The Life and Times of

#3 Seven Truths to Remember About Fighting Giants (1 Samuel 17:1-58)

Can you remember the first time you heard the story of David and the giant – and how exciting it was? The problem with the Old Testament story of our text, and others like “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” and “Jonah and the ‘Whale’,” is that we become too familiar with them. I do not mean that we know these stories too well, for most often we do not. But we think we know them well, and consequently, we have a long list of preconceived ideas. As we approach our study, let us seek as best we can, and by the Spirit’s enablement, to place those preconceived ideas on the shelf and think through our text afresh.

Preliminary Observations

It may be helpful to consider several observations in advance of our study in 1 Samuel 17 of David and Goliath.
First, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made around 200 B. C.) omits a number of verses from this chapter. Specifically, the Septuagint omits verses 12-31, 41, 50, 55-58. The traditional Hebrew text, known as the Masoretic Text, does not omit these verses. Since the Masoretic Text is the original text and the Septuagint is only a translation (and sometimes a rather loose one), we will assume the translators of the Septuagint purposely omitted these verses which were a part of the original text.
Second, there appears to be a discrepancy between chapter 16, where Saul knows and loves David, and chapter 17, where Saul appears not to know who David is. Various solutions are proposed. Surely no author (or “editor”) would place these two chapters side-by-side, knowing that something is wrong with the account in chapter 16, or chapter 17, or both. David may have grown considerably since chapter 16, or Saul’s memory might have been poor (there were a lot of names and faces to know from memory, or perhaps his mental malady simply clouds his thinking).
These are some possible explanations for this apparent problem. We should also note that 17:15 seems to clearly link chapter 17 with chapter 16. Let us remember that Saul does not ask who David is, but who David’s father is. He does, after all, promise that David’s father’s household will be exempt from paying taxes (see 17:25). If Jesse is indeed very old during the days of Saul (17:12), then Saul likely never met him since Jesse was not able to travel to visit the king. Is this not why Jesse sends David to check on the welfare of his sons (see 17:17-19)? Why would we assume that Saul remembers who David’s father is?
Third, chapter 17 very nicely compliments chapter 16 by supplying details not present in the previous chapter. In chapter 16, we have the account of the designation (anointing) of David as Israel’s next king, but in this chapter David does not speak a word and none any of his actions are described. It is in chapter 17 that we see a clear picture of David and his character by the words and actions recorded here. In chapter 16, God designates David as His king because he is a “man after God’s own heart” (see 13:14; 16:7). In chapter 17, we see in specific terms just what a “man after God’s heart” is like. Anyone who tries to drive a wedge between these two chapters by pointing to apparent inconsistencies fails to appreciate the continuity which does exist between them.
Fourth, this is a war which never needed to be fought, save for the foolishness of Saul in chapter 14. It is Jonathan, Saul’s son, who precipitates the war with the Philistines who are occupying the land of Israel (chapter 13). Saul sees his army dissolve before his eyes and disobeys God by failing to wait for Samuel to offer the burnt offering (13:8-14). Jonathan initiates an attack on a Philistine outpost in chapter 14, which results in divine intervention by means of an earthquake. The battle against the Philistines could be won decisively by the Israelite army except for an edict, which Saul foolishly declares. By forbidding any of his soldiers food before evening, Saul puts Jonathan’s life in danger and predisposes the other soldiers to sin by consuming the blood of the animals they slaughter and eat. The weariness of the soldiers due to their hunger keeps them from fighting well as the day drags on.

Further, the extra time it takes to properly prepare food for this famished army of Israelites costs Saul and his men the window of opportunity for a decisive and final victory over the Philistines. This war with the Philistines in chapter 17 is the result of Saul’s folly in chapter 14, a war which would never have been fought except for Saul’s edict.

Fifth, only a fraction of the 58 verses in chapter 17 actually describe the fight between David and Goliath. If we grant that verses 40-51 deal with the battle between David and the Philistine giant, then we should realize that nearly 80% of the chapter prepares us for this conflict, or follows up on the victory over Goliath, while only 20% actually describes the confrontation between the two. By focusing only on “David and Goliath,” we neglect the greatest portion of the passage and its emphasis.

The Big Picture

Let us look at chapter 17 then in light of the bigger picture of the Old Testament Scriptures up to this point in Israel’s history. When viewed in isolation, the story of David and Goliath looks very different than when seen in the broader perspective of the preceding Scriptures (Genesis through 1 Samuel 16).
We shall begin at Genesis 12:3 in what some call the “Abrahamic Covenant.” There, God says to Abram,

3 “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, NASB, emphasis mine).
If it is true that Goliath is both cursing Israel and her God, then if God is a covenant-keeping God, we would expect Goliath to be divinely cursed. Biblically speaking, a dark cloud already hangs over the head of Goliath, the blasphemous Philistine.
Hastening on in the Law of Moses, we come to the Book of Numbers, particularly chapters 13 and 14, which describe Israel’s fear of the Canaanites and her resulting rebellion against God at Kadesh-barnea. God had delivered Israel from the hand of Pharaoh and drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Now, when the Israelites arrive at Kadesh-barnea, spies are sent into the land of Canaan to assess the promised land. The land and its fruits are magnificent.
The only problem for ten of the spies is the size of the inhabitants of the land:

27 Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 “Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” 32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33 “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:27-33, NASB, emphasis mine).
What causes the Israelites to fear is the size (and thus military strength) of the “giants” who live in the land of Canaan. “We can’t go up against the Canaanites,” they protest, “there are giants there!” Because of their fear and refusal to trust God for victory, this generation of Israelites dies in the wilderness.
When their children – the second generation of Israelites – are ready to possess the land, God gives them very clear instructions regarding their response to the enemies they will face in possessing the land:

21 “’See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed’” (Deuteronomy 1:21, NASB).
7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:7, NASB).
1 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross this Jordan.' 3 “It is the LORD your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the LORD has spoken. 4 “And the LORD will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5 “And the LORD will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” 7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. “And the LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear, or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:1-8, NASB, see also Joshua 1:9; 8:1; 10:25).
The Book of Joshua records the defeat of Israel’s enemies, not because of Israel’s size or military might, but because God is with them in battle. In the Book of Judges, we read of the men God raises up to deliver His people from their enemies. In some cases, an individual (like Samson; see chapters 13-16) kills many of Israel’s enemies, while in other cases a small group of men (like Gideon and his 300 men; see chapters 6-8) defeat a much larger opposing force.
When we come to 1 Samuel, we find much preparation for David’s contest with Goliath in the first 16 chapters.
Listen to the words of Hannah recorded in chapter 2:

3 “Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4 “The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. . . . 9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10 “Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed” (1 Samuel 2:3-4, 9-10).
In chapter 4, we come to the first battle with the Philistines in the Book of 1 Samuel. When the Israelites suffer defeat at the hands of the Philistines, they take the Ark of God with them to war, assured that it will magically bring them victory. The Israelites are defeated, Eli’s sons, Phinehas and Hophni, are killed and Eli himself dies when he learns of this disaster. The Philistines proudly carry the Ark off as a trophy of war, a symbol of their “victory over Israel and their God.” Without human assistance, God humiliates Dagon, the Philistine god, and the people of the principle Philistine cities (chapters 5-6).
In chapter 7, the Israelites repent of their sins and go to Mizpah to be judged by Samuel and to worship God. When the Philistines hear this gathering, they assume it is some kind of hostile military maneuver, so they muster their forces and encircle the high place where the Israelites are assembled. The Israelites are defenseless, but Samuel intercedes for them, and as he offers a sacrifice, God intervenes with an electrical storm which turns the Philistines’ iron weapons into electrical conductors and devastates their army.
In chapter 8, the Israelites demand a king to judge them and to rule over them. A good part of their motivation is wanting someone who will go before them and fight their battles for them (see 8:5, 20). Saul is chosen, a man who stands head and shoulders above his fellow Israelites (9:2).

This is the man who will deliver God’s people from the Philistines:

15 Now a day before Saul's coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he shall deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me” (1 Samuel 9:15-16, NASB, emphasis mine).
Saul’s first battle with the Philistines comes on the heels of his decisive victory over the Ammonites who besieged Jabesh-gilead (chapter 11). The confrontation is not initiated by Saul, but by his son, Jonathan, who attacks a Philistine garrison stationed in Israel (13:1-4). Saul panics because of the size of the Philistine army and because his army is continuing to shrink. Disobeying God’s command, he offers the burnt offering himself rather than wait for Samuel (13:8-14). This is the beginning of the end for Saul.
The situation between Israel’s soldiers and the Philistine army reaches a kind of stalemate. Saul seems to prefer it this way rather than to risk any aggressive offensive action. Jonathan makes a very David-like move.
Without telling anyone (especially his father), Jonathan takes his armor bearer and attacks an outpost of Philistines with these words, which reflect his character and the quality of his faith:

6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6, NASB, emphasis mine).
When we view the confrontation between the Israelites and the Philistines and the confrontation between David and Goliath in light of previous biblical revelation, we gain a very different perspective.

1. 
   Are the Israelites, including Saul, terrorized by Goliath (see 17:11, 24, 32)? They should not be. Indeed, such fear is not only a lack of faith, but disobedience to the commands God has given to His people (see Deuteronomy 1:21; 31:8, etc.).
   
2. 
   Are they terrified by this giant? They should be saying, “Only one giant. . .?”
   
3. 
   Are they inclined to hold back and not attack? They should consider the theology and practice of Jonathan, who believes that God is not limited by the number of warriors who fight in His name. It is not the size of Goliath or the arrogance of his words which should cause us to wonder, but rather the unbelief and fear of God’s people. This situation is neither new or novel. The odds are no worse here than elsewhere. Israel simply lacks faith. Israel lacks godly leadership.