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David 5, Goliath 3
By Kirk Browning | October 11, 2007
When reading the Bible, it is often useful to ask the 5WH (who, what, when, where, why, how) questions. OK, maybe we should save asking God why for rare occasions. Asking practical questions leads to practical results. Two big questions came to me from 1 Kings 17. First, why did the Israelites give the battle cry for 40 days without doing battle? Second, how far could someone skilled with a sling propel a stone and how far could a javelin be thrown?
What could contribute to there being no real battle for 40 days? Success in this battle would allow the Philistines to expand their control of trade over the Shephelah, a fertile area for agriculture and a trade route from the Mediterranean coast eastward to Jerusalem. The Philistines already had a monopoly on blacksmithing. Goliath wore or carried several examples of advanced metalworking so it is easy to think that a center for this monopoly was Gath, his hometown. Goliath was possibly an enforcer of the high monopoly prices. It’s easy to think that many of the Israelite warriors had already run into Goliath personally, or knew someone who had. They had been intimidated in the marketplace by the enemy.
When the battle started, Saul and Jonathan were the only ones in the Israelite army who had iron swords. This lack of weapons probably led to a beaten, defeatist attitude on the part of the entire Israelite nation. Imagine each farmer / soldier trying to put on a brave face at home when he has to go to the enemy to have his plow sharpened and pay too high a price for it (1 Samuel 13:19-22). Imagine the assault on each one’s confidence to know that if war does come, he doesn’t know how to fight, because he and his countrymen have been without real weapons. This defeat of the nation sets the stage for God to get victory through David.
Goliath’s weapons look like real weapons of war, appropriate for a fierce, experienced giant warrior. David’s weapon seems like a toy, appropriate only for Israel’s warrior of last resort. 1 Samuel 17:45 says “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin …”. By being standard military weapons they seem intimidating, but look closer. Goliath’s longest range weapon would have been his javelin because it was the lightest. The modern world record for the javelin is 98.48 meters, or 107 yards. (http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/records) Goliath’s spear had a 20-pound point on the end, heavier than the 16-pound shot put used in competition. The world 16-pound shot put record is 23.12 meters, or 25 yards. Even for someone as large as Goliath, the spear would have less range than the javelin.
Consider David’s weapon with some fresh thinking. (GREAT WEAPONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD NUMBER 47, http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/nikolas.lloyd/weapons/sling.html). The effective range of slings is in excess of 360 yards. This range is so much greater than any of Goliath’s weapons that it invalidates any argument about ancient versus modern materials, methods or training, or giant versus teenager. This illustration stands the test of time.
There are actually many advantages to a sling. Sling stones (also known as bullets) are difficult to see in flight, especially from a distance. It is also more difficult to judge which way they are going, as they are seen as a dot rather than a line. Sling stones can cause internal injuries underneath armor, and make the underside of armor jagged so that it must be removed to prevent lacerations. They leave the sling and arrive at the target as “all hurt”. There is no excess baggage as when you mount a knife on the end of a stick and call it a spear.
The sling motion is in rhythm with running forward and is generally made over-arm, like pitching a baseball. If major league pitchers can throw a baseball faster than 90 miles per hour so that helmets are required for batters, it is no stretch to think that the extra mechanical advantage provided by the length of cord could propel a rock fast enough to disable an enemy. You can attach the sling to the end of a staff like David’s for even more throwing force.
A sling can be made with a minimal amount of inexpensive, readily available material. A sling can be easily concealed in a pocket. When you are carrying a javelin, spear or sword there is not much concealment about it. Sling ammunition can be found onsite as needed. In fact there is a brook in the Valley of Elah near Socoh that is dry much of the year. When the rains do come, the water rolls the rocks against each other and rounds them, making them perfect for sling stones. No occupying army could deny a populace the materials for a sling and stone. The biggest obstacle to being armed with a sling is taking the time to practice.
Standoff range is a military term meaning “the distance that a weapon’s maximum effective range exceeds that of an opposing weapon’s maximum effective range. The advantage of standoff range is the enhancement of survivability by the shooter.“ In street terms this translates as “never take a knife to a gun fight.” One of the goals of all weapons research and battlefield tactics is to give your fighters standoff range over the enemy. David’s sling actually has standoff range over Goliath’s weapons. David actually has the better weapon, if he fires first and fires accurately.
Why did David run to the battle? The shield bearer was between Goliath and David (verse 7) and Goliath was advancing toward David because he knew David had the longer range weapon. This complicated the shot for David. Hold your Bible in one hand at arm’s length and the fist of your other hand between an eye and your Bible. Side by side, your fist is probably smaller than your Bible, but when held one in front of the other, your fist probably almost completely blocks your view of your Bible. In that same way, David’s view of Goliath was blocked by the shield bearer. Does your enemy ever shield himself from you? David ran toward Goliath to get a better shot. Seeing that David was so completely courageous and intentional raises my faith sky high.
As it turned out David only needed the first stone to kill Goliath, so if David says in 1 Samuel 17:47 that “the battle is the Lord’s”, why did he pick up 5 stones in verse 40? Assume for a moment that David’s first shot missed. Many of our first shots miss. In the heat of one-on-one battle, even a mighty warrior like Goliath can only throw his javelin and spear once each. Even if David takes the first shot from a distance outside Goliath’s javelin range and misses, it will probably provoke Goliath to return fire with his javelin. You can expect the enemy to return fire in some way. Then David’s second shot might provoke Goliath to retaliate with his spear. If Goliath is still standing that leaves David three more shots, well out of range of Goliath’s sword, and maybe David can pin Goliath down and pick up the javelin for his own use. It would be difficult for Goliath to retrieve his javelin and spear for second shots because David can still shoot at him from a distance.
God prepared David with a weapon, skills and attitude to get victory over Goliath. David had a sniper rifle compared to Goliath’s rather short-range knives. This is an Old Testament prefiguring of 2 Corinthians 10:4, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds.” The weapons talked about in Ephesians 6 are outside the range of the Enemy’s weapons, especially when we are practiced in their use, shoot first, and keep shooting. We can’t just stand there with our salvation and watch the enemy advance. Just as no army could deny a populace sling materials, no enemy can deny Christians Ephesians 6. Through the Cross, the Lord has placed us beyond the reach of the enemy. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57) “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
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