David asked the men who were standing with him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" David asked the men who were standing with himThis phrase introduces us to David, a young shepherd who would later become the king of Israel. The Hebrew root for "asked" (שָׁאַל, sha'al) implies a seeking of information or clarification. David's inquiry shows his curiosity and concern for the situation at hand. His willingness to engage with the men around him highlights his emerging leadership qualities and his proactive nature. In the historical context, David's question is significant because it marks the beginning of his public involvement in Israel's national affairs. What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine
Here, David is inquiring about the reward for defeating Goliath. The term "Philistine" refers to the ancient people who were often in conflict with Israel. The Philistines were known for their military prowess and were a significant threat to Israel during this period. David's question underscores the tangible incentives offered by King Saul to motivate someone to face Goliath, which included wealth, exemption from taxes, and marriage to the king's daughter. This reflects the desperate situation Israel found itself in, needing a champion to face the giant. and removes this disgrace from Israel
The word "disgrace" (חֶרְפָּה, cherpah) in Hebrew conveys a sense of shame or reproach. David perceives Goliath's challenge not just as a military threat but as a spiritual and national insult to Israel. This perspective reveals David's deep sense of identity and loyalty to his people and his God. Historically, the Israelites were God's chosen people, and any affront to them was seen as an affront to God Himself. David's concern for removing this disgrace indicates his understanding of the covenant relationship between God and Israel. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
The term "uncircumcised" is significant in the Hebrew context, as circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendants. By calling Goliath "uncircumcised," David is emphasizing that Goliath is outside of God's covenant and therefore lacks divine protection and favor. This distinction sets the stage for the spiritual battle that David perceives, beyond the physical confrontation. It highlights David's faith in God's promises and his confidence that God will deliver Israel from its enemies. that he should defy the armies of the living God
The word "defy" (חָרַף, charaph) suggests a taunting or mocking challenge. Goliath's defiance is not just against Israel but against "the armies of the living God." This phrase underscores the belief that Israel's battles are fought under the banner of Yahweh, the living God, who is active and present in the affairs of His people. David's use of "living God" contrasts with the lifeless idols of the surrounding nations, affirming his faith in a God who is real and powerful. This statement reflects David's theological understanding and his conviction that God's honor is at stake in this confrontation. Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidA young shepherd who later becomes the king of Israel. At this point, he is not yet recognized as a warrior but is filled with faith and zeal for God. 2. The Men of IsraelSoldiers in the Israelite army who are intimidated by Goliath, the Philistine giant. 3. The Philistine (Goliath)A giant warrior from Gath, representing the Philistine army, who defies the armies of Israel and challenges them to single combat. 4. The Israelite CampThe location where the Israelite army is encamped, facing the Philistine forces. 5. The Living GodA reference to Yahweh, the God of Israel, emphasizing His active and powerful presence among His people. Teaching Points Faith Over FearDavid's question reveals his faith in God over the fear that paralyzes the Israelite army. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's power rather than be intimidated by challenges. Righteous IndignationDavid's reaction to Goliath's defiance is rooted in a zeal for God's honor. Christians should cultivate a passion for God's name and righteousness. Identity in GodDavid identifies Goliath as "uncircumcised," highlighting the covenant relationship Israel has with God. Believers should remember their identity in Christ when facing spiritual battles. God's PerspectiveDavid sees the situation from God's perspective, not man's. Christians are called to view challenges through the lens of faith, trusting in God's sovereignty. Action in FaithDavid's inquiry about the reward is not just curiosity but a step towards action. Faith should lead to action, trusting God for the outcome. Bible Study Questions 1. How does David's perspective on Goliath differ from that of the Israelite soldiers, and what can we learn from this about facing our own "giants"? 2. In what ways can we cultivate a zeal for God's honor in our daily lives, similar to David's response to Goliath's defiance? 3. How does understanding our identity in Christ empower us to face challenges, as David was empowered by his identity as part of God's covenant people? 4. Reflect on a situation where you need to see from God's perspective rather than a human perspective. How can this change your approach? 5. What steps can you take to ensure that your faith leads to action, as David's did, rather than remaining passive in the face of challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Numbers 14:9This verse highlights the importance of faith in God over fear of adversaries, similar to David's confidence in God's power over Goliath. Romans 8:31This New Testament verse echoes the sentiment that if God is for us, no one can stand against us, reflecting David's faith in God's protection. Ephesians 6:10-18The armor of God passage, which parallels David's spiritual readiness and reliance on God rather than physical armor. People Abinadab, Abner, David, Elah, Eliab, Ephah, Goliath, Israelites, Jesse, Saul, ShammahPlaces Azekah, Bethlehem, Ekron, Ephes-dammim, Gath, Jerusalem, Shaaraim, Socoh, Valley of ElahTopics Armies, Aside, Circumcision, David, Defy, Disgrace, Killeth, Kills, Overcomes, Philistine, Ranks, Removes, Reproach, Reproached, Saying, Shame, Smites, Smiteth, Spake, Speaketh, Spoke, Standing, Stood, Takes, Taketh, Taunt, Taunted, UncircumcisedDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Samuel 17:26 1080 God, living
1205 God, titles of
5893 insults
6260 uncircumcised
7530 foreigners
8282 intolerance
8300 love, and the world 1 Samuel 17:17-26 5086 David, rise of 1 Samuel 17:20-51 5658 boys 1 Samuel 17:23-26 5836 disgrace 1 Samuel 17:25-26 5829 defiance 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 17:26 NIV1 Samuel 17:26 NLT1 Samuel 17:26 ESV1 Samuel 17:26 NASB1 Samuel 17:26 KJV
1 Samuel 17:26 Commentaries
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