Life Of David: Part 1 Series

40 days, the same routine went on down near the Border of Blood, Ephes Dammim. For 40 days, each army, the Philistines and the Israelites, lined up opposite of each other, on opposing sides of the valley. This all went down about 5 miles from Gath, and less than 15 miles from Jerusalem.

Why had nothing yet happened in 40 days, though? Probably because each side was cautious of the other. Not that long ago, Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and his young armor-bearer spotted a Philistine outpost. Knowing that the Lord could win this victory in spite of their lack of numbers, the two attacked the outpost and struck down 20 or so Philistines. With this, God struck panic into the hearts of the Philistines.

The hesitation on the part of the Israelites is also understood. At the beginning and end of each of these 40 days, a single Philistine stood in front of the Israelites with his shield-bearer. There, in the valley, he would call out the Israelites and their God. “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” But, this was no ordinary man. Rather, the one who defied the Israelites was a giant and a champion. He stood at over 9 feet tall, armored and weaponed to the hilt, with a sword and an immense spear, a bronze helmet, a coat of mail weighing nearly one hundred and fifty pounds, and a giant shield.

Not only that, but the man who should’ve went to face this champion cowered away behind the battle lines. Saul himself stood a head above all the others. He was well trained, strong, and equipped better than any of the rest. He also was the king of Israel, their heart and soul. If he was unwilling to face Goliath, who would?

Amongst those who stood with Israel’s army were Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah. Their father, as any loving parent would in time of war, wanted to remind his boys that he had remembered them and to offer his love in the form of a care package. Probably not thinking that he would be in any trouble, this father, Jesse, sent that care package with his youngest son, a youth who was probably in his earlier teenage years, to his boys. Little did he know what wheels this would set in motion.

As this youth, David, went to visit his brothers, he saw the 40-day-old scene unfolding before his eyes. The war cry started up and David went down to his brothers to ask them how they were doing. As he was speaking with them, Goliath then spouted off his curses at God and his army. Hearing this, David asked the men around him a question: “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Eliab, though, chided David for his supposed arrogance. Yet, he was not the only one who heard what David spoke. Some of the others took David’s message to King Saul. So, Saul sent for David to come.

Once in his presence, David said to his king, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” But make no mistake about this. This is not just another teenager blinded by an overinflated ego which is caused by his lack of experience. This young boy had fought off lions and bears with his hands. Yet, it is not that which had given him the right to speak so boldly. Rather, it was the Lord. The Spirit who had descended upon him in power at his anointing was still with him to this day. The Lord who had rescued him from the paw of the lion and the bear would deliver him from the grasp of the giant. David understood something vital. The battle would not be David vs. Goliath. The battle was God vs. Goliath.

Although Saul was initially unwilling to let David fight, he eventually relented having heard David’s plea. Yet, he would not let him go without his armor. Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. You can picture what this must have looked like. A boy does not fit into the clothes of a large man. This probably would’ve been similar to having one of our 8th graders fit into the suit coat of a NFL linebacker. So, David cast off the armor and instead opted for stones and sling.