Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 17
Saul understood well how to encourage soldiers to be brave. That was probably his greatest skill. However, on this occasion, his efforts were not successful. None of Israel’s men dared to fight Goliath.
Saul had made such impressive promises that all the soldiers were discussing them. The man who killed Goliath would become a member of the king’s own family by marriage to the king’s daughter. The king would make that man rich, and the man’s entire family would receive great honour.
Of course, there was a simple reason why nobody would fight Goliath. Goliath was much stronger than anyone in Israel. It seemed certain that Goliath would kill his enemy. That was why Saul could not find anyone to fight him.
David was completely loyal to Saul as his king. He had seen Saul’s problem, and he wanted to help. The plan that David himself should fight Goliath does not appear until later in the passage. First, David encouraged Israel’s soldiers to have hope. He spoke to many of them. He reminded them about Saul’s promises to the man who fought Goliath.
Then David added a statement of his own. David called Israel’s army: ‘the armies of the living God’. Israel was the only nation that served the real God. All the other nations, including Philistia, had false gods (17:43). The defeat of Goliath would be evidence to everyone that the real God, Israel’s God, was alive and active (17:45-46). Israel’s soldiers did not have to defeat Goliath by their own strength. They could not do that. Instead, they must trust God. Goliath had offended God by his evil words against God’s people (17:36; 17:45). When Israel’s people trusted God, God would defeat not just Goliath, but all their enemies.
Next part: David’s brother is angry with him (1 Samuel 17:28-30)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.