And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
A shepherd boy has offered to fight Goliath. Saul, the king of Israel, answers with plain military common sense: measure the boy, measure the giant, and the outcome is obvious. One question remains — did that sum leave something out?
Saul was not being cruel or foolish. Judged on his own terms, his verdict was accurate.
So Saul looked at David and compared him with Goliath. He judged rightly when he said, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." It was a comparison of flesh with flesh, and as such it was quite correct. Compare a boy with a giant, and there is little room for doubt about the outcome of the fight. But he should have compared Goliath's strength with the strength of the God of the armies of Israel. This was what David did.
Saul's words were true of David by himself. They left out the One David was leaning on.
"You are not able." True, but the Lord was; and David was leaning simply on the strength of His arm. His faith laid hold of the power of the One who had appeared to Joshua below the walls of Jericho. He stood there with a drawn sword in His hand, as "Captain of the host of the Lord." David felt that Israel had not ceased to be the Lord's host, though they had sunk so far from what they were in Joshua's day.
Saul's phrase "from his youth" was meant to end the argument. Goliath had trained for war all his life. But David had spent his life at something too.
David's family had forgotten him, and Saul thought him unfit for the task of fighting Goliath… Goliath was "a man of war from his youth." And David? He was a shepherd from his youth. Saul thought that was no match for Goliath… David learned how to feed the sheep, and also how to protect them from enemies. He had trusted the Lord when he went against the lion and the bear. He trusted the Lord with Goliath too. Protecting the sheep trained David to protect Israel later, when he became king.
Saul judged by what he could see. There was a history behind David that he knew nothing about.
Saul did not know the secret of God which David had learned… If Eliab had done such deeds, he would not have kept it quiet for a day. But David had learned in another school, a school where he had been taught to make much, not of David, but of the living God… Who knew that this boy had already done such things? … Be sure of this: if you really want to be strong, it must come from secret living before God.
Saul had no faith himself, and that shaped the advice he gave.
There was no real wish to hide anything, but men who have no faith themselves tend to discourage and hinder those who have. If David had listened to Saul, he would certainly never have gone down into the Valley of Elah (1 Sam. 17:33). It was better to have the help of a lowly soul like the unnamed armour-bearer, if he had the same faith. That help was worth more than the approval and support of a king who had no faith at all.
The same verdict still gets passed on believers today. The answer is not that we are stronger than we look.
There is nothing that can give such energy and staying power as knowing that we are acting for God, and that God is acting with us. This removes every obstacle. It lifts the soul above all human influence… "I can do all things," said the apostle, "through Christ who strengthens me." … The very weakest saint can do all things through Christ. But if a man's eye rests on this weak saint, it seems like presumption to talk of "doing all things."
- Right sum, wrong figures. Saul compared flesh with flesh and got the right answer. He left God out of the sum.
- Half the sum. "You are not able" was true of David alone. It said nothing about the Lord he leaned on.
- Two youths. Goliath was a man of war from his youth. David was a shepherd from his youth, and the sheepfold was his training ground.
- Hidden history. David never spoke of the lion and the bear. Real strength grows in secret living before God, not in public reputation.
- Faith survives discouragement. Those without faith tend to hinder those who have it. If David had listened to Saul, he would never have entered the valley.
And David said to Saul, Thy servant fed his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
Saul looked at David and saw a boy. David answered with a story from the hills that no army had watched. His job was keeping his father's sheep, and going after whatever came to take one.
David's answer points backwards. What he did alone in the pasture is why he could stand in the valley.
David could point to secret training in view of public opportunity.
God works this way with those He uses. The obscurity of the previous chapter was not wasted time; it was school.
In the previous chapter we find David in complete obscurity. His brothers thought nothing of him, and neither did his father. He was away from the family, keeping sheep, and no one thought him worth calling to the sacrifice. Yet he was the chosen of the Lord. And he had not been alone in the wilderness. He had been under God's teaching. He had been preparing for public service, in the secret school of Him who does not look on the outward appearance and who does not see as a man sees... God will always have to do in secret with that soul which He intends to serve Him in public.
Why did he do it? The value at stake was one lamb, and no crowd was watching.
Notice that David did not do this to show off his own strength. In fact there were likely no witnesses. It was his concern for the lamb that moved him, and God gave him strength on this account. Suppose someone has a shepherd's heart of love for the people of God, together with concern for the honour of God among His people. Then he may fully count on God to enable him to defeat the power of ungodly enemies.
That small errand is what fits him for the large one.
There was with him the shepherd's heart which had made him risk his life, not before the eyes of many, nor for a great result, but for a single lamb only. How could he now shrink when the issue was so vast, and the people of God were looking in vain for a deliverer?
David does not describe the lion and the bear as adventures he chose. They came into the middle of his work.
But what traits do we find in David? He is deeply conscious that God's strength is his, and he forgets himself in every difficulty that comes in the way of duty... Guarding sheep is his business, so he goes at once against the lion and the bear and kills them. He does these works of energy purely as duty, and so the difficulties are as nothing.
The story could read as a boast about strength. Notice how David ends it: he names the One who did the delivering.
David did not do this by human strength or skill. He does not claim the fame of the deed for himself either. He is careful to add: "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." This shows deep acquaintance with God and His power, and thorough confidence in Him. He gained both far away from the eyes of man, in the secret of the Lord's shelter.
Memory is what turns that past rescue into present courage — and forgetting is the ordinary failure.
This shows us the littleness of their faith. We are very much like that. We forget. If we were constantly full of faith we should remember, as David also remembered his victory over the lion and the bear, when he was called to meet Goliath.
Commentators read the scene as a picture of Christ. One takes the rescue from the beast's mouth as a type of Christ binding the strong man.
That is where he had struck down the lion and the bear, a type of Christ when He bound the strong man. Before he fought the Philistine, he had rescued his father's sheep from an enemy that tried to snatch them away and devour them. Christ did the same during His lifetime. Not one of the sheep His Father had given Him was lost... But He had much more to do than that, for He had to abolish the power of the enemy himself.
Another keeps the comparison, but says the picture falls far short.
David, the shepherd lad, kept his father's sheep in the wilderness of Bethlehem. He was faithful to his trust, and for the sake of a lamb he put his life in danger... Surely the Spirit of God gives this as a type of Him who is the good Shepherd. It proves David's extraordinary courage and devotion. Yet how faintly it pictures what the good Shepherd went through to save the sheep that was lost.
- Secret first. God deals with a soul in private before He uses it in public; David's obscurity was His training ground, not a delay.
- Secret motive. With likely no witnesses, David fought for a lamb — concern for the flock, not display of strength, moved him.
- Secret duty. Guarding sheep was his job. He moved from duty, not ambition, so the lion and the bear counted as nothing.
- Secret credit. David hands the victory to the Lord who delivered him from lion and bear. The same Lord, he says, will deliver him from this Philistine.
- Secret pattern. The lad who risked his life for one lamb is a faint picture of the good Shepherd. Christ saved the sheep, and He broke the enemy's power as well.
And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I seized him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
David's answer to Saul is not a boast; it is a report from the sheepfold. It raises two questions: why risk your life for one lamb, and what does a hidden fight prove about a public battle?
One writer retells the fight and points out what moved David into danger.
David chased the animal, attacked it, and took the lamb out of its mouth. Then he faced it head on, caught it by the beard, and killed it. It is important to notice that David did not do this to show off his own strength. In fact there were likely no witnesses. It was his concern for the lamb that moved him, and God gave him strength for that reason. Suppose someone has a shepherd's heart of love for the people of God, along with concern for the honour of God among His people. Then he can fully count on God to enable him to defeat the power of ungodly enemies.
To David this was not heroism. It was his job, and that is why the danger counted for nothing.
But what traits do we find in David? He had a deep sense that God's strength was with him. He forgot himself in all the difficulties that come in the way of duty. He keeps his father's sheep: a lion and a bear come to take a lamb from the flock. It is his business to guard sheep, so he goes at once against the lion and the bear, and kills them. He does these bold deeds simply because duty calls. So the difficulties are as nothing.
David was not repeating a favourite story. No one seems to have heard it before, and he had a reason for telling it now.
As another has remarked, David had not boasted of his triumph over the lion and the bear. No one seemed to have heard of it before. He probably would not have spoken of it at all. He told it only to show what solid ground of confidence he had for the great work he was about to begin. He wanted to make clear that he was not going out in his own strength.
Those hidden years in the fields were preparation.
David had learned in secret what God could be to him. Then came a call to public service, and to testimony to God's faithfulness and power. He was ready to take his place in confidence in God.
David treats the giant as one more beast. One writer names the logic behind that.
This was the argument of faith. The hand that had delivered him from one difficulty would deliver him from another. There is no "if" in any of it. David did not wait for a sign; he simply said, "Your servant will go."
Commentators see a picture of Christ in this rescue. One writer links the wilderness fight to the Lord's own work against the enemy.
That is where he had struck down the lion and the bear. This pictures Christ when He bound the strong man. Before he fought the Philistine, he had rescued his father's sheep from an enemy that tried to snatch them away and devour them. Christ did the same during His lifetime; not one of the sheep His Father had given Him was lost... He stood alone in the gap and said, "Let these men go." But He had much more to do than that. He had to abolish the power of the enemy himself.
Another writer warns that the picture falls far short of the reality.
Surely the Spirit of God gives this as a picture of Him who is the good Shepherd. It is great proof of David's courage and devotion. Yet how faintly it shows what the good Shepherd went through to save the sheep that was lost.
- Duty, not display — No crowd watched David fight. Concern for the lamb moved him, and God supplied the strength.
- Self forgotten — Guarding the flock was his business. So he never weighed the lion and the bear against his own life.
- Secret first — No one had heard the story until now. God trained him in private for the public work ahead.
- Deliverance repeats — The hand that rescued him from the beast will rescue him from the giant. So there is no "if" in his offer to go.
- A faint portrait — David snatched a lamb from the jaws of death. That pictures the Good Shepherd — faintly, next to what it cost Him.
Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
Saul judged this fight by what he could see. David judged it by the One Goliath had insulted, and every word of his answer counts — the dead animals, "uncircumcised", "defied".
David never measures Goliath by height. He names him by what he lacks, and names Israel by what it belongs to. The writers here follow older translations, which read "the lion and the bear".
David went into the fight sure of the end. "This uncircumcised Philistine" would go the same way as the lion and the bear, because he had "defied the armies of the living God." David does not call Goliath a giant, but an "uncircumcised Philistine" — someone with no link to God, and in fact an enemy of God and of His people. And he sees Israel in their true dignity as "the armies of the living God." God had set them apart to act for Him with power He Himself gave.
The army David defends was a terrified crowd that day. Faith values people by what God has given them, not by how they look.
This teaches us much. No change of circumstances can ever rob the people of God of their dignity in the eye of faith. In man's eyes they may look low, as Israel did that day. But faith always recognises what God has given. So David watched his poor brothers faint before their terrible enemy, and could still see them as the people the living God had identified Himself with. No uncircumcised Philistine ought to defy them.
"Shall be like one of them" is David's conclusion. The reason he gives is the title "the living God".
Let the giant be as strong as he looked. Let his armour be proof against human weapons. What was he in reality but one who defied the armies of the living God? So he must fall. The power of death could not overcome the living God. This is how David reasoned in faith, and he reasoned well. The uncircumcised Philistine would become like the slain lion and the dead bear. The reason was simple: he had defied the armies of the living God. For David, the living God was not a formula, an abstraction, a theological expression. He was a reality.
It also explains how David can set lion, bear and Philistine side by side as one and the same.
His heart rested on the faithfulness of the God of saints. This was the secret of his strength. He learned it alone, and he could act on it in any circumstance. And this is always the character of faith. Faith, when it acts, brings in God — makes God everything and circumstances nothing. Whether it is the lion and the bear or the uncircumcised Philistine, it is the same thing.
Until this moment nobody in the camp had heard of the lion or the bear. That silence shows where David learned his confidence.
Saul did not know the secret of God that David had learned. If Eliab had done such things, he would not have kept quiet about them for a day. But David had learned in another school. That school taught him to make much, not of David, but of the living God. So far as the Scriptures tell us, David had never boasted about his victory, or even mentioned it. But when the occasion calls for it, he can come forward and tell of the Lord's goodness to him... Be sure of this: if you want real strength, you must live in secret before God.
The order never changes.
Depend on it — if there is no slaying of the lion and the bear in secret, there will be no killing of Goliath in public.
David first fought wild animals to save his father's sheep. Some writers read that rescue as a picture of Christ.
David sets out on his mission. He had already carried out a hidden ministry in the wilderness, where he kept the sheep. That is where he struck down the lion and the bear — a type of Christ when He bound the strong man. Before he faced the Philistine, he had rescued his father's sheep. The enemy had tried to snatch them away and devour them. Christ did the same during His lifetime. He lost none of the sheep His Father had given Him.
- Secret — What David does in public he first learned alone. No Goliath falls in public without a lion and a bear killed in secret.
- Sight — Faith names things as God names them. The champion has no link to God; the frightened crowd is still His army.
- Sum — Past rescues are evidence, not feelings. The lion and the bear already settle what the giant must become.
- Solid — For David the living God was a reality, not a phrase; so lion, bear and giant all weighed the same.
- Shepherd — David first risked his life for his father's sheep. He points to the Shepherd who loses none of His own.
And David said, Jehovah who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and Jehovah be with thee.
David is on his way to fight a giant, and this verse is his answer to Saul. He does not point to his own record. He names the One who did the delivering, and Saul sends him off with words that sound like faith.
David's reasoning moves from what God has already done to what God will do, and it carries no conditions.
This was the argument of faith. The hand that had delivered from one difficulty would deliver from another. There is no "if" in all this. David did not wait for a sign; he simply said, "Your servant will go."
Faith and unbelief look back on the same past and read it in opposite ways.
How opposite is the arguing of unbelief to that of faith! Faith reasons like this: "You have been my help in the past, so under the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice." Every past mercy is a pledge for mercy to come. Unbelief sees every new danger as a bigger threat than all that came before. It forgets the mercy of God and remembers only the dangers it has come through.
David did not size up the enemy in front of him. In himself he was weak before every one of them, so the size made no difference.
There is real strength in following the simple path of obedience in whatever we have to do, whatever the trial may be. So it was with David when he had to fight. It made no difference to David whether it was the lion, the bear, or this giant of the Philistines. It was all the same to him, for in himself he was as weak before one as before the other. But he went on quietly doing his duty, taking it for granted that God would be with him. This is faith.
Nobody watched David fight the lion. That hidden fight is where his confidence grew.
David had learned in secret what God could be to him. Then came a question of public service, and of testimony to God's faithfulness and power. He was ready to take his place in confidence in God.
David could have used the story to prove he was capable. Instead he uses it to prove God is faithful.
David kept the secret of his triumph over the lion and the bear hidden in his own heart. He did not bring it out until the right moment. Even then he does not speak of himself as having achieved anything. He simply says, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Precious, self-renouncing faith! — faith that counts on God for everything and trusts the flesh in nothing.
The outcome does not rest on a comparison of fighters. It rests on what Goliath has said about God.
David therefore speaks with calm certainty (vv. 36–37). The Philistine would suffer the same fate as the lion and the bear. That was because he had defied the armies of the living God, not because David was more capable than he. The living God would certainly intervene here and deliver David. His confidence persuades Saul to let him go, though Saul also sees that the Lord must be with him if he is to triumph.
Commentators differ over Saul's parting words. One hears in them a real sense that David needs the Lord. Another points to what comes next — the armour.
Here mere religiousness and faith stand in sharp contrast. David made a clear and plain statement of faith in the presence and power of the Lord. Then Saul added, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" But how little he knew what it meant to have the Lord with him! He seemed to trust the Lord, but in reality he trusted his armour. Had he understood what he said, why think of putting on armour?
Some writers see David's rescue of the sheep as a picture of Christ's work.
David sets out on his mission. He had already carried out a secret ministry in the wilderness where he kept the sheep. That is where he had struck down the lion and the bear — a picture of Christ when He bound the strong man. Before he fought the Philistine, he had rescued his father's sheep when the enemy tried to snatch them away and devour them.
- Deliverance learned. David's public victory rests on private battles nobody saw. What God was to him alone with the sheep is what he brings to the battle.
- Deliverance remembered. Faith's argument runs from a past rescue to a present one. Every past mercy is a pledge of mercy to come, with no "if" attached.
- Deliverance measured. Lion, bear and giant are the same size to God; in himself David was equally weak before all three.
- Deliverance credited. He names the Deliverer, not the fighter — faith that counts on God for everything and trusts the flesh in nothing.
- Deliverance echoed. Saul says "the LORD be with you" and then reaches for armour. Words about God are not the same as trust in Him.