1 Samuel 17 – David and Goliath

Lectionary Readings for June 20, 2021                    4th Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49 David and Goliath
Psalm 9:9-20        v9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
2 Corinthians 6:1-13   v2 Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Mark 4:35-41  Jesus Calms the Storm

Peace through Leadership Quotes

The Lord said to Israel, “Here’s what I want: Let justice thunder down like a waterfall; let righteousness flow like a mighty river that never runs dry.”  ~ Amos 5:24

“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”  ~ Cornel West

Our quest to create peace in our lives, in our communities, and in our world is inextricably intertwined with God’s timeless call for us to seek justice wherever and whenever INjustice exists. We pursue this call knowing that God joins us in this never-ending work.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

You may remember the 1960s children’s TV show Davey and Goliath (produced by the Lutherans). Only the name links the show to today’s story. Giving credit where it is due, my love for the legend of David and Goliath started in my 7th grade Sunday School class. That year, our unruly group was taught by a dentist, Dr. Tom Pashley. Any time a Bible story had so much as a bruise or a cut, he taught our class like he was training Emergency Room workers. David and Goliath provided a wealth of vicious gore for Dr. Pashley to dissect, and in doing so, connected a room full of eager ears with an ancient story.

Today’s story takes place in the Valley of Elah which is in modern Israel, about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Goliath’s people – the Philistines – were invading Israel from the coast. They were marching up the valley to cut Israel in half: divide and conquer. To minimize bloodshed, a common custom of their time was for each army to send out their best warrior to represent their tribe or nation. Whoever lost, lost on behalf of the people they represented – an extremely high stakes dual. Israel HAD to win this battle.

The modern author Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great book about this classic battle. He pointed out details I’d never known. (Click here to watch his video about his findings.) Here are a few highlights:

1 – Goliath likely suffered from a condition we call gigantism which is caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland. One of the many side effects of this condition is poor eyesight. This may explain why Goliath a) says “come to me” and b) doesn’t realize what David is doing with his sling until it’s too late.

2 – As a good shepherd, David was likely an expert with his sling (it was NOT a slingshot like many of us had as kids). Historians says trained slingers could hit a target 200 yards away and could even hit a bird in the air. Wow! David knew exactly what he was doing as he ran toward his target.

3 – The local stones are twice as dense as most rocks, thus they have a LOT of momentum when hurled. (Remember, you’d rather be hit by a ping-pong ball than a golf ball because the golf ball is denser.) Some people have estimated that David’s dense stone hit Goliath with the power of a .45 caliber handgun. You’d think differently about this story if the story read, “David whipped out his Colt 45 and blasted Goliath from short range.” But such was the impact.

4 – As a big guy, Goliath was trained for and wanted hand-to-hand combat. This explains his heavy armor. As a small guy, David wanted to keep his distance and be nimble; this explains him rejecting Saul’s armor.

Finally, David is the runt of his family. Listen how his brothers – who are in the army – give him a hard time. King Saul doesn’t even know who David is, but his brothers know: David brings them food and drink; he’s the water boy. After 40 days of obnoxious, insulting taunting, King Saul reluctantly gives his blessing to the only Israelite who has volunteered to fight the giant and thus defend Israel’s and God’s honor.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read yet another instance of God choosing an unlikely person to do God’s will.

Read 1 Samuel 17.

Let’s talk about David with Goliath’s head for a minute. First of all, David uses Goliath’s own sword to cut his head off. That’s just insulting! And then David hauls the head around like it’s a trophy – first to King Saul and then 20 miles or so to Jerusalem as proof of his victory. Ponder that for a second; with no refrigeration, that head got real nasty, real fast. But hey, David was a shepherd, so he was probably accustomed to hunting and dressing animals for food as well as helping his sheep give birth. Bloody head? No big deal.

Remember how today’s story opened: Goliath hurled insults at Israel and their God for 40 days. Out of fear, they didn’t resist; they took their verbal beating day, after day, after day. Someone in our Bible Study pointed out that “If you don’t believe in yourself and the power of God in your life, you’ll take abuse for 40 days without challenging it.” Sad but true. But David knew who and whose he was: a precious child of the Living God who made him, loves him, and wants the best for him. I can imagine David saying something like, “Jesse is my daddy, God is my father, and I won’t let you talk trash about either one!” He certainly acted that way. It’s no wonder that God describes David as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

And perhaps you caught the humor of young David asking multiple times, “What’s the reward for killing this guy? One of the king’s daughters and no taxes for life?” That’s a pretty good deal for a young man!

In addition to his youthful enthusiasm, David’s wisdom is demonstrated throughout the story and gives us food for thought today.

1 – He didn’t let other people’s (especially his brothers’) dismissive opinions of him limit his self-confidence. “You may see me as just a water boy, but I know what I’m capable of doing.” How have each of us let others minimize our worth or our ability to contribute to the common good?

2 – David refused Saul’s armor because it didn’t fit, and he was not accustomed to it. David recognized it as a burden, not a blessing. Even when others mean well, when do we need to say, “No thank you” to offers of “help?”

3 – Based on observing his problem – I refer to Goliath as “the problem” – for days (if not weeks), David calculated his plan of attack before he approached Goliath. Most of us would do well to spend more time understanding the problems in our lives before we attack them.

4 – David ran toward his opponent knowing that would confuse Goliath. As scary as it may be in the moment, sometimes we need to tackle our problems quickly and headfirst. How many times have I needlessly worried about something for days (if not weeks or months) only to discover that when confronted directly, the problem was quickly resolved – often with much less stress than anticipated.

5 – David knew how close to get and how far to stay away from his problem. Like Goliath, sometimes our problems seem to draw us closer to them. We need to have the wisdom and strength to keep our problems at safe distances which means listening for advice from God and trusted friends.

6 – Finally, David didn’t let his problem’s volume, confidence, or fame shake his own faith. David acted with the confidence that comes from a rock-solid foundation of faith. When everyone else doubted, David’s actions matched his faith. What might each of us achieve if our actions fully reflected a complete trust in God’s leading?

One final thought about this epic legend: David used the word “rescued” several times in today’s story.
The God who rescued the Israelites from Egyptian slavery can and does rescue us.
The God who rescued Daniel from the lions’ den can and does rescue us.
The God who rescued David from a terrifying opponent can and does rescue us.
The God who rescued Jesus from the powers of death can and does rescue us.

Thank God, we have been rescued, we are being rescued, and we will be rescued in our future. Knowing this, we can confidently step into God’s leading with David’s youthful boldness, the same boldness which enabled him to overcome his problems – and his failures – and lead his people into greatness. Embracing such bold faith will enable us to lead ourselves, our neighborhoods, and our communities into moments and places reflective of God’s Kingdom.

Amen? Amen!