1Sa 17:9 | KingComments | STEP | Goliath comes forward and speaks his challenging words. His defiance is that he calls the Israelites “servants of Saul”. With his blasting language he challenges Israel to fight with him. It means the destruction of the giant, for he defies, but he has no knowledge of God. If God in Israel has a people on earth, the giant will have to deal with Him, even though there is so little of God to be seen as far as Israel is concerned. When the Philistine sees Israel, he may think that it has no God, but unbelief never looks beyond what it perceives with the eye. In the same way, the stories from the past that clearly prove the existence of God are rejected by unbelief as fabrications. On the other hand, it is shocking to see that the awareness of the people that they are the people of God is not present in the people themselves either. The defiant words of Goliath, as it were his profession of faith, bring fear to Saul and the whole people. The whole scene shows the powerlessness of God’s people and the absolute need for a deliverer. He is found in David, the man whom no one thinks of. We are not reading about Jonathan. He is a hero of faith, but not of the quality of David, he does not reach to his level. David is a picture of the Lord Jesus, Jonathan of a believer. The fact that Goliath’s language is nothing but snobbery, is also apparent when he is defeated. When he is killed, the Philistines do not keep their word and do not submit to Israel as servants.

‏ 1 Samuel 17:9

Goliath Defies Israel

Goliath comes forward and speaks his challenging words. His defiance is that he calls the Israelites “servants of Saul”. With his blasting language he challenges Israel to fight with him. It means the destruction of the giant, for he defies, but he has no knowledge of God. If God in Israel has a people on earth, the giant will have to deal with Him, even though there is so little of God to be seen as far as Israel is concerned. When the Philistine sees Israel, he may think that it has no God, but unbelief never looks beyond what it perceives with the eye. In the same way, the stories from the past that clearly prove the existence of God are rejected by unbelief as fabrications.

On the other hand, it is shocking to see that the awareness of the people that they are the people of God is not present in the people themselves either. The defiant words of Goliath, as it were his profession of faith, bring fear to Saul and the whole people. The whole scene shows the powerlessness of God’s people and the absolute need for a deliverer. He is found in David, the man whom no one thinks of. We are not reading about Jonathan. He is a hero of faith, but not of the quality of David, he does not reach to his level. David is a picture of the Lord Jesus, Jonathan of a believer.

The fact that Goliath’s language is nothing but snobbery, is also apparent when he is defeated. When he is killed, the Philistines do not keep their word and do not submit to Israel as servants.