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carne out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of
Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet
tall! He wore a bronze helmet, a two-hundred-pound
coat of mail, bronze leggings, and carried a bronze jave–
lin severa! inches thick, tipped with a twenty-five-pound
iron spearhead, and bis armor bearer walked ahead of
him with a huge shield.
"He stood and shouted across to the Israelis, 'Do you
need a whole army to settle this? 1 will represent the
Philistines, and you choose someone to represent you,
and we will settle this in single combat! If your man is
able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if
1
kili
him, then you must be our slaves!
1
defy the armies of
Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!' "
(1
Sam.
17:4-10,
The Living Bible.)
Outmaneuvered, outfoxed, outgunned and out–
weighed, Saul and Israel were dismayed and frightened,
uncertain, perplexed as to what to do in this situa–
tion.
For forty days they remained paralyzed, not knowing
what to do. Morning and evening Goliath repeated bis
challenge. Philistine patience wore thin. Israel was des–
perate. Two armies were poised on the brink of total
war, the outcome of which seemed inevitably in favor of
the Philistines.
Knowing the outcome, we might be tempted to brush
over the incident we all learned in Sunday school. But
let's go to the battlefront. Do you know how much a
man weighs who is able to fight in well over two hun–
dred pounds of armor? The rule of thumb in the days of
knights was that their shining armor was to be one-fifth
of their body weight-and those men fought on horse–
back! That means Goliath weighed somewhere between
1000
to
1200
pounds! That's like a good-sized horse!
In
addition, he had weapons which were unavailable to
most Israelis. Since he moved freely back and forth to
offer bis twice-daily challenge, he was obviously mobile
in bis awesome attire.
Now King Saul was no half-pint himself. Well over
seven feet tall, he was formidable also. Since he was
"head and shoulders above" all others in Israel, he was
the only obvious champion for Israel. But he was king!
He didn't want to take up the challenge; he knew of no
one else to suggest-and no one volunteered!
Saul advertised for a champion. He offered a huge
reward to anyone who could kili Goliath. He offered his
own daughter to be wed to the victor (which promised a
political plum and future influence, since he would
be the king's son-in-law). He promised tax-exempt
status to the victor's entire family. But still no
takers!
Forty days of frantic effort to meet Goliath's challenge
had the entire Israelí camp in an uproar. The costs of
maintaining an army in the field were mounting-but
were more welcome than the cost of defeat. The psycho–
logical pressure was overwhelming as the Philis–
tine attack became imminent. Saul was at his wits'
end.
loto this scene carne little David, a teenage boy. Dis–
missed from court when the army took to the field,
David had gone back to tend bis father's sheep. News
traveled slowly in those days without TV reporters at the
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1978
front, and David was not aware of the dilemma con–
fronting Israel until he arrived from borne with food for
bis soldier-brothers. The more he learned of the situ–
ation, and especially when he personally heard Goliath's
challenge, the more he became incensed.
He saw things in a different light than those who had
been wrestling first-hand with the problem for over a
month. He didn't primarily see
~
giant in massive
armor backed by an invincible army. He saw ah insult
to God! His first reaction was faith! His second was
fight!
Goliath weighed somewhere between
1000 to 1200 pounds! That's like a
good-sized horse! And he had weapons
unavailab1e to most Israelis.
In
you~hful
vigor he burst in on Saul and said, "Don't
worry about a thing.
1'11
take care of this Philistine!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Saul roared in exasperation.
Imagine, the king and the entire Israelí army had not
been willing to face this Philistine challenge, and now
sorne pink-cheeked, harp-plucking baby-sitter for sheep
from back in the sticks offers his services! "How can a
kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a
boy and he has been in the army
since
he was a
boy!"
But David argued back.
"Look, boy or no boy, I've killed lions and bears with
nothing but a club and my bare hands! Besides, that's
got nothing to do with it. God is really the one who
helped me slay the wild animals that preyed on my
father's sheep, and God is the one who will help me kili
this beast of a Philistine who dares defy the armies of the
living God!"
Why
Not?
aced with spunk, reason and faith ,
what could Saul say? The Philis–
tines were probably going to at-
---• tack at any time regardless, and
then they would all have to fight.
Saul was certainly not going to honor Goliath's terms of
national slavery for Israel if he won, anyway. Time was
running out. No one else had volunteered. Why not use
David?
"AII
right, David, go ahead-and, uh, may the Lord be
with you."
No use taking any chances though. Saul's own armor
and weapons were rigged on David. Now he really did
look ridiculous-he couldn't even move! Besides, he
might have faith, but he was no fool! He had never
trained with weapons or worn armor. He would have to
fight Goliath with familiar weapons: a sling ... and
faith!
That sling, by the way, was not the type you may be
familiar with. It was not a notched, Y-shaped piece of
wood with a rubber band. David's sling was a precise
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