BIBLE STUDY LESSON 18
THE GIANT!
THE GIANT’S CHALLENGE
From 1 Samuel 17:1-30
“When the Philistines prepared for a battle with the Israelites, they set up camp between Socoh in Judah and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. King Saul set up his army camp on a mountain beside the Valley of Elah. Thus the Valley of Elah lay between the two armies. One day the Philistines sent a giant named Goliath to challenge the Israelites. He was one of their greatest warriors, over nine feet tall, with a bronze helmet, a coat of mail that weighed two hundred pounds, bronze leggings and a huge bronze spear that had a twenty-five pound iron spearhead. Before him walked his armour bearer with a great shield. ‘Why send our armies to fight one another?’ Goliath shouted to the Israelites. ‘Let’s settle this man to man. Send a warrior to fight for your army. If he kills me, the Philistines will be your slaves. If I kill him, then you will be our slaves. I challenge you to send your best warrior to fight me!’ When the men of Israel heard that, they were all discouraged and frightened, including King Saul.
At this time, David was working part of the time for King Saul and part of the time for his father, going back and forth from the king to his home in Bethlehem where he took care of his father’s sheep. David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons. The three oldest brothers, Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, had already joined the army of Israel to fight the Philistines. One day Jesse, David’s father, prepared some food for his sons who were fighting with Saul and asked David to take it to them, ‘Give them this bushel of roasted grain and the ten loaves of bread,’ said Jesse. ‘Also, take these ten cheeses to your brothers’ commanding officer. And be sure to find out how your brothers are and bring back some word from them.’ Early in the morning, David left the family sheep with another shepherd and took the food to the army camp where his brothers were stationed. He arrived when the Israelites were leaving for the battlefield, shouting their battle cries. David left the food with the man in charge of the provisions and ran out to the battlefront to find his brothers. When he arrived, he found the two armies facing one another, ready for battle. David had just found his brothers and was talking with them when Goliath of Gath, the Philistine giant, came down into the Valley of Elah and shouted his challenge to the Israelites.
He had been doing this for forty days, both morning and evening, but this was the first time David had heard him. When they saw Goliath, the men of Israel began to run away. ‘Haven’t you seen this giant before?’ some of them asked David. ‘He defies the whole army of Israel. The king has promised that the man who kills Goliath will have great riches, will marry his daughter and that he and his family will no longer pay taxes.’ David asked some other men about this. ‘What will King Saul do for the man who kills Goliath and takes away the shame he brings to Israel?’ he asked. ‘And who does that Philistine think he is to insult the army of the living God?’ These men replied to him in the same way as the others. But when David’s oldest brother Eliab, overheard what he was asking, Eliab was angry at him. ‘Why did you come here?’ he demanded. ‘You should be home taking care of the family sheep! You’re just a rude child who came here to see a fight.’ ‘What have I done wrong?’ David asked. ‘I merely asked a question.’ David persisted in asking other men the same question and they gave him the same answer.”
COMMENTARY
PHILISTINE VERSUS ISRAELITE WAYS OF WARFARE
Goliath was a giant Philistine warrior who was more than nine feet tall! He marched to the front of the Philistine army and challenged Israel to send out a champion to meet him in single combat. Saul, the tallest and strongest man in Israel, was afraid. But the shepherd boy David, who had perfect trust in God could not imagine why the Lord’s people should fear. Philistines controlled the production of bronze and iron weapons. They were far better equipped to do battle than the Israelites. Even without this advantage the Philistines were better prepared, for they were skilled in warfare. The Philistines had entered Canaan with the Sea Peoples from the Aegean islands. They came with knowledge of battle strategy and discipline unknown to the Canaanites. To complement their iron weapons and horse-drawn war chariots, Philistine soldiers were trained to fight in well-organized units. The Israelites on the other hand, had no such training. Israelite soldiers were farmers, shepherds and other workers joined loosely in fighting bands. Under Saul the men finally had a leader to unify them, but they remained ill equipped and poorly trained. Accordingly, most battles were scenes of mass confusion. The two armies usually faced one another across an open plain or valley, and attacked on signal. Except for those in chariots, the soldiers fought in exhausting hand-to-hand combat until one side fled from the battlefield. In setting Goliath on the Israelites, the Philistines were following a common Aegean tradition of warfare. To avoid the great bloodshed of full-scale war, the Aegeans often matched two battle champions in a fight to the death. They believed the side with the stronger god would win. The outcome of the duel decided the outcome of the battle.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) What valley lay between the Israelite and the Philistine armies?
A) Kidron Valley
B) Valley of Meribah
C) Valley of Elah
D) Megiddo Valley
2.) How tall was Goliath?
A) Over nine feet
B) Over eight feet
C) Over six feet
D) Over seven feet
3.) What was David bringing to his brothers?
A) Weapons
B) Food
C) News
D) None of these
4.) How did the men of Israel react to the Goliath’s challenge?
A) They went home
B) They were encouraged
C) They cheered for king Saul
D) None of these
5.) How long did Goliath taunt Israel before David answered the challenge?
A) Forty days
B) Three months
C) Five days
D) All of these
6.) What group of invading people did the Philistines belong to?
A) Aegean alliance
B) Mesopotamian ridgebacks
C) Sea people
D) Turkish nomads
7.) What did the Aegean people believe determined the outcome of battle?
A) The weather
B) The relevant strength of one’s gods
C) The length of one’s hair
D) The time of day |
