1 Samuel 17:48 - Meaning and Application

This passage describes the meeting between the two champions, David and Goliath. Goliath, the Philistine giant, came forward with great show and confidence. Even though he was facing a small opponent, he still moved like a proud giant, decked out in armor and grandeur. David came forward with equal energy and joy, as someone determined to strike hard rather than merely make an impression.

We can imagine how tenderly the Israelites watched such a handsome young man walking into what looked like certain death. Yet David knew whom he had trusted, and he knew whose cause he served. He did not move by sight alone, but by faith in God.

Then came Goliath’s fall. He was in no hurry, because he felt no fear, and he expected to strike David down in a formal, deadly way. But while he was preparing his blow, David finished the matter with no display at all. He slung a stone that struck Goliath in the forehead and brought him down at once (1 Samuel 17:49).

Goliath knew that Israel had famous slingers (Judges 20:16), yet he was careless or arrogant enough to leave his helmet open. The only exposed place became the place of his ruin. It was not mainly David’s skill, but God’s providence, that guided the stone to that spot with such force. This shows how fragile life is, even when it seems well protected, and how quickly death can enter through the smallest opening.

Goliath could not keep his own spirit in him (Ecclesiastes 8:8). No strong man should boast in his strength, and no armed man should boast in his armor. God opposes the proud and brings down those who challenge him and his people. No one ever hardened himself against God and prospered.

A Jewish rabbi thought that when Goliath threatened David, he lifted his head so quickly that his helmet slipped off. That would have left his forehead open to the stone. After Goliath fell, David finished the work by taking Goliath’s own sword, a heavy two-handed weapon for David, and cutting off his head (1 Samuel 17:51). David did not need to bring his own sword. His enemy’s sword was enough when God gave him victory.

God is greatly honored when proud enemies are defeated with their own weapons, and when their own words turn back on them (Psalm 64:8). David’s victory over Goliath also pointed ahead to the triumphs of David’s greater Son over Satan and all the powers of darkness. Christ defeated them, made a public example of them, and through him we are more than conquerors (Colossians 2:15).

The Philistine army then lost heart. They had trusted completely in their champion, so when they saw him dead, they did not do what Goliath had offered and surrender to Israel (1 Samuel 17:9). Instead, they ran away in panic. Israel was then stirred up with courage, shouted, and chased them, likely with David leading the pursuit, all the way to the gates of their own cities (1 Samuel 17:52). On the way back, they seized the camp supplies, plundered the tents, and took the spoil (1 Samuel 17:53).

David then dealt with his trophies. He brought Goliath’s head to Jerusalem, likely as a warning to the Jebusites, who held the strong fortress of Zion. He may also have carried it in triumph to other cities. He kept Goliath’s armor in his own tent, but the sword was later preserved in the tabernacle behind the ephod as something set apart for God and as a memorial of the victory in his honor (1 Samuel 21:9).

Finally, people took notice of David. He had been at Saul’s court before, but he had been away for some time (1 Samuel 17:15). Saul, who was gloomy and distracted, had forgotten him and did not expect his musician to have the courage to face a giant. So he asked whose son David was, as if he had never seen him before. Abner brought David to Saul (1 Samuel 17:57), and David gave a humble account of himself (1 Samuel 17:58). Now he entered the court with far greater honor than before, and he openly acknowledged God’s hand in all that had happened.