David and Goliath

David fought Goliath in the Elah valley which is in the Judean foothills (called the Shephelah). The Elah valley runs east to west and its stream empties into the Mediterranean. To the east of this valley is the coastal mountain range, home to the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. West of this valley is the coastal plain, which was the home to the Philistines. Directly west of the valley the Elah stream flows past Gath, the hometown of Goliath. The Shephelah was farmed by Judah and by Dan (until Dan moved en masse to become the northernmost of the Israelite tribes).

Philistines and Israelites were regional rivals who clashed and fought for supremacy. Before King Saul, the Philistines were usually the victors. Under Saul it was fairly even. But under David, the Israelites became the regional dominant power. In the case of the David vs. Goliath battle, the army of the Philistines encamped on a southern ridge overlooking the Elah Valley, and the Israelites camped opposite on a northern ridge.

Every day the two opposing armies would line up at the bottom of their respective ridge to challenge and intimidate each other. The Philistines sent out their champion, Goliath, to challenge a champion from Israel who did not come forth. Goliath was about 9’9″ tall (2.97 meters), which considering the time period when the average man’s height was estimated to be about 5’5″ to 5’7″ (1.67 to 1.73 meters) is an intimidating difference.

Finally, the lowly shepherd boy, David, volunteers to fight Goliath. Even though David had played his harp in Saul’s court, Saul apparently had not payed any attention to the harp player due to his low social status (1 Samuel 17:55-58).

Why did David succeed against such a formidable foe? Because David faced Goliath with unflinching faith in the Lord! Further, David acknowledged that the Lord was in charge of the fight and not himself.

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47 (emphasis added).

With unflinching faith David triumphed against all the odds. Now King Saul took notice of David. Saul made David captain of the army (1 Samuel 18:5). Nevertheless, David still played the harp for Saul. But Saul became jealous of David’s popularity and their story becomes complicated.