On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid. On hearing the words of the PhilistineThis phrase sets the stage for the psychological warfare that Goliath, the Philistine champion, waged against Israel. The Philistines were a formidable enemy, often at odds with Israel. The term "Philistine" in Hebrew is "P'lishtim," which is derived from a root meaning "to roll" or "to wallow," possibly indicating their migratory or invasive nature. Historically, the Philistines were known for their advanced weaponry and military prowess, which would have made Goliath's words particularly intimidating. This moment highlights the power of words and the fear they can instill, especially when backed by a reputation of strength. Saul and all the Israelites
Saul, the first king of Israel, was chosen for his physical stature and leadership potential. However, this verse reveals a critical flaw in his kingship: a lack of faith and courage. The Israelites, God's chosen people, were meant to rely on divine strength rather than human might. The collective fear of Saul and the Israelites underscores a spiritual crisis, as they forgot the numerous times God had delivered them from their enemies. This phrase invites reflection on the importance of leadership rooted in faith and the impact of a leader's fear on their followers. were dismayed and greatly afraid
The Hebrew words used here, "chathath" (dismayed) and "yare" (afraid), convey a deep, paralyzing fear. "Chathath" suggests a breaking down or shattering, while "yare" indicates a reverence or awe that has turned into terror. This reaction contrasts sharply with the courage that faith in God should inspire. Historically, Israel had faced numerous threats, yet their fear in this instance reveals a lapse in remembering God's past faithfulness. This phrase serves as a poignant reminder of the human tendency to focus on immediate threats rather than eternal promises, and it challenges believers to trust in God's power over any adversary. Persons / Places / Events 1. SaulThe first king of Israel, chosen by God but later rejected due to disobedience. At this point, Saul is leading Israel against the Philistines. 2. The IsraelitesThe people of God, chosen to be a holy nation. They are currently in a standoff with the Philistines, their long-time enemies. 3. The PhilistinesA powerful and persistent enemy of Israel, often in conflict with them throughout the Old Testament. 4. GoliathAlthough not mentioned directly in this verse, he is the Philistine champion whose challenge causes fear among the Israelites. 5. The Valley of ElahThe location where the Israelites and Philistines are encamped, setting the stage for the confrontation between David and Goliath. Teaching Points Fear vs. FaithThe Israelites' fear highlights a lack of faith in God's power and promises. Believers today are called to trust God in the face of daunting challenges. Leadership and InfluenceSaul's fear had a ripple effect on the entire nation. Leaders must rely on God to inspire confidence and courage in those they lead. Spiritual WarfareThe battle against the Philistines is a physical representation of the spiritual battles believers face. Ephesians 6:10-18 reminds us to put on the full armor of God. God's SovereigntyDespite the fear and dismay, God is in control and has a plan for deliverance, as seen later in the chapter with David's victory. The Power of WordsGoliath's words caused fear, showing the impact words can have. Believers are encouraged to speak life and truth, as seen in Proverbs 18:21. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the reaction of Saul and the Israelites reveal about their spiritual state at this time? 2. How can we apply the command to be strong and courageous from Deuteronomy 31:6 and Joshua 1:9 in our own lives when facing challenges? 3. In what ways can leaders today ensure they are leading with faith rather than fear? 4. How does understanding God's sovereignty help us face our own "Goliaths"? 5. Reflect on a time when words (either positive or negative) had a significant impact on you. How can you use your words to encourage others in their faith journey? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 31:6This verse encourages the Israelites to be strong and courageous, contrasting their fear in 1 Samuel 17:11. Joshua 1:9God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous, a reminder of the faith and trust in God that Saul and the Israelites lacked. Psalm 27:1David later writes about the Lord being his light and salvation, expressing the confidence that Saul and the Israelites needed. People Abinadab, Abner, David, Elah, Eliab, Ephah, Goliath, Israelites, Jesse, Saul, ShammahPlaces Azekah, Bethlehem, Ekron, Ephes-dammim, Gath, Jerusalem, Shaaraim, Socoh, Valley of ElahTopics Afraid, Broken, Dismayed, Fear, Full, Greatly, Heareth, Hearing, Israelites, Philistine, Philistine's, Saul, Terrified, TroubledDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Samuel 17:11 5916 pessimism
8722 doubt, nature of
8726 doubters
8754 fear 1 Samuel 17:4-11 5086 David, rise of 1 Samuel 17:8-11 8401 challenges 1 Samuel 17:10-11 8713 discouragement Library The victory of Unarmed Faith
'And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33. 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. 34. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; 35. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureApril the Thirtieth the Test of victory
"David behaveth himself wisely." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 55--xviii. 5. The hour of victory is a more severe moral test than the hour of defeat. Many a man can brave the perils of adversity who succumbs to the seductions of prosperity. He can stand the cold better than the heat! He is enriched by failure, but "spoilt by success." To test the real quality of a man, let us regard him just when he has slain Goliath! "David behaved himself wisely"! He was not "eaten up with pride." He developed no "side." …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year April the Twenty-Ninth the Mood of Triumph
"I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 38-54. The man who comes up to his foes with this assurance will fight and win. Reasonable confidence is one of the most important weapons in the warrior's armoury. Fear is always wasteful. The man who calmly expects to win has already begun to conquer. Our mood has so much to do with our might. And therefore does the Word of God counsel us to attend to our dispositions, lest, having carefully collected our material implements, …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year The Call of David.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone."--1 Samuel xvii. 50. These words, which are taken from the chapter which you heard read just now in the course of the Service[1], declare the victory which David, the man after God's own heart, gained over Goliath, who came out of the army of the Philistines to defy the Living God; and they declare the manner of his gaining it. He gained it with a sling and with a stone; that is, by means, which to man might seem weak and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII How David Prevailed.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine!"--1 SAMUEL xvii. 50. Yes, he did, but he would not have done so if he had remained as quiet as the other Israelites. David was one of those who could not be easy so long as the enemies of his country were in the ascendant. To see a Philistine strutting about, defying the armies of the living God, was more than he could bear. Is not this the spirit which should animate Christians to-day? It is not one GOLIATH merely, there are many. DRUNKENNESS, PROFANITY, …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread Knox -- the First Temptation of Christ
John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, was born at Giffordgate, four miles from Haddington, Scotland, in 1505. He first made his appearance as a preacher in Edinburgh, where he thundered against popery, but was imprisoned and sent to the galleys in 1546. In 1547 Edward VI secured his release and made him a royal chaplain, when he acquired the friendship of Cranmer and other reformers. On the accession of Mary (1553) he took refuge on the Continent. In 1556 he accepted the charge of a church in Geneva, …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I Hwochow Women's Bible Training School
COURSE OF STUDY FIRST TERM Book of Genesis. Gospel according to St. Luke or St. Mark. Acts of the Apostles, chapters i. to ix. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible." Reading Lessons, with necessary Explanation and Writing of Chinese Character. Arithmetic. Singing and Memorisation of Hymns. SECOND TERM Book of Exodus, Numbers, and 1 Samuel i. to xvi. The Gospel according to St. John. The Epistle of St James. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible"--(continued). Reading …
A. Mildred Cable—The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh The Shepherd-King
'And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt them mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel! fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided Me a king among his sons. 2. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Temporal Advantages.
"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."--1 Tim. vi. 7, 8. Every age has its own special sins and temptations. Impatience with their lot, murmuring, grudging, unthankfulness, discontent, are sins common to men at all times, but I suppose one of those sins which belongs to our age more than to another, is desire of a greater portion of worldly goods than God has given us,--ambition and covetousness …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 1 Samuel 17:11 NIV1 Samuel 17:11 NLT1 Samuel 17:11 ESV1 Samuel 17:11 NASB1 Samuel 17:11 KJV
1 Samuel 17:11 Commentaries
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