1 Samuel 17:1-11
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
2 Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines.
3 The Philistines were standing on the mountain on one side, while Israel was standing on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.
4 Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze.
6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze saber slung between his shoulders.
7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-carrier walked in front of him.
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle formation? Am I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man as your representative and have him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”
10 Then the Philistine said, “I have defied the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man, so that we may fight together.”
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very fearful.
Goliath’s Challenge
The battle against the Philistines
The Philistines were a people living in the coastal plains. They were always looking for opportunities to invade the lowlands (known as Shephelah) and the hill country, areas inhabited by the Israelites. (1) Seeing an opportunity, the Philistines gathered their armies and camped at a place called Ephes-dammim (about 15 miles west of Bethlehem) to challenge the Israelites to battle. (2) To confront them, Saul assembled the Israelites and camped in the Valley of Elah, preparing for the battle. (3) The Philistines proposed settling the battle through combat between champion warriors, a common practice at that time. (4) The Philistine’s champion was a giant named Goliath. He was almost 9 feet tall (it is rare, but there are persons of such height even today). He was fully armed from head to toe, wearing bronze armor weighing over 100 lb. (5) Seeing Goliath, all the Israelites were disheartened and greatly afraid. (6) Every day, Goliath would shout out challenges to the Israelites. To insult the Israelites was to insult the God of Israel.
Lessons to us
(1) The Philistines saw an opportune moment to attack Israel at this time. They likely heard news of Samuel distancing himself from King Saul. Enemies attack when they see weakness. This is true even in the current political context surrounding modern Israel and at the same time it applies also to the spiritual battles of Christians. Our enemy, Satan, is always looking for opportunities to destroy God’s church and afflict God’s children. We must not give the enemy any opportunity to exploit our vulnerabilities. (2) Where was Jonathan, Saul’s son, and a brave warrior, at this time? He was likely restrained by his father Saul. Both Saul and the armies of Israelite were paralyzed by fear and unable to confront the challenge. (3) The root cause of all these events was Saul turning away from the Lord and that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. The strength of a Christian comes from the Holy Spirit. Let’s remember this and aspire to walk by the Spirit.
Today's prayer
O God of Israel, please do not take Your Spirit away from me. May I continue to live a life filled with the Holy Spirit today. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.