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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:32 - 17:58
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David Slays Goliath
v. 32. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him, Goliath, no man's courage must fail on his account, the entire army should lay aside its fear; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. It was a simple, modest offer to undertake that single combat to which Goliath had been challenging.
v. 33. And Saul, who was decidedly lacking in the divine courage needed for Jehovah's battles, said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, a young man, and not versed in the arts of war, and he a man of war from his youth, trained in the use of arms from early childhood.
v. 34. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, the reference being to two different occasions, and took a lamb out of the flock;
v. 35. and I went out after him, in either case, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, this applying to the lion, and smote him, probably with his shepherd's staff, and slew him.
v. 36. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, shall share the fate of these two ravenous beasts, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God, that being David's chief reason for believing that the covenant God would not abandon His people's cause, since it was really His honor which was at stake.
v. 37. David said, moreover, The Lord, that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. David's courage thus rested on his faith and trust in the mighty help of the Lord, for whose honor he intended to battle. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
v. 38. And Saul armed David with his armor, had him try on special garments intended to be worn with the armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
v. 39. And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it, he had never made an attempt to move about in heavy armor of this kind, but found it too unwieldy for his inexperienced arms and body. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them, he did not possess the skill to handle them. And David put them off him.
v. 40. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, down in the valley, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, in a special kit which he carried with him, even in a scrip, a pouch or pocket; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine, equipped only with his shepherd's implements.
v. 41. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
v. 42. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, took note of him for the first time, he disdained him, gave him only a contemptuous glance; for he was but a youth, still a young man, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
v. 43. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? the exaggeration purposely expressing his contempt. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, adding blasphemy to his contempt.
v. 44. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, let him but dare to undertake an attack, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. To his scornful defiance he added a bloodthirsty threat.
v. 45. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, on these the Philistine relied to give him the victory; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. David's courage was based entirely upon his faith in the covenant God and His almighty power.
v. 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, in an utterly helpless state; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, namely, the one true God, Jehovah, who alone has the outcome of the battle in His hand.
v. 47. And all this assembly, the entire army of Israel, shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, that He is not dependent upon external mighty means to gain the victory; for the battle is the Lord's, the decision rests with Him alone, and He will give you into our hands.
v. 48. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army, where it was drawn up in battle-line, to meet the Philistine.
v. 49. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead that the stone sunk into his forehead, breaking open the strong frontal bone; and he fell upon his face to the earth, stunned, if not killed, by the missile.
v. 50. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David, he had no regular weapons of war.
v. 51. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, stepping on the trunk of the fallen giant, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith, thus making sure of his death. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
v. 52. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, suddenly inspired with a mighty courage by the deed of David, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines until thou come to the valley, into the lowlands, and to the gates of Ekron, one of the chief Philistine cities. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, a city in the western lowlands of Judah, even unto Gath and unto Ekron.
v. 53. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents, taking all the booty in the form of food, clothing, and money out of their abandoned camp.
v. 54. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem, for the city itself was in the hands of the Israelites, only the fortress of Jebus on Mount Zion had not yet been conquered; but he put his armor in his tent, as his own part of the spoil.
v. 55. And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? He wanted to know about his parentage, where he hailed from And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
v. 56. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling Isaiah So far as this strange question is concerned, there are two explanations. Either Saul was seeking information about the family of David, in order to carry out his promise of freeing the family from taxation, or Saul's memory had been affected by his affliction, especially since he rarely saw David except at the times when the madness was upon him.
v. 57. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
v. 58. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite. With this information Saul could now carry out his promise of which the soldiers had spoken. David's battle with Goliath is a picture of the battle which is the lot of all Christians in overcoming the attacks of Satan and of the sneering unbelievers. Although the odds often seem decidedly unfavorable to the Christians, they always have the Lord of hosts on their side and therefore must finally obtain the victory. At the same time we are here reminded of the great Son of David, who also, in a most singular manner, conquered the prince of this world and has given us the victory.