(Part 1)
“Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. 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! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.”-1 Samuel 17:8-11
Scripture tells us that when King Saul and the Israelite armies heard the rantings of Goliath, they were terrified and deeply shaken. What had Israel so distraught?
It is clear from history that Israel was not unfamiliar with battle. From the moment they set foot in the promised land they had to fight simply to exist. Obviously, battle didn’t shake them.
Perhaps it was the presence of a giant that had them running scared. According to 1 Samuel 17:4-7, Goliath was a pretty imposing figure:
“Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.”
Although the sight of a warrior over 9 feet tall would be intimating to witness, I don’t think that this was the very first time they had seen a giant. Although we cannot be certain how many giants there were in the land, it is apparent from scripture that they were not uncommon. We read all the way back from the book of Genesis 6:4 that “There were giants on the earth in those days.” There appears to have been a lineage of them. Later David and his men would face off with four more giants. In 2 Samuel 21:20 they are referred to as the descendants of the giants; meaning there was a family line of them. So, I don’t think they were shocked by the sight of Goliath. In fact, I would say that they had probably even battled them before.
So, what is it that caused Israel to fear? What caused the king and his mightiest warriors to be terrified and deeply troubled? The truth of it is found in what Goliath declared: “Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight? he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me!”
It became painfully obvious that as an army Israel was ready to battle giants, but individually no man had the confidence to face a giant by himself. Not a single man standing there, including God’s anointed King, had the confidence to step out and go toe to toe with Goliath. As an army they had all the confidence in the world because they were depending on their collective strength. As individuals, however, they would have had to depend solely on God.
Pastor Scott Burr
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