David & Goliath Creation to Kings | Episode 13
One of the most famous battles in all of history
took place right here in the valley of Elah,
between the Israelites and the Philistines.
The main characters and the subsequent analogies from their encounter
have seeped into folklore and transcended cultures around the world.
David versus Goliath,
the underdog versus the favourite,
little against large,
the untrained shepherd versus the professional warrior.
Only one outcome was expected to all those watching,
but the tables turned completely.
[music]
The Israelites had been under attack from the Philistines for some time.
They came from the coastal region,
but increasingly were moving further and further inland.
They came to this valley and pitched their tents on the hills on the south side.
The Bible says they pitched their tents between Socoh and Azekah.
Socoh is the hill to my right, and Azekah is the hill to my left.
In the middle is the valley,
and archaeologists believe it was on this hill
where the Israelites pitched their camp.
[music]
Based on excavations at the site,
the inscriptions that have been found, the lack of any pig bones,
and the location of this hill across from both Socoh and Azekah,
archaeologists believe with some surety
that this is where the Israelites fought from.
Encamped here for 40 days,
they listened to the Philistine challenging them to fight.
Goliath, who was the largest Philistine there was,
asked for one Israelite to come and fight him,
and no one, not even the king, would take him up on this offer.
[music]
There was a shepherd boy whose three older brothers were in the army,
and his father asked him to take some food to them.
As he neared the camp he heard the commotion,
and he asked his brothers why no one had taken Goliath on yet.
Eventually his words reached the king, who called for David,
and David pled his case to go and fight Goliath,
saying that he had fought off bears and lions as he kept his sheep.
Eventually the king agreed for him to go,
as long as he wore his armour, something David wasn't used to doing.
[music]
The armour was too big and clumsy, and so David returned it
and went to fight this giant warrior
armed only with a staff, a sling, and five smooth stones from this brook.
As he stood in front of Goliath,
Goliath was offended that they would send such an unarmed boy to fight him.
David, though, was standing there, confident in the power of God,
and that He would gain the victory.
In response to Goliath's insults he said,
'You come at me with a sword and spear,
but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and the God of the armies of Israel...'
[music]
Then, running towards Goliath at full speed,
he put a stone in his sling, swirled it around,
and sent it flying towards Goliath,
striking him in the forehead and knocking him down.
Then David ran over and chopped off his head.
The Philistines, seeing their champion defeated,
then turned and ran and the Israelites ran after them,
all the way to the city of Ekron.
That day, God used David to deliver His people
and illustrated the point that it's not in weapons of warfare that we should put our trust,
but in the power of God.
[music]
This story shows us that the issue in life is not how big we are,
how educated we are, or what material advantages we have,
but the issue is whether we put our faith and trust in God or not.
David trusted God explicitly and moved forward with boldness.
It was this combination of faith and boldness,
courage under fire that led to his remarkable success.
Today God is looking for men and women of faith
who trust in God and move forward with bold and energetic action.