1 Samuel 17
“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.” 1 Samuel 17:37a
Charles Swindoll wrote, “Goliath reminded me of a cross-eyed discus thrower. He didn’t set records, but he kept the crowd awake.”
The Philistines gathered for yet another battle with the Israelites. Three of David’s brothers were soldiers in Saul’s army. David’s father, Jesse, sent David to the Israelite camp to take some food to his brothers and bring back a report on how they were.
When David arrived at the camp, a Philistine giant named Goliath came out and challenged the Israelite army to send a soldier to fight him. Goliath was over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of armor that weighed about 125 pounds. Not surprisingly, none of Saul’s soldiers wanted to face him.
David was indignant because Goliath was defying the army of the living God. He volunteered to fight the giant. When Saul heard that, he said it would be an unequal battle between the lad, David, and the experienced, gigantic soldier. However, God had already prepared David for this battle. Both a lion and a bear had tried to carry off sheep from David’s flock, and David had killed them both. He realized that God had delivered him from these wild beasts, and David trusted God to deliver him from Goliath as well.
David approached Goliath with five smooth stones in his shepherd’s bag and his sling in his hand. When Goliath saw young David facing him, the giant began to taunt the lad. David confidently replied, “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. The battle is the Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45b, 47b
David slung one of the stones with his sling and hit Goliath in his forehead, causing the giant to fall forward on the ground. A note of explanation in my Bible says the stones in these slings were “...usually somewhat larger than a baseball. When hurled by a master slinger, they probably traveled close to 100 miles per hour.” David then drew Goliath’s sword and cut off the giant’s head.
Has God been faithful to fight your battles in the past? Do you trust Him to fight any that face you at the present or any that may arise in the future?
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