David Kills Goliath
1 Samuel 17:32-58 NLT
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.
Israel Routs the Philistines
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54 (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
Examine the Scriptures
1 Samuel 17:32-58 NLT
David Kills Goliath
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
- David was not the only person who faced a giant.
A similar story from 400 years previous to this, that David may have known.
Twelve scouts explore Canaan.
Numbers 13:30-33 NLT
30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
Numbers 14:8-9 NLT (Joshua and Caleb speaking)
8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
When we get to 2 Samuel 21 we will read more stories about facing giants.
As we go through life we all face giants of different forms. These giants are obstacles or challenges that are humanly impossible to overcome.
We can all learn valuable lessons from this story about David facing Goliath.
- David’s courage stands in contrast to Saul’s fear.
1 Samuel 17:11 NLT
11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
- In human terms, Goliath was invincible.
Saul does not have the same perspective that David has. Saul failed to consider the Lord’s intervention.
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears,
Lions and bears were common in the land at this time.
and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
- David’s confidence did not rest in his own skill but in the power of the living God.
Psalm 54:4 NLT (written by David)
4 But God is my helper.
The Lord keeps me alive!
- David’s faith contrasts sharply with Saul’s lack of faith.
David understood the following passages of scripture that fit in well with this story.
Joshua 1:9 NLT
9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Nahum 1:2 NLT
2 The Lord is a jealous God,
filled with vengeance and rage.
He takes revenge on all who oppose him
and continues to rage against his enemies!
Zechariah 9:15 NLT
15 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people,
and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones.
Genesis 12:3 NLT
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Exodus 23:27 NLT
27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a faith similar to David’s faith.
1 Samuel 14:6 NLT
6 “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
Saul may have had a partial understanding of David’s testimony in verses 34 – 37.
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.
Later in his life David wrote:
Psalm 28:7 NLT
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
- David equipped himself with the tools of a shepherd.
David likely became proficient using a sling as a shepherd protecting his sheep.
Slings were also used by warriors.
Judges 20:16 NLT
16 Among Benjamin’s elite troops, 700 were left-handed, and each of them could sling a rock and hit a target within a hairsbreadth without missing.
It is possible for stones hurled from a sling to travel at speeds close to one hundred miles per hour.
Slings were used to hit targets as far as 600 feet away.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.
Youthful looking boy rather than a seasoned warrior.
43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?”
The word “dog” symbolizes things that are hated, impure, sinful, and disgusting.
Goliath uttered a statement of ironic truth about himself of which even he was unaware. As a wild dog can be a threat to the flock and must be chased away or killed, Goliath as a threat to Israel must be killed.
Apparently Goliath did not see David’s sling.
And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
- Since Goliath appealed to his gods, David’s victory over Goliath would symbolize God’s victory over the gods of the Philistines.
Dagon, the chief god of the philistines.
Ashtaroth (31:10) was also a god of the Philistines.
44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
- In Israel, being left unburied and exposed to birds and beasts was considered to be a terrible curse.
Deuteronomy 28:25-26 NLT (Curses for disobedience.)
25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your corpses will be food for all the scavenging birds and wild animals, and no one will be there to chase them away.
Psalm 79:1-4 NLT
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
2 They have left the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
has become food for the wild animals.
3 Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
no one is left to bury the dead.
4 We are mocked by our neighbors,
an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
- David’s strength was his reliance on the Lord.
Proverbs 18:10 NLT
10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
the godly run to him and are safe.
Deuteronomy 20:1-4 NLT
Regulations concerning War
20:1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! 2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. 4 For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’
46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals,
- David accurately predicted the outcome of the battle.
Here the curse is directed to the Philistines.
and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
- David fought in the name of the Lord and for the glory of the Lord.
47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear.
Iron weapons were scarce in Israel.
This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
- Despite any military advantage the Philistine army may have had, David knew that the battle belonged to the Lord.
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
A portion of Goliath’s forehead remained exposed beneath his helmet.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath.
David used it to kill him and cut off his head.
The stone had only stunned Goliath. David used Goliath’s own sword to kill him by cutting off his head.
- David triumphed over Goliath with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.
Israel Routs the Philistines
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
The Philistines may have seen this defeat as a judgment of their gods.
The Philistines did not honor Goliath’s original proposal.
1 Samuel 17:9 NLT
9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!
- When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron.
Gath was 6 miles to the west. Ekron was 5 miles north of Gath.
The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.
David’s prediction come true.
Shaaraim was a city of Judah near Azekah.
53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.
Unless expressly prohibited, the taking of war spoils was a common practice.
Joshua 8:1-2 NLT
The Israelites Defeat Ai
8:1-2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. 2 You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the town.”
54 (David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
Jerusalem was probably the final destination of Goliath’s head.
At this time Jerusalem was controlled by the Jebusites.
Later in the story:
2 Samuel 5:6-7 NLT
David Captures Jerusalem
6 David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. 7 But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.
David may have kept Goliath’s head as a trophy of victory and brought the skull with him to Jerusalem when he made the city his capital.
Or
David may have displayed Goliath’s head to the Jebusites as a warning of what the God of Israel was able to do and would eventually do to them.
55 As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
Saul almost certainly knew who David was and was only asking for the name of David’s father.
56 “Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
David was going to marry into his family.
57 As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.”
