When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
The insulting attitude of worldliness towards religion
The insult was a symbol of the insulting attitude of worldliness towards religion. Brute force and power paraded themselves as contemptuous of the power of the Spirit. Religion cannot hold its own against the powers of the world except by spiritual forces and trust in God. When the guardians of religion, or those who should witness its inward power, fail in this trust, and in using the right weapons, then the world has its way. The symbol in this case is singularly vivid and complete. (W. J. Knox Little, M. A.)
