1 Samuel 17:44
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Goliath threatened to kill David and leave his body to be eaten by birds and wild animals. His boast was part of his repeated defiance of Israel and its God, meant to terrify the army with insults, contempt and proud confidence in his own size, strength and armor. David answered not by trusting in weapons or superior skill and strength but in the Lord of hosts, showing that the battle belongs to God who can save without sword or spear. God's workers must therefore not take Goliath's part by daring, defying and trusting in prepared arguments, but like humble David must make God their strength, carrying controversy without losing temper under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Goliath's Boastful Defiance
The verse records Goliath's threat to kill David and give his flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field. It is his boastful word of what he would do to the youth who came against him, spoken in pride and in contempt for Israel and its God.
The threat belonged to his repeated defiance of Israel, in which he challenged the Israelites to send a man to fight him. He dared and provoked David with insults and savage boasting meant to terrify Israel and fill them with fear. That defiance continued until David was stirred to defend God's honor and his people.
His boast displayed pride and contempt, with confident expectation that his size, strength, and armor would ensure victory. He went forth confident and boastful in his own strength, magnifying himself instead of hiding behind God. His proud defiance stated falsehood as though it were truth with misrepresenting assertions.
David's Trust and Victory
When the giant threatened to kill him and leave his body to birds and wild beasts, David answered not with reliance on weapons or superior skill and strength but with trust in the Lord of hosts. That proud challenge displayed contempt for Israel and its God and confidence in his own power. His defeat proved that the battle belongs to God and that God can save without sword or spear.
David met him as a young and seemingly insignificant opponent who could not wear Saul's armor, so he dropped it and laid it aside. He took instead the sling and the stone with which he was familiar, and with them slew the Philistine who defied Israel. His small pebbles mean the truth, which brings the defeat of such a boaster and makes his weakness apparent.
That slaying of the Philistine champion later put David in peril when he sought refuge at Gath among the Philistines.
Counsel for God's Workers
Ministers of the truth must not play the part of Goliath, who dared and defied and provoked David with a boastful threat of what he would do to him, going forth confident and boastful in his own strength and magnifying himself instead of hiding behind God. To defy and provoke discussion and then trust in prepared arguments is to act his part, for defying belongs on the side of opposers of truth, while God's servants must like humble David trust in the God of Israel and make Him their strength, that truth may triumph. Self-confident boasting brings injury both to their own souls and to the souls of others.
Goliath's defiance and railing against God's people, threatening David with death, illustrate the spirit of those who oppose the truth, stating falsehood as though it were truth with misrepresenting assertions. His proud and boastful defiance of the armies of Israel is pictured in an opponent of the truth who debates the Sabbath question in the same proud, boastful spirit. Those sent to proclaim the truth must not answer with defiance or provoke debate, but present the truth humbly and with love for souls. David's small pebbles mean the truth, which brings the defeat of such a boaster and makes his weakness apparent.
Victory over such a boaster does not come by being sharp and severe in dealing with him. It comes by carrying the controversy through under the guidance of the Holy Spirit without once losing temper, with special prayer every night that the Lord will give victory to the truth, with brethren standing by, and with dignity, so that the Lord stands by His servant and the impression left causes many to favor the truth. The lesson is enforced by David's laying aside of Saul's armor, which he could not wear, and taking instead the sling and the stone with which he was familiar, and with them slaying the Philistine who defied Israel. God assigns each person his own part to act in harmonious diversity, with unity but not sameness of mold, so no worker can sink his individuality in another or succeed by patterning after another man's character, mind, or judgment, but each must work with his own God-given ability in the armor God has provided for him. No worker is to demerit or belittle God's workmanship for not bearing his likeness, for all characters are to be fashioned not after man's pattern but after the Lord's ideal under the molding of the Holy Spirit.