David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 1 Samuel 17:48
Two wild turkeys stood in the country lane ahead. How close could I get? I wondered. I slowed my jog to a walk, then stopped. It worked. The turkeys walked toward me . . . and kept coming. In seconds, their heads were bobbing at my waist, then behind me. How sharp were those beaks? I ran away. They waddled after me before giving up the chase.
How quickly the tables had turned! The hunted had become the hunter when the turkeys seized the initiative. Foolishly, I had wondered if they were too dumb to be scared. I wasn’t about to be carelessly wounded by a bird, so I fled. From turkeys.
David didn’t seem dangerous, so Goliath taunted him to come near. “ ‘Come here,’ he said, ‘and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!’ ” (1 Samuel 17:44). David flipped the script when he seized the initiative. He ran toward Goliath, not because he was foolish but because he had confidence in God. He shouted, “This very day . . . the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (v. 46). Goliath was puzzled by this aggressive boy. What’s going on? he must have thought. Then it hit him. Right between the eyes.
It’s natural for small animals to run from people and shepherds to avoid giants. It’s natural for us to hide from our problems. Why settle for natural? Is there a God in Israel? Then, in His power, run toward the fight.
Read: 1 Samuel 17:32, 40-50 (NIV)
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose hearti on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
40 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.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearerr in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome,s and he despisedt him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog,u that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birdsv and the wild animals!w”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,x but I come against you in the namey of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.z 46 This day the Lord will delivera you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcassesb of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole worldc will know that there is a God in Israel.d 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sworde or spear that the Lord saves;f for the battleg is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 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.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a slingh and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
INSIGHT
- What problem or person are you avoiding?
- How might you express confidence in God?
Goliath considered it an insult to have David fight him because David was “little more than a boy” (1 Samuel 17:42). The Hebrew word translated “boy” means “a boy, from the age of infancy to adolescence.” It also has the connotation of status, one who was a lowly servant. Goliath was a highly respected warrior. King Saul highlighted this disparity when he told David, “You’re only a boy, and [Goliath has] been a man of war since his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33 nlt). Scholars estimate David would have been about fourteen or fifteen years old.
PRAYER
Father, whenever I’m afraid, remind me that Your Spirit is in me. Help me run in Your strength. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: 1 Samuel 17:32, 40-50 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: Jeremiah 3-5; 1 Timothy 4
