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"David 'N Goliath"
Three verses. That’s all the battle lasts. Oh, the tension building up to this moment, and the things we learn after the battle is over, now that’s a story. But the battle itself, just what you learned when you were a child. A little shepherd boy. Draws one of the five smooth stones from his bag, slung it, struck the Giant Philistine in the forehead and the Giant fell. Remember the little song? Only a boy named David,
only a little sling
That’s pretty much the story. Let’s take a look at the characters. There’s David. Youngest of Jesse’s sons. Tends his father’s sheep. Apparently fearless. No one has called him to fight the Giant. He does so because no one else will. Has no use for King Saul’s armor, or sword. Chooses to meet Goliath on the battle field in his work tunic, with nothing more than a sling shot and a bag of stones. Then, there’s the Giant. Goliath of Gath. A Philistine. Enemy of Israel. About…10 feet tall. Battle ready, battle tested. Sort of the Philistine equivalent of shock and awe. The Israelites will simply turn and run when they see this demonstration of power and strength and weaponry. Daily, Goliath stands on the battle line and calls out to the Israelites. “Have you no one to fight ME?” Forty mornings and forty evenings, he comes out to taunt them. “Come, send one man to fight and kill me, and the Philistines will be your servants.” King Saul, and all his army, hold their positions. Which, I think is reason to look at another character in the story. King Saul. King of Israel. In Chapter 14, we learn that rather than leading his soldiers into battle, Saul takes up position under a pomegranate tree with 600 soldiers as body guards. Later, in the last part of chapter 17 Saul and his general Abner are in a position of relative safety as they watch little David go into battle with David, detached enough to have a conversation about just who this lad belongs to. Perhaps Saul is our model for modern war makers who no longer lead their troops into battle, but send youngsters to go fight while they remain in the safety of their own fortified positions. Saul offers David his armor. Nice gesture. There’s two opinions about that. One is that Saul was trying to protect the boy. The other? That Saul was offering the boy not a soldier’s armor, but his own unique and identifiable armor and his own personal sword that those watching might mistakenly think the king had gone out to do battle. Goliath, David and Saul. With whom do you most identify with in the story? Is there one you most resemble? As a boy, I was conditioned to think of myself as David. The young boy. Who with God’s help could slay any giant. I was taught that in Sunday School, Bible School and church. In fact, this story makes the lectionary circuit pretty regularly, and most, if not all of the sermons I’ve either heard or preached myself can be summed up in a sentence or two: “David was confident in God’s ability to prevail over the enemy, even though Goliath was many times larger and many times stronger than himself, so we can be confident that God will deliver us, no matter how big or how scary or how overwhelming our GIANTS might be. Go out into battle, God is on your side!” Isn’t that about right? Those sermons all suppose the same thing. That we identify with David. That we are Giant fighters. In fact, just the phrase “David and Goliath” has come to be used in a variety of settings to describe any person or company or group that is up against overwhelming competition. A little software maker doing battle with Microsoft is a “David and Goliath.” A poor individual taking on the bureaucracy of government is a “David and Goliath.” A small band of people protesting the actions of a huge, multi-national corporation is a “David and Goliath.” Isn’t that what we hear? What we say? Any giant fighter is a “David.” Any large obstacle is a “Goliath.” And the David’s will win…if they are faithful. We are conditioned to continue to identify with David, just as I was as a child. When I was a child, it was appropriate for me to identify with David. I had something in common with him. I was young. I was fairly insignificant when it came to the world of adults and adult things. Those who were older, wiser and tackling the important challenges of the day didn’t think that a little boy like me would have anything to offer that could help. But now as I revisit this story as an adult, and ask, who in the story do I most resemble, it’s hard for me to make the association with David. That’s uncomfortable. I’m no longer a young child, or even young man. If I am truthful, I am rarely dismissed, or thought to be of little value or help. I am among the wealthiest of the world’s citizens, and have plentiful opportunities. No, if I’m really honest, I’m not much like David. Let’s see. What about Goliath? I have to admit, if I were ten feet tall, my current weight would be better for my height. Seriously. Goliath, besides his size—what is there to him? Arrogant. Full of himself. Believes he’s invincible. And that suit of armor and weaponry—the best there was. Well…I don’t really think I’m exactly a Goliath, but…there have been times when my arrogance has shown itself. And I do live in what many would consider a Goliath country—the strongest and the best among all our global neighbors. Our military? The mightiest. Our gross national product? Gargantuan next to nearly every one else. I’d like to think we don’t go out and taunt our enemies. There was that one time…”bring it on,” I think our president said. So even if we don’t personally identify with Goliath, there is something to think about and chew on, as far as our nation and our international relationships are concerned. But let’s look at Saul. Surely we never identify with Saul? Saul—wealthy. The King. Has the power to send others into battle, while he himself remains in a safe place with troops to protect him. Saul, who wants the enemy giant defeated, but who lacks the courage to fight himself. Saul, who would rather sit with his general and discuss war, than put himself in the line of battle. Not one alone do I identify with in the story, but at times, all three represent a part of who I am. Sometimes brave, sometimes faithful and sometimes trusting in God to help me win victory over that which threatens me. Sometimes arrogant, taunting, and flashing my power. Sometimes forgetting that I am merely a mortal, which puts me in the most danger. And sometimes cowardly, using my wealth and my means to distance myself from anything that might hurt me. I’ll have to think on this some more. Who I most resemble. Who I identify with most. Back to the story itself. Goliath comes out to the battlefield on the 41st day, and again repeats his taunt. David has thrown off Saul’s armor, and selects his five smooth stones and goes out to meet Goliath. Goliath is almost offended at who it was coming out to do battle with him. He looks at David, and “disdains him” the Bible says. “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine tells David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds and the wild beasts.” Hear the giant? “If you dare come to me, I am stronger, mightier, and better equipped and I’ll make road kill out of you.” To which David replies, (hear the difference now) “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. The Lord will deliver you into my hand.” David is clear on who will be orchestrating this battle. Who will be doing the fighting. And as the song taught us, as the Philistine draws near to fight, David rushes him, slings one stone, and the Giant falls. Now then, listen to what the Bible says in verse 50, which is a commentary on the battle. “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.” The writer who put this story down for us all to read and remember wanted us to know…there was no sword in David’s hand. Goliath, with three bronze weapons, sword, spear and javelin, is defeated by a youth with no sword. David defeats Goliath because he was confident that God was with him; he was prepared to honor God, and because his opponent, the mighty Goliath had underestimated him, and failed to understand just who it was that he would be doing battle with. None other than the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel. Saul hedged and then folded. It seemed that Goliath held all the cards. Goliath arrogantly bet on might and power. Goliath bet on weapons and armor. Goliath bet on intimidation. While David put it all down…went all in…on God! Perhaps… I asked the wrong question. Not, who do I most resemble in the story…who do I most identify with? But.. “Who in the story do I most want to be like?” That’s easy. I want to be like the shepherd boy. In whatever way that I can. Confident yet humble. Quick to give the credit to God for all that I am and all that I accomplish. Faithful, always, to what I believe is God’s purpose for me. And whether the giants fall or not, believing the situation is ultimately in God’s hands. I want to play my hand like little David.
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