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Chapter 63
David and Goliath
[This chapter is based on 1 Samuel 16:14-23; 17.]
WHEN King Saul realized that he had been rejected by God, and when he
felt the force of the words of denunciation that had been addressed to
him by the prophet, he was filled with bitter rebellion and despair. It
was not true repentance that had bowed the proud head of the king. He
had no clear perception of the offensive character of his sin, and did
not arouse to the work of reforming his life, but brooded over what he
thought was the injustice of God in depriving him of the throne of
Israel and in taking the succession away from his posterity. He was ever
occupied in the anticipating the ruin that had been brought upon his
house. He felt that the valor which he had displayed in encountering his
enemies should offset his sin of disobedience. He did not accept with
meekness the chastisement of God; but his haughty spirit became
desperate, until he was on the verge of losing his reason. His
counselors advised him to seek for the services of a skillful musician,
in the hope that the soothing notes of a sweet instrument might calm his
troubled spirit. In the providence of God, David, as a skillful
performer upon the harp, was brought before the king. His lofty and
heaven-inspired strains had the desired effect. The brooding melancholy
that had settled like a dark cloud over the mind of Saul was charmed
away.
When his services were not required at the court of Saul, David returned
to his flocks among the hills and continued to maintain his simplicity
of spirit and demeanor. Whenever it was necessary, he was recalled to
minister before the king, to soothe the mind of the troubled monarch
till the evil spirit should depart from him. But although Saul expressed
delight in David and his music, the young shepherd went from the king's
house to the fields and hills of his pasture with a sense of relief and
gladness.
David was growing in favor with God and a man. He had been instructed in
the way of the Lord, and he now set his heart more fully to do the will
of God than every before. He had new themes for thought. He had been in
the court of the king and had seen the responsibilities of royalty. He
had discovered some of the temptations that beset the soul of Saul and
had penetrated some of the mysteries in the character and dealings of
Israel's first king. He had seen the glory of royalty shadowed with a
dark cloud of sorrow, and he knew that the household of Saul, in their
private life, were far from happy. All these things served to bring
troubled thoughts to him who had been anointed to be king over Israel.
But while he was absorbed in deep meditation, and harassed by thoughts
of anxiety, he turned to his harp, and called forth strains that
elevated his mind to the Author of every good, and the dark clouds that
seemed to shadow the horizon of the future were dispelled.
God was teaching David lessons of trust. As Moses was trained for his
work, so the Lord was fitting the son of Jesse to become the guide of
His chosen people. In his watchcare for his flocks, he was gaining an
appreciation of the care that the Great Shepherd has for the sheep of
His pasture.
The lonely hills and the wild ravines where David wandered with his
flocks were the lurking place of beasts of prey. Not infrequently the
lion from the thickets by the Jordan, or the bear from his lair among
the hills, came, fierce with hunger, to attack the flocks. According to
the custom of his time, David was armed only with his sling and
shepherd's staff; yet he early gave proof of his strength and courage in
protecting his charge. Afterward describing these encounters, he said:
"When there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I
went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth:
and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him,
and slew him." 1 Samuel 17:34, 35, R.V. His experience in these matters
proved the heart of David and developed in him courage and fortitude and
faith.
Even before he was summoned to the court of Saul, David had
distinguished himself by deeds of valor. The officer who brought him to
the notice of the king declared him to be "a mighty valiant man, and a
man of war, and prudent in matters," and he said, "The Lord is with
him."
When war was declared by Israel against the Philistines, three of the
sons of Jesse joined the army under Saul; but David remained at home.
After a time, however, he went to visit the camp of Saul. By his
father's direction he was to carry a message and a gift to his elder
brothers and to learn if they were still in safety and health. But,
unknown to Jesse, the youthful shepherd had been entrusted with a higher
mission. The armies of Israel were in peril, and David had been directed
by an angel to save his people.
As David drew near to the army, he heard the sound of commotion, as if
an engagement was about to begin. And "the host was going forth to the
fight, and shouted for the battle." Israel and the Philistines were
drawn up in array, army against army. David ran to the army, and came
and saluted his brothers. While he was talking with them, Goliath, the
champion of the Philistines, came forth, and with insulting language
defied Israel and challenged them to provide a man from their ranks who
would meet him in single combat. He repeated his challenge, and when
David saw that all Israel were filled with fear, and learned that the
Philistine's defiance was hurled at them day after day, without arousing
a champion to silence the boaster, his spirit was stirred within him. He
was fired with zeal to preserve the honor of the living God and the
credit of His people.
The armies of Israel were depressed. Their courage failed. They said one
to another, "Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy
Israel is he come up." In shame and indignation, David exclaimed, "Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the
living God?"
Eliab, David's eldest brother, when he heard these words, knew well the
feelings that were stirring the young man's soul. Even as a shepherd,
David had manifested daring, courage, and strength but rarely witnessed;
and the mysterious visit of Samuel to their father's house, and his
silent departure, had awakened in the minds of the brothers suspicions
of the real object of his visit. Their jealousy had been aroused as they
saw David honored above them, and they did not regard him with the
respect and love due to his integrity and brotherly tenderness. They
looked upon him as merely a stripling shepherd, and now the question
which he asked was regarded by Eliab as a censure upon his own cowardice
in making no attempt to silence the giant of the Philistines. The elder
brother exclaimed angrily, "Why camest thou down hither? and with whom
hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and
the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou
mightest see the battle." David's answer was respectful but decided:
"What have I now done? Is there not a cause?"
The words of David were repeated to the king, who summoned the youth
before him. Saul listened with astonishment to the words of the
shepherd, as he said, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Saul strove to turn
David from his purpose, but the young man was not to be moved. He
replied in a simple, unassuming way, relating his experiences while
guarding his father's flocks. And he said, "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. And Saul said unto David,
Go, and the Lord be with thee."
For forty days the host of Israel had trembled before the haughty
challenge of the Philistine giant. Their hearts failed within them as
they looked upon his massive form, in height measuring six cubits and a
span. Upon his head was a helmet of brass, he was clothed with a coat of
mail that weighed five thousand shekels, and he had greaves of brass
upon his legs. The coat was made of plates of brass that overlaid one
another, like the scales of a fish, and they were so closely joined that
no dart or arrow could possibly penetrate the armor. At his back the
giant bore a huge javelin, or lance, also of brass. "The staff of his
spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred
shekels of iron; and one bearing a shield went before him."
Morning and evening Goliath had approached the camp of Israel, saying
with a loud voice, "Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am
not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you,
and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill
me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and
kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the
Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man,
that we may fight together."
Though Saul had given David permission to accept Goliath's challenge,
the king had small hope that David would be successful in his courageous
undertaking. Command was given to clothe the youth in the king's own
armor. The heavy helmet of brass was put upon his head, and the coat of
mail was placed upon his body; the monarch's sword was at his side. Thus
equipped, he started upon his errand, but erelong began to retrace his
steps. The first thought in the minds of the anxious spectators was that
David had decided not to risk his life in meeting an antagonist in so
unequal an encounter. But this was far from the thought of the brave
young man. When he returned to Saul he begged permission to lay aside
the heavy armor, saying, "I cannot go with these; for I have not proved
them." He laid off the king's armor, and in its stead took only his
staff in his hand, with his shepherd's scrip and a simple sling.
Choosing five smooth stones out of the brook, he put them in his bag,
and, with his sling in his hand, drew near to the Philistine. The giant
strode boldly forward, expecting to meet the mightiest of the warriors
of Israel. His armor-bearer walked before him, and he looked as if
nothing could withstand him. As he came nearer to David he saw but a
stripling, called a boy because of his youth. David's countenance was
ruddy with health, and his well-knit form, unprotected by armor, was
displayed to advantage; yet between its youthful outline and the massive
proportions of the Philistine, there was a marked contrast.
Goliath was filled with amazement and anger. "Am I a dog," he exclaimed,
"that thou comest to me with staves?" Then he poured upon David the most
terrible curses by all the gods of his knowledge. He cried in derision,
"Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to
the beasts of the field."
David did not weaken before the champion of the Philistines. Stepping
forward, he said to his antagonist: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and
with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the
Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; 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. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth
not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give
you into our hands."
There was a ring of fearlessness in his tone, a look of triumph and
rejoicing upon his fair countenance. This speech, given in a clear,
musical voice, rang out on the air, and was distinctly heard by the
listening thousands marshaled for war. The anger of Goliath was roused
to the very highest heat. In his rage he pushed up the helmet that
protected his forehead and rushed forward to wreak vengeance upon his
opponent. The son of Jesse was preparing for his foe. "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 to meet the Philistine. And
David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it,
and smote the Philistine in the forehead, that the stone sunk into his
forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth."
Amazement spread along the lines of the two armies. They had been
confident that David would be slain; but when the stone went whizzing
through the air, straight to the mark, they saw the mighty warrior
tremble, and reach forth his hands, as if he were struck with sudden
blindness. The giant reeled, and staggered, and like a smitten oak, fell
to the ground. David did not wait an instant. He sprang upon the
prostrate form of the Philistine, and with both hands laid hold of
Goliath's heavy sword. A moment before, the giant had boasted that with
it he would sever the youth's head from his shoulders and give his body
to the fowls of the air. Now it was lifted in the air, and then the head
of the boaster rolled from his trunk, and a shout of exultation went up
from the camp of Israel.
The Philistines were smitten with terror, and the conclusion which
ensued resulted in a precipitate retreat. The shouts of the triumphant
Hebrews echoed along the summits of the mountains, as they rushed after
their fleeing enemies; and they "pursued the Philistines, until thou
come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the
Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto
Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the
Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of
the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his
tent."
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