The Torah Network

2 yrs

SERIES I --- THE NATION UNITES --- LESSON 19

GOLIATH’S DEATH

WITH A SLING AND A SMALL STONE

From 1 Samuel 17:31-58

Before long, some of the Israelites told King Saul that a young man named David was inquiring about Goliath and perhaps was interested in fighting the giant. The king sent for David. ‘Our people shouldn’t worry about this Philistine,’ said David. ‘I will go and fight him!’ ‘You’re too young!’ Saul argued. ‘He has been a warrior all his life.’ ‘But let me tell you what I have done,’ David answered. ‘Lions and bears have attacked while I watched my father’s sheep and tried to take our lambs. I went after then and took the Iamb from the wild animal’s mouth. If it tried to turn on me, I caught it and killed it. I have killed both lions and bears this way, the same way I will kill this Philistine who defies the army of the living YHVH. Adonai who saved me from the paws of lions and bears will save me from the hand of the Philistine.’ ‘Go!’ Saul ordered. ‘May Adonai be with you.’ King Saul gave David his own armour, with a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put on his sword over this armour and stepped forward. But he could hardly walk, for he wasn’t used to such things. ‘I can’t fight with these things,’ said David. ‘I have never worn them before.’ David took off the armour. Then he picked up his shepherd’s staff and with his sling headed toward the Valley of Elah where Goliath waited. When he reached the little brook running through the valley, he picked tip five smooth stones and put them in his shepherd’s bag. As David approached, the giant Philistine came toward him, with his armour bearer walking before him. But when he saw that David was a handsome, ruddy young man, he sneered at him. ‘Am I a dog that you come to fight me with sticks?’ Goliath bellowed when he saw David’s shepherd staff. Then Goliath cursed David by his Philistine gods. ‘Come here and I’ll feed you to the birds and wild animals,’ the giant shouted. But David shouted back to Goliath. ‘You come out here with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I come in the Name of Adonai, the YHVH of the armies of Israel whom you insulted,’ He called. ‘Today Adonai will let me conquer you. I will strike you down and cut off your head and give the dead bodies of the Philistines to the birds and wild animals. Then all people will know that there is a YHVH who rules over Israel. The men of Israel will learn that they do not depend on swords and spears, for Adonai doesn’t need these things to fight His battles. He will conquer you and give you to us!’ As Goliath came closer to attack, David stepped forward, reached into his shepherd’s bag for a stone and hurled it with his sling, straight for the giant’s forehead. As the stone struck, Goliath sank to the ground. Since David had no sword of his own, he ran to Goliath, drew his sword from its sheath and killed the giant with it, then cut off his head. When the Philistines realized that their champion warrior had been killed, they began to run away. The Israelites gave a shout and started after the Philistines, killing and wounding them all the way to Gath and Ekron, leaving their bodies along the road from Shaarim. Then the Israelites returned and collected the spoils from the Philistine camp. David kept Goliath’s armour in his tent. Later, he would take the giant’s head with him to Jerusalem. When Saul had watched David go to the valley to fight Goliath, he asked the general of his forces, whose name was Abner, about David’s family. ‘Tell me about his father,’ Saul had inquired. ‘I don’t know a thing about him,’ Abner answered. ‘Then find out who he is!’ Saul ordered. After David killed Goliath, Abner brought him to see King Saul. David was still holding Goliath’s head when he went before the king. ‘Who is your father?’ Saul asked. ‘Jesse,’ said David. ‘He is a shepherd in Bethlehem.’”

COMMENTARY

THE WEAPONS OF DAVID AND GOLIATH

Adonai had protected David when he battled wild animals to save his sheep. Now David believed Adonai would surely deliver him if he fought this Philistine. With no armour except his faith in YHVH and no weapon except a sling and stone, David met and killed the giant enemy. Operating a sling like David’s required both a strong arm and an expert aim. A slinger first tied one end of the leather sling around his wrist. With the other hand he held a stone in the side strip of leather or cloth which formed the middle section of the sling. Then gathering up the loose end, he whirled the sling in the air above his head. When he reached the proper momentum, he released the loose end and sent the stone hurtling at the mark. With practice, a slinger could become a deadly shot. While David’s lack of arms was typical of the ill-equipped Israelites, Goliath’s impressive arms were typical of Philistine warriors. Bronze armour protected his whole body. Over his head he wore a bronze helmet with leather-lined flaps covering his cheeks and ears. From neck to waist a close-fitting coat of mail guarded him from spears and arrows. The mail was made by fastening rows of overlapping bronze scales to an inner coat of leather. It weighed almost one hundred and thirty pounds. Bronze shin guards from ankle to knee completed Goliath’s armour. Like all Philistine soldiers, Goliath also carried a sword and a javelin or spear. The shaft of the spear was bronze, but the spear head was a separate piece made of iron. Using their superior skill, Philistine metalworkers had fastened the iron blade to the bronze shaft. Barbs jutting from the point were designed to tear a wound as the spear was pulled out. A leather cord around the middle of the shaft made the weapon even more powerful. With this {handle} a spearman could make the spear revolve in flight, covering great distances with accuracy.

Comment

Discover Posts

A Physical Storm, Spiritual Storm, and They Slept | Gleaning The Scriptures

How To Handle Your Character While Evangelizing Many Groups