David VS Goliath Essay, Research Paper

According to the story, David openly trusted in God when he went to fight against Goliath the giant. But the question is, why did he pick up five stones, did he think he would miss?

To understand why David fought against Goliath, we need to know what brought them on the battlefield. At that time the Philistines were at war with the Israelites and Goliath daily challenged the Israelite army to a winner-take-all dual. ?Then champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.? (1 Samuel 17:4) ? And he stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, ? Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourself and let him come down to me.? (1 Samuel 17:8) ? Again the Philistines said, ? I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.? (1 Samuel 17:10) For some reasons, none of the Israelite soldiers felt up to the challenge. ? When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.?(1 Samuel 17:11) David, the youngest son of Jesse was visiting his brothers on the front line and heard the challenge. He went to King Saul of the Israelite army and offered his services in the name of the Lord. The king unwillingly accepted and David started to prepare. According to the story, David was facing a challenge such as he would never faced before. The destiny of the army of Israel, indeed, the whole of Israel, was at jeopardy and he was going to either be the hero or the loser. Much hung in the balance of his actions.

But David did not trust in his own talents and abilities, he placed his trust in God that God would do what God could do in the given circumstances. On the other hand, it is clear David did not just run out into the fight totally unprepared either. First he tried on Saul’s armor and hefted his sword, but they didn’t fit. ? Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, ? I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.? And David took them off.?(1 Samuel 17.38-39) The next thing he does is removed the armor, take up the tools he is most comfortable with, and then heads to the nearest stream to pick up five smooth stones for battle. “And he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:40).

Again, why five stones? Wouldn’t absolute trust in God indicate that only one stone was needed? In fact, in the story it only takes one to kill the giant. So why did he take up five stones? Even though David trusted in God, David also knew that to take on any challenge in life, even with God’s help, he needed to be as well prepared as he could be. Hence he did his homework. He studied Goliath and his ways. He learned what he could about the Philistines and their methods. And he discovered something very important to his decision to picking up five smooth stones, instead of only one. And what David found out was that Goliath had four brothers. David knew there could be the possibility that when he killed Goliath, his four brothers might try to revenge him. So David prepared himself in advance. He picked up five stones, one for each of the Philistian brothers.

According to the topic, David trusted in God what God could do. But he did not leave everything to God. David did what he could do to insure his own capability in the face of a challenge. David picked up five stones because he has done his homework and was well organized and prepared. How can we do less when faced with our own challenges in life?