God Sets Things in Motion


1 Samuel 17:1-11
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.”
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Now we come to one of the most intriguing and fantastic stories of the Old Testament. Even those who don’t know the Bible very well have heard at least a little bit about David and Goliath. They may not know the details, but they know that a boy went up against a giant and won.

Goliath is physically quite interesting. We are given just enough detail in 1 Samuel to know that he is unique even among his own people. The Philistines were known to be quite large as a race. It was just a part of their genetic make-up. And Goliath was the tallest of the Philistines. He was probably in the neighborhood of just over 9 feet tall. Just as a reference, the ceiling you are currently sitting under (if you are in a house or regular office) is probably between 8 and 9 feet. He would dwarf our tallest in the NBA. Shaq is 7’1”. The tallest man recorded in the Guinness Book is Robert Wadlow at 8’11”. So, Goliath is a big guy. His armor weighed around 125 pounds. He had to be a big guy just to carry that around! The head of his spear probably weighed around 15 pounds. Imagine being able to throw that kind of weight! Goliath is not only big, he’s strong! And he is the guy that has been chosen to represent the Philistines on the battlefield.

The setting is a valley between two hill tops. The Israelites are on top of one hill, the Philistines on top of the other. The battle would be played out in the valley below, either by a representative from each side, or by the two armies. Goliath’s idea of meeting one person from Israel in the valley floor could possibly save both sides much bloodshed. (Actually, it wasn’t Goliath’s idea – it was common practice at the time.) And the Israelite response to this entreaty? “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” Not own mention is made of Saul’s army even considering calling upon the God who had faithfully saved them up to this point. Instead, they are afraid and believe that there is no hope. They will be defeated. Saul’s leadership fails again.

Our take-home point for today is to ask ourselves about our own fear level. When faced with our own “giants” do we quake in fear, or do we send out our Representative? God is always willing to go out and fight for us. He will slay our giants if given the chance. Saul had a golden opportunity to call upon God and ask for his help. Apparently that didn’t occur to him, as there is not mention of such a request in the text whatsoever. In fact, God’s name is missing entirely from the story up to this point. We are aware of the power of Goliath, but God’s power has not been called upon yet. It will take a child to bring that about and astound us all. (Kids are like that!)

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