David Offers To Take Up Goliath's Challenge And Is Accepted By Saul As The Champion of Israel (1 Samuel 17:31-39).
Once again we should note that central to this passage also is the fact that the Philistine was defying the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17:36). As we have seen it is the theme of the whole chapter. And it was something that David in his great faith in YHWH felt that he could not allow. He was alive with concern for the honour of YHWH, and the honour of YHWH's Name. And so because of such defiance the Philistine must be defeated. He must not be allowed to trample on the people of God. That was why David had no doubt of what would be the consequence of his accepting the challenge. It was because of his confidence that YHWH would be with him so as to defend His Name. There was nothing egotistical about it. It was rather that experience had demonstrated to him that in such challenges YHWH never failed.
Having been offered Saul's own armour David finally rejects it and goes out in the clothing that he has always worn when acting under YHWH's power and inspiration. The writer wants us to see that David is not Saul's man, but YHWH's man. What he accomplishes he does because the Spirit of YHWH is on him. He seeks no glory from man, only glory for YHWH. For he is YHWH's replacement for Saul, YHWH's chosen king.
Analysis.
a And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:31-32)
b And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33).
c And David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father's sheep, and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth, and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him (1 Samuel 17:34-35).
d “Your servant smote both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36).
c And David said, “YHWH Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37 a).
b And Saul said to David, “Go, and YHWH will be with you”. And Saul clad David with his own clothing, and he put a helmet of bronze on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword on his clothing, and he tried vainly to go, for he had not tested it (1 Samuel 17:37-38).
a And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them.” And David put them off him (1 Samuel 17:39).
Note that in ‘a' David offers to go and fight the Philistine as Saul's servant, but in the parallel it is made clear that he does so not as Saul's servant but as YHWH's. He will act under YHWH's protection, not Saul's. In ‘b' Saul declares that David is not ‘a man of war', and in the parallel he vainly tries to make him one. In ‘c' David describes his experiences with ‘the lion and the bear', and in the parallel stresses that the same YHWH Who delivered him from ‘the lion and the bear' will deliver him from this Philistine. Centrally in ‘d' he guarantees that the Philistine will be dealt with in the same way as the lion and the bear because he has defied the armies of the living God. In other words, because he has challenged God Himself.
‘ And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him.'
David's words began to spread among the men. Possibly they provided some amusement in the midst of their fears. Possibly some were even offended. And his words the result was that they eventually reached Saul. When he heard that, ‘There is a young man who seems ready to take on the Philistine', his ears pricked up. And in consequence Saul, who did not, of course, know the circumstances, immediately sent for this bold man. He must be a mighty warrior indeed. Perhaps here was the answer to his prayers.
He must thus have been very disappointed when the man who appeared before him was merely a teenager and one of his part time servants, and only a musician at that. And his dismay probably showed on his face.
‘ And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” '
Then David said to Saul, ‘Don't worry. I will go and fight the Philistine.' We must recognise what was behind this. It was not that David was arrogant. It was because he had such total confidence in YHWH that to him the situation was no-contest. For how could a barbarous Philistine ever expect to oppose YHWH? And we, of course, know the secret of why he thought like this. It was because the Spirit of YHWH was upon him.
‘ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” '
Saul was simply incredulous. How could this teenager, brave and well built as he might be, hope to cope with the Philistine champion? It was impossible. Why he was only a youth with a shepherd's staff, while Goliath had been a warrior from his youth. The whole situation was ludicrous.
‘ And David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father's sheep, and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth, and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Your servant smote both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing that he has defied the armies of the living God.” '
David's reply was trusting but simple. When he had been keeping his father's sheep there had often come a lion or a bear which had taken one of the lambs from the flock. And without any thought for his own safety (as a teenager he had no doubt thought himself invulnerable) he had gone after them, killed them, and rescued the lamb from their mouths. And if they had turned to rend him he had taken them by the beard and had smitten them and slain them. It had seemed the natural thing to do, for he believed with all his heart that YHWH was with him. So he had not given the matter a second thought (although no doubt his family had. But what could you do with someone like David?).
Then David applies the lesson. He had defeated the lion and the bear. So what to him was this uncircumcised, barbarous Philistine who had dared to defy the armies of the living God, in other words, had defied YHWH Himself? Could anyone be in any doubt what YHWH would do to him as well? To David it was incomprehensible that anyone could see it in any other way.
There were many lions and bears in Palestine in those days, roving on the mountains and in the forests, and especially found, in the case of lions, in the thickets of the Jordan rift valley. And when they were hungry and left their lairs in order to prowl for food they would be a terror to most of the inhabitants. And shepherds were always on the lookout for them.
There is for us here, in the thought of the lion and the bear, one of the most important lessons of our spiritual lives, and it is that if God is one day expecting us to face up to a Goliath in the future, He will make sure that we are prepared beforehand. That is why when we face trials we should recognise that they may well simply be preparations for the future. For He will never call on us to face tests to which we do not have an answer and for which He has not prepared us (1 Corinthians 10:13).
‘ And David said, “YHWH who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and YHWH will be with you.” '
Then David made his declaration of faith, and revealed his ultimate justification. YHWH Who had delivered him from ‘the hand' of the lion and ‘the hand' of the bear would deliver him from the hand of ‘this Philistine' (his contempt for his opponent is made clear). Here was the reason for his courage. He had absolute faith in YHWH.
Saul was clearly impressed, certainly impressed enough, in the midst of his desperation, to consider it a possibility. And as he looked at this young man with his vibrant faith it almost seemed possible to him that this young man could achieve the impossible. For all knew that YHWH often did the impossible. Perhaps He would do it here. So he gave his permission. ‘Go,' he said, ‘and YHWH will be with you.' It was a pious hope and a policy of desperation, but What else was there? His hope, and the hope of all Israel, could only be that YHWH would somehow be with David and give him victory. That was what he was pinning his hopes on. The difference between Saul and David was that David did not just see it as a ‘hope'. He was confident that He would.
‘ And Saul clad David with his own clothing, and he put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword on his clothing, and he made an effort to go, for he had not proved it. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them.” And David put them off him.'
If David was to venture his life in this way the very least that Saul felt that he could do was to ensure that he had the best possible equipment. So he provided David with the ultimate in privilege. He clad him in the king's clothing and armour. To give one's own clothes to someone was to pay them the highest honour. It demonstrated they were under the giver's protection and seen almost as his other self (compare 1 Samuel 18:4). And indeed that was what David would now be, the king's champion. ‘His own clothing' probably referred to a special military dress designed to be worn with armour with the sword scabbard fastened to it.
David complied, for he had never worn armour before, although he had possibly tried on his brothers' armour which would have been far less substantial. He was probably quite excited at the thought. ‘The king's own armour!' But once he had put the armour on he knew immediately that it just would not do. For when he tried to walk around in it he found it impossible. He realised that it would simply be a hindrance to him. It was far too much of an encumbrance for him for it to be suitable. He was just not used to it. He had not ‘proved it'. So he said to Saul, ‘I can't go in these, I'm not used to them.'
The significance behind this incident must be carefully noted. The writer wants us to recognise the fact that Saul was trying to make David act as his representative, fighting in his way, but that what was important for David was that he fought in YHWH's way, allowing the Spirit of YHWH to act through him. If he went forward merely as Saul's representative he would fail.
We should note that this does not teach us that we do not need to make the best preparation that we can when we serve God. But what it does teach us is that we must not seek to rise above what God has prepared us for. David did not disdain Saul's armour because he was careless about his own safety, or because he was foolish, but simply because it was not what he was used to dealing with. He did not want to handicap himself by pretending to be what he was not. He wanted to be dressed in the way that he had been when YHWH had delivered him in the past.