Week 24: 1 Samuel 13 – 25 and Proverbs 11 – 16

I recently came upon a TED talk given by Malcom Gladwell on “the untold story of David and Goliath.”  It caught my attention, so I watched it…and then watched it again.  It was a beautifully executed speech and ever so thought provoking.  I thought about it for days, and struggled to put my finger on the exact reaction I was having to what Mr. Gladwell had presented.  His perspective did not necessary defy my understanding of our beloved David and Goliath story, but it certainly redirected the focal point.

In his book, David and Goliath, Gladwell unpacks the art of battling giants and overwhelming odds.  He draws out the surprising opportunities that come out of being the “underdog.”  He also sheds light on the ways that the “giants” in our lives are often misinterpreted.  “The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”  David and Goliath, Malcom Gladwell.

Gladwell articulates this idea of the giant’s apparent strength actually being a source of weakness and vulnerability in both his book and in the TED talk that I came across on YouTube.  (Click here to watch his talk for yourself.)  He explains how Goliath’s cumbersome armor and weaponry made him an easy target for his nimble opponent, David, with his precise and lethal sling and stone.  He also concludes based on medical research that Goliath suffered from acromegaly, a rare hormonal disorder that occurs when the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone.  Another symptom of acromegaly is impaired vision.  All of these factors combined would have made Goliath much less of an actual threat than he has always been perceived to be.

Given these additional details, David had an undeniable upper hand as he made his way down the Valley of Elah to meet with Goliath.  He was a skilled slinger, able to wield his deadly weapon with accuracy and precision.  He had honed his technique while defending his sheep from predatory lions and bears for years (1 Samuel 17:34-35).  Goliath was a sitting duck.

According to Gladwell’s analysis, it was only David’s perspective of his adversary that needed to change.  Once David could see that Goliath was not actually that much of a threat to him, he had every reason to take on the giant with confidence and assurance in his ability to prey on Goliath’s weaknesses.  If that was the case, there was not much need for God left in the story, other than to arrange the providential meeting of the giant and the shepherd boy.  Yes, David did defend the name and the reputation of God, ascribing glory to Him.  But did David really need God to do anything once he knew he had the strategic advantage?

These thought-provoking ideas presented by Gladwell are problematic for all of us who were taught to see ourselves as the David-like hero of this story.  For many of us, this story has been used as an example of how to defeat our own personal giants.  For most of my Christian walk, I inserted myself into David’s sandals in my imagination, hoping that, if I too brought my sling and five stones of faith to battle my enemies, God would work miracles on my behalf.

With myself at the center of this story, Gladwell’s findings leave me feeling discouraged and incompetent.  If I am supposed to have faith and courage like David to go out and defeat my giants in order to defend God’s great honor, quite frankly, it’s not going very well for me.  If I am supposed to follow David’s example of finding improbable victory by recognizing the weaknesses of my opponent and playing my best cards right, my success rate is not high.  When it comes to the enemy of my soul, I am having trouble identifying his weak and vulnerable spots.  I am no match for our enemy.  He is out for the kill.  I do not have the confidence that any of my strategic skills of will power and self-assertion are enough to defeat his most personal and deadly blows.  If I am supposed to be the David of my own story, my experience is yet to go from underdog to victorious champion.

Thankfully, the story of David and Goliath was not written with me at the center.  I was not meant to see myself as the heroic David character.  David’s courage, faith, and love for God’s honor are indeed exemplary and meant to instruct my heart.  But David, as Israel’s messianic king, was meant to be a type and shadow of the true and better King to come.  Jesus!

Jesus is at the very center of this incredible story!  David’s victory over Goliath was a demonstration of how redemptive history for all mankind would play out through Christ.  David was anointed by God to prepare the hearts of God’s people for what the true King would be like and how his salvation would come.  While David exemplified Godly leadership fueled by passion for the LORD’s fame and was full of faith in God’s ability to save, he was not sinless.  This left him in as much need of a Savior as you and me.  God did, however, put on display the pattern through which His people could expect salvation to come.

David trusted His God over the threats of his enemy.  Jesus trusted His Father in the face of our darkest enemy, death.  David crushed the head of the one who blasphemed the name of God with a stone.  Jesus crushed the head of Satan as the stone rolled away from His tomb by the power of His resurrected life.  David descended into the Valley of Elah to deal with Goliath on behalf of the rest of Israel, while they stood far off, unable to save themselves.  Jesus descended to the earth to represent us and deal with our enemy with whom we stood no chance. David did not fight with the weapons Goliath used, knowing those would not give him the upper hand.  Jesus did not defend His Kingdom with sword and spear either, but rather the incorruptible power of sacrificial love.  David’s defeat of Goliath meant Israel would not be slaves to the Philistines, but instead would bring them under their authority.  Jesus’ victory freed us from slavery to sin and death and He has put them under his authority, as His footstool. 

“This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear.  For the battle is the LORD’s…”  1 Samuel 17:46-47

Because Jesus is the glorious hero of our story, His victory is ours to revel in.  We can have full confidence and peace knowing He has already won the battle.  He alone had the undeniable upper hand over our enemy when we were helpless to save ourselves.  The battle is the LORD’s and the victory is won.  Jesus, our Messiah, stands triumphant so that all the world may know that there is a God who saves!