1 Samuel 17:5
And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
The brass helmet upon his head and the coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels of brass were made of closely joined, overlapping brass plates like fish scales, so that darts and arrows could not pierce them, and this heavy armor helped make him appear formidable. The description belongs to the account of the Philistine champion Goliath, a man of immense size and strength whose imposing armor and equipment made him appear fearsome and formidable to Israel and to Saul's army. In that account he repeatedly defied Israel, the army was afraid, and the battle seemed impossible for Israel. David was moved to defend the honor of God and his people, and the battle was won and Israel delivered by God through David's trusting courage, not by superior armor or weapons and not through Saul. The victory in 1 Samuel 17:4-51 recalls the courage David showed in trusting God, in contrast to his later faltering in faith when pursued by Saul, when he relied on deception to escape danger.
Goliath stands among the armed and boastful opponents of Israel and portrays formidable opposition like the strength of public opinion, intemperance, and gluttony. As a proud, boasting giant defying Israel, he pictures a trained, intellectually proud debater boasting that he will wipe out Sabbathkeepers; to leave such defiance unanswered dishonors God, so God's servants must accept the challenge and agree to the terms of open contest. He also pictures ministers who provoke debate and then rely confidently on prepared arguments instead of humbly trusting God to give the truth victory. In his brass helmet and massive coat of mail he was proud and boastful in defying Israel, yet his imposing strength hid apparent weakness. Boastful opposition, like a modern debater against the Sabbath truth who states falsehood as truth, is defeated not by sharp and severe dealing but by truth itself, like the small pebbles David used, and when presented with dignity, even temper, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, simple truth brings defeat and leaves a right impression favoring the truth.
He is the pattern for boastful opposition to God's work in the present, with great bombast, ridicule, assertions, falsehood and misrepresentation. That opposition takes on the appearance of a godly man, backed by a demon-infuriated, noisy rabble acting with a high, boasting spirit. The account of Goliath as a proud boaster who defied Israel parallels a man who heaps personal abuse and ridicule on a Christian worker, and such contempt is difficult to endure patiently.