You've never been told the real story of David and Goliath. All of the sermons you heard growing up about a little shepherd boy pulling off the improbable defeat of mighty Goliath were WAY overblown. The underdog wasn't the shepherd. On that day, if you were a spectator looking down into the valley of Elah, your money would be on David. The reason you've never heard the real story of David and Goliath has nothing to do with the actual event, and everything to do with our perception of power.*
The Philistines had set up their camp along the southern ridge of Elah. The Israelites were on the northern ridge. Between them was a vast ravine. Neither army moved. To attack meant descending down the hill, and then making the suicidal climb up the enemy's ridge. Finally, the Philistines had enough. They sent their greatest warrior to resolve the deadlock one on one.
Goliath was a giant, to say the least. Close to seven feet tall, and wearing a bronze helmet with full body army. He carried a javelin, a sword, and a spear just for good measure. His attendant preceded him, carrying the shield. The giant faced the Israelites, and shouted up to them, "Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!"
In the Israelite camp, nobody moved. Frozen by fear. Controlled by the power that radiated off this giant. For forty days this went on. Every morning Goliath came out and offered up his challenge, and every morning nobody from Israel took him up on the bet. Then a shepherd boy, about fifteen years old, who had come down from Bethlehem to bring food to his brothers volunteered for the battle. "Don't worry about this Philistine," David said with the typical confidence of a teenage boy, "I got this."
"Don't be ridiculous!", King Saul exclaims, "You're a boy who's never fought in your entire life. This guy has been fighting since before you were born!" But, the kid was adamant. He had faced more ferocious beasts than this while protecting his herd of sheep, he argued. Finally, the king relented. The shepherd boy raced down the hill to meet the giant in the valley. And so began one of the most famous battles in history.
However, Goliath had prepared for a warrior to battle him in hand-to-hand combat. To protect himself from body blows, he had worn an elaborate tunic of armor comprised of hundreds of miniature fishlike scales weighing close to one-hundred pounds. He had bronze shin guards and bronze plates protecting his legs and feet. He wore a heavy helmet and carried three separate weapons, all designed for close combat situations. The force of any one of these weapons, when wielded by the strength and from the height of Goliath, would have pierced any armor worn by an Israelite.
Then David shows up with a sling in one hand, a shepherd staff in the other, and a bag of stones over his shoulder. No armor. No defense. Pure offense. At that moment, both armies knew who the winner would be. The question is, why didn't Goliath? To understand this, you must understand ancient warfare.
Ancient armies had three kinds of warriors: Calvary (armed men on horseback or in chariots), infantry (foot soldiers wearing armor and carrying shields), and projectile warriors (archers and, most importantly, slingers). Each unit acted to balance the other, like the game rock, paper, scissors. The long pikes and armor of the infantry defeated the cavalry. The speed and armor of the calvary defeated the projectile warriors. And the accuracy of the projectile warriors was deadly against the sluggish infantry. The Old Testament book of Judges says that an experienced Israelite slinger could be accurate "within a hair's breadth" of their target. The Romans later developed a special set of tongs designed specifically for removing stones that had been embedded in a soldier's body by a slinger.
Goliath believes he will engage in a classic duel with another heavy-infantryman to decide the standoff. David, an expert slinger who has killed dozens of wild animals using this weapon, has no intention of honoring the ritual.
Eitan Hirsch, a ballistics expert with the Israeli Defense Forces, did a series of calculations showing that a typical-size stone hurled by an expert slinger at a distance of thirty-five meters would have hit Goliath's head with the stopping power of a modern handgun. Hirsch says that "David could have slung and hit Goliath in little more than one second- a time so brief that Goliath would not have been able to protect himself, and during which he would have been stationary for all practical purposes."
Goliath watches David approach with scorn. How dare the Israelites insult him sending a kid to do a man's job! It would have been better for them to simply surrender than to sacrifice this child! Furiously, David screams as he descends the hill, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's armies- the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!" (Remember, this is a fifteen-year-old kid saying this!)
Immediately, David reaches into his shoulder bag for a stone, places the stone into his trusty sling, and begins whirling it around over his head at six or seven revolutions per second. Terror overcomes Goliath as he realizes the truth of his situation. What could he do? He was carrying over a hundred pounds of armor, and weapons optimized for close combat. David was never even in reach of Goliath's weapons! The battle was effectively over before it started. David was a slinger, and slingers beat infantry, hands down.
Immediately, David reaches into his shoulder bag for a stone, places the stone into his trusty sling, and begins whirling it around over his head at six or seven revolutions per second. Terror overcomes Goliath as he realizes the truth of his situation. What could he do? He was carrying over a hundred pounds of armor, and weapons optimized for close combat. David was never even in reach of Goliath's weapons! The battle was effectively over before it started. David was a slinger, and slingers beat infantry, hands down.
But why has there been so much misunderstanding around this famous battle? Why have we been taught that this is a story about the impossible odds overcome by the underdog, rather than the truth? This is a story about identifying power, not overcoming weakness.
From the very beginning, David had the upper-hand. For forty straight days, Goliath had come out and telegraphed exactly his strategy. David, with no military field experience but a lot of common sense knew that the best way to defeat infantry was through a projectile. And, he happened to be a good shot.
Too often, our response to an overwhelming situation (or a "giant", if we want to keep this metaphor going) is to respond in the same way as King Saul and the Israelites. They saw how hopeless their armor, weapons, and skills were in comparison to Goliath. They knew there was no way a man could defeat him by fighting on Goliath's terms. But David saw Goliath for who he truly was: a sluggish and exposed infantryman. Instead of allowing the giant to expose his own weaknesses, David recognized the power within himself. When provided proper perspective, the battlefield always changes.
On what battlefield is the giant your facing? At work? In your home? In your relationships? Is there an addiction, or a sin, that you can't break no matter how many times you've tried? Is there a hopelessness to your marriage, even though you both desperately want to make it work? Is there an uncertainty to your future, and it scares you to death? Or maybe it's that you feel overwhelmed, and you have no idea how you are going to make it through. Who is the giant?
Now, and more importantly, how will you fight it? You see, David didn't need a new weapon, better armor or more time to train. David needed a reminder of who he was, and who Goliath was not. He needed perspective Look at David's response to Saul on why he wanted to pick this fight: "The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!"
David trusted in only one thing: that the same God who had been there for him before, would be there with him through the battle. You see, the story of David and Goliath is not a story of overcoming weakness, it's a story of identifying power; specifically, the power of God.
God didn't perform a miracle through David that day, he didn't alter his situation, or step in to fight the battle for him. David fought the battle with a renewed perspective: the same God who had been there before will be there again, no matter how big the giant may be.
So, the next time you face your own giant, remember who has the real power. Identify Him. Utilize Him. Know who you are because of Him. It might just change the whole battle.
Be Honest. Be Open.
This is the Christian Safe Zone.
*The majority of the research for this post is credited to Malcolm Gladwell's incredible book, David and Goliath. In it, Gladwell tells dozens of stories that all illustrate one key point: power is never what it seems. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend reading it. You can find it by CLICKING HERE.
From the very beginning, David had the upper-hand. For forty straight days, Goliath had come out and telegraphed exactly his strategy. David, with no military field experience but a lot of common sense knew that the best way to defeat infantry was through a projectile. And, he happened to be a good shot.
Too often, our response to an overwhelming situation (or a "giant", if we want to keep this metaphor going) is to respond in the same way as King Saul and the Israelites. They saw how hopeless their armor, weapons, and skills were in comparison to Goliath. They knew there was no way a man could defeat him by fighting on Goliath's terms. But David saw Goliath for who he truly was: a sluggish and exposed infantryman. Instead of allowing the giant to expose his own weaknesses, David recognized the power within himself. When provided proper perspective, the battlefield always changes.
On what battlefield is the giant your facing? At work? In your home? In your relationships? Is there an addiction, or a sin, that you can't break no matter how many times you've tried? Is there a hopelessness to your marriage, even though you both desperately want to make it work? Is there an uncertainty to your future, and it scares you to death? Or maybe it's that you feel overwhelmed, and you have no idea how you are going to make it through. Who is the giant?
Now, and more importantly, how will you fight it? You see, David didn't need a new weapon, better armor or more time to train. David needed a reminder of who he was, and who Goliath was not. He needed perspective Look at David's response to Saul on why he wanted to pick this fight: "The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!"
David trusted in only one thing: that the same God who had been there for him before, would be there with him through the battle. You see, the story of David and Goliath is not a story of overcoming weakness, it's a story of identifying power; specifically, the power of God.
God didn't perform a miracle through David that day, he didn't alter his situation, or step in to fight the battle for him. David fought the battle with a renewed perspective: the same God who had been there before will be there again, no matter how big the giant may be.
So, the next time you face your own giant, remember who has the real power. Identify Him. Utilize Him. Know who you are because of Him. It might just change the whole battle.
Be Honest. Be Open.
This is the Christian Safe Zone.
*The majority of the research for this post is credited to Malcolm Gladwell's incredible book, David and Goliath. In it, Gladwell tells dozens of stories that all illustrate one key point: power is never what it seems. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend reading it. You can find it by CLICKING HERE.
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