If we've learned anything about the Bible at all, either as children
or as adults, we know the story of David and Goliath. As children, and
even later as adults, we were probably awed by the sheer size and
seeming invulnerability of Goliath.
According to the scripture written in I Samuel 17, Goliath was
definitely big - a giant among men. He was a champion among the
Philistines. That means he could beat any man among the Philistines,
for
that matter any man who had ever challenged him, and we can deduce that
he had probably been challenged by the biggest and the best warriors
anywhere around Philistine because the Philistines were very confident
he could beat any Israelite who dared to come up against him.
Goliath stood six cubits and a span high. According to my good old
Webster's Dictionary, a cubit is 18" to 22", and a span is about 9".
That adds up to about 9' 9" at the shortest.
Also Goliath had on a brass helmet and a coat of very heavy mail. He
had brass leg protection and a brass chest plate between his shoulders.
The man was a walking tank.
Besides all that, he had a very long spear with a huge iron spear's
head. He also had a sword, which he didn't even bother to draw from its
sheath, he was so well protected, not only by his size and armour, but
by his training and the shield bearer who went in front of him holding
up his shield.
Goliath must have been truly awesome to behold, standing there on the
hillside, taunting the Israelite armies. He had no doubt whatever that
he could easily destroy anyone foolish enough to take up his challenge.
And the Philistine army with him must have been delighted to laugh at
and mock the Israelite army and their God who the Israelites had
praised
before, telling stories of how their God had brought them out of Egypt,
through the wilderness, and into the land of Canaan, giving them
victory
after victory over all of the people who had inhabitated Canaan at that
time.
You can almost imagine the Philistines enjoying their certain victory
to come, probably yelling across the valley at the Israelites, "Where's
your God now? Can he save you from our champion?" Things got so bad,
Goliath offered to let the victory of the battle come down to a contest
between him and any man the Israelite army chose to go against him. The
deal was that if the Israelite won the battle, the Philistines would
become servents of Israel, but if Goliath won the battle, the
Israelites
would become the servents of the Philistines. Try to imagine the
consternation among the Israelites as they asked each other, "Any
volunteers?"
This was the atmosphere in the valley of Elah that day. Terror
looking helplessly into the face of certain victory. The fate of the
nation of Israel hung on the outcome of a contest between the biggest,
most well armed man anyone had ever seen and a soldier of the Israelite
army, who so far hadn't had the courage to come forward during the
entire 40 day standoff. Not even Saul, the king of the Israelites, who
was reported to be 7 feet tall, would accept the challenge - even for
the honor and freedom of his countrymen.
Then someone steps forward from the ranks of the Israelite army.
Goliath must have been tempted to laugh. This is the champion of the
Israelite army? What Goliath saw must have seemed a ridiculous sight.
Here was a very small young man, a boy really, dressed not in armour,
or
even in the clothing of a soldier, but in the common dress of a mere
shepherd. The boy had no helmet, no coat of mail, no sword, no spear,
no
leg protection, no breastplate, no shield. Actually, he was almost too
pretty to be a boy!
But forty days had passed and Goliath was probably impatient to get
the battle over with and get to the business of enslaving and
ransacking
the Israelites so he and the rest of the Philistine army could get on
to
their next battle. He probably just decided to kill the kid much like
we
might decide to step on a bug and finish the business. So he stepped
forward and in true champion-like fashion began the battle with words
as
usual.
"Am I a dog, that you come at me with staves?" and he cursed David by
his gods. He continued, saying, "Come to me and I will give thy flesh
to
the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field." (I Sam 17:43-44)
A gambling person who didn't know the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, would be stupid not to go out and get a loan, mortgage the house
and sell the car to put his money on the big guy. According to logic
and
worldly reason, the only way the contest could end would be a squashed
kid and a huge Philistine who would have been embarrassed and annoyed
that the Israelites would have insulted him by offering up such a puny
challenger.
But you and I have the advantage of knowing how God does things.
God had a man build an huge ship in the middle of the desert to
prepare for a flood in a place where no one had ever seen rain.
God chose a 100 year old man with a 90 year old, barren wife to
start a nation.
God took a young boy, sold into slavery in Egypt, to be chosen as
the Pharoh's favorite, so that he might save his people.
God chose a man who couldn't speak well to talk a pharoh of Egypt
into letting his people go.
All of these things and more were the legacy of the Israelite army.
The King, Saul, and all his soldiers knew these things and yet they
were
frightened by a big man in a lot of armour. They had let the sight and
the words of a godless man move them from their knowledge and belief in
their God, who had already proved himself willing and able to make
substance out of hope and cause the impossible to become not only
possible but certain.
But on that day, in the valley of Elah, a young boy named David
didn't let the sight of a big man in heavy armour bother him at all. So
many stories are told extolling David's bravery and courage in standing
up against such a terrible monster. But David knew God. God had already
trained him in the art of monster bashing by giving him victories over
a
lion and a bear. As the youngest son in his family, David had been
subjected to the scorn and contempt of his older brothers all his life.
The words of a person who didn't even know God meant nothing to an
Israeli Shepherd.
Like Abraham, David didn't think of his own body, not its size or
youth or strength. Like Noah, David knew he had been prepared by God,
not attending to the words of the unbelieving, knowing he had already
been given the victory by God. Like Joseph, David knew God had already
given him favor because of his trust in God. Like Moses, David knew God
had given him the tools of victory, a rock and a staff and the ability
to use them.
Knowing all this, David spoke these words of Faith to Goliath. (I
Sam. 17:45-47)
"You come at me with a sword and a spear and a shield; but I come
to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, whom you
have defied."
He added these words from his heart, "This day the Lord will
deliver you into my hand and I will kill you and take your head from
you. I will give the bodies of the hosts of the Philistines this day
unto the fowls of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all
the earth may know that there is a God in Israel"
As additional words of insult, he continued, "And all this assembly
shall know that the Lord saves not with the sword and the spear, for
the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."
Then David, running toward Goliath, took a stone and slung it and hit
Goliath in the forehead so hard, he died on the spot and fell facedown
on the earth.
Every day, we each have to face our own Goliaths. Perhaps we're
facing an insurmountable debt, or terminal illness. Sometimes our
Goliath may take human form, such as a supervisor or customer who looks
at us with contempt, even speaking words of dirision about us. Many
times, our Goliath is our own fear, holding us hostage, afraid to make
decisions or start off in a different direction.
We can choose how we deal with Goliath. We can wander around in
circles, wondering how we're going to handle the problem. We can
bluster
and rant and rave and blow a lot of hot air in his direction. We can
stand behind everybody else and demand that someone come forward to
handle the situation. We can get angry at someone else smaller and less
able than we are. We can get busy doing something else.
Or we can step out, dressed not in the ill-fitting armour of a
coward, but dressed in the armour of God, with truth belted around us,
our hearts protected by righteousness, our feet covered by the gospel
of
peace, with a helmet of salvation on our heads. We can hold in one hand
the shield of faith and in the other, the sword of the spirit. Then we
can run toward the enemy declaring the name of Jesus who is the Lord of
Hosts and slinging the rock of Jesus at his head. (Eph. 6:13-17)
Because we know God, that Rock never misses. No matter how big the
enemy is, no matter how well he is armoured, no matter how well his
head
is protected, that rock, which we know as Jesus Christ hits the enemy a
killing blow every time and the enemy falls face down on the earth. We
just have to be willing and ready to use what God has given us.
Poor Goliath - he never had a chance.
