David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took and went, as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the place of the wagons, as the army which was going out to the fight shouted for the battle. Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army. David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and said the same words; and David heard them. All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were terrified. The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? He has surely come up to defy Israel. The king will give great riches to the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
The people answered him in this way, saying, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” He turned away from him toward another, and spoke like that again; and the people answered him again the same way. When the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him. Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go! Yahweh will be with you.”
Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of bronze on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine. The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him. When the Philistine looked around, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and had a good looking face. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as Gai and to the gates of Ekron. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron. The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines and they plundered their camp. David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 37, 39, 40, 43, 46, 48, 52, 54 Hebrew, of peace.
Hebrew, of peace.
Hebrew, vessels.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–54 1Sa 17:20 And David rose up early in the…
1Sa 17:20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
Ver. 20. And left the sheep with a keeper.] A commendable care: neither was there cause that Eliab should so check and chide him for the contrary. {1Sa 17:28}
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And shouted for the battle.] This was the old way of beginning the fight: so to show their courage, and to fright the enemy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 53, 54 To the trench, i.e. to the camp or army…
To the trench, i.e. to the camp or army which was there intrenched.
Shouted for the battle; as the manner was, both to animate themselves, and to terrify their enemies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv31, 40, 48 David is at length presented to Saul for his…
David is at length presented to Saul for his champion (Sa1 17:31) and he bravely undertakes to fight the Philistine (Sa1 17:32): Let no man's heart fail because of him. It would have reflected too much upon the valour of his prince if he had said, Let not thy heart fail; therefore he speaks generally: Let no man's heart fail. A little shepherd, come but this morning from keeping sheep, has more courage than all the mighty men of Israel, and encourages them. Thus does God often send good words to his Israel, and do great things for them, by the weak and foolish things of the world. David only desires a commission from Saul to go and fight with the Philistine, but says nothing to him of the reward he had proposed, because that was not the thing he was ambitious of, but only the honour of serving God and his country: nor would he seem to question Saul's generosity. Two things David had to do with Saul: -
I. To get clear of the objection Saul made against his undertaking. "Alas!" says Saul, "thou hast a good heart to it, but art by no means an equal match for this Philistine. To engage with him is to throw away a life which may better be reserved for more agreeable services. Thou art but a youth, rash and inconsiderate, weak and unversed in arms: he is a man that has the head and hands of a man, a man of war, trained up and inured to it from his youth (Sa1 17:33), and how canst thou expect but that he will be too hard for thee?" David, as he had answered his brother's passion with meekness, so he answered Saul's fear with faith, and gives a reason of the hope which was in him that he should conquer the Philistine, to the satisfaction of Saul. We have reason to fear that Saul had no great acquaintance with nor regard to the word of God, and therefore David, in reasoning with him, fetched not his arguments and encouragements thence, how much soever he had an eye to it in his own mind. But he argues from experience; though he was but a youth, and never in the wars, yet perhaps he had done as much as the killing of Goliath came to, for he had had, by divine assistance, spirit enough to encounter and strength enough to subdue a lion once and another time a bear that robbed him of his lambs, Sa1 17:34-36. To these he compares this uncircumcised Philistine, looks upon him to be as much a ravenous beast as either of them, and therefore doubts not but to deal as easily with him; and hereby he gives Saul to understand that he was not so inexperienced in hazardous combats as he took him to be.
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1. He tells his story like a man of spirit. He is not ashamed to own that he kept his father's sheep, which his brother had just now upbraided him with. So far is he from concealing it that from his employment as a shepherd he fetches the experience that now animated him. But he lets those about him know that he was no ordinary shepherd. Whatever our profession or calling is, be it ever so mean, we should labour to excel in it, and do the business of it in the best manner. When David kept sheep, (1.) He approved himself very careful and tender of his flock, though it was not his own, but his father's. He could not see a lamb in distress but he would venture his life to rescue it. This temper made him fit to be a king, to whom the lives of subjects should be dear and their blood precious (Psa 72:14), and fit to be a type of Christ, the good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in his bosom (Isa 40:11), and who not only ventured, but laid down his life for his sheep. Thus too was David fit to be an example to ministers with the utmost care and diligence to watch for souls, that they be not a prey to the roaring lion. (2.) He approved himself very bold and brave in the defence of his flock. This was that which he was now concerned to give proof of, and better evidence could not be demanded than this: "Thy servant not only rescued the lambs, but, to revenge the injury, slew both the lion and the bear."
2. He applies his story like a man of faith. He owns (Sa1 17:37) it was the Lord that delivered him from the lion and the bear; to him he gives the praise of that great achievement, and thence he infers, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. "The lion and the bear were enemies only to me and my sheep, and it was in defence of my own interest that I attacked them; but this Philistine is an enemy to God and Israel, defies the armies of the living God, and it is for their honour that I attack him." Note, (1.) Our experiences ought to be improved by us as our encouragements to trust in God and venture in the way of duty. He that has delivered does and will. (2.) By the care which common Providence takes of the inferior creatures, and the protection they are under, we may be encouraged to depend upon that special Providence which surrounds the Israel of God. He that sets bounds to the waves of the sea and the rage of wild beasts can and will restrain the wrath of wicked men. Paul seems to allude to this of David (Ti2 4:17, Ti2 4:18), I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and therefore, I trust, the Lord shall deliver me. And perhaps David here thought of the story of Samson, and encouraged himself with it; for his slaying a lion was a happy presage of his many illustrious victories over the Philistines in single combat. Thus David took off Saul's objection against his undertaking, and gained a commission to fight the Philistine, with which Saul gave him a hearty good wish; since he would not venture himself, he prayed for him that would: Go, and the Lord be with thee, a good word, if it was not spoken customarily, and in a formal manner, as too often it is. But David has somewhat to do likewise,
II. To get clear of the armour wherewith Saul would, by all means, have him dressed up when he went upon this great action (Sa1 17:38): He armed David with his armour, not that which he wore himself, the disproportion of his stature would not admit that, but some that he kept in his armoury, little thinking that he on whom he now put his helmet and coat of mail must shortly inherit his crown and robe. David, being not yet resolved which way to attack his enemy, girded on his sword, not knowing, as yet, but he should have occasion to make use of it; but he found the armour would but encumber him, and would be rather his burden than his defence, and therefore he desires leave of Saul to put them off again: I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them, that is, "I have never been accustomed to such accoutrements as these." We may suppose Saul's armour was both very fine and very firm, but what good would it do David if it were not fit, or if he knew not how to manage himself in it? Those that aim at things above their education and usage, and covet the attire and armour of princes, forget that that is the best for us which we are fit for and accustomed to; if we had our desire, we should wish to be in our own coat again, and should say, "We cannot go with these;" we had therefore better go without them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–54 And David rose up early in the morning,.... Being…
And David rose up early in the morning,.... Being very ready and eager to obey his father's orders, and visit his brethren:
and left the sheep with a keeper; which showed his care and faithfulness in the discharge of his office; he was not unmindful of his father's sheep, any more than of his commands:
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and took; the ephah of parched corn, the ten loaves, and the ten cheeses:
and went, as Jesse had commanded him; went and carried them to the camp, according to his orders:
and he came to the trench; foss or ditch, which was cast up all around the army, partly to prevent the enemy falling on them before, and partly to prevent deserters from them behind; or the word signifying a wagon or carriage, which is here used, this might be a fence around the camp made of wagons fastened to each other; though it may only signify, the camp itself, which lay in a circular form, with proper guards about it to watch the enemy. Now David came up to it just
as the host was going forth to the fight; preparing and getting every thing ready to the battle, and in motion, and upon the march to meet the enemy:
and shouted for the battle; which was usually done when about to make the onset, to animate the soldiers, and strike the greater terror into the enemy; and this noise was sometimes made with the voice in a hideous and howling way, and was called "barritus" (a) by the Romans; with the Trojans it was like the noise of cranes in the air (b); it was also attended with the clashing of shields and spears (c); with the Persians, it was a rough, boisterous, and confused noise (d).
(a) Vid. Valtrimum de re militar. Roman. l. 5. c. 3. p. 314, 315. & A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 1. c. 11. (b) Homer. Iliad. 3. ver. 1, 2, 3. (c) Vid. Lydium de re militari, l. 4. c. 3. p. 158, 159. (d) Curt. Hist. l. 3. c. 10. Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 7.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51 Went, &c. - Jesse little thought of sending his…
Went, &c. - Jesse little thought of sending his son to the camp, just at that critical juncture. But the wise God orders the time and all the circumstances of affairs, so as to serve the designs of his own glory.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 54 Verse 29. Is there not a cause?] הלוא דבר…
Verse 29. Is there not a cause?] הלוא דבר הוא halo dabar hu. I believe the meaning is what several of the versions express: I have spoken but a word. And should a man be made an offender for a word?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv20, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51, 54 1Sa 17:20-22. He came to the trench — Probably…
1Sa 17:20-22. He came to the trench — Probably the carriages wherewith the host was surrounded. As the host was going forth to the fight — Jesse little thought of sending his son to the camp just at that critical juncture. But the wise God orders the time and all the circumstances of affairs so as to serve the designs of his own glory. David left his carriage, &c. — He left the provision which his father had sent his brethren with some proper person, it being not a time to present it to them when the armies were just going to engage. And ran into the army — Eager to know what was doing there, being deeply concerned for the success of Israel, and desirous of seeing and speaking with his brethren before the commencement of the battle; for possibly it might be the last time he should ever converse with them or see them alive.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 34, 35, 45, 47, 51, 52, 54 The trench - Rather, “the wagons,” which were all…
The trench - Rather, “the wagons,” which were all put together in the camp so as to form a kind of bulwark or fortification (see 1Sa 26:5, 1Sa 26:7). Here David left his “carriage” 1Sa 17:22, i. e., the things which he had carried, “his things” as we should say, or baggage (translated stuff in 1Sa 10:22; 1Sa 25:13; 1Sa 30:24). There seems to have been an officer (“the keeper,” 1Sa 17:22) in the Hebrew army whose charge it was to guard the baggage.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 39, 40, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 54 Magala signifies, "the circle, or chariots." The Arabs still…
Magala signifies, "the circle, or chariots." The Arabs still place their waggons and baggage round the camp, or in a circle. (Calmet) --- It may also be a proper name. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 25, 34, 37, 38, 40, 42, 49, 51, 52, 54 David left the sheep with a keeper--This is the…
David left the sheep with a keeper--This is the only instance in which the hired shepherd is distinguished from the master or one of his family.
trench--some feeble attempt at a rampart. It appears (see Margin) to have been formed by a line of carts or chariots, which, from the earliest times, was the practice of nomad people.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 34, 40, 43, 49, 52, 54 20. The trench — המעגלה, the wagon rampart. The…
20. The trench — המעגלה, the wagon rampart. The barrier formed around the encampment by the baggage wagons and other vehicles of the army.
The host was going forth to the fight — That is, they were marching out of the camp to put themselves in battle array.
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Shouted for the battle — Raised the war cry. Neither of these expressions implies that the armies engaged in actual conflict, as some objectors have absurdly assumed. This appears still more clearly in the following verse.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54 20. the trench] The word may mean either, (a)…
20. the trench] The word may mean either, (a) the circular rampart round the camp; or (b) a barrier formed by the baggage waggons round the camp; or (c) the place where the baggage waggons of the army were kept. It occurs again in 1Sa_26:5; 1Sa_26:7.
shouted for the battle] Raised the ‘slogan’ or war-cry, like Gideon’s “For the Lord and for Gideon” (Jdg_7:18). Cp. Jos_6:5 ff.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 (20) He came to the trench.—Literally, to the wagon…
(20) He came to the trench.—Literally, to the wagon rampart; a circle of wagons formed a rude fortification about the camp of Israel. There—that is, within the fortified enclosure—he left (1Sa_17:22) his baggage, the ten cheeses, &c, and hastened to the “front,” where he knew his brethren and the men of Judah would be posted. (See Num_10:14.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv20, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 38, 41, 45, 47, 48, 50, 52, 54 Vers. 20-22. He came to the trench. More probably…
CHAPTER 17:20-58
Vers. 20-22. He came to the trench. More probably the barricade, or outer circle of defence for their camp, made of their wagons (see on ch. 10:22). Strictly the word means a wagon track, but the primary meaning of the verb is to be round. This was the shape of camps in old time, and they were protected against surprise by having the wagons and baggage placed round them. The word occurs again in 1Sa_26:5, 1Sa_26:7. The latter part of the verse is literally, "And he came to the circle of the wagons, and to the host that was going forth to the array; and they shouted for the battle." If the article be omitted before "going forth," for which there is some authority, the rendering of the A.V would be right. David left his carriage. Ie. that which he was carrying. The word is rendered stuff in 1Sa_10:22 1Sa_25:13 1Sa_30:24. Literally the word means utensils, and so whatever he had with him for any purpose. (comp. Act_21:15) Ran into the army. Literally, "to the array," "to the ranks," the place where the troops were drawn up (see ver. 10).
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Vers. 20-30.
A religious man"s view of things.
The facts are
1. David arrives at the camp just as preparations are being made for battle.
2. While with his brethren he hears the defiance of Goliath, and observesthe dismay of Israel.
3. Being informed of the inducement offered by Saul for any one to slayGoliath, he makes particular inquiries as to the facts, and suggests the vanity of the defiance.
4. His inquiries arouse the jealousy of Eliab, who imputes to him unhallowed motives.
5. Nevertheless, David persists in his attention to the matter. Thepusillanimity of the entire army seems to have been accepted by Saul as quite reasonable in presence of such a foe. David"s converse with the men revealed a remarkable unanimity of sentiment among them. Estimated by the ordinary maxims of war during times when brute force in individual conflict decided the day, there was, indeed, small chance for a dwarf against a giant. The embarrassment was great, natural, and irremovable. But from the moment of David"s arrival this condition of things appeared to him unreasonable. Coming fresh from the fold, unfamiliar with the ordinary rules of armed warfare, and interpreting facts by principles acquired elsewhere than in the camp and among pusillanimous men, he marvelled at the dismay of Israel, and dared to be singular in his opinion that the giant was not to be dreaded. Events from a religious point of view assume a different aspect. Notice
I AN EMINENTLY RELIGIOUS MAN"S IMPRESSIONS OF FORMIDABLE DIFFICULTIES. David was at this time, in comparison with others, eminently religious. The facts of life impress us according to. sentiments and views already entertained. When, therefore, this devout, God-fearing youth looked on the conflict, he saw it with eyes full of religious light. He felt that the entire army was wrong in feeling and opinion. The principle holds good in other applications. The eminently religious get an impression of the world peculiar to their refined spiritual condition. The most conspicuous instance of this is in the case of the holy Saviour. Coming from the pure, loving sphere of heaven, more sweet and restful than David"s rural pastures, how different would the earth, with its conflicts, cares, and woes, appear to him as compared with their impression on men! Holy men see the world with new eyes when they descend from some mount of transfiguration. No wonder if some highly purified and trustful souls, looking on the fear and inactivity of professed followers of Christ, are disgusted and ashamed at the lack of hope and confidence. If we have the "mind of Christ," fresh, pure, deep in conviction of God"s all-wise and mighty will, toned with pity, and elevated by undying hope, we shall often get impressions of our surroundings which may make us singular, but which, nevertheless, will be just.
II AN EMINENTLY RELIGIOUS MAN WILL NOT HESITATE TO INDICATE AND JUSTIFY HIS IMPRESSIONS. The clear, truthful eyes of the shepherd youth saw the world through a Divine medium, and, with all the sincerity of goodness and force of deep conviction, he was not afraid to let it be known that he differed from others. Who is this Philistine?" He defy the "armies of the living God! The fire burned; he could not but speak. To him it was a most abhorrent thought that any one could dare to assert his strength against God. It is obvious that David reduced. the whole situation to a question of first principles. He remembered who the Philistine was in the sight of God, and what the meaning of Israel"s existence in the great purpose of redemption. The fear of Israel he referred to loss of faith in the people"s mission to the world, and in God as the perfecter of that mission. Illustrations of the same course are elsewhere found. True religious enlightenment must express itself in some form. The holy cannot look on life and be silent. Our Saviour"s words and deeds were largely the expression of the effect of man"s condition upon his nature. It is especially important to remember this reference to first principles in their application to
1. The sorrows and woes of mankind through sin. We cannot solve the mystery of evil, but can fall back on the primary truth that God is good and wise, and therefore his government in the end will be justified.
2. The prevalent habits of the world. We must not fail to trace them to radical alienation from God, and apply the only radical cure, renewal of nature by the Spirit of God.
3. The obstacles in the way of Christ"s triumph. They are real as facts, but we must justify our faith in their removal by indicating their essentially transitory character in contrast with the "everlasting strength" of our God.
III A RELIGIOUS MAN IN GIVING EFFECT TO HIS IMPRESSIONS MAY BE MISREPRESENTED. David"s pure mind was charged with vanity and idle curiosity (ver. 28). The accusation was the more painful in coming from a brother. Jealousy creates a jaundiced medium through which the holiest and most beautiful things appear hideous. A greater than David was also reviled, and his most holy and blessed words and deeds associated with the most wicked of origins. (Mar_3:22; Joh_10:20) Pliny and Tacitus, judicious men of the world, could not appreciate the opinions and motives of the early Christians. Even now strong faith in God, and belief that all obstacles to the progress of Christianity will give way because essentially human, is regarded as fanaticism. Even among some professed believers in Christ those are held to be too sanguine who feel sure that the most formidable of modem giants is as nothing before the mighty power which somehow will sweep it away. Be it so; time will show.
General lessons:
1. Clearness of vision on religious matters, and indirectly on all, is a result of superior devoutness of spirit.
2. "We never need fear being singular when sustained by a clear conscienceand the approval of God.
3. The earnest convictions and simple faith of one man may, in theprovidence of God, work a revolution in popular thought.
4. We give value to our religious convictions when they are indicated withcandour and are sustained by simplicity and purity of life.
5. A love of detraction and petty fault finding, while it does not reallyinjure the devoted who are its object, debases those who indulge in them.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv28, 29, 32, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 45, 47, 49, 50, 52 Eliabs anger was kindled against David.
1Sa_17:28
Eliabs anger was kindled against David.
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A series of victories
Hitherto David has had little suffering. Life is made up of trials: the Christians course is never free from them: this we are to see here, for this seventeenth tells us, besides the contest with the lion and the bear, of three great trials which at this time befell the man after Gods own heart. I dare say that when you have read this chapter you have thought of Davids wonderful faith and courage as seen in his conflict with the giant; and yet it tells us of three trials and three victories; and I believe that either of the other two was much more painful, and required more faith than was necessary to nerve him for the single combat.
1. Observe, then, in the first place, that after David was anointed he went back to his duties as before; for Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. For one moment he had been exalted, and then all went on as before. Then a brilliant career seemed opening before him: he was most unexpectedly sent for to the court. But as soon as the benefit was received it was forgotten; for ingratitude is the commonest of faults: David is not wanted now; the kings head is full of war matters; he stands in need of men, and not of boys; he wants swords and slicers, not harps and music. Oh! never be carried away with the love of popularity; it is not worth striving after; there is nothing that may be more quickly lost. Only let some unkind report be raised about you, or some great man sneer at you, and the people will be ready, to a man, to turn against you. And so David goes quietly back, resumes the shepherds dress, takes the place of the youngest son, and feeds his fathers sheep. I declare that seems to me to have been the greatest of the three trials; he must indeed have had strong faith, and he must have been endued with the grace of humility. And was it not so with our blessed Lord Himself? At the age of twelve years He is found sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions: and all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them; (Luk_2:49; Luk_2:51), and for eighteen years He remained in obscurity. Such was Davids first trial here. Flattered one moment, and thrown aside the next; at one time likely to be famous in the court, and very shortly afterwards sent to feed the sheep near his fathers homestead. Would it be very trying to be laid aside by illness, to sink into obscurity?
2. And now we come to a trial of a different kind, but equally painful, perhaps, or at all events one that shows the depth of his piety. We can quite understand how anxious Jesse was for the safety of his boys: his three eldest sons are gone to the battle; Eliab is there, the pride of his heart: so David is sent with a little present from home, and doubtless many kind messages, as Joseph was sent by Jacob to visit his brethren at Shechem. And when he comes, then his elder brother takes him to task, and utters the most cruel and vindictive insinuations. And here, too, Jesus can sympathise with His people. When He entered upon His public ministry, the first place at which He preached was His own city Nazareth. As He loved His mother, so He evidently had special affection for His own city, His neighbours, and near kindred: it was this love which made Him preach in the synagogue at Nazareth; but they would not receive Him; for a prophet has no honour in his own country. There are some people who can bear a long trial, who may yet be thrown off their guard by a sudden temptation; and so perhaps it was quite as difficult to give Eliab back a gentle answer, as it was to go quietly home from the palace to the sheepfold. Gentle natures are often sensitive, and sensitive people are almost always irritable. Oh! temper! temper! what a trial it is to those that are afflicted with it! and terrible is the guilt of those who provoke an irritable person. But David gained the victory, and must have made Eliab sensible of the wrong he had done him. This was a far greater victory, though little noticed, little thought of at the time, and not so much observed even now by those who read this chapter, as the contest with the giant shortly afterwards.
3. And now a word upon the third trial and the third victory. David fells the giant. There is no battle, but flight on the one hand, and eager pursuit on the other; in a few minutes the hills are completely deserted, and we can only hear the shouts of the pursuers gradually dying away in the direction of Ekron. There lies the headless body in the valley of Elah: come and let us stand by it, and learn one or two lessons. Behold in David the type of Davids Son. When the great Captain of our salvation was tempted of the devil, He did not contend with him as God, but only as one of ourselves. He just took the smooth stones out of the brook; He met and defeated him as any Christian may, with the words of Scripture; as any Jew might then, with quotations from the Book of Deuteronomy. The Philistine, you see, but for Davids faith, would have been stronger than the Israelites. The giant did not fall by sword and spear, but Davids faith in God brought victory to his countrymen. It was because David was in the camp that Israel conquered. Would we be loyal Churchmen, would we do good service to our Church, let us be men of God; let us so behave, that the Lord Jesus shall still be in the midst of us; let us make use of the stones from the brook, of prayer, and Holy Scripture; and the Lord will yet save us from ruin, though He may see fit to humiliate us. How did David know that he was equal to this emergency? What made him sure that he should conquer the giant? He had had experience of Gods help before. So indeed had the Israelites; they had gained a great victory under Samuel, and had reared their Ebenezer; but this was forgotten now, and therefore their faith failed them. But not so David. And then David knew nothing about the use of armour, though no doubt Saul provided him with the best; but he was expert in the use of the sling. Ah! those stones from the brook, how are they dispised! Any other means of grace is more valued than Scripture. No doubt David was regarded as a hero from Dan to Beersheba; the slaughter of the giant made him famous, and his praise was in everyones mouth. Yet I think I have shown you that the killing of the giant was a very little matter; that what is really to be admired is Davids faith; and that either of the other two trials was in reality more severe. (C. Bosanquet, M. A.)
Unsympathetic relatives
In early life Edmund Burke was not happy at home, as no one there sympathised with his dreams and aspirations. It is, after all, a mans own relations who generally look with the least confidence on his long wrestle with adversity, and are most astonished when the tide turns and a great victory succeeds to what had seemed to them mere hopeless toil.
The two victories in one day
If there had been a conspiracy to frustrate the Divine purpose in relation to David, his relatives could scarcely have kept him out of sight more persistently, or brought him forward more sluggishly and reluctantly. Men were slow to see the seeds of future greatness and godliness which the Lord beheld, and they looked not for succour in the direction whence He had ordained it to come. Praise belongs to Him for carrying out His own purpose despite the want of discernment and sympathy on the part of His people. If His thoughts had not prevailed over mens thoughts, the Jewish nation would have lost one of its greatest kings, and the Bible one of its most instructive histories. The Divine wisdom in the choice of David was soon proved when the time of trial came, and he had an opportunity of showing the regal spirit the grace of God had given to him. The second triumph is by far the more famous, but we must not suffer its splendour to hide from us the true glory of the first. The man who kills a giant will always be more talked of than the man who, against the force of strong temptations, controls his own temper; but it is none the less true that--He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city,
I. Davids victory over himself. It is not difficult to conjecture the cause of Eliabs ill-will and unjust upbraidings. He had not forgiven David for the distinction that God had granted, and the cruel spirit of envy had turned him from a brother into a foe. This fiendish passion of envy, so common in human nature, can not only destroy the joy of a brother in a brothers welfare, but would also, if it could get into a mothers heart, be hellish enough to make her miserable at the thought of the prosperity of her own first-born boy. What a foul thing that must be which finds the elements of its own perdition in a sight of the paradise God gives to others, and which would be wretched and woebegone in heaven itself if it met with anyone having stronger wings or a higher place than its own! When, in the last judgment, Envy is placed at the bar of God, what an indictment will be laid against the Evil Spirit! The insulting anger of Eliab--the cruelty of Josephs brethren--the murderous wrath of Cain--and the greatest share in the greatest crime in the world, the crucifying of the Lord of glory--will be charged upon him. The taunts and insinuations of Eliab must have cut David to the quick. If the undeserved rebuke had been administered in private, it would have been hard to bear; but Eliab was base enough to be a public slanderer, and sought, by his foul aspersions, to do irreparable damage to Davids reputation amongst those who saw him that day for the first time, and would be too ready to think that there must be good grounds for these charges of pride and arrogance, seeing they were made by the young mans own brother. The temptation must have been strong to answer it with words of burning indignation, and only a man of much meekness and of great self-control could have replied to it as David did. Who likes to be accused of vile motives which he knows have no place in his heart, and to hear his very virtues denounced as being nothing but hideous vices which he tries to conceal by means of pious airs and canting pretensions? It was a cross of this kind David had to carry, and he bore it as if there had been given to him some prophetic foresight of the perfect example of Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, and who, when He was reviled, reviled not again. The restraint which David put upon his temper under this great provocation was the most godly thing he could have done, and therefore it was the wisest and most profitable. Having regard to the great work before him, it was very important that David should keep his temper. Could the second victory have been achieved if he had failed in the first conflict? That which was right amidst the temptations of one hour was the best preparation for the arduous labours of the next hour. All of her things being equal, he who is most triumphant over temptation and most faithful to duty today will be the strongest for work and warfare tomorrow.
II. Davids victory over Goliath. History records many instances in which cruelty, and tyranny, and persecution haw thoroughly outwitted themselves and frustrated their own purposes. Charity must not rejoice in iniquity, but it may exult in the defeat of iniquity, and especially when iniquity plays the part of a scorpion and stings itself, and when, like Haman, it unwittingly prepares a gallows for its own execution. The defeat of the Philistines in the downfall of their great champion is a most striking illustration of this kind of self-destruction. Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears (1Sa_13:19). This cruel policy was so successful that on one occasion there were only two swords or spears possessed by the entire Jewish army. Saul and Jonathan had them; but all the rest of the people had to use such cumbrous and clumsy weapons as unskilled hands could make without fire or hammer. Necessity has always been the mother of invention, and we may be certain that, when iron weapons were denied to the Hebrews, their skill was largely developed in other directions. The youth of the land could not practise sword exercise, or learn to poise the spear, and therefore they would be driven to make themselves master of other methods of defence and assault. Before this period the Benjamites had become famous for their skill in slinging, for Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at an hair-breadth, and not miss (Jdg_20:16). When all edged weapons were taken from them, the people would be sure to turn again to those in whose use their fathers had been so renowned, and practice would again make perfect. Thus the issue proved that the Philistines laid the foundation of their own defeat when they took all swords and spears from the Israelites, and compelled them to try other means of accomplishing their deliverance. The foes of Gods people meant it for evil, but God overruled it for good. Davids skill with the sling would have failed to gain the victory if it had been divorced from faith in God. It was his trust in the Lord which gave such calmness to his soul, as surely as it was the calmness of his soul which helped to make his arm so steady and his aim so sure. His faith, however, was not a fanatical faith, which violates reason and neglects the most appropriate means. When he refused to wear Sauls armour, he proved his common sense as much as he displays his confidence in God. The faith of David was also associated with experience as well as with reason. He remembered past mercies, and thereby encouraged his heart to rest in Him who is ever the same. The most effectual way of chasing away despair and regaining confidence is to adopt the Psalmists resolve--I will remember the works of the Lord: Surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings. (C. Vince.)
Preparations for conflict
How much like a chapter of accidents this looks! Superficially narrated, we should say It happened. There are no accidents with God, and none with those who commit their way unto Him. We shall see all these things were preparations for conflict.
I. Jesses anxiety concerning his soldier sons. We meet David once more on the road from Bethlehem. Not on his way to the palace of the king, for yet is he the drudge of the family, and is sent laden with presents to the chief of the division in which his brothers serve (verses 17, 18), to see how they fare. How akin to Joseph, who also was sent by his father to his brethren, and met with no kindly reception! While talking with one and another the boastful challenge of the giant Goliath arrests his attention. Once no such challenge would have come to Saul unanswered, but all valour flees when the Spirit of the Lord leaves a man. David avows his readiness to meet him. Was it a chance that David was sent--that he was sent that morning--that his brethren were to the front when he arrived at camp, or a list of curious combinations?
II. The DISCOURAGEMENT with which David meets. David is jealous for the Lord of Hosts. He was instantly discouraged, first by:--
1. His own brethren (Mat_10:36, with verse 28). That fine soldierly looking brother who captivated Samuels judgment is terribly at fault Listen! he twits his brother with neglect of duty (verse 28). True he does not know; he is only supposing the sheep must have been left uncared for, as David is there. To an angry, jealous nature, truth is of little matter. The probable, or even the possible, is quite near enough.
2. The king discourages him (verse 33). Doubtless appearances were against David. They have often been against bravo men, and Saul was only the echo of that prudence which is popular today. Gods men, who endure as seeing Him who is invisible, cannot be measured by the rule of this worlds wisdom. We advance now to another link.
3. Thirdly, in all this David was being fitted for the conflict as the result of the Divine anointing. Discipline is often inward through the outward, and sometimes the outward is proof of the inward. Davids offers of service were refused. That the affairs of service are often refused is apparent in the records of the Holy Scriptures. Dr. Ker unfolds this in a sermon from the refusal of the Israelites offers of service by Joshua. He draws attention to Gideons band, that not all were chosen who offered; and to Christs searching answer to the man who would first go bury his dead. Today, as of old, many offers of service are refused--and why? Thus our sincerity is tested. Only so do we know ourselves; but every Christian comes out of the Slough of Despond on the far side. One result of these discouragements in Davids case was, he was thrown on Gods promise. His past opens (verse 34). His own mind is finding wonderful illumination as he tells the king of what he had done. This is the right use of past experience. I slew him; surely the God of my strength can give me power over this Philistine lion also. Do you not observe his sense of Goliaths sin increases in proportion as his faith in God expands? There is a rising emphasis of scorn surely. This uncircumcised Philistine; This Philistine. How terrible is this contempt, coming from Gods chosen! Thus early we mark the habit of referring everything to the will and providence of God, which is the key to Davids character. Thus there is outward victory. David has gained permission--has won his way; and is not this the window through which we see the inward victory? All through he maintains his humility, yet who could imagine any test more trying than this double refusal of service? And how conspicuous this humility is in his answer to Saul after the victory (verse 58), and that untrue and supercilious speech of Abners (verse 55). He maintains his patience. What restraint he must have put upon that impetuous spirit of his to take the sneer so quietly! (verse 29). He that hath rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. (H. E. Stone.)
David and Goliath
This is a revolution wrought by one brave soul. And this is but a single incident in the life of one who walked by faith, and who learned his faith in communion with God. It was this which gave to David the qualities which this history reveals--a sound judgment, a fearless tongue, a sweet temper, and a lions heart.
I. A sound judgment. David came to Elah a youth amidst an army of veterans. Yet his judgment was sounder than Sauls, than Abners, or that of any of the bronzed warriors around him. Why? Because he came to Elah from Bethlehem, from the quiet hills where he had communed with God, and strengthened his faith in Him. The men of Israel had natural courage enough, but this was a combat which, on all natural principles, seemed hopeless. David, however, looked at the matter through eyes that were full of religious light. David saw God upon the scene. He was the only one who saw Him; and that sight made the shepherd the true tactician. Faith in God gave him at once the true point of view. Mere secular computations had half blinded Israels eyes. The impressions and the services of the young are sometimes better than those of the old, because the elder may have lost simplicity of faith and have learned to look at life from a worldly point of view. Inexpert in the details of a matter, still the prayerful woman, the believing youth, may have a higher, clearer view of some Divine principle, some promise of Jehovah, which should be His peoples guide. So the mother of Mills, a quarter of a century before the leaders of the Church had moved, declared that missions to the heathen world ought to be begun, and dedicated her own son in his infancy to the work. So Mills himself and his young associates, praying by the haystack in the fields of Williamstown, saw what Israel ought to do, saw that was possible which others called chimerical, and planned a bold campaign for Christ while yet the eyes of the fathers were sealed. They were mere striplings who offered themselves first to meet the giant forces of the pagan world. Wisdom dwells not in the noisy camp with the timid multitudes, but on the solitary hills of prayer.
II. An independent tongue. Swift to hear, slow to speak, is a good rule for youth, but not when it is clearly seen that others have forgotten Gods commandments, or have fallen to questioning his promises. Be modest, but be not so cautious a Christian that you shall cease to be a Christian. Whatever you have clearly seen in your study of Gods work, be not afraid to speak it out nor to let it be known that you differ from others. You have good examples for it. His word was in mine heart, as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay (Jer_20:9).
III. And the frankness of Davids temper was equalled by its sweetness. It was not easy in the presence of all the soldiers to listen quietly to a brothers taunts and sneers, to be accosted as an idle runaway, to be contemptuously ordered back by that surly Eliab, jaundiced and spiteful with his jealousy. What an admirable self-control does David show! Have a soft answer for your detractors, and even stay with them if you may, like David, to fight their battles and cover their disgrace.
IV. It hardly need be said that his courage was simply confidence in God. And it was a reasonable confidence. He did not fail to measure the strength of his giant enemy, but he heard him defy the living God, and when he heard that he knew his enemy was doomed. He knew that Jehovah would make bare his holy arm, and make all the earth to know that there is a God in Israel. Woe unto him that striveth against his Maker! The most powerful of men, the most gigantic combination which diplomacy or society or capital can frame, are doomed when they set themselves against Gods holy law. David had not only heard the word of Jehovahs promise; he had had experience of His faithfulness. This was not the first danger he had met with quick, uplifted prayer. And Davids confidence in God was reasonable from another point of view. The hazards he was taking were not encountered needlessly, from a mere exuberance of daring or delight in danger. He might well ask, Is there not a cause? The interest of Israel, the honour of Jehovah, were at stake: it was reasonable, therefore, to believe that he would not be left to fight alone. Still less did he seek this public championship of Israel, or welcome it to win for himself a name. But Davids confidence in God was attended by no carelessness. Because the battle was the Lords, David did not think there was little for him to do. What do we see? He carefully selects the most appropriate means, and then he plies them with intense energy. (Arthur Mitchell, D. D.)
The conflict between good and evil
We may look at David and Goliath as they appear in contest, as illustrating the forms, spirits, weapons, and destiny of the great moral antagonists of our world--good and evil.
1. These two men give us a picture of the forms of good and evil. Evil in our world is like Goliath--of gigantic stature, immense energy, and imposing aspect. It is a colossus. Good in our world is like David in its appearance--small, weak, and insignificant; possessing nothing to which the world attaches the idea of strength or glory. So it appeared in Christ. He was a root out of a dry ground.
2. These two men give us a picture of the spirit of good and evil. The spirit of evil, like that of Goliath, is proud, contemptuous, malignant. The spirit of good, like that of David, is that of humble trust and dependence upon God.
3. These two men give us a picture of the weapons of good and evil. Evil, like Goliath, has many and powerful weapons to fight its battles. Like Goliath, it is full-armed. Armies and navies are on its side. The weapons of good are of the simplest kind; the sling and stone of David would symbolise them. The weapons of our warfare, etc.
4. These two men give us a picture of the ultimate destinies of good and evil. Goliath, notwithstanding his great strength, proud vanities and mighty weapons, was slain, and his body given to the fowls of heaven, and the beasts of the earth. So it will be with evil. Like the imago in the monarchs vision, the little stone of truth shall shiver it into atoms. The end of truth will be like that of David--triumphant and progressive in honour and influence in the empire of God. (D. Thomas.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v30 1Sa_17:1. “The Philistines gathered together their armies.” Jamieson considers…
CRITITCAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES—
1Sa_17:1. “The Philistines gathered together their armies.” Jamieson considers that this was twenty-seven years after their overthrow at Michmash. “Shochoh,” now Shuweikek, a village in the hilly region between the mountains of Judah and the plain of Philistia, about eleven miles south-west of Jerusalem and of Bethlehem. “Azekah.” Not certainly identified, but probably the same as Zakariyeh, another site of ancient ruins, about two miles distant, on the same side of the valley. “Ephes-dammim,” now Damúm, four miles north-east of Shuweikek.
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1Sa_17:2. “Valley of Elah,” or the Terebiuth Valley. “A long, broad, depressed plain, lying between two parallel ranges of hills. The terebiuth, the shittimwood (the butin of the Arabs): probably some remarkable tree of this species which grew there. It is now Wady-es-Sumt, valley of the acacia tree, with which at present it abounds. This valley, formed by the junction of three lateral ones—viz., Wady-el-Musùrr from the east, Wady-es-Sûr from the south, and another, name unknown, from the north—opens into the great Wady-Sŭrâr, anciently the Valley of Sorek. It is a fertile plain flanked on the north and south by lowly hills, and abounding with grain produce, except in the spots covered by acacia thickets and olive plantations. Robinson states that the largest terebiuth he saw in all the country was in Wady-es-Súr, a little above the spot where it emerges into Wady-es-Sûmt.” (Jamieson.)
1Sa_17:4. “Champion.” Literally, the man in the midst, the middleman—one who advances between two armies to decide the battle by single combat. Wordsworth renders it “the mediator.” “Six cubits and a span.” The cubit is variously computed at eighteen or twenty-one inches. The height of Goliath cannot therefore be certainly estimated, but must have been from nine to ten-and-a-half feet. “According to the calculation made by Thenius, about nine feet two inches Parisian measure; a great height no doubt, though not altogether unparalleled, and hardly greater than that of the great uncle of Iren, who came to Berlin in the year 1857. According to Pliny, the giant Pusia and the giant Secundilla, who lived in the time of Augustus, were ten feet three inches (Roman) in height; and a Jew is mentioned by Josephus who was seven cubits in height, i.e., ten Parisian feet, or if the cubits are Roman, nine-and-a-half.” (Kiel.)
1Sa_17:5. “Coat of mail.” Literally, a scale-corslet. A corslet made of metal plates overlapping each other like the scale of a fish. “Five thousand shekels.” The copper shekel is estimated to have weighed about an ounce. “According to Thenius, the cuirass of Augustus the Strong, which has been preserved in the historical museum at Dresden, weighed fifty-five pounds.” (Kiel.)
1Sa_17:6. “Greaves.” “Boots for the defence of the leg, rising to nearly the knee, and without feet, terminating at the ankle; made of bull’s hide, leather, wood, or in one plate of metal, but rounded to the shape of the leg, and often lined with felt or sponge. Some of the ancient greaves, however, did not come so far up as the knee.” (Jamieson.) “Target.” Rather a lance or short spear. “Thenius proposes to alter the expression ‘between his shoulders,’ because it does not appear applicable to a spear or javelin, which Goliath must have suspended by a strap, but only to a small shield slung over his back … But the difficulty founded upon the expression has been fully met by Bochart, in the examples which he cites from Homer, Virgil, etc., to prove that the ancients carried their own swords slung over their shoulders. And Josephus understood the expression in this way. Goliath had no need of any shield to cover his back, as this was sufficiently protected by his coat of mail. Moreover, the allusion to the same piece of armour in 1Sa_17:45 evidently points to an offensive weapon, and not to a shield.” (Kiel.)
1Sa_17:7. “Weaver’s beam.” “Rather under five feet long.” (Jamieson.) “One bearing a shield.” Rather, the shield. “In consequence of their great size and weight, the Oriental warrior had a trusty and skilful friend, whose office it was to bear the large shield.” (Jamieson.)
1Sa_17:8. “Am I not a Philistine?” Rather, the Philistine. “The meaning is, Why would you engage in battle with us? I am the man who represents the strength of the Philistines, and ye are only servants of Saul. If ye have heroes, choose one out, that we may decide the matter in a single combat.” (Keil.)
1Sa_17:10. “I defy;” or, “I have mocked.” (Keil.) “Goliath’s scorn and contempt of Israel lay not merely in the reproach that they were Saul’s slaves, and in the tone of his words, but in the challenge itself, because it was not answered.” (Erdmann.)
1Sa_17:34. “A lion and a bear.” “At present lions do not exist in Palestine, although they must in ancient times have been numerous. The lion of Palestine was in all probability the Asiatic variety described by Aristotle and Pliny, as distinguished by its short, curly mane. It was less daring than the longer-maned species, but when driven by hunger it not only ventured to attack the flocks in the desert in the presence of the shepherd (Isa_31:4), but laid waste towns and villages (2Ki_17:25-26). The shepherds sometimes ventured to encounter the lion single-handed, and the vivid figure employed by Amos (1Sa_3:12), the herdsman of Tekoa, was but the transcript of a scene which he must have often witnessed. The variety of the Asiatic bear which inhabits the Himalayas is especially ferocious, and it is probable that the same species among the mountains of Armenia is the animal of Scripture.” (Biblical Dictionary.)
1Sa_17:36. “Thy servant slew,” etc. “These useful feats of David seem to have been performed with no weapon more effective than the rude staves usually carried in the hand of an Eastern shepherd, particularly the iron-headed club (Psa_23:4). ‘I have known,’ says Dr. Wilson (Lands of the Bible) ‘a shepherd in India encounter with it a tiger which he found mangling one of his goats. It is much in use among the Fellahin of Wady Mûsa, and the Arabs in general.’ ” (Jamieson.)
1Sa_17:38. “Saul armed David,” etc. David must therefore have been near the stature of Saul, or he could not have worn his armour; it might, however, have been a loose corslet, or capable of a change by tightening.
1Sa_17:40. “His sling.” “The sling consisted of a double rope, with a thong, probably of leather, to receive the stone. The slinger held a second stone in his left hand. Shepherds in the East carry a sling and stones still for the purpose both of driving away and killing the enemies of the flock. It was and is a favourite weapon in Syria and Arabia.” (Jamieson.) Some of the Fathers of the Church, and a few modern commentators, see in this encounter of David and Goliath a type of our Lord’s encounter with Satan. Wordsworth says, “So our David, the Good Shepherd, went forth to meet the enemy, not with sword or spear but with a pastoral staff, nor did He put forth His Divine power by any miraculous exercise of it against the tempter.… He chose five stones out of the brook; He took the five books of Moses out of the flowing streams of Judaism,” etc., etc.
1Sa_17:43. “Am I a dog,” etc. “The staff was ordinarily employed not against men but beasts.… Similar are the scornful defiances which warriors of antiquity mutually gave at the beginning of a combat.” (Erdmann.)
1Sa_17:45. “The Lord of Hosts,” etc. Jehovah Sabaoth (see on 1Sa_1:3). “The name of the Lord is for David the totality of all the revelations by which the living God has made Himself known and named among His people. Of these elements, which form the conception of the name of God, he here—suitably to the situation—adduces those which characterise Him in respect to His warlike and ruling power as captain and conqueror of His people.” (Psa_24:10.) (Erdmann.)
1Sa_17:49. “The stone sunk.” Wordsworth thinks that here a supernatural power was put forth.
1Sa_17:52. “The valley,” etc. As no name is given to this valley, and as the Hebrew word for Gath is very similar, both Keil and Erdmann think that Gath ought to stand here, as in the following verse. “This direction of the flight resulted from the nature of the country. The Wady Sumt, where the conflict took place, passes northward from Socoh, turns after two or three miles westward by the villiage Sakarieh, emptying into the Wady Simchim. About a mile from this is the village of Aijur, which is held to he ancient Gath, and so the Philistines fled through that valley that Robinson also traversed when he journeyed from Jerusalem to Gath. Another portion of the Philistines remained in Wady Sumt and fled northward, where the Wady Sumt takes the name of Wady Surar, in which lies the present city Akir.” (Stähelin). (Travellers are not quite agreed as to the site of Gath).
1Sa_17:54. “And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem,” etc. “The word translated tent is an antiquated term for dwelling place. The reference is to David’s house at Bethlehem, to which he returned with his booty after the defeat of Goliath. There is no anachronism in these statements, for the assertion made by some, that Jerusalem was not yet in the possession of the Israelites, rests upon a confusion between the citadel of Jebus upon Zion, which was still in the hands of the Jebusites, and the city of Jerusalem, in which Israelites had dwelt for a long time. (See Jos_15:63 and Jdg_1:8). Nor is there any contradiction between this statement and 1Sa_21:9, where Goliath’s sword is said to have been kept in the tabernacle at Nob: for it is not affirmed that David kept Goliath’s armour in his own home but only that he took it thither.… Again, the statement in 1Sa_18:2, to the effect that after David’s victory over Goliath Saul did not allow him to return to his father’s house any more, is by no means at variance with this explanation of the verse before us. For the statement in question must be understood as signifying that from that time forward Saul did not allow David to return to his father’s house as he had done before.” (Keil).
1Sa_17:55. “Whose son is this youth?” etc. Some critics regard these last four verses as an interpolation, as well as the paragraph between 1Sa_17:12-31. Their opinion is founded upon apparent in discrepancies in the narrative, most of which have been met in the comments. Keil and other commentators see no reason for doubting their genuineness. The following are their solutions of the apparent contradiction in this question of Saul, to the statement in 1Sa_16:21-23. “It is only necessary to admit that David’s absence at home had been long (and there is no exact chronological datum); that Saul had rarely seen him except in moments of madness; that Abner had been absent from court when David was there; and that the personal appearance of the latter had changed (suppositions which, taken singly or together, are not improbable), and Saul’s ignorance becomes natural.” (Translator of Lange’s Commentary.) Wordsworth likewise suggests that David now appeared, not as before in the costume of a courtier or warrior, but in the homely dress of a shepherd, and that Saul’s question does not necessarily imply ignorance of David, as he asks not his name, but the name of his father. “He had promised that whosoever killed the Philistine should have his own daughter in marriage, and he naturally wished to know the parentage of his future son-in-law.” Dr. Jamieson adds to these the suggestion that “the rumour of Samuel’s commission to anoint another king, and his journey to Bethlehem for that object, together with the fact that David had come from that village, and the suspicion, after the conquest of Goliath, which procured him so much glory throughout the nation, that David was destined for the throne, might have so excited his jealousy that he dissembled, and, pretending not to know him, kept his vigilant eye upon him with a view to accomplish the destruction of this young and formidable rival.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Sa_17:1-11; 1Sa_17:30-58
FAITH IN THE SEEN AND IN THE UNSEEN
This narrative furnishes us—
I. With examples of faith in the seen and temporal. Such was the faith—
1. Of Goliath. The tendency of all men is to put confidence in that which they can apprehend with their senses—that which appeals to their outward man. Physical strength—material greatness of any kind—anything that belongs to the seen and temporal—are the objects of their trust. In their opinion the race is always to the physically swift and the battle to the strong; they believe with the first Napoleon that “Providence is always on the side of great battalions,” and in their estimate of things the unseen God goes for nothing because He is unseen. The faith of the Philistine was not in any unseen power—not even in the false gods of his own nation—but in his own arm of flesh—in his own extraordinary size and bodily strength. In this he is but a type of the great majority of men in all ages and in all nations—not only those who possess no written revelation of the unseen God, but of the far greater proportion of those who profess to believe in His existence.
2. Of Saul. Even Saul was dismayed when he heard the words of the Philistine (1Sa_17:11), even he sought to restrain the shepherd youth from going forth to meet the man of war, although he knew that the latter was an “uncircumcised Philistine,” and that David’s confidence was in the living God. One of the first duties of a man in Saul’s position is to acquaint himself with the history of the nation whom he rules, and lay to heart the lessons to be gained from it. And it could not be that he was ignorant of the great heroes of Israel who had gone before him—of Abraham, who with God for his shield had been able with three hundred men to put to flight the armies of the aliens—of Moses, who forsook Egypt and led Israel through the Red Sea because “he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible”—of Gideon, of Barak, of Samson, and of Jephthah, who “through faith subdued kingdoms and obtained promises” (Heb_11:32-33). How much was there in God’s dealings with his forefathers to inspire him with hope and confidence in the unseen Jehovah, and to remind him that two are enough for any conflict if one is the Living God. If Saul had been in any degree worthy of his title and his position he would have been the first to accept the challenge of the heathen, and would have rejoiced in the opportunity of adding his own name to the long roll of Hebrew heroes who had proved over and over again how much more there is on the side of him who trusts in the Unseen and Eternal than on the side of those whose confidence is in the seen and temporal. But instead of this he furnishes an example of cowardice which had its root in the unbelief which had been the curse of almost all his kingly life, and which had brought upon him his present misery. There had been a short bright spot in his career when he, too, had been conscious that it was the “Lord who wrought salvation in Israel,” and when he had fought and conquered in that assurance (1Sa_11:11-13). But the clouds of unbelief had long since obscured his vision of the unseen and the real, and made him a slave to the seen and the seeming. We cannot wonder that the armies of Israel manifested the same disposition. When the head is diseased the body will be affected also, when the well is poisoned the streams will be impure, and when the head of a community has no faith in God the moral disease is likely to run through all ranks and conditions of men beneath him. Seeing that unbelief in the unseen made Saul a coward, it is not surprising to find his army manifesting the same craven fear of the giant of Gath. We have—
II. An example of faith in the unseen and eternal.
1. This faith was founded upon an experience of Divine help in past dangers. If a man has been in great peril of mind, body, or estate, and has in the day of his extremity been delivered by a friendly and powerful arm, he carries about with him ever after a consciousness of that deliverance and a faith in the person who saved him which nothing can destroy. If he is ever brought again into like circumstances or even into a more perilous position he will naturally turn again for help where he found it before. When a nation has been delivered from the hand of her enemies mainly by the courage of one heart and the skill of one ruling mind, she will instinctively confide in the same leader in her next time of danger. The eye of faith looks back upon past deliverances and sees in them the hand of God—this being so, in the next day of peril and need she appeals for help to the same Almighty source and confidently expects to receive it. This is a most logical resolution—“Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge.” (Psa_63:7). If we have present confidence in an arm of flesh because of help afforded in the past, how much more should we have faith in an unchangeable God in a present time of need when we can recall instances of His gracious interposition in past necessities. This is the argument of David, and such has ever been and ever will be the argument of faith, “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine.” But only a man accustomed to discern an unseen hand in all the events of his life would have seen God in the deliverance from the lion and the bear, and only such an one therefore could have drawn hope and confidence from it for the present greater peril. David’s life had been a life of faith in the unseen, and such a man is ready for any emergency. All the deliverances of his past life had been referred to the living God, and therefore he was not now afraid to trust Him for a greater and more important victory.
2. This faith adopted the means most likely to lead to a victorious issue. The faith of David was not the faith of a fanatic nor of one who interprets all God’s promises without reference to conditions to be observed by man. He took a common-sense view of the matter, and used the best weapons within his reach to bring God into co-operation with his faith and his effort. The sling was the only weapon which was at all adapted to David’s use under the circumstances. It would have been madness and presumption for the shepherd youth to have attempted a close encounter with Saul’s weapons or with any weapons of that kind. But he had been accustomed from his childhood to use the sling which was especially adapted for use at a long range, and with which an expert could take a most certain aim (Jdg_20:16). He had no need to come within reach of the Philistine’s sword or measure himself with him in a hand-to-hand combat. The very distance at which he stood would compensate for his inferior weight and add to the force of the blow, and the stone could be aimed at the only part of the giant’s body which was unprotected by armour, viz., his forehead. Although we may see a supernatural hand in the issue of the event, we must remember that the effort of David was in harmony with natural laws and not against them, and that his confidence in God did not lead him to neglect the use of means, and those the very best at his disposal. The men of the strongest faith are the least given to presumption, but always put forth well-directed effort.
III. Faith in the unseen and Eternal justified by results. The expectations and desires of faith rest upon a solid foundation. The faith of David rested upon the Divine promises looked at in the light of the Divine faithfulness, and it was so strengthened by his own experience that he ventured confidently to predict the result before it came to pass (1Sa_17:26). At this period of his history his desires were in entire sympathy with God, and he had therefore full ground for his confident prophecy that the Lord would deliver Israel’s enemy into his hand. And the result fully justified his strong confidence, and showed that God regards such a bold reliance upon Himself with especial favour. The faith of God’s children in all ages rests upon the same foundation, and whenever the Church of God is threatened by some apparently mighty foe they have the same warrant as David had for predicting beforehand that victory shall be on their side because they are on the side of God.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
That the world hostile to God’s kingdom can long unpunished visit its scorn on the truth of the eternal and living God, is commonly a result of the inner weakness, disorder, and timidity of the members of the kingdom of God. When, therefore, there arises a man from their midst who, with mighty word and deed, encounters and conquers the foe, this is a direct interposition of God’s hand in the development of His kingdom, and such a man is His chosen instrument for the casting down of the haughty worldly powers, and for a new gathering together and elevation of His people.—Lange’s Commentary.
When we think of the tribal inheritance of Judah, still in a large degree retained by the Philistines, who ever and anon arose to reclaim it all, and sometimes nearly succeeded, we have a striking analogy to the heart of the believer, wherein divers sins and lusts do still contend for the mastery; and sometimes one of them, attaining Goliath-like proportions, threatens to enslave him altogether. Each of us has his own giant to fight, and here, too, it must be single combat, with no one to help us but He who went forth with the stripling David.… Or, yet again, in contending with external evils, we may sometimes feel that they have assumed such magnitude as to appal us. Thus, which of us is not brought almost to a standstill when he surveys the ignorance, infidelity, etc., by which we are surrounded? It seems to us sometimes, in moments of depression, as if these evils were stalking forth defiantly before the armies of the Living God, and laughing them, Goliath-like, to scorn; and our courage is apt to cool as we contemplate this show of force. But the God of David liveth, and He will still give us success. The great danger that besets the Christian at such times is that of attempting to fight with the world’s weapons. The worldling will always overcome him when he does so, because the Christian in such armour is not at home.… Let him go forth with the cross of Christ in his hand, and by that he will conquer; but if he seek a lower weapon, and try to fight with force of law, or with earthly philosophy, or with mere social expedients, he will inevitably fail. What David’s sling and stone were in the valley of Elah, that is the cross of Christ in the theological controversies, and social wranglings, and moral antagonisms of our age.—Dr. W. M. Taylor.
1Sa_17:10. Degenerate professors of religion often receive just rebukes from most decided enemies.… In human accomplishments the opposers of the truth of God have frequently possessed an undisputed superiority; confiding in this they have defied, and still do defy, the advocates of spiritual truth to engage with them.—Scott.
1Sa_17:11. The time was when Saul slew forty thousand Philistines in one day, and perhaps Goliath was in that discomfiture; and now one Philistine is suffered by him to brave all Israel for forty days. Whence is this difference? The Spirit of God, the spirit of fortitude, was now departed from him. Saul was not more above himself when God was with him, than he is below others now that he is left of God. Valour is not merely of nature; nature is ever like itself; he that is once valiant should never turn coward. But now we see the greatest spirits inconstant … He that is the God of Hosts gives and takes away man’s hearts at His pleasure. Neither is it otherwise in our spiritual combats … We have no strength but what is given us; and if the Author of all good gifts remit His hand for our humiliation, either we fight not, or are foiled.—Bp. Hall.
1Sa_17:32. While base hearts are moved by example, the want of example is encouragement enough to an heroical mind; therefore is David ready to undertake the quarrel, because no man else dare to do it.… Even so, O Saviour, when all the generations of men run away affrighted from the powers of death and darkness, Thou alone hast undertaken and confounded then.—Bp. Hall.
1Sa_17:37. In this recognition of God and confidence in Him, with which David entered upon public life, we have the root of the difference between him and Saul.… The tendency of Saul’s life was towards himself; anything inconsistent with that in him, or about him, was but fitful and spasmodic. But it was just the reverse with David. The leaning of his soul was toward God, and though at times self and sin sadly and terribly asserted their power, yet these things were only occasional, and out of keeping with the usual course and current of his character. His sins, like Saul’s impulses towards good things, were but occasional eruptions of that which it was the habit of his soul to repress; his piety, like Saul’s impiety, was the principle of his life.—Dr. W. M. Taylor.
To God he ascribes, not only his success in life, but his physical prowess.… And we must pause, ere we call such utterances mere Eastern metaphor. It is far more probable they were meant as, and were literal truths. David was not likely to have been a man of brute gigantic strength. So delicate a brain was probably coupled to a delicate body. Such a nature, at the same time, would be the very one most capable under the influence—call it boldly inspiration—of a great and patriotic cause, of great dangers and great purposes; capable, I say, at moments, of accesses of almost superhuman energy, which he ascribed, and most rightly, to the inspiration of God.—Kingsley.
1Sa_17:39. Let Saul’s coat be never so rich, and his armour never so strong, what is David the better if they fit him not? It is not to be inquired how excellent anything is, but how proper. Those things which are helps to some may be encumbrances to others. An unmeet good may be as inconvenient as an accustomed evil. If we could wish another man’s honour, when we feel the weight of his cares we should be glad to be in our own coat.—Bp. Hall.
History has presented many and diverse examples in the sphere of the spiritual life similar to this heroic march of David. Luther, in opposition to timid learned men, threw aside the heavy armour of scholastic wisdom, and stepping forward in freedom vanquished the giant of Rome with the five heads of his catechism. And other witnesses and combatants of the Church have with holy courage broken through the restraints of homiletic or liturgic forms, and in the free effusions and creations of their divinely anointed spirits, have given the tone to a new and more animating style of preaching, and thereby have opened the way to a new quickening and elevating of the life of the Church into greater fruitfulness.—Krummacher.
1Sa_17:44. Was ever such a proof given of the sin and folly of boasting, as in the case of Goliath? And yet, as we would say, how natural it was in him! We can almost sympathise with his disappointment when he found that the champion who was to meet him was so little “worthy of his steel.” We can almost admire the chivalrous spirit that scattered defiance among a host of enemies. But just as it is so natural, and because it is so natural, is this spirit of boasting dangerous. In the spiritual conflict it is the surest presage of defeat. It was the Goliath spirit that puffed up the apostle Peter, when he said to his Master, “Lord, I will go with Thee to prison and to death.” It is the same spirit against which the apostle Paul gives his remarkable warning, “Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.”—Blaikie.
1Sa_17:48-54. The defeats which are prepared for the world by the kingdom of God:
1. Through what sort of combatants? Through such as (a), like David, heroically lead the van of God’s host and decide the conflict (1Sa_17:48), and (b) such as bravely bring up the rear, perseveringly pursuing the already smitten foe.
2. With what sort of weapons? (a) With weapons which they themselves have according to their calling through God’s grace, and wield in reliance on God’s help (1Sa_17:49), and (b) with weapons which they take from the foe, in order to give him the finishing stroke with his own weapon (1Sa_17:50-51).
3. With what result? Annihilation of his power on his own ground (1Sa_17:52), and in respect to the booty, rich gains (1Sa_17:53-54).—Lange’s Commentary.
1Sa_17:51. What needed David load himself with an unnecessary weapon? one sword can serve both Goliath and him. If Goliath had a man to bear his shield, David hath Goliath to bear his sword, wherewith that proud, blasphemous head is severed from his shoulders. Nothing more honours God than the turning of wicked men’s forces against themselves. There are none of His enemies but carry with them their own destruction. Thus didst Thou, O Son of David, foil Satan with his own weapon: that whereby he meant destruction to Thee and us, vanquished him through Thy mighty power, and raised Thee to that glorious triumph and super-exaltation wherein Thou art, wherein we shall be with Thee.—Bishop Hall.
1Sa_17:54. David brings the head of the Philistine champion in triumph to Jerusalem. Our David, Jesus Christ, ascended in triumph to the heavenly Jerusalem, bearing His trophies with Him, “leading captivity captive” (Psa_68:18; Eph_4:8.)—Wordsworth.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v32 1 Samuel
1 Samuel
THE VICTORY OF UNARMED FAITH
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1Sa 17:32 - 1Sa 17:51.
The scene of David’s victory has been identified in the present Wady Es-Sunt, which still possesses one of the terebinth-trees which gave it its name of ‘Elah.’ At that point it is about a quarter of a mile wide, and runs nearly east and west. In the centre is ‘a deep trench or gulley, the sides and bed of which are strewn with rounded and water-worn pebbles.’ This is the ‘valley,’ or rather ‘ravine’ of 1Sa 17:3 of this chapter, which is described by a different word from that for ‘vale’ in 1Sa 17:2 -the one meaning a much broader opening than the other-and from it came the ‘five smooth stones.’ Notice the minute topographical accuracy, which indicates history, not legend. The pebble-bed may supply a missile to hit the modern ‘giant’ of sceptical criticism, who boasts much after Goliath’s fashion.
The two armies lay looking at each other across the valley, with occasional skirmishes; and for forty days {probably a round number} Goliath paraded on his own, the south, side of the gulley, shouting out his taunts and challenge with a voice like a bull. Many a similar scene in classical and mediaeval warfare confirms the truth of the picture, so unlike modern battles. The story is, for all time, the example of the victory of unarmed faith over the world’s utmost might. It is in little the history of the Church and the type of all battles for God. It is a pattern for the young especially. The youthful athlete leaps into the arena, and overcomes, not because of his own strength, but because he trusts in God.
I. Note the glowing youthful enthusiasm which dares the conflict. When the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, his courage seems to have gone too, and he is cowed, like the rest, by Goliath. His interview with David shows him as timid and unlike his former self, when he dashed at Nahash and any odds. Now he is hardly to be roused, even by David’s contagious boldness, and is full of objections and precautions. The temper of the two, as they front each other in Saul’s tent, shows that the one has lost, and the other received, the Spirit which strengthens. David has become the encourager, and his cheery words bring some hopefulness to the gloomy, faint-hearted king. The Septuagint has a variant reading in 1Sa 17:32, which brings this out and suits the context, ‘Let not my lord’s heart fail.’ But, whether this be adopted or no, David appears as quite unaffected by the terror which had unmanned the army, and as bringing a buoyant disregard of the enemy, like a reviving breeze. It was not merely youthful daring, nor foolish under-estimation of the danger, which prompted his stimulating words. The ring of true faith is in them, and they show us how we may surround ourselves with an atmosphere which will keep prevailing faint-heartedness off us, and make us, like Gideon’s fleece, impervious to the chill mists of faithless fear which saturate all around. He who trusts in God should be as a pillar of fire, burning bright in the darkness of terror, and making a rallying point for weaker hearts. When panic has seized others, the Christian soul has the more reason for courage. David conquered the temptation to share in the general cowardice, before he conquered Goliath, and perhaps the former fight was the worse of the two.
While David is the embodiment of the courage of faith, Saul embodies worldly wisdom and calculating prudence. A touch of tenderness blends with his attempt to dissuade the lad from the unequal conflict. He speaks of probabilities, and, like all such calculation, his results are quite right, only that he has not taken all the forces into account, and the omission vitiates the conclusion. It is quite true that David is but a youth, and Goliath a giant and a veteran; but is that all that is to be said? If it be, then the lad cannot fight the Philistine bully; but if Saul has made the small omission of leaving out God, that makes a difference. The same mistake is constantly made still, and so the victories of faith are a constant surprise to the world and to a worldly Church. David’s eager story of his fights with wild beasts is meant both to answer Saul’s objection on his own ground, by showing him that, youth as the speaker was, he had proved his power, and still more to supply the lacking element in the calculation. So he tells, first, how ‘I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him,’ and then at the end brings in the true ground of his confidence: ‘The Lord that delivered me . . . He will deliver.’ As Thomas Fuller says, ‘He made an experimental syllogism, and from most practical premises {major a lion, minor a bear}, inferred the direct conclusion that God would give him victory over Goliath. Faith has the right thus to argue from the past to the future, because it draws from God whose resources and patience are equally inexhaustible. An echo of the words comes from Paul’s ‘Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that He will yet deliver.’ There is infinite pathos in Saul’s parting blessing. ‘The Lord be with thee!’ is spoken as if from the consciousness that the Lord had left him, and that his day for going into battle with the assurance of His help was gone for ever. If that softened mood had lasted, how different his future might have been! If we modestly and boldly show the power of faith in our lives, we may kindle yearnings in some gloomy hearts, that would lead them to peace, if followed out.
II. The equipment of faith. Saul meant to honour as well as to secure David by dressing him in his own royal attire, and by encumbering him by the help of sword and helmet. And David was willing to be so fitted out, for it is no part of the courage of faith to disdain any outward helps. But he soon found that he could not move freely in the unaccustomed armour, and flung it off, like a wise man. His motive was partly common sense, which told him not to choose weapons that his antagonist could handle better than he; and partly reliance on God, which told him that he was safer with no armour but his shepherd’s dress and with only his sling in his hand. So there he stands, drawn for us with wonderful vividness, in one hand his staff, in the other his sling, both familiar and often used, and by his side the simple wallet which had held his frugal meal, and now received the smooth pebbles that he picked up as he passed the gulley to the Philistine side of the valley.
How graphically the contrast is drawn between him and Goliath, as the latter conies forth swelling with his own magnificence, and preceded by his shield-bearer! He was ‘brass’ all over; note the kind of amused emphasis with which the word is repeated in the half-satirical and marvellously lifelike portrait of him in 1Sa 17:5 - 1Sa 17:8; ‘brass’ here, ‘brass’ there, ‘brass’ everywhere; and, not content with one shield dangling at his back, he has a man to carry another in front of him as he struts. David seems to have crossed the ravine, and to have come close up to Goliath before he was observed; and then, with almost a snort of contempt, the giant resents the insult of sending such a foe to fight him with such weapons. Perhaps he was nearer the truth than he thought, when he asked if he was a dog; and any stick will do, as the proverb says, to beat that animal, especially if God guards the hand that holds it.
The five smooth stones have become the symbol of the insignificant means, in the world’s estimate, which God uses in faithful hands to slay the giants of evil. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty. Faith unarmed is armed with more than triple steel, and a sling in its hand is more fatal than a sword. Sometimes in kindness and sometimes in malice, the world tempts us to fight evil with its own weapons, and to put on its unfamiliar armour. The Church as a whole, and individual Christians, have often been hampered, and all but smothered, in Saul’s harness. The more simply we keep ourselves to the simple methods which the word of God enjoins, and to the simple weapons which ought to be the easiest for a Christian, the more likely shall we be to conquer. Goliath is not to be encountered with sword and armour which is, after all, but a shabby copy of the tons of brass which he wears, but he does not know what to make of the sling, and does not see the stone till it crashes his skull in.
III. Note faith’s anticipation of victory. The dialogue before the battle has many parallels in classical times and among savage peoples. Goliath’s bluster is full of contempt of David and truculent self-confidence. Its coarseness is characteristic,-he will make his boyish antagonist food for vultures and jackals. It is exactly what a bully would say. David’s answer throbs with buoyant confidence, and stands as a stimulating example of the temper in which God’s soldiers should go out to every fight, no matter against what odds. It fully recognises the formidable armoury of the enemy,-sword for close quarters, spear to thrust with, and javelin to fling from a distance, every weapon that ingenuity could fashion and trained skill could wield. Goliath was a walking arsenal, and little David took count of his weapons as they clanked and flashed. It is no part of faith’s triumph to ignore the number and sharpness of the enemy’s arms. But faith sees them all, and keeps unterrified and unashamed of the poor leathern sling and smooth stones. The unarmed hand which grasps God’s hand should never tremble; and he who can say ‘I come . . . in the name of the Lord of hosts,’ has no need to be afraid of an army of Goliaths, though each bristled with swords and spears like a porcupine.
The great name on which David’s faith rested, ‘the Lord of hosts,’ appears to have sprung into use in this epoch, and to have been one precious fruit of its frequent wars. Conflict is blessed if it teaches the knowledge of the unseen Commander who marshals not only men, but all the forces of the universe and the armies of heaven, for the defence of His servants and the victory of His own cause. The fulness of the divine name is learned by degrees, as our needs impress the various aspects of His character; and the revelation contained in this appellation is the gift of that fierce and stormy time, a possession for ever. He who defies the armies of Israel has to reckon with the Lord of these armies, whose name proclaims at once His eternal, self-originated, and self-sustained being, His covenant, His presence with His earthly host, and the infinite ranks of obedient creatures who are His soldiers and their allies. That is ‘the Name’ in the strength of which we may ‘set up our banners’ and be sure of victory. Note how David flings back Goliath’s taunts in his teeth. He is sure that God will conquer through him, and, though he has no sword, that he will somehow hack the big head off; and that it is the host of the Philistines on whom the vultures and jackals are to feed to-day.
His faith sees the victory before the battle is begun, and trusts, not in his own weak power, but only ‘in the name of the Lord.’ Note, too, the result which he expects-no glory for himself, though that came unsought, when the shrill songs from the women of Israel met the victors, but to all the world the proof that Israel had a God, and to Israel {‘this assembly’} the renewed lesson of their true weapons and of their Almighty Helper. Such utter suppression of self is inseparable from trust in God, and without it no soldier of His has a right to expect victory. To fight ‘in the name of the Lord’ requires hiding our own name. If we are really going to war for Him, and in His strength, we ought to expect to conquer. Believe that you will be beaten, and you will be. Trust to Him to make you ‘more than conquerors,’ and the trust will bring about its own fulfilment.
IV. Observe the contrast in 1Sa 17:48 between the slow movements of the heavy-armed Philistine and the quick run of the shepherd, whose ‘feet were as hind’s feet’ {Psa 18:33}. Agility and confident alacrity were both expressed. His feet were shod with ‘the preparedness of faith.’ Observe, too, the impetuous brevity of the account in 1Sa 17:49, of the actual fall of Goliath. The short clauses, coupled by a series of ‘ands,’ reproduce the swift succession of events, which ended the fight before it had begun; and one can almost hear the whiz of the stone as it crashes into the thick head, so strangely left unprotected by all the profusion of brass that clattered about him. The vulnerable heel of Achilles and the unarmed forehead of Goliath illustrate the truth, ever forgotten and needing to be repeated, that, after all precautions, some spot is bare, and that ‘there is no armour against fate.’
The picture of the huge ‘man-mountain’ fallen upon his face to the earth, a huddled heap of useless mail, recalls the words of a psalm, ‘When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell’ {Psa 27:2}. Is it fanciful to hear in that triumphant chant an echo of Goliath’s boast about giving his flesh to the fowls and the beasts, and a vision of the braggart as he tottered and lay prostrate? Observe, too, the contemptuous reiteration of ‘the Philistine,’ which occurs six times in the four verses {1Sa 17:49 - 1Sa 17:51}. National feeling speaks in that. There is triumph in the sarcastic repetition of the dreaded name in such a connection. This was what one of the brood had got, and his fate was an omen of what would befall the rest. The champion of Israel, the soldier of God, standing over the dead Philistine, all whose brazen armour had been useless and his brazen insolence abased, and sawing off his head with his own sword, was a prophecy for the Israel of that day, and will be a symbol till the end of time of the true equipment, the true temper, and the certain victory, of all who, in the name of the Lord of hosts, go forth in their weakness against the giants of ignorance, vice, and sin. ‘This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v32 David Slays Goliath
David Slays Goliath
v. 32. And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him, Goliath, no man’s courage must fail on his account, the entire army should lay aside its fear; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. It was a simple, modest offer to undertake that single combat to which Goliath had been challenging.
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v. 33. And Saul, who was decidedly lacking in the divine courage needed for Jehovah’s battles, said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, a young man, and not versed in the arts of war, and he a man of war from his youth, trained in the use of arms from early childhood.
v. 34. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, the reference being to two different occasions, and took a lamb out of the flock;
v. 35. and I went out after him, in either case, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, this applying to the lion, and smote him, probably with his shepherd’s staff, and slew him.
v. 36. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, shall share the fate of these two ravenous beasts, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God, that being David’s chief reason for believing that the covenant God would not abandon His people’s cause, since it was really His honor which was at stake.
v. 37. David said, moreover, The Lord, that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. David’s courage thus rested on his faith and trust in the mighty help of the Lord, for whose honor he intended to battle. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
v. 38. And Saul armed David with his armor, had him try on special garments intended to be worn with the armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
v. 39. And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it, he had never made an attempt to move about in heavy armor of this kind, but found it too unwieldy for his inexperienced arms and body. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them, he did not possess the skill to handle them. And David put them off him.
v. 40. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, down in the valley, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, in a special kit which he carried with him, even in a scrip, a pouch or pocket; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine, equipped only with his shepherd’s implements.
v. 41. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
v. 42. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, took note of him for the first time, he disdained him, gave him only a contemptuous glance; for he was but a youth, still a young man, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
v. 43. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? the exaggeration purposely expressing his contempt. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, adding blasphemy to his contempt.
v. 44. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, let him but dare to undertake an attack, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. To his scornful defiance he added a bloodthirsty threat.
v. 45. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, on these the Philistine relied to give him the victory; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. David’s courage was based entirely upon his faith in the covenant God and His almighty power.
v. 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, in an utterly helpless state; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, namely, the one true God, Jehovah, who alone has the outcome of the battle in His hand.
v. 47. And all this assembly, the entire army of Israel, shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, that He is not dependent upon external mighty means to gain the victory; for the battle is the Lord’s, the decision rests with Him alone, and He will give you into our hands.
v. 48. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army, where it was drawn up in battle-line, to meet the Philistine.
v. 49. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead that the stone sunk into his forehead, breaking open the strong frontal bone; and he fell upon his face to the earth, stunned, if not killed, by the missile.
v. 50. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David, he had no regular weapons of war.
v. 51. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, stepping on the trunk of the fallen giant, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith, thus making sure of his death. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
v. 52. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, suddenly inspired with a mighty courage by the deed of David, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines until thou come to the valley, into the lowlands, and to the gates of Ekron, one of the chief Philistine cities. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, a city in the western lowlands of Judah, even unto Gath and unto Ekron.
v. 53. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents, taking all the booty in the form of food, clothing, and money out of their abandoned camp.
v. 54. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem, for the city itself was in the hands of the Israelites, only the fortress of Jebus on Mount Zion had not yet been conquered; but he put his armor in his tent, as his own part of the spoil.
v. 55. And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? He wanted to know about his parentage, where he hailed from And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
v. 56. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling Isaiah So far as this strange question is concerned, there are two explanations. Either Saul was seeking information about the family of David, in order to carry out his promise of freeing the family from taxation, or Saul’s memory had been affected by his affliction, especially since he rarely saw David except at the times when the madness was upon him.
v. 57. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
v. 58. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite. With this information Saul could now carry out his promise of which the soldiers had spoken. David’s battle with Goliath is a picture of the battle which is the lot of all Christians in overcoming the attacks of Satan and of the sneering unbelievers. Although the odds often seem decidedly unfavorable to the Christians, they always have the Lord of hosts on their side and therefore must finally obtain the victory. At the same time we are here reminded of the great Son of David, who also, in a most singular manner, conquered the prince of this world and has given us the victory.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 25, 26, 28, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39, 41, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 Goliath by name
Goliath by name
"whose name was Goliath"
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came out of the ranks of the Philistines
"stepped forward from the Philistines' battle line"
translationWords
David
Philistines
Gath
Goliath
name
word
Israel
fear
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 28, 32, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 52, 53, 54 17:26 What will a man get: Cp. 18:17-27. David’s…
17:26 What will a man get: Cp. 18:17-27. David’s interest in a reward was overshadowed by his determination to silence Goliath’s defiance of God (17:45-47). • pagan: Literally uncircumcised. See study note on 14:6.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.