Good morning. As we read God’s Word we find many incredible stories, historical happenings, of a person, of a people, or of a group. One of those great moments of history recorded for us is when David, a young shepherd, probably in his early teens, meets the giant called Goliath. I am not going to spend much time retelling that event, you can read all about it in 1 Samuel 17. But it is a Thursday, and I typically use Thursday’s thought for the day to talk about people of the Bible. We spend a lot of time considering David, the courageous youth who was chosen by God to be the king of Israel. But if you are like me, you also would like to know a little more about the other guy, Goliath.
This is often treated as one of those Bible tales that proves the Bible isn’t accurate in its history. After all, we don’t believe in giants…do we? Actually, we should.
For instance, is it possible for a human being to reach the height of nine feet, which is what the ancient Masoretic text tells us was the height of Goliath? Ridiculous! Never happen! Biblical myth! You may have heard such reactions to the idea of Goliath being 9 ft. tall. Consider this: Robert Wadlow from Alton Illinois, who died in 1940, measured 8’11” and weighed in at 439 pounds. By the way, at 439 pounds he looked quite thin.
The Biblical record places Goliath within the people group of the Repha’im. These people were thought to be descendants of Anak. The huge, fierce warriors that dissuaded 10 of the 12 spies that first entered Canaan, God’s promised land, were of this ancestry. Goliath is not at all unique as a character of great size. Those of the Repha’im, the children of Anak, the Emim, the Naqim…these are all thought to be people who descended from the same family tree. What they may have had in common is what is now known as the genetic anomaly, “ hypertrophy of the pituitary gland,” which leads to gigantism.
Biblical text is far from unique in describing these people. Several ancient histories refer to such people from that region, known for their incredible size. They were, quite naturally, craved as warriors and the Repha’im were well known as ancient mercenaries. Yes, there are several archeological finds that include human remains that are of such great stature. The place where most of these extra-large people came from was to the West of Israel, that area that became known as Philistia.
To consider Goliath in particular we need to go to the Biblical text. Was Goliath his actual name? Not necessarily. Goliath is the Hebrew word for a mercenary, a soldier for hire. Literally, it means “a man in between, or a man without allegiance.” Although we read in most translations “his name was Goliath,” what was written was “he was called Goliath.” So Goliath was almost certainly a person without personal loyalties, a man “without allegiance,” willing to serve the highest bidder. However, when we read about Goliath he is fighting with the Philistines. If he identified with anyone, it would have been with them, and he is described in 1 Samuel 17 as “the Philistine.”
What about King Saul? At the time of David and Goliath, Saul was king of Israel, and we should remember that the reason he was chosen was to please the people, not God. The reason that he was pleasing to the people is that “Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else. 1 Samuel 9:2 Isn’t it interesting that King Saul was noteworthy for his exceptional height and size, but when faced with Goliath he stayed in his tent!
We read in 1 Samuel 17, the account of David and Goliath, that Saul was a big guy who was short on courage. David was a young guy who had plenty of courage because he had huge faith. His point of view was that if God is for us the size of the enemy doesn’t matter. Goliath was huge in stature, huge in ego, huge in the violence of his nature, and terribly short on spiritual insight. Goliath was a bully, terrifying to men but ridiculously puny in the eyes of God, and of David, whose trust was in the Almighty.
Goliath would come forward every morning at the front of the Philistine army and shout for a challenger. None would step up. When David steps forward and comes to meet him with only a sling and five stones, Goliath calls him a child and shouts “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 1 Samuel 17:43
We all know how this ends: Goliath is killed by one, not five, stones from the sling. The giant falls. When someone, no matter how powerful they think they are, defies God and those who serve Him, the ending is predictable.
The lesson from Goliath is this: we may think that we are facing giants, but we do not stand alone. When God is with us, the mighty become mini and only the faithful will win.
Yes, there is plenty of science behind the possibility of Goliath being a giant of a man. Yes, his size did him in since he counted on bulk rather than God.
May your faith be huge today!
Vern