The story of David and Goliath has become part of our cultural landscape. Even people who have never read the Bible are familiar with their names, and those who don’t believe in God get what most people assume is the moral of the story: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And don’t underestimate the little guy with the sling – he could take down a giant.
The only trouble is that this is NOT the point of the story as the Bible tells it. David didn’t defeat Goliath BECAUSE he was quicker and smarter. Yes, sometimes the small and swift triumph over the large and slow. Yes, sometimes the weak and vulnerable outsmart hostile powers against all the odds. But if we’re honest we’d have to acknowledge that there are just as many times when the big guy triumphs, when the bullies win, when the weak and vulnerable are trampled under foot.
So what is the point of this Biblical story? David defeated Goliath not because of his superior methods of tactical engagement, but because he was willing to place more trust in God than in his own human powers.
Jim Harnish writes, “The story of David’s confrontation with Goliath was told so that the whole earth may know that there is a God who is actively and purposely at work in human history. It affirms that the degree to which we allow ourselves to become a part of that divine purpose, God will work in and through us to accomplish God’s purpose in God’s way in the rough-and-tumble realities of our daily lives…. David’s victory over Goliath is ultimately about a God who acts in human history through ordinary people who place more confidence in God than they do in themselves…. It is about the way ordinary people allow their faith in God to become the power source to energize them when they face the giants in their lives.”
What are you facing right now that seems like an invincible giant mocking your faith and defying God? Cancer? Depression? Unemployment? Addiction? Divorce? Abuse? The good news of this story is that as we align ourselves with God’s power and commit ourselves to following God’s ways, so God’s purposes will be accomplished within our midst, “for the battle is the LORD’s.”
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, remind me that it’s not by might nor by power, but only by your Spirit that I shall overcome. Today, help me to trust you and your ways a little more. Amen
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
1 Samuel 17
A champion named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall…. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of
David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
But David said to Saul, " The LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me… All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's.”
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
