Jumping straight in from his declaration to Saul that he could take on this "uncircumcised Philistine" David made sure that God got all the glory. In verse 37 David says "He will deliver me" (talking of the Lord). And this is key to our lives - will we trust in the Lord wholeheartedly to deliver us from whatever giants face us? And more importantly, will we give the glory to God, or take the credit ourselves when He does so? We come across example after example in David's life of Him glorifying God. He wrote a vast majority of the psalms, many in times of trouble, yet He never stops calling out to God, thanking God, worshipping God and seeking Him with his whole heart. David makes mistakes, but his early life especially, is a beautiful picture of not only a man after God's heart, but a great leader and a humble man best known for defeating Goliath, but that was just the first step into his destiny. While everyone else is concentrating on the great stature of this man, his physical appearance, David sees something different. He sees him as as uncircumcised Philistine. Now this isn't just a polite put down. In fact it's quite the opposite. Whatever your views on circumcision, we must remember that circumcision was a physical and outward sign and reminder of covenant. Covenants have lost their real meaning in this day and age, but back then, when you made covenant it was a bond, and it had huge significance. I won't go into the rituals and procedures here but if you research it, it is fascinating. Circumcision was more than just a sign of covenant, as it was covenant with God! So David is seeing something the others aren't - he's seeing that this man has no covenant with God! He sees beyond the physical appearance and strength of the opposition, he sees that the real weakness is that this man has no covenant with God. What a mindset David has! He's spiritually minded.
For reference, here are the verses to read from 1 Sam 17 as the story progresses
Then Saul dressed David in his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and put a coat of mail (armor) on him. Then David fastened his sword over his armor and tried to walk, [but he could not,] because he was not used to them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I am not used to them.” So David took them off. Then he took his [shepherd’s] staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the stream bed, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch. With his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
David was prepared for this battle, but he didn't look prepared in the outward so Saul clothed David with his own armour, but David found it too cumbersome. It's a practical precaution for any soldier to wear their armour, and everyone saw this as a death sentence for David anyway. The whole army of Israel - burly, strong, trained men - were too afraid to go up against the Philistines. A young boy going alone was preposterous. Putting armour on is just good plain common sense, you'd think. David, however, found the armour so cumbersome and took it off. He's mad they must have thought. He's not even taking his sword or his shield! He's taking a Shepherd's staff and 5 stones. Now, most normal people skim over these details and carry on with the story. But I'm not exactly a normal person when it comes to God's Word. Every word in the Bible is God breathed, and every detail is significant. So first we'll look at why he took his staff because we see in the following verses that Goliath approached with sword, spear and javelin. In comparison, a shepherd's staff is not much use. The shepherd's staff had 3 uses :
1) It's used as a walking stick as hillsides are often rocky, uneven places so it keeps you steady
2) It keeps the sheep in line, and heading where you want them to go. The hooked shape at the end is used to gently steer wayward veering flock members. It's not used as a weapon against the flock - it's simply a steering tool to keep them on the right path
3) It can be used as an offensive weapon - to those that are a threat against the flock. But the staff was also a symbol of status and shows the responsibility of the shepherd to his flock. As we know, it's not an easy life as a shepherd. There's the elements to contend with, the flock to keep in line, the solitary, the long hours, and the predators to keep at bay. A staff is a symbol of the protector status, and many staffs will bear the scars to testify of this element of the job.
Just like our Great Shepherd - He keeps us steady on our feet, He gently corrects us and if we wander too far off, He will willingly come and find us, and He is our protector.
Now (assuming you know the story - David uses a stone in his sling shot and knocks out Goliath) one could assume he took 5 stones in case he misses. But why 5? Why not 10? Why not 7? Well, if you know your bible, you'll recall that Goliath has brothers (or certainly close relatives of similar physical stature, and David and his men later encountered them)! It seems that David was prepared for the whole entourage to appear! So secure in His God was David, that he may have thought the giant would call for back-up!!
We are not sure exactly how old David is, but when the Philistine sees him, he's just an adolescent, and he taunts David, trying to put fear in him. But the giant has met his match, because David remind us that it doesn't matter what weapons the giant is armed with, it doesn't matter how much he threatens, the power is in the Lord - v 45 “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted."
From v 48-
When the Philistine rose and came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck down the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.
There's a bold confidence in God here that we all need to learn from. This is not David's battle - it's the Lord's. When the moment came, and the talking was done, Goliath rose up and David wasn't fearful. In fact he confidently ran towards the giant.Sometimes we have to run towards the giant in our lives, whatever that giant may be, in the boldness and surety of the Lord. We can do all the talking and confessing of scripture we like, but the giant doesn't fall until we run towards the battle line and use the skills God has given us. We can dilly dally about trying to arm ourselves with the world's protection or the world's common sense, but if we're not clothed in His armour, we're defenceless. The giants in our own lives will keep taunting us and mocking us until we rise up and look them straight in the face and declare that the battle is the Lord's.
If there's one thing I've noticed about the examples we have in the bible, it's that people who triumph don't hang around. They don't say they'll see how it goes, or pray about it for a few weeks. They go and do what God's called them to do.
David won renown among the people for his victory that day but in reality his journey is just beginning. His destiny wasn't actually giant-slayer, his destiny was king.
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