Today we went Azekah (David and Goliath) and The Cave of
Adulam (one of David’s Caves)
Azekah
David and Goliath1 Samuel 17
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled(A) at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh(B) and Azekah.(C) 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah(D)and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
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| This picture was taken where they believe the Philistine Camp was and across the valley on the hill above those white patches in the fields is where they believe the Israelite camp was. |
4 A champion named Goliath,(E) who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet[a] tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin(F)was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod,(G) and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer(H) went ahead of him.8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose(I) a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy(J) the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.(K)” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite(L)named Jesse,(M) who was from Bethlehem(N) in Judah. Jesse had eight(O) sons, and in Saul’s time he was old and well advanced in years. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab;(P) the second, Abinadab;(Q) and the third, Shammah.(R) 14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul,15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend(S) his father’s sheep(T) at Bethlehem.16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand."
Goliath would hike down from the ridge line of the Philistine camp twice a day to taunt the Israelites every day for 40 days, in his armor. From experience this is not a easy hike in light weight dry-fit clothes and a few bottles of water, much less in full armor made of Iron. Goliaths Spear would have weighed about 15lbs, his armor about 125lbs.
To a first century reader many questions would arise such as Why is Goliaths height (6 cubits) important? Why is it significant that his spear weighed 600 shekels, and that his armor was 5000 (6000 in some translations) shekels?
The #6 to a Jew is the number of incompletion and for it to be repeated 3 times (666) clearly identifies Goliath as being Evil.
By describing his armor as "scaled" is comparing his armor to the skin of a snake and would take the Hebrew readers mind back to the Garden of Eden and the Serpent who tempted Adam and Eve.
"17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d](U) of roasted grain(V) and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit.[e] See how your brothers(W) are and bring back some assurance[f]from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”20 Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other."
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| David was probably between the ages of 8-10 as a Shepheard. Shepheards even today in Israel are young children, and old women, the only time a man is seen with the flocks is when they feel they may need protection. Often even then the men are a distance off in higher ground to be able to survey the whole situation. Shepheards were/are not important people in society. |
"22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies,(X) ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual(Y) defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter(Z) in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes(AA) in Israel.”26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace(AB) from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised(AC) Philistine that he should defy(AD) the armies of the living(AE) God?”27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger(AF)at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart(AG)on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”33 Saul replied,(AH) “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion(AI) or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized(AJ) it by its hair, struck it and killed it.36 Your servant has killed both the lion(AK) and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who delivered(AL) me from the paw of the lion(AM) and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with(AN)you.”38 Then Saul dressed David in his own(AO) tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
Lets compare and contrast David and Goliath:41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer(AP) in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome,(AQ) and he despised(AR) him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog,(AS) that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air(AT) and the beasts of the field!(AU)”45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin,(AV) but I come against you in the name(AW) of the LordAlmighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.(AX) 46 This day the Lord will hand(AY) you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses(AZ) of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world(BA) will know that there is a God in Israel.(BB) 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword(BC) or spear that the Lordsaves;(BD) for the battle(BE) is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling(BF) and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut(BG) off his head with the sword."
David was a boy with unshakable faith. He calls out the other Israelites and asks them why they would allow a Gentile to blaspheme their God, and why they believed him. He faces Goliath in battle with a sling shot five stones and the skills he had acquired while shepherding his fathers flocks. Being a board boy in the the desert throwing rocks, target practice with his sling shot, directing the flocks by throwing rocks (still done today) and protecting the flock from wild animals (the lion and the bear).
Goliath is a grown man standing somewhere between 9 and 11 feet tall, shielded with iron armor, and equipped with the most state of the art weapons. The Philistines were the iron workers, it is very likely that they brought Iron to the middle east and rather than sharing their technology they used it as a tactical advantage. 1 Samuel 13:19 says "Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel". Even once the Israelite people began using Iron tools, they could not sharpen them themselves, they would have to go to the Philistine blacksmiths and pay high prices.
"When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[g]and to the gates of Ekron.(BI) Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim(BJ) road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.55 As Saul watched David(BK) going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner,(BL) whose son is that young man?”Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him.David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse(BM) of Bethlehem.”
Lets compare David and King Saul in this story
David is between the ages of 8 and 11, obeyed God and used his gifting in complete faith that God would back him up. He used a Rock and a slingshot to defeat Goliath. Who else had this skill? Go back to the video... Saul's tribe was known for their skills with a sling shot.
Saul chosen by God as the king of Israel and was faithful to God in the beginning, but strayed from God's plan and followed his own ways. He was equipped with the same armor and weapons as Goliath but lacked the faith to approach him in the power of the Lord. He had the same skills as David.
When David threw the rock for God, he brought down the enemy of Israel. Now there is significance in David striking Goliath in the forehead. In the Torah God says that serpents head will be bruised and crushed (Genesis 3) and Jesus (Yeshua) comes from David's line. David strikes Goliath (who is likened to the serpent) in the forehead.
Why did David pick up 5 stones if he only needed one? Was is his insurance policy... just in case he missed the first time? Could be but numbers are very significant to a Hebrews way of thinking. So shy does this story emphasize that there were 5 stones and 5 sons of Jesse. When a Hebrew thinks of the #5 they are reminded of the Torah (first 5 books of the bible) so 5 could symbolize that David was relying on God to come through, that he was being obedient to the Torah or that he was within God's will.
In the Midrash (Rabbinic literature) the Rabbi's believe that Goliath had 4 brothers, so by David picking up 5 stones it was symbolic that he would not only defeat Goliath but his brothers as well, which came to pass with David and his mighty men (2 Samuel 21 and 1 Chronicles 20)
To wrap up this teaching, David did not kill Goliath through his own power or skill. God used the skill that He had given David to kill Goliath. God delivered Israel through a kid who did the thing that he was suppose to do when God wanted him to do it, and God prepared him to do it.
What is your skill that God has given you? Wherever you are, Throw your stone.
In todays godless culture we have several Goliaths that seem impossible to defeat. But God is calling us to stand our ground. We have a God that tie and time again uses people who are insignificant in society to do amazing things. God calls us to use the skills that He has given us, as well as the technology of our culture to impact our world.
As long as cultural advancements are guided by non-believers than secular values will always dominate the culture. But if we as Christians use these tools in combination with the gifts that the Lord has given us, then we can make a positive mark on the world.
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