“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with 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 defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head...that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
- 1 Sam 17:45-47
Most of us are familiar with the story of David and Goliath. So much so, that this story line has become a common allusion in the sports arena. The reference refers to the battle between the underdog and his much stronger adversary. The tone is always hopeful that the underdog will prevail as champion.
In Biblical and Near Eastern times, a champion was a man who would step out to fight between the two battle lines, namely the space/zone between the two armies. He was the one who would battle on behalf of his people.
Goliath was the champion of the Philistine army (17:4), measuring in at 9 feet 9 inches tall. He was adorned in heavy armor: a helmet of bronze, a coat of mail (which weighed 125 pounds), armor on his legs, and carried “a javelin of bronze [which was] slung between his shoulders.” Besides his ominous size and intimidating armory, he would come forward and taunt the Israelites and say slanderous things about their God. And he did this, day in and day out for forty days (17:16).
The text tells us plainly, “all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid” (17:24). Even King Saul, who should have accepted the challenge to be Israel’s champion couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. In their eyes, fighting Goliath was a suicide mission.
Until David.
In 1 Sameul 17, we find out that he was a youth, which meant that he was too young to enlist in Israel’s army. So, he continued to work as a shepherd for his father. One day, David’s father Jesse, instructed him to check on his three oldest brothers (who were at the battle line) and bring them a lunch. Upon his arrival, Goliath stepped into the same champion zone and made the same contemptuous remarks as he had for the previous 40 days. And David heard him (17:23).
David heard the evil, slanderous things that Goliath said about the God of Israel, and he wouldn’t stand for it. In fact, he couldn’t understand why no one else challenged Goliath. So, (quick summary) David went to King Saul and said he would fight Goliath. King Saul said that David was too young, but quickly realized that this kid was serious, so he gave him some pretty nice armor to borrow, and even threw out a “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (17: 37). The armor didn’t fit David right, so he threw that off, got his staff, sling shot and picked five smooth stones from a river – the very tools of a shepherd. Then he went and faced Goliath. Israel now had their champion — the very one who would step between the battle lines and would battle on behalf of his people — David, the boy from Bethlehem, the one who cared for sheep.
And at face off, Goliath laughed at David’s stature and for having nothing but ‘sticks’ in his hands. But David stood assured – not that his courage would prevail, but that his all-powerful, faithful Lord would. He believed that God would deliver him and that that victory would be credited to his people.
And then David ran quickly. He swiftly grabbed one stone from his bag, positioned it in his sling shot, released it, and it hit Goliath square between the eyes on the forehead. Goliath was knocked out but not dead. So, David seized the opportunity, pulled out his sword and cut off his head. The Philistine army fled. And Israel’s unlikely champion prevailed, attaining victory for all Israel.
Often people hear this story and immediately personify or see themselves as David…the champion. And they take life’s hardships – be that a mean boss, a quarrelsome family member, financial hardships, an illness, you name it – and see that as their Goliath, the giant that they must conquer. Sure, there may be a right understanding that they are the underdog and that the said thing is a giant, but that comes up short.
Should we aspire to have the faith and assurance of David? Yes. But we are not him. We are the Israelites. We face a great adversary. We can’t stand between the battle lines and win. We lack what it takes. We need a champion.
But God, in His great mercy towards us, has sent a better David, a champion who stood between the battle lines – squaring off with death itself, namely Satan and sin. This champion is Jesus, a boy from Bethlehem who cared for sheep.
Out of his great love for us and obedience to God the Father, Jesus went to the cross and died an excruciating death to reconcile us back to Himself. He willingly went between the battle lines for you (and me). He trusted in God the Father’s omnipotence and faithfulness – that He would raise His dead body from the grave so that sin and Satan and death would be defeated. And He won! His victory is imputed to all who trust in His life, death, and resurrection.
In 1 Samuel 17:52, just after David killed Goliath, the Israelites had the privilege to join David to wage war against the rest of the Philistines. And since we are like the Israelites, let us go forward (confident in Christ’s finished work), recognizing that there is still a battle to be had in the here and now. Our great adversary, Satan, still prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) and will until Jesus returns. So, until then, we fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12), take up our spiritual armor so that we can wage war against him and his schemes (Eph 6:10-20), and we do this confidently, knowing that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:20).
Prayer: Father, you are the living God, the one who saves without sword or spear. Thank you for Jesus, my champion, whose victory I get to share. By your grace, grant me the strength fight against the evil one.
Reflection:
- How does recognizing that Jesus (not you) is the champion give you freedom and hope in this life? How does knowing that He is the victor change the outlook of your day, week, life?
- David had a deep assurance in the awesomeness of the Lord. Pick one attribute of the Lord that gives you assurance. Find a bible verse that coordinates with that attribute. Write out the verse and try to commit it to memory this week.
- Is there someone you know who is weary? Struggling? Downcast? Pray for that person. Reach out to them and share the good news that Jesus is the champion.
