Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 17:20-30
David Arrives At The Battlefield And Is Appalled That ‘This Uncircumcised Philistine' Dares To Defy the Armies Of The Living God (1 Samuel 17:20).
Central to the last passage was that Goliath defied ‘the armies of Israel'. Central to this passage is that David sees him as defying ‘the armies of the living God'. It should be noted that the people see Goliath merely as ‘defying Israel' (1 Samuel 17:25). They do not have the deep faith that brings God fully into the equation. But it is precisely because to David YHWH is the living God, in whom he has absolute confidence, that he is stirred into action. His concern is not for his own glory, but for the honour of YHWH, the living God, who by Israel's failure to take up the challenge is being presented as unable to deal with Goliath. And it is because he is so aware that He is the living God that David cannot understand why this is so. He is genuinely puzzled why no one responds, for surely all must know that the living God will be their strength and enabling. And with the living God with them how could they fail? He was not yet old enough to realise that all Israelites did not have the same strong faith that he had.
Analysis.
a And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle (1 Samuel 17:20).
b And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army (1 Samuel 17:21).
c And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brothers, and as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke in accordance with the same words, and David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid (1 Samuel 17:22).
d And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up, and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel (1 Samuel 17:25).
e And David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What will be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26).
d And the people answered him in this way, saying, “So will it be done to the man who kills him (1 Samuel 17:27).
c And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” (1 Samuel 17:28 a)
b “I know your pride, and the mischief in your heart, for you have come down so that you might see the battle (1 Samuel 17:28 b).
a And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not good reason?” And he turned away from him towards another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again in the same way (1 Samuel 17:29).
Note that in ‘a' we are given the reason why David has come to the camp, while in the parallel he declares that he has good reason for doing so. In ‘b' the battle is put in array and in the parallel David is accused of having come in order to see the battle. In ‘c' David comes to talk with his brothers, and in the parallel he gets an earful from them. There may well be an intended comparison between the cowering armies of Israel and the few sheep in the wilderness. In ‘d' the people declare what the king will do for the one who defeats Goliath, and in the parallel it is repeated. Centrally in ‘e' comes the vital point that Goliath by his challenge is defying the armies of the living God.
‘ And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him, and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.'
Obedient to his father's wishes David arose early next morning and, leaving the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions and went on his way ‘as Jesse had commanded him'. As with Saul previously (1 Samuel 9:3) he was revealing himself to be a filial son. (None realised but God that he was going to another flock of sheep who needed a keeper).
He arrived at ‘the place of the wagons' just as the host were yelling their war cries in readiness for battle. This nerving of themselves was necessary in case the Philistines decided to attack, for the purpose of the war cries was in order to strengthen their resolve, and (hopefully) to frighten the enemy. It was with the hope of keeping their spirits up. But in their hearts all knew what would follow, and after the first few days it must have been difficult shouting the war cries with any degree of assurance. The wagons, which contained provisions for the soldiers, would be behind the army out of harms way, and we can imagine how the young man's blood was stirred as he stood among the wagons and heard the war cries of his heroes, the host of YHWH. To him they were magnificent.
‘ And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.'
Then, as David watched avidly, the two sets of forces set themselves in battle array, as they had done every day for forty days, ready to face each other.
‘ And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brothers.'
Excited at being a small part of it David immediately ran to find his brothers, leaving what he had brought in the hands of the quartermaster. He knew that he had to get there before battle commenced in order to obtain their pledges. And he found them and greeted them, and spoke with them.
‘ And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words, and David heard them.'
And as he talked with his brothers the champion, Goliath ‘the Philistine of Gath', came out from the ranks of the Philistines and issued his usual challenge. When David heard his words he must have been awed and amazed. It was the first time that he had seen such a thing and the question that must have immediately arisen in his mind was as to which of his heroes would go forward to meet this insolent challenge. We can imagine his expectation growing. Which of them would stride forward? The host of YHWH would soon make this insolent Philistine bite the dust.
‘ And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.'
But to his amazement the men of Israel did not all volunteer as one man. Instead they cowered back and retreated. Not one of them dared to face up to Goliath. And this applied equally to Saul and all his chief captains.
‘ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up, and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.” '
Then as David listened aghast, the men of Israel began to mutter among themselves about what could be done about the situation. They had been doing it every day as the size of the rewards for the man who would dare to face Goliath, and would defeat him, grew greater and greater. And now it had reached the point where anyone who accomplished the feat would be given great riches and married to the king's daughter (compare Joshua 15:16), while their close family would be freed of the burden of all taxes and other exactions in perpetuity.
‘ And David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What will be done to the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” '
David just could not believe his ears. To him as a young man and a fervent believer in the power of YHWH, Who would surely be with whoever went to meet the Philistine, he could not believe that any reward was necessary. Surely what was being offered (to fight for the living God) was a privilege? It did not require reward. Here was this man who was bringing reproach on Israel, and therefore on Israel's God, a man who was simply ‘an uncircumcised Philistine' and who therefore had no part in God, and he was defying the armies of the living God. Surely all of them would want to fight him. What were they saying would be done for such a man? It sounded incredible.
‘ And the people answered him after this manner, saying, “So will it be done to the man who kills him.” '
The people around him assured him of exactly what would be done for the man who killed Goliath, reiterating what had already been said. How they all must wished it could be them. But not if it meant facing Goliath.
‘ And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the mischievousness of your heart, for you have come down so that you might see the battle.” '
But Eliab his brother had overheard what he had said when he spoke to the man and he was very angry. He did not like his little brother getting caught up in the battle talk. Perhaps also he was a little afraid of what David might do (never dreaming of course what he would do). He more than any other had cause to know the hair-raising activities that David sometimes got involved with. He knew that his little brother was a young man without fear. And he did not want David involved in any battle.
So he seeks to put him in his place like a typical elder brother. Why has he really come to the battlefield? Let him remember that all that he knows anything about is looking after ‘a few sheep' (a deliberate under-play) in the pasture-land. That does not qualify him to be a soldier on the battlefield. And he assures him that he, his elder brother, can read his mischievous thoughts and knows exactly what is in his mind. He simply wants to get involved in battle.
We must be fair to Eliab (and we must remember that he was proved right). He was probably concerned for his little brother and did not want him to come to any harm. It is a further and deliberate reminder to us from the writer that David is nothing but a shepherd boy. If deliverance was to come it would be through YHWH.
But there is more to it than that. The writer is bringing out three more things. Firstly that David is ‘only a keeper of a few sheep' (this is emphasised twice in the passage) and that secondly he is simply ‘our kid', the little brother who should not really be there. But thirdly, underlying this fact is that now David is among a flock of sheep who are afraid of the great enemy who faces them, wanting one of the sheep from the flock to come and challenge him. And, as we will soon learn, it is the experienced keeper of the few sheep who is required in this situation.
‘ And David said, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” '
David was indignant and asked what harm he had done. All he had done was ask a few questions.
“Is there not a cause?” He may have meant ‘did I not have good reason for coming?' This view is supported by parallel in the chiasmus. Or he may simply have meant, ‘was there not good reason for me to ask the question in view of the circumstances?' All that was happening was after all quite exciting for a young man. But underlying both possibilities is a third which combines with them, which may well have been in the mind of the writer, and that is that YHWH had a cause for him being there.
‘ And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner.'
So he turned back to the men around him and continued to ask similar questions. And he received the same reply from all. David was incredulous. It all seemed so cut and dried to him. Here was this barbarous Philistine, and he was opposing the army of the living God. It was no contest. He just could not accept the idea that not one of his heroes was willing to go forward and do what was necessary when they must have known that YHWH was on their side. Why he himself had often fought a lion or a bear knowing that YHWH was with him. And that was hardly as important as this.