The testimony of God in the world (1 Sam 17:31-58)

When as a teenager I started going to a Bible study group, I was amazed at the stories I heard from others there. At prayer time, many shared personal experiences of what God was doing in their lives, how they found a job or had opportunities to witness about God to family members and so on. Week after week, I listened to these stories, and they confronted me with the fact that nothing like that ever happened to me. It first alerted me to the possibility that I had no relationship with God and awakened the desire for it. Like the Israelites in David and Goliath’s story, I talked about God, but the reality of His presence was lacking. The testimony of these Christians around me, however, led to a searching and an eventual commitment to the same God they served.

God’s presence

David and Goliath’s encounter is one of the most well-known and loved stories of the Bible. Who doesn’t admire an underdog winning against all the odds? However, the incident in popular imagination is rather different from the Bible’s perspective. David does not win because he has some undervalued skills as opposed to the showy strength of a giant. True, he is skilful with a sling, has experience with physical danger in encountering lions and bears as a shepherd, and his agility against the clumsy Goliath in full body armour is an advantage, but these are not the determining factors. It is God’s presence and power that makes the real difference in this contest (1 Sam 17:37). By contrast, Saul and his army, as well as the Philistines rely on human power alone (1 Sam 17:33, 45). Saul wishes God’s presence with David (v.37), but this is mere talk, since his offer of traditional armour indicates that he thinks that human strength must be met with like human strength (1 Sam 17:38).

The testimony about God

Perhaps even more importantly, David’s point is that the Lord’s reputation is at stake, and therefore He will show up so ‘that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel’ (1 Sam 17:46). God’s people are to be a community that demonstrate His power and presence in their midst. The power of God over other gods is a theme that already surfaces in the earlier incident when the Philistines capture the ark (symbolic of Yahweh’s presence) and place it in the temple of Dagon, only to find the statue of their god repeatedly falling face down in front of the ark (1 Sam 5:1-4). In a manner reminiscent of this incident, Goliath falls on his face when David’s slingstone hits him (1 Sam 17:49).[1] Since David testified that he would go in God’s name (i.e. with His presence), the gesture is indicative of surrender and submission to the God David serves. In both the earlier incident of Dagon and here with Goliath, pagan idols and human power must bow down before the power and presence of the true God.

The life we are to live

The reasons for God’s choice of David emerge clearly from this episode. He trusts in God’s power and testifies of it through his leadership and actions. This behaviour creates a double focus. For Israel, it is a reminder that deliverance does not come by human strength but by God’s power (1 Sam 17:47), while it is simultaneously a testimony to those on the outside that there is indeed a God who is real and present in the world (1 Sam 17:46). As Christians, David’s story teaches us to recognise that living by faith is essential in our daily walk. So much in life can seem like insurmountable obstacles, but we are not alone. Whatever we fear or worry about, we can take to the Lord trusting that He is with us. How we live, however, has a greater purpose in that it can testify to the immense power of God whether it is demonstrated in overcoming personal challenges or achieving great things for Him. As in my case, when I encountered the reality of God in the lives of our Bible study members, we never know how God brings about conviction and a thirst for His presence in others.

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[1] J.P. Fokkelman, The Crossing Fates (I. Sam 13-31; II. Sam 1), Vol. II of Narrative Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel: A Full Interpretation Based on Stylistic and Structural Analyses (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1986], 186.

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