be with you."
You are not able...you are but a youth: Saul thought David was disqualified because of his age, size and inexperience. Saul thought David was but a novice when it came to his military skills. Saul thought David was no match to Goliath's long standing war record. Saul essentially told David, "He's been a soldier longer than you have been alive. How can you defeat him?" Again, this shows that Saul only looked at outward appearances and not at the spiritual dimension of this battle.
Your servant was tending his father's sheep: Here follows a conversation between the king and a young boy. It is a simple, brave narrative in which many children listen with wide-eyed anticipation. Fierce wild animals, the terror of every Mid-Eastern shepherd, had attacked David's father's flock. And David met and slayed these fierce beasts, almost without any arms.
When a lion or a bear came: In these ancient times, when the forests of Israel had not been cleared, it was the habitat of wild animals which usually frequented the mountains of Lebanon and the thickets of the Jordan River valley. From Lebanon, bears descended the heights into the lowlands of Israel. From the Jordan River region, the lion prowled the plains of Israel. The bears in this region are said to have been especially ferocious and appears to have been more dreaded than the lion. Currently, it is rare to find lions and bears in Israel.
God prepared David for this battle when David was a lowly shepherd. A lion attacked his father's sheep, and David fought the lion. A bear came against the defenseless sheep, and David battled the bear. All along, God prepared David to fight Goliath. David had been preparing for this battle for his entire life. This generally is God's pattern for preparation. He calls us to be faithful right where we are. Then, He uses our faithfulness to accomplish greater things. If David ran scared at the lion or the bear, he would have never been ready to fight Goliath.
I seized him by his beard: Neither the bear nor the lion in this part of the world has a beard. The literal Hebrew translation is "the chin" or "the place where the beard grows". It is clear from this description that David grabbed the beast by its chin and slew it with his shepherd's staff.
This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them: Goliath degraded himself below a wild beast by his blasphemy, and therefore, he now carried no more terror with him to David than a lion or a bear.
He has taunted the armies of the living God: Here we see the foundation of David's confidence and success. The Philistine had defiled the living God in defying His armies and had openly avowed himself to be God's enemy. David therefore comes forward, as God's friend, to support God's cause. It is as if David said, "The lion and the bear were only enemies to me and to my father's sheep. And it was only in defense of them that I attacked these beasts. But this Philistine is an enemy to God and His people. And it is for their honor that I attack him."
The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion: As a shepherd facing bears and lions, David had no idea he was being trained to fight a giant. In the midst of our preparation, we rarely see how God will use it. Yet now, David can look back and know that the same God who delivered him before will also deliver him now. David knew that God's help in times past is a prophecy of His help in the future.
And Saul said to David, "Go...: The king's consent was necessary before David could act as the champion of the Israelites. It was a courageous act in Saul to give his permission, considering the dangerous combat conditions. But the two arguments given by David persuaded Saul. The first argument being David's strong confidence in God, insuring his courage. And secondly, the coolness and bravery David had shown in these dangerous encounters with savage beasts.
3. (1 Sam 17:38-40) David prepared to fight Goliath
Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." And David took them off. He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
Then Saul clothed David...with armor: King Saul was determined to omit no earthly means of securing victory to his young champion. Saul made David try on his own various pieces of fighting array, doubtless the best and costliest that Israel possessed. Saul's "garments" is a dress worn beneath the mail. Upon this was buckled on a heavy armor suit, which included a large fighting sword and a bronze helmet. It is not necessary to suppose David was at all the same proportions as Saul, for much of the dress could have been speedily adjusted to one shorter or thinner than the king. The results show that the armor was far too heavy and cumbersome for David to wear.
David...tried to walk, for he had not tested them: Saul tried to put his armor on David, but it did not work. It did not work because it was far too cumbersome for David. Moreover, it did not work because Saul's armor did not spiritually fit David. Armor, military technology or human wisdom could not win this battle. The LORD God of Israel would win this battle.
Often, people try to fight with another person's armor. They see God do something wonderful through someone else, and they try to copy it without making adjustments for their own strengths and weaknesses. God's work is never most effectively done in this way. Sadly, many people say the same thing about God's armor, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." Are you more familiar with the weapons and armor of the flesh or with the weapons and armor of the Spirit?
And David took them off: David had to renounce Saul's armor. He desired to go forth into battle with the lightest possible armor--strong in the LORD and not in himself, armed not with heavy metal but with faith. Often we want a safe middle ground where we try to wear both kinds of armor. God wants us to trust in Him and Him alone.
He took his stick...five smooth stones...the shepherd's bag which he had, even his pouch, and his sling: David uses the same tools he used before as a shepherd to kill the lion and the bear. What God used before, He will use again. Why did David choose five stones? He only needed one to kill Goliath. Perhaps it was because Goliath had four brothers. (Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was among the descendants of the giant. There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. There was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giant. When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. There four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants" 2 Samuel 21:18-22.).
And he approached the Philistine: This is where it mattered. David could have said bold words, renounced Saul's armor, trusted in God's armor and gathered his shepherd's tools. But, if he never went into battle, what would it have mattered? Ultimately, David had the faith not just to talk, not just to renounce, not just to prepare, but to actually draw near the Philistine. That is real faith.
D. David defeats Goliath
1. (1 Sam 17:41-44) Goliath curses David and his God
Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field."
Then the Philistine came on...with the shield-bearer in front of him: Besides Goliath's height and military experience, Goliath also had with him an armor-bearer. Now the fight was two against one, making David's victory even more miraculous.
He disdained him: Goliath looked around, expecting to meet someone tall, someone with an extensive military career. But when he saw a young boy, he despised him. Goliath thought he was below his caliber to even enter into a fight with David. Fighting someone so insignificant would lessen the glory of Goliath's assumed victory. There was nothing in David which struck fear in Goliath's heart. Proverbs 16:18 seems fitting here: "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."
Am I a dog: Dogs in our current society are seen as man's best friend. They are cute, cuddly and many folks spend a fortune on them for food, clothing and other luxury items. In ancient times in the Mid-East, dogs were despised. They were not pets; they were free roaming nuisances. They attacked people and livestock. They were filthy creatures known to carry fleas and other diseases. So, being called a dog, was quite an insult.
The Philistine cursed David by his gods: Goliath invokes the vengeance of his idols against David, wishing that Dagon, Ashtaroth and the rest of his gods would confront and destroy David. The Romans used to curse their enemies in the same manner, saying, "All the gods and goddesses of Roman destroy my enemy!"
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