The Hebrew Scripture passage which the lectionary offers us for this coming Sunday—the next in the series of stories from the early days of the monarchy in Israel—feeds into the “David worship” that we find in these ancient narratives. From the moment that David is introduced, as being “ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome” (1 Sam 16:12), the narrator is concerned to present him in the most positive way. For the moment, at least.
David provides a better alternative to Saul. Saul had won a significant battle against the Philistines, but did not wait for Samuel the prophet to come to preside over the sacrifice he offered (ch.13). Soon after this, he made a rash oath, forbidding his troops to eat before sundown. His son Jonathan ate, however, and chided his father: “my father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey” (ch.14).
When instructed by Samuel to destroy all that was taken in his defeat of the Amalekites —“do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey”, Samuel instructed him—he kept the best of these spoils and destroyed only what was “despised and worthless” (ch.15). (Mind you, we might well be horrified at Samuel’s instructions and side with Saul on this!) So Saul has offended the Lord God; the kingship will be taken from him, as we saw last week.
By contrast, when Samuel first sees David, the narrator introduces him with the description, “he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome” (16:12). And yet, the narrator has already told us that the Lord God “[does] not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature … the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). What is in the heart of David, that so pleases the Lord?
So in this Sunday’s passage—1 Sam 17:32–49, an extract from a much longer account of this pivotal encounter (all 58 verses of ch.17), we see David in action against the Philistines. In this extract we read some of what leads up the climactic moment when David “put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground” (17:49). It’s the stuff that Sunday School lessons and Cecil B. DeMille films were made of!
This story of David and Goliath is legendary. It fits with a pattern, found throughout the mythic sagas of Israel (Genesis to Nehemiah), in which the underdog, the least expected person, plays a key role in leading God’s people. Think Jacob the supplanter, think Joseph the favourite youngest son, think Moses the murderer and Rahab the harlot, or Daniel with his strange diet and zany dream interpretations.
Even Jesus later picked up on this motif very strongly; the last becoming first, the child symbolising the kingdom, amd his saying, “among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matt 11:11).
As youngest child and one challenged in physical prowess, the diminutive David stands before the giant Goliath; it seems the match would be over before it began. When Goliath stood and roared at the Israelites, goading them to come out and fight, “give me a man, that we may fight together”, the narrator captures their panicked mood: “Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Sam 17:8–11).
That is not surprising, given not only the size of Goliath (four cubits and a span, that is, almost 3 metres, or 9’9” tall) but also his accoutrements: “he had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him” (17:4–7).
Not so, however, as the story unfolds. David brings provisions for his brothers after they had been involved in 40 days of battle—a biblical way of saying “an awfully long time had passed” (17:16). Still, the reaction of the Israelites was that of fear; “when they saw the man, they fled from him” (17:24). Saul tries to talk him out of stepping up to fight the giant; “you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth” (17:33).
So we come to the passage proposed by the lectionary for this coming Sunday (17:32–49). David protests; as a shepherd, he has killed lions and bears in defending his flock, “and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God” (17:37). Notice the scathing put down of this giant of a man as merely an “uncircumcised Philistine” and the implicit grouping of him with savage beasts. David is confident that “the Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine” (17:37).
David, full of trust, steps up to the mark; the Philistine “disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance” (17:42), words which echo the initial description of David (16:12). Whereas they were used to advocate for David at that point, here they form a denigrating dismissal of him; a nice irony! Goliath goads him: “am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” (17:43); and invites David to draw near.
David holds his ground, delivering a short sermon on God’s sovereign power in this situation (17:45–47). We might reflect on whether (a) we would have the same equanimity at this moment; and (b) whether we find this theological perspective persuasive, or troublingly simplistic, or anathema to our understanding of God.
Since David stands firm, Goliath begins to approach him; now David joins the battle (17:48). The end is short and swift: “David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground” (17:49).
The remaining verses (omitted by the lectionary) tell of David severing Goliath’s head, the Philistines retreating, the typical battlefield behaviour of the victors in plundering the camp of their defeated foes, and the victory march of the Israelites as David bore the head of Goliath (17:50–54).
A short coda (17:55–58) places the young David before King Saul; this encounter had very significant consequences for David, since “when David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (18:1). That is an important lead into the passage that we will read and hear the Sunday after next, concerning David and Jonathan.
Writing in With Love to the World, Sione Leaaetoa says, “the story has been used widely in Western culture as a metaphor for describing any individual or group of people who have the courage to overcome great odds to defeat an oppressor or overcome or some great obstacle. There is certainly an aspect of human courage in this story; but the passage is primarily about being bold and having an unwavering faith in the Lord.”
He notes that “the story makes it clear that when Saul and the Israelites heard Goliath’s challenge, they were ‘dismayed and terrified’ (v.11)”, but then that David would “remind them of who they are, ‘the armies of the living God’ (vv.26, 36); hence, God is the one that will fight their battle and give them the victory.” Sione then concludes, “As children of the living God, through all the battles or challenges we may face in life, we need to remember that God is with us.”
Strategic cunning allows the shepherd boy to defeat the towering enemy. That appears to be how God works to bring about the victory. What model does this offer us? I am not advocating for the use of physical violence to bring about victory—but that was the way of things at that time in history (and still is, for many, today).
So I am left with questions: Why is this story told? Are there elements of this story that inform how we “live by faith” in today’s world? I wonder what you think they might be?
We can’t leave this story without commenting on the ancient Philistines and modern Palestinians. In what ways might the biblical stories about the Israelites doing battle with the Philistines mirror and inform how we think about the conflict between the modern state of Israel and displaced Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank?
There are, to be sure, certain linguistic similarities between the two words, Philistia and Palestina. However, there is no historical evidence at all that proves any familial continuity between the ancient Philistines and contemporary Palestinians. They connection is simply from the ancient use of the term Palestina in the Roman province, Syria Palestina, which was a latinizing of a Semitic word that we transliterate as Philistines.
However, there are historical matters to consider in terms of who lived in the land, how other people dealt with the people living in the land when they invaded that land, and what claims stand from this. Establishing the state of Israel and displacing thousands of Palestinians in 1947–48 has not “righted wrongs”, but exacerbated them.
Neither Muslim hegemony over the city of Jerusalem in medieval times, nor ancient Israelite dominance in Jerusalem and surrounds three millennia ago, represent the bedrock of land ownership; history reveals this all too well. We will return to this issue in future blogs, as we continue to trace the story of ancient Israel in 1–2 Samuel and 1 Kings. What we need today is to tread carefully and respectfully with the different claims that are being pressed, tragically, through violent means.
I have given this consideration, in the light of the terrible situation at present in Gaza, in
and see also
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