We Serve a Big God

“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.  And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”  I Samuel 17:37

No one knows the age of David when he fought and killed the Philistine giant, Goliath.  We know that he wasn’t old enough to enlist in the army like three of his older brothers, but he was very interested in the military and would likely have joined if he had been old enough.  When Moses was instructed to count the number of available men in each tribe who were of fighting age, at that time it was the age of twenty (Numbers 1:1-3).  Thus, I would guess that David was somewhere between the ages of 13 and 18.  David’s father, Jesse, had sent him to take some food to his brothers who were encamped as the Philistines were threatening Israel.  In a short time, Goliath came into view to give one of his two daily taunts to the army of Israel, and David overheard his hostile challenge.

David had likely never heard anything like what was coming out of the mouth of the hateful Philistine which, I would imagine, caused a feeling of righteous anger to arise in David.  All the other soldiers fled out of fear of this giant.  It is estimated that he was about nine feet tall.  Just his presence would scare the daylights out of anyone nearby.  Since the men had fled, I suppose David went with them.  He asked them what would be done for the one who killed Goliath and protected Israel, calling this giant an “uncircumcised Philistine” who had the nerve to “defy the living God”.  He found out that the one who would be a hero in killing Goliath would receive riches, the king’s daughter to marry, and the elimination of all taxes and other obligations to the king for the hero’s family.

This reward was a real incentive to David.  He was the youngest of eight sons of Jesse, the “baby” of the family, but the one who got the leftover food and the cold showers as my husband used to say being the youngest of six.  To do some great feat like killing this monster of a man would make folks take notice of David.  However, that wasn’t David’s main goal in ridding Israel of Goliath.  It was because Goliath and the Philistine army had defied Israel’s God.  David is known as a “man after God’s own heart” and this dedication to the LORD began when David was young.  Too bad that we don’t have folks willing to take a strong stand against all those who defy the living God today like David did.  Our society is too much of a “go along to get along” people who have too much fear for those under Satan’s control rather than having the fear of God in their hearts and minds and a faith which can conquer the giants that we face in this sin-cursed world.  We do have some who are courageous, but we could surely use many more.

David’s oldest brother, Eliab, overheard David as he enquired about the reward for killing Goliath and became angry at his little brother.  Eliab was jealous of David because David didn’t seem to express any fear of this giant, even though David had likely led a sheltered life, spending time with his sheep, and never facing a human enemy, particularly one like Goliath.  Eliab asked him, “Why did you come down here, anyway?  You’re just full of pride and a troublemaker, and all you wanted to do was to see the battle.”  David replied, “What have I done now?  I was only asking a question.”  Just to make sure that David had heard the soldiers correctly concerning the reward, he found some others and asked them as well.  They gave him the same answer.

Word got back to King Saul, the king whom God reluctantly allowed to be king over Israel to satisfy the demands of the people of Israel.  Saul then called for David who was likely escorted quickly to Saul.  Time was of the essence.  Goliath would not wait forever for Israel to respond to his challenge.  David had no military experience but understood that Saul was under a great deal of pressure.  To give Saul some relief, David told him not to worry about this giant because he, David, would go and fight with him.  Saul said that there was no way that David could defeat Goliath.  David was too young, inexperienced, and Goliath had years of experience in war.

David was not deterred.  He related to Saul how that he had killed a lion and a bear barehanded which had invaded Jesse’s flock of sheep.  What’s the big deal about this uncircumcised Philistine?  David assured Saul that killing Goliath would be no more difficult that killing a lion and a bear.  Besides, this giant has to die because he has defied the armies of the living God.  If God saw fit to rescue David from creatures who were only carrying out their survival instincts, surely God would deliver David from a man who did not honor, worship, or serve the LORD.  David’s great faith and trust in God was on display for Saul to see.  Saul was not a man of great faith like David, but he did agree to send David out to fight the giant.  Either David’s faith and courage made an impression on Saul, or Saul sent him on to meet Goliath because Saul had no other options.  Saul did not remember that David was the one years earlier who had played the harp for him when he was in a state of depression thus, he felt no real attachment to David.  I have a feeling that Saul believed that David would not survive.

Next time:  We Serve a Big God-Part 2:  David vs. Goliath