Read 1 Samuel 17
Picture by Geghard Fugel (1863 - 1939) Public Domain
We all know the story of David and Goliath very well. We might have heard it many times at Sunday School or even at school. Even people who do not know the Bible very well have heard of David and Goliath.
Israel is facing a huge crisis. They are fighting the Philistines who were Israel's constant enemies. They are more powerful and better armed than the Israelites. The battle is taking place in the Valley of Elah. There are two hills - on the one hillside there is the Israelite army and on the other side there are the Philistines. The Israelites can easily identify their enemy - there is a valley between. Sometimes, it is not as easy to identify our enemy. Satan is very subtle and he can disguise himself as harmless. Sometimes we are not aware that someone we know is being used by Satan. The best example is Judas - he was one of the 12 apostles and the other eleven did not suspect that he was about to betray Jesus.
And Israel's enemy was very visible to them. Goliath was huge and was very well armed. He is nearly 3 metres tall (9 foot 9 inches) and his armament was the most advanced for that time. His shield covered his whole body. Most of his armour was bronze - apart from the tip of his sword which was iron. This was just the beginning of the Iron Age. The iron tip of the shield weighed about 15 lbs or 6.6 kg. That is really heavy. Goliath's coat of mail weighed 125 lbs or 55 kg. Goliath is a champion - the idea is that he will represent the Philistines in a battle and they should provide someone to match him. That is going to be challenging. Saul is supposed to be Israel's champion and he was described as "from the shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people." [1 Samuel 9:2] But Goliath might have been considerably taller than Saul. And Saul's armour was no match for Goliath.
But that is not the issue. This is how the world assesses this situation. Israel had Yahweh or Jehovah on their side. So the Philistines should have been defeated easily. Their 'gods' were no match for Israel's God. They were a figment of their imagination. The crisis was spiritual. The Israelites were in a poor spiritual condition. Saul, for example, was afflicted by a harmful spirit and he was out of touch with God. He had deliberately disobeyed God and the Holy Spirit had left him. His son, Jonathan had won victories in the past but he is not in a fit state to face the Philistine giant. We know the names of some other members of Saul's army - David's brothers, Eliab, Aminadab and Shamar and they are not spiritually ready to face Goliath either. Eliab's problem is pride and jealousy which makes him unfit for God's service.
It is possible that the Philistines were well informed about Israel's lack of readiness to fight. They might have been given intelligence that Samuel has informed Saul that God has rejected him as king. They might be equally aware of the King's moods of melancholy and violence. It seems too much a coincidence that they choose this particular time to make their all-out attack on Israel. The enemy always attacks us when we are at our weakest - sometimes this weakness may be due to elation at spiritual victories as well as despair at our low spiritual condition.
Israel's sad condition is highlighted in verse 11 of chapter 17.
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. [1 Samuel 17:11 ESV]
Goliath has just made his very public rant to infuriate and intimidate the ranks of the Israelite army. "I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together." [1 Samuel 17:10 ESV] Goliath had made this pronouncement twice a day for 40 days. Sadly, there was no one able to take up the challenge.
Is this a picture of the spiritual state of our nation or of our church in the 21st Century? Are we under the attack of the enemy and totally powerless to defend the truth? God is still looking for a modern day David to take up the challenge. By the way, this 21st Century David may not be a male. We have observed that God uses women to fulfil his purposes when men are lacking in vision, strength and courage. However, we, as Christians, are engaged in a spiritual battle every day of our lives. Paul's letter to the Ephesians instructs us to 'put on the whole armour of God.' (See Ephesians 6:10-17) This passage reminds us that our enemy is not human - as Christians we are engaged in a spiritual battle against the devil and the forces of evil. We are well armed not like Goliath - our armour is invisible but it is very necessary - the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; our shoes are our readiness given by the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
Comments