And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
The verse describes part of the giant's armor, bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze plate or target between his shoulders. It belongs to the account of Goliath, the Philistine champion of great size and strength who challenged Israel to send out a fighter and repeatedly defied them. His imposing size, massive weapons, and formidable armor made him appear terrifying and overwhelming, and Israel's army trembled in fear before his proud challenge for forty days.
He was a proud, boasting giant whose defiance was expressed with contempt and ridicule, the worst kind of insult and the most difficult to endure patiently, and he trusted in his imposing armor. His armor could not protect him from the Lord's deliverance through David, whose trust was in God rather than in weapons or armor. To leave his defiance unanswered would dishonor God, so David responded to defend the honor of the living God and His people, and God's people must meet the challenge and answer him.
His formidable appearance covered weakness that became apparent when truth, like the small pebbles David used, brought about his defeat, so opponents who state falsehood as though it were truth and make misrepresenting assertions against the Sabbath are overcome by truth without sharpness and severity. He is the pattern for present opposition to God's work, a boastful bombast who deals in ridicule, assertions, falsehood, and misrepresentation while taking the appearance of a godly man, and his high, boasting spirit is repeated in men infuriated by the demon spirit who preach in the streets and gather a noisy rabble. The same defiant boasting is repeated when a preacher supports his position against the law of God by abuse, tramples God's character underfoot, heaps personal abuse and ridicule on God's workers, and boasts that he will make a clean sweep of the law and drive God's workers out of the country. The comparison with his armor shows how powerful and hard to overcome public opinion joined with intemperance and gluttony can be.
The verse describes part of the giant's armor, bronze greaves upon his legs and a bronze plate or target between his shoulders. It belongs to the account of Goliath, the Philistine champion of great size and strength who challenged Israel to send out a fighter and repeatedly defied them. His imposing size, massive weapons, and formidable armor made him appear terrifying and overwhelming, and Israel's army trembled in fear before his proud challenge for forty days.
He was a proud, boasting giant whose defiance was expressed with contempt and ridicule, the worst kind of insult and the most difficult to endure patiently, and he trusted in his imposing armor. His armor could not protect him from the Lord's deliverance through David, whose trust was in God rather than in weapons or armor. To leave his defiance unanswered would dishonor God, so David responded to defend the honor of the living God and His people, and God's people must meet the challenge and answer him.
His formidable appearance covered weakness that became apparent when truth, like the small pebbles David used, brought about his defeat, so opponents who state falsehood as though it were truth and make misrepresenting assertions against the Sabbath are overcome by truth without sharpness and severity. He is the pattern for present opposition to God's work, a boastful bombast who deals in ridicule, assertions, falsehood, and misrepresentation while taking the appearance of a godly man, and his high, boasting spirit is repeated in men infuriated by the demon spirit who preach in the streets and gather a noisy rabble. The same defiant boasting is repeated when a preacher supports his position against the law of God by abuse, tramples God's character underfoot, heaps personal abuse and ridicule on God's workers, and boasts that he will make a clean sweep of the law and drive God's workers out of the country. The comparison with his armor shows how powerful and hard to overcome public opinion joined with intemperance and gluttony can be.