As we all know, the famous event of David vs. Goliath starts off with the Philistines preparing for war at Socoh in Judah and Saul preparing to retaliate, setting camp in the Valley of Elah. Both armies were standing on opposite hills with a ravine in between them when the famous giant standing at 9'9", Goliath from Gath, offers the proposal that if one of Saul's men wins a fight against him, the Philistines will be their slaves, and vice versa should the opposing Israelite lose. As Saul had his trust and reliance in military strength rather than God, he and all Israel "lost their courage and were terrified" (I Samuel 17:11).
Subsequently, the famous shepherd David is introduced, the son of Jesse from Bethlehem. Jesse's three oldest sons were already at war with Saul's army in the Valley of Elah, but David, as the youngest, was carrying out the responsibility of tending to his father's flock in Bethlehem. Goliath continued his boisterous routine every morning and evening for forty days. During one of those days Jesse orders David to take a half-bushel of roasted grain and 10 loaves of bread to his brothers and 10 portions of cheese to the field commander, and to also check on the welfare of his brothers. Being obedient to his father, David gets up the next morning and sets out to the Valley of Elah where Saul's army was camped.
Next in the text we read that David arrived at the perimeter of the camp just as the army was marching out to its battle formation, Israel and the Philistines both lined up in their battle formation facing each other. So David arrived just in time during one of Goliath's standoffs. Instead of taking the supplies to the field commander and to his brothers, he leaves them with the quartermaster, who is in charge of supplies and their distribution. David then rushed to his brothers to check on their welfare, as Jesse had required, and while he was speaking with them Goliath came out of the Philistine battle formation and shouted his usual threats, and the text makes it clear that David heard them. As was the usual routine, the Israelite men retreated, for they were terrified. The text says that before this, an Israelite man declared that this Philistine has come to defy Israel, and that "the king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter" and that "the king will also make the household of that man's father exempt from paying taxes in Israel" (I Samuel 17:25). David had not heard this announcement, so he asks what will be done for the man who kills Goliath and also asks, "Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God" (I Samuel 17:26)? It is then told to him what will be done for the man who slays Goliath. David's older brother, Eliab, grows angry with David and accuses him of having an arrogant and evil heart — that David only wanted to see the battle. David, as he was innocent of this accusation, asks, "What have I done now? It was just a question." And right he was; it was only a question.
What David was saying eventually reached the ears of Saul and he ordered David to be brought to him, where David famously and non-hesitantly offers to go and fight the Philistine. Of course, Saul rejects the offer saying that David is just a boy and Goliath has been a warrior since his youth. David makes it clear to Saul that as a shepherd, whenever a lion or bear carried a lamb off from the flock David would run after it, kill the predator, and rescue the lamb; and David then compares Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine predator, to this lion or bear. In verse 37 we see David's complete trust in the Lord to rescue him form the Philistine. At this, Saul then grants David permission to fight Goliath, and by invoking the blessing "may the LORD be with you" upon David, Saul may have found some courage through David's own courage and his unwavering trust in the Lord.
Saul gave orders for David to be fitted with his own military clothes, but they were too heavy so David wasn't used to them, and so he took them off. Thus, David instead took his staff, five smooth stones from the ravine, and put them in his pouch in his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in hand approached the giant Philistine, Goliath. When Goliath saw how youthful and small David was compared to him, he naturally threw curses and insults at him. Again displaying his trust in the Lord, David replies to Goliath that he comes "against [Goliath] in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel's armies…" (I Samuel 17:45). David also displays his confidence towards Goliath that God will hand the Philistine over to him, strike him down, cut off his head, and "give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and creatures of the earth" (I Samuel 17:46), turning Goliath's insults against David back against him. David says this will be done so "the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD'S" (I Samuel 17:46-47).
Next, while the Philistines started to attack him, David quickly ran to the battle line to meet the Philistines, took out a stone, slung it, and hit Goliath on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and Goliath immediately fell to his face on the ground. As David had promised, he kills Goliath with his own sword and cuts off his head. At the sight of this, the Philistine army retreats, the men of Israel chasing after the Philistines all the way to the gates of Ekron and succeeding in defeating the Philistines.
Prior to this event, we read of the prophet Samuel anointing David as king of Israel. Israel was in need of a new king because Saul had fallen away from the Lord, so God sent Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint the new king of Israel, for God had selected the new king. In obedience to the Lord, Samuel sets out to Jesse's household and asks him to bring out all of his sons. Seeing the oldest Eliab who was tall, handsome, and a mighty warrior just like Saul, Samuel at first believed him to be the new anointed king. But we read what God famously said to Samuel, " 'Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the LORD sees, for man sees what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart' " (I Samuel 16:7). Samuel goes through the rest of Jesse's oldest sons and concludes that God has selected none of them. When Samuel asks Jesse if these are all of his sons, Jesse says that there is still David, the youngest, who is tending the sheep. Samuel tells Jesse to send for him. David is described as having "beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance" (I Samuel 16:12). God then tells Samuel that this is the one whom He has selected. Thus, Samuel anoints David as the next king of Israel and shall become king when the current king, Saul, dies. Since the Spirit of God left Saul and an evil spirit had come upon him, Saul became very ill. Saul learns of David's gifted musicianship and David is also described here as "a valiant man, a warrior, eloquent, handsome, and the LORD is with him" (I Samuel 16:18). As we know from the text, David's musicianship would temporarily heal Saul whenever he played for him.
In chapter 17 we see how these characteristics of David from chapter 16 are portrayed in his actions. David's youth may not have been the only reason why Saul and Goliath doubted his ability, but also because he had "beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance" (I Samuel 16:12). So not only was he young, but David was a very attractive man, arguably more attractive than Saul the king of Israel, so he certainly could not have any characteristics of a warrior. However, as we read in verse eighteen of chapter sixteen, David was valiant and eloquent, meaning that he had great courage and determination and that he was persuasive in speech. We see his valiance when he offers to Saul that he will take the giant down, and we see his eloquence when he succeeds in persuading the king that he will fight the giant Philistine and succeed in doing so. David's valiance and eloquence were so great that he even transferred his courage to Saul, causing Saul to invoke a blessing upon him (I Samuel 17:37). This isn't the only correlation we see, however. In 16:18 David is also described as a warrior, and that the Lord is with him. Although David was indeed beautiful and handsome in appearance, somebody saw warrior qualities in David, and we definitely see this as he ruthlessly defeats Goliath by sinking a stone into his forehead and killing him with Goliath's own sword and cutting off his head! The last correlation we see is that the Lord is indeed with David. We see it when David admits it by mouth (I Samuel 17:37, 46-47) and even more so when David succeeds in killing Goliath (I Samuel 17:48-52). The Lord was indeed with David.
This episode of David points toward Christ in many ways. First of all, I want to briefly mention that Goliath enacting his boisterous routine for 40 days and 40 nights (I Samuel 17:16) may be significant for the pattern of 40 throughout the Old Testament all the way to Jesus wandering in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. Noah endured rain for 40 days and nights (Genesis 7:4), Moses' spies were spying out the land of Canaan for 40 days and nights (Numbers 13:25) and Israel wandered a year for each of those days (Numbers 14:33-34), David reigned for 40 years (II Samuel 5:4; I Kings 2:11), and eventually Jesus wandering in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights while being tempted by the Devil (Matthew 4). There are many other examples, but these are just some significant ones.
I see a great Christology in I Samuel 17:34-37. As David delineates his activities as a shepherd, it made me think of the parable of the lost sheep. As a shepherd, David is responsible for every single sheep in the flock. When a lion or bear takes one sheep, David doesn't just say "oh well" and gives up; he fights for the sheep and slaughters the predator that took it. In Luke 15:4-7 we read of the parable of the lost sheep. As Jesus spoke to the tax collectors and sinners, He asked which one among them who has 100 sheep and loses one of them would not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the one that is lost. He describes that " 'when he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders' " and that when he returns home they all rejoice because he had found his lost sheep. Jesus concludes in verse 7, ' "I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance.' " I absolutely love the beauty of this parable. It might be considered reckless to leave a flock of 99 sheep to just search for one lost sheep in the world's eyes, but Jesus emphasises how much God cares for and loves every lost sinner and how joyfully He and all of Heaven, our future home, responds with joy when each one is found — when each one goes astray in the jaws of the evil one. Just as David sent out and slaughtered the lion or bear, God sent His Son and sacrificed Him as a fragrant offering (Ephesians 5:2) for all of us lost sheep, therefore slaughtering (defeating) the predator Satan (I John 3:8), the lion/bear (or snake/dragon, as he is often portrayed; drakon in Greek [δράκων] is translated as snake or huge serpent in English). Furthermore, when we stray from God we are able to recognise this through the Law, and because of the Gospel we can repent and be welcomed back into God's holy family, which can only be fulfilled through Jesus Christ the Messiah. Lastly, when David strikes the head of Goliath, it points toward the prophecy given in Genesis 3:15 that one of Eve's descendants (Jesus) would bruise Satan's head, and Satan bruising His heel. (You can find this genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17.) We see this fulfilled in Jesus' crucifixion when Satan orchestrated Jesus' crucifixion, but unbeknownst to him he was dealing his own deathblow, the crucifixion bruising Jesus' heel but Jesus Christ crushing his head and therefore destroying him, freeing us from sin (Hebrews 2:14).
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