David the Warrior

It was the beginning of my 6th-grade year, which was full of changes. All the 6th graders from across the city left behind the elementary schools and were united in this new building. This meant that some of the kids I saw every day since kindergarten were scattered and mingled with new kids from other schools. Amongst a few familiar faces, were a lot of unknowns, would they be friends or enemies? 

I can remember a beautiful August day when we went outside for PE class to play kickball. Yes, we called it gym class back then. This story, like many others, could easily begin with, “well there was this girl…” Anyway, I wanted to impress this girl with my kickball skills, but an opportunity for humor arose. 

A fellow classmate, Jacob, had slipped and fallen on the hill. Instead of assisting him, I tried to be cool and funny, so I made fun of him. It wasn’t nice, it wasn’t funny and it wasn’t impressive. I also hadn’t assessed the situation very well, for the kid I made fun of was the quarterback and captain of the football team. 

He bounced back up and got in my face, warning me that I better watch out because I was going to regret making fun of him. The teacher stepped in and nothing really happened the rest of class. What I didn’t realize was my entire year had been impacted by my foolishness. Jacob conspired with his teammates to make my life miserable. They would pick on me and mess with me in any way they could.

I would spend recess running away from them. I tried to apologize, but it was too late. That’s when I met Jason. Jason wasn’t on the football team, but he should have been. Have you ever met a giant? Jason was a giant and towered above the rest of us. He didn’t like Jacob, football, or the team. Fortunately, he did like me. I soon realized that if I was running from Jacob and his cronies, I could run to Jason and they would leave me alone. Jason was my hero. Jacob and his teammates eventually listened to Jason warning them and began to leave me alone. 

Knowing Jason gave me confidence and security again. He saved me from the bullies and I learned a lesson about picking on others as well as making good friends. 

This childhood story came to mind as I was considering David in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 17, David is leaving the sheep and his harp behind and visits the front lines of a battle. He hears a bully, Goliath, challenging the armies of Israel to a hero’s battle. It was a custom in the Ancient Near East (ANE), to have their best fighter challenge the opposing army’s best fighter. Their fight would represent the whole and the armies whose fighter was defeated would concede the fight. Usually, that meant the winners would chase them down and try to slaughter them. 

Goliath was the hero of the Philistines, and he stood in the middle of the Valley of Elah and chirped at the Israelites for days. He called them cowards and ants, and he began to say things about the God of Israel. Their fearfulness and cowards reflected on the enemy’s perception of their God.

In the ANE, the pagans believed in many gods. Each location had its own god. So the Philistines would consider their fight with Israel as a battle between their gods. Some of the Israelites fell into this same understanding of deities. They would worship God but believed the enemy’s gods might exist. 

David arrived on the scene and couldn’t believe that no one in Israel’s army had shut Goliath up. His brothers were mad at him for asking questions and told him to go home to the sheep. But David saw something others weren’t seeing. He was seeing his God being blasphemed. He took it personally and knew that God is worth standing up for and would provide the strength to win. 

We know the story well, but what I see is that David is like my friend Jason. He I the hero who would stand up and fight for those getting picked on. Jason defeated my bullies and won the victory for me. David won the victory for Israel and the rest of the army gained confidence because of his action. 

Jason and David are types of Jesus, they point us to the need for a victor, a hero. Jesus is that for us. He came and fought our enemy, defeated him on the cross, and the resurrection proves his victory! It is through knowing Jesus that we can have the confidence to live in freedom today. 

There are many principles and practices we can learn from the life of David, that will help us grow as believers. His confidence and faith in God, wanting to please God more than man, being willing to step out in faith, and the list goes on. However, if we focus on trying to be David, we will miss seeing the picture of Christ in David. 

David the Warrior should point us to Christ the Warrior. David defeated Goliath, Jesus defeated death and one day Jesus will return to win the ultimate battle ending sin forever.