1 Samuel 17:28
Now when David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. "Why have you come down here?" he asked. "And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart--you have come down to see the battle!"
Sermons
A Series of VictoriesC. Bosanquet, M. A.1 Samuel 17:28
David and GoliathArthur Mitchell, D. D.1 Samuel 17:28
Preparations for ConflictH. E. Stone.1 Samuel 17:28
The Conflict Between Good and EvilD. Thomas.1 Samuel 17:28
The Two Victories in One DayC. Vince.1 Samuel 17:28
Unsympathetic Relatives1 Samuel 17:28
Self-ConquestB. Dale 1 Samuel 17:19-31














1 Samuel 17:19-31. (THE VALLEY OF ELAH.)
What have I now done? Is there not a cause? (ver. 29. Was it not a word? or, Was it anything more than a word?). In the conflict of life the first victory which every one should seek to achieve is the victory over himself. Unless he gain this, he is not likely to gain others, or, if he gain them, to improve them aright; but if, on the ether hand, he gain it, he is thereby prepared to gain others, and to follow them up with the greatest advantage. Such a victory was David's.

1. He arrived at the wagon rampart when the host was about to make an advance; leaving there the things he carried, he ran into the ranks to seek his brethren; and, while talking with them, there stalked forth, as on previous days, the Philistine champion, at the sight of whom "all the men of Israel fled, and were sore afraid" (ver. 24). The shepherd youth alone was fearless. There was in him more faith than in the whole army. And in conversing with the men around him he intimated the possible overthrow of this boastful giant, and the "taking away of the reproach from Israel," and expressed his amazement at the audacity of the man in "defying the ranks of the living God" (whose presence and power all appear to have forgotten).

2. On hearing his words, and probably surmising that he entertained the thought of encountering the champion, Eliab was filled with envy and anger, and reproached him as being out of his proper place, as only fit to have the charge of a few sheep, and even neglectful of them, and as proud, discontented with his calling, bad-hearted, and delighting in the sight of strife and bloodshed, which, he said, he knew, however others might be deceived. Ah, how little did he really know of his brother's heart! But angry men are more desirous of inflicting pain than of uttering the truth.

3. This language would have excited the fierce wrath of most persons. But David maintained his self-control, and gave the soft answer which "turneth away wrath." He thus obtained a victory which was hardly less noble than that which he shortly afterwards obtained over Goliath. Consider his self-conquest (with respect to the passion of anger) as -

I. ACHIEVED UNDER SEVERE PROVOCATION.

1. The contemptuous reproach of a brother. From him at least better things might have been expected. But natural affection often vanishes before envy and anger (Genesis 4:8), and is transformed into intense hatred. "There is no enemy so ready or so spiteful as the domestical" (Hall).

2. An ungrateful return for kindness. David had come with valuable presents and kindly inquiries, and this was his reward.

3. An unjust impugning of motives. "Eliab sought for the splinter in his brother's eye, and was not aware of the beam that was in his own; the very things with which he charged his brother were most apparent in his own scornful reproach" (Keil).

4. An open attack upon reputation. His words were intended to damage David in the eyes of others, as unworthy of their confidence and regard. All these things were calculated to exasperate. "Thus David was envied of his own brethren, herein being a type of Christ, who was rejected of the Jews, being as it were the eldest brethren, and was received of the Gentiles" (Wilier). The followers of Christ are often exposed to similar provocation. "And the strength of a good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behaviour, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world (J. Edwards).

II. EXHIBITING AN ADMIRABLE SPIRIT.

1. Extraordinary meekness and forbearance in enduring reproach. "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding," etc. (Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 15:18; Proverbs 25:28).

2. Firm and instant repression of angry passion. For it could hardly be but that a flash of indignation should glance into his breast; but "anger resteth in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:9).

3. Wise and gentle reserve in the language employed. It is as useless to reason with the wind as with an angry man. "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth," etc. (Psalm 141:3).

4. Continued and steadfast adherence to a noble purpose. David went on talking. after the same manner" (ver. 30). We ought not to suffer ourselves to be turned from the path of duty by the reproach which we may meet therein, but we should rather pursue it more diligently than ever, and prove by our conduct the sincerity and rectitude of our spirit. "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city" (Proverbs 16:32). "It is better to conquer the deceitful lusts of the heart than to conquer Jerusalem" (St. Bernard).

"The bravest trophy ever man obtained
Is that which o'er himself, himself hath gained." When thou art offended by others, do not let thy mind dwell upon them, or on such thoughts as these: - that they ought not so to have treated thee; who they are; or whom they think themselves to be, and the like; for all this is fuel, and a kindling of anger, wrath, and hatred. But in such eases turn instantly to the strength and commands of God, that thou mayest know what thou oughtest to do, and that thine error be not greater than theirs. So shalt thou return into the way of peace (Scupoli). And of this spirit Christ is the supreme pattern (1 Peter 2:21-23).

III. FOLLOWED BY A BENEFICIAL EFFECT.

1. A sense of peace and Divine approbation. "Angels came and ministered unto him" (Matthew 4:11). It is always thus with those who conquer temptation.

2. The purifying and strengthening of faith, by means of the trial to which it is subjected (1 Peter 1:7; James 1:2).

3. The commendation of character in the sight of others, who commonly judge of the truth of an accusation by the manner in which it is met, and naturally confide in a man of calmness, firmness, and lofty purpose. "They rehearsed them" (his words) "before Saul: and he sent for him" (ver. 31).

4. The preparation of the spirit for subsequent conflict. "Could the second victory have been achieved if he had failed in the first conflict? His combat with Goliath demanded an undimmed eye, a steady arm, and a calm heart, and if he had given way to stormy passion for only a brief season there would have been a lingering feverishness and nervousness, utterly unfitting him for the dread struggle on which the fate of two armies and two nations was depending" (C. Vince). - D.

Eliab's anger was. kindled against David.
Hitherto David has had little suffering. Life is made up of trials: the Christian's course is never free from them: this we are to see here, for this seventeenth tells us, besides the contest with the lion and the bear, of three great trials which at this time befell the "man after God's own heart." I dare say that when you have read this chapter you have thought of David's wonderful faith and courage as seen in his conflict with the giant; and yet it tells us of three trials and three victories; and I believe that either of the other two was much more painful, and required more faith than was necessary to nerve him for the single combat.

1. Observe, then, in the first place, that after David was anointed he went back to his duties as before; for "Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep." For one moment he had been exalted, and then all went on as before. Then a brilliant career seemed opening before him: he was most unexpectedly sent for to the court. But as soon as the benefit was received it was forgotten; for ingratitude is the commonest of faults: David is not wanted now; the king's head is full of war matters; he stands in need of men, and not of boys; he wants swords and slicers, not harps and music. Oh! never be carried away with the love of popularity; it is not worth striving after; there is nothing that may be more quickly lost. Only let some unkind report be raised about you, or some great man sneer at you, and the people will be ready, to a man, to turn against you. And so David goes quietly back, resumes the shepherd's dress, takes the place of the youngest son, and feeds his father's sheep. I declare that seems to me to have been the greatest of the three trials; he must indeed have had strong faith, and he must have been endued with the grace of humility. And was it not so with our blessed Lord Himself? At the age of twelve years He is found "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions: and all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers." "He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them;" (Luke 2:49, 51), and for eighteen years He remained in obscurity. Such was David's first trial here. Flattered one moment, and thrown aside the next; at one time likely to be famous in the court, and very shortly afterwards sent to feed the sheep near his father's homestead. Would it be very trying to be laid aside by illness, to sink into obscurity?

2. And now we come to a trial of a different kind, but equally painful, perhaps, or at all events one that shows the depth of his piety. We can quite understand how anxious Jesse was for the safety of his boys: his three eldest sons are gone to the battle; Eliab is there, the pride of his heart: so David is sent with a little present from home, and doubtless many kind messages, as Joseph was sent by Jacob to visit his brethren at Shechem. And when he comes, then his elder brother takes him to task, and utters the most cruel and vindictive insinuations. And here, too, Jesus can sympathise with His people. When He entered upon His public ministry, the first place at which He preached was His own city Nazareth. As He loved His mother, so He evidently had special affection for His own city, His neighbours, and near kindred: it was this love which made Him preach in the synagogue at Nazareth; but they would not receive Him; for "a prophet has no honour in his own country." There are some people who can bear a long trial, who may yet be thrown off their guard by a sudden temptation; and so perhaps it was quite as difficult to give Eliab back a gentle answer, as it was to go quietly home from the palace to the sheepfold. Gentle natures are often sensitive, and sensitive people are almost always irritable. Oh! temper! temper! what a trial it is to those that are afflicted with it! and terrible is the guilt of those who provoke an irritable person. But David gained the victory, and must have made Eliab sensible of the wrong he had done him. This was a far greater victory, though little noticed, little thought of at the time, and not so much observed even now by those who read this chapter, as the contest with the giant shortly afterwards.

3. And now a word upon the third trial and the third victory. David fells the giant. There is no battle, but flight on the one hand, and eager pursuit on the other; in a few minutes the hills are completely deserted, and we can only hear the shouts of the pursuers gradually dying away in the direction of Ekron. There lies the headless body in the valley of Elah: come and let us stand by it, and learn one or two lessons. Behold in David the type of David's Son. When the great Captain of our salvation was tempted of the devil, He did not contend with him as God, but only as one of ourselves. He just took the "smooth stones out of the brook;" He met and defeated him as any Christian may, with the words of Scripture; as any Jew might then, with quotations from the Book of Deuteronomy. The Philistine, you see, but for David's faith, would have been stronger than the Israelites. The giant did not fall by sword and spear, but David's faith in God brought victory to his countrymen. It was because David was in the camp that Israel conquered. Would we be loyal Churchmen, would we do good service to our Church, let us be men of God; let us so behave, that the Lord Jesus shall still be in the midst of us; let us make use of the stones from the brook, of prayer, and Holy Scripture; and the Lord will yet save us from ruin, though He may see fit to humiliate us. How did David know that he was equal to this emergency? What made him sure that he should conquer the giant? He had had experience of God's help before. So indeed had the Israelites; they had gained a great victory under Samuel, and had reared their "Ebenezer;" but this was forgotten now, and therefore their faith failed them. But not so David. And then David knew nothing about the use of armour, though no doubt Saul provided him with the best; but he was expert in the use of the sling. Ah! those "stones from the brook," how are they dispised! Any other means of grace is more valued than Scripture. No doubt David was regarded as a hero from Dan to Beersheba; the slaughter of the giant made him famous, and his praise was in everyone's mouth. Yet I think I have shown you that the killing of the giant was a very little matter; that what is really to be admired is David's faith; and that either of the other two trials was in reality more severe.

(C. Bosanquet, M. A.)

In early life Edmund Burke was not happy at home, as no one there sympathised with his dreams and aspirations. "It is, after all, a man's own relations who generally look with the least confidence on his long wrestle with adversity, and are most astonished when the tide turns and a great victory succeeds to what had seemed to them mere hopeless toil."

If there had been a conspiracy to frustrate the Divine purpose in relation to David, his relatives could scarcely have kept him out of sight more persistently, or brought him forward more sluggishly and reluctantly. Men were slow to see the seeds of future greatness and godliness which the Lord beheld, and they looked not for succour in the direction whence He had ordained it to come. Praise belongs to Him for carrying out His own purpose despite the want of discernment and sympathy on the part of His people. If His thoughts had not prevailed over men's thoughts, the Jewish nation would have lost one of its greatest kings, and the Bible one of its most instructive histories. The Divine wisdom in the choice of David was soon proved when the time of trial came, and he had an opportunity of showing the regal spirit the grace of God had given to him. The second triumph is by far the more famous, but we must not suffer its splendour to hide from us the true glory of the first. The man who kills a giant will always be more talked of than the man who, against the force of strong temptations, controls his own temper; but it is none the less true that — "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city,"

I. DAVID'S VICTORY OVER HIMSELF. It is not difficult to conjecture the cause of Eliab's ill-will and unjust upbraidings. He had not forgiven David for the distinction that God had granted, and the cruel spirit of envy had turned him from a brother into a foe. This fiendish passion of envy, so common in human nature, can not only destroy the joy of a brother in a brother's welfare, but would also, if it could get into a mother's heart, be hellish enough to make her miserable at the thought of the prosperity of her own first-born boy. What a foul thing that must be which finds the elements of its own perdition in a sight of the paradise God gives to others, and which would be wretched and woebegone in heaven itself if it met with anyone having stronger wings or a higher place than its own! When, in the last judgment, Envy is placed at the bar of God, what an indictment will be laid against the Evil Spirit! The insulting anger of Eliab — the cruelty of Joseph's brethren — the murderous wrath of Cain — and the greatest share in the greatest crime in the world, the crucifying of the Lord of glory — will be charged upon him. The taunts and insinuations of Eliab must have cut David to the quick. If the undeserved rebuke had been administered in private, it would have been hard to bear; but Eliab was base enough to be a public slanderer, and sought, by his foul aspersions, to do irreparable damage to David's reputation amongst those who saw him that day for the first time, and would be too ready to think that there must be good grounds for these charges of pride and arrogance, seeing they were made by the young man's own brother. The temptation must have been strong to answer it with words of burning indignation, and only a man of much meekness and of great self-control could have replied to it as David did. Who likes to be accused of vile motives which he knows have no place in his heart, and to hear his very virtues denounced as being nothing but hideous vices which he tries to conceal by means of pious airs and canting pretensions? It was a cross of this kind David had to carry, and he bore it as if there had been given to him some prophetic foresight of the perfect example of Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, and who, when He was reviled, reviled not again. The restraint which David put upon his temper under this great provocation was the most godly thing he could have done, and therefore it was the wisest and most profitable. Having regard to the great work before him, it was very important that David should keep his temper. Could the second victory have been achieved if he had failed in the first conflict? That which was right amidst the temptations of one hour was the best preparation for the arduous labours of the next hour. All of her things being equal, he who is most triumphant over temptation and most faithful to duty today will be the strongest for work and warfare tomorrow.

II. DAVID'S VICTORY OVER GOLIATH. History records many instances in which cruelty, and tyranny, and persecution haw thoroughly outwitted themselves and frustrated their own purposes. Charity must not rejoice in iniquity, but it may exult in the defeat of iniquity, and especially when iniquity plays the part of a scorpion and stings itself, and when, like Haman, it unwittingly prepares a gallows for its own execution. The defeat of the Philistines in the downfall of their great champion is a most striking illustration of this kind of self-destruction. "Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears" (1 Samuel 13:19). This cruel policy was so successful that on one occasion there were only two swords or spears possessed by the entire Jewish army. Saul and Jonathan had them; but all the rest of the people had to use such cumbrous and clumsy weapons as unskilled hands could make without fire or hammer. Necessity has always been the mother of invention, and we may be certain that, when iron weapons were denied to the Hebrews, their skill was largely developed in other directions. The youth of the land could not practise sword exercise, or learn to poise the spear, and therefore they would be driven to make themselves master of other methods of defence and assault. Before this period the Benjamites had become famous for their skill in slinging, for "Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; everyone could sling stones at an hair-breadth, and not miss" (Judges 20:16). When all edged weapons were taken from them, the people would be sure to turn again to those in whose use their fathers had been so renowned, and practice would again make perfect. Thus the issue proved that the Philistines laid the foundation of their own defeat when they took all swords and spears from the Israelites, and compelled them to try other means of accomplishing their deliverance. The foes of God's people meant it for evil, but God overruled it for good. David's skill with the sling would have failed to gain the victory if it had been divorced from faith in God. It was his trust in the Lord which gave such calmness to his soul, as surely as it was the calmness of his soul which helped to make his arm so steady and his aim so sure. His faith, however, was not a fanatical faith, which violates reason and neglects the most appropriate means. When he refused to wear Saul's armour, he proved his common sense as much as he displays his confidence in God. The faith of David was also associated with experience as well as with reason. He remembered past mercies, and thereby encouraged his heart to rest in Him who is ever the same. The most effectual way of chasing away despair and regaining confidence is to adopt the Psalmist's resolve — "I will remember the works of the Lord: Surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings."

(C. Vince.)

How much like a chapter of accidents this looks! Superficially narrated, we should say "It happened." There are no accidents with God, and none with those who commit their way unto Him. We shall see all these things were preparations for conflict.

I. JESSE'S ANXIETY CONCERNING HIS SOLDIER SONS. We meet David once more on the road from Bethlehem. Not on his way to the palace of the king, for yet is he the drudge of the family, and is sent laden with presents to the chief of the division in which his brothers serve (vers. 17, 18), to see how they fare. How akin to Joseph, who also was sent by his father to his brethren, and met with no kindly reception! While talking with one and another the boastful challenge of the giant Goliath arrests his attention. Once no such challenge would have come to Saul unanswered, but all valour flees when the Spirit of the Lord leaves a man. David avows his readiness to meet him. Was it a chance that David was sent — that he was sent that morning — that his brethren were to the front when he arrived at camp, or a list of curious combinations?

II. THE DISCOURAGEMENT WITH WHICH DAVID MEETS. David is jealous for the Lord of Hosts. He was instantly discouraged, first by: —

1. His own brethren (Matthew 10:36, with ver. 28). That fine soldierly looking brother who captivated Samuel's judgment is terribly at fault Listen! he twits his brother with neglect of duty (ver. 28). True he does not know; he is only supposing the sheep must have been left uncared for, as David is there. To an angry, jealous nature, truth is of little matter. The probable, or even the possible, is quite near enough.

2. The king discourages him (ver. 33). Doubtless appearances were against David. They have often been against bravo men, and Saul was only the echo of that prudence which is popular today. God's men, who endure as seeing Him who is invisible, cannot be measured by the rule of this world's wisdom. We advance now to another link.

3. Thirdly, in all this David was being fitted for the conflict as the result of the Divine anointing. Discipline is often inward through the outward, and sometimes the outward is proof of the inward. David's offers of service were refused. That the affairs of service are often refused is apparent in the records of the Holy Scriptures. Dr. Ker unfolds this in a sermon from the refusal of the Israelites' offers of service by Joshua. He draws attention to Gideon's band, that not all were chosen who offered; and to Christ's searching answer to the man who would "first go bury his dead." Today, as of old, many offers of service are refused — and why? Thus our sincerity is tested. Only so do we know ourselves; but every "Christian" comes out of the Slough of Despond "on the far side." One result of these discouragements in David's case was, he was thrown on God's promise. His past opens (ver. 34). His own mind is finding wonderful illumination as he tells the king of what he had done. This is the right use of past experience. "I slew him;" surely the God of my strength can give me power over this Philistine lion also. Do you not observe his sense of Goliath's sin increases in proportion as his faith in God expands? There is a rising emphasis of scorn surely. "This uncircumcised Philistine; This Philistine." How terrible is this contempt, coming from God's chosen! Thus early we mark the habit of referring everything to the will and providence of God, which is the key to David's character. Thus there is outward victory. David has gained permission — has won his way; and is not this the window through which we see the inward victory? All through he maintains his humility, yet who could imagine any test more trying than this double refusal of service? And how conspicuous this humility is in his answer to Saul after the victory (ver. 58), and that untrue and supercilious speech of Abner's (ver. 55). He maintains his patience. What restraint he must have put upon that impetuous spirit of his to take the sneer so quietly! (ver. 29). "He that hath rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty."

(H. E. Stone.)

This is a revolution wrought by one brave soul. And this is but a single incident in the life of one who walked by faith, and who learned his faith in communion with God. It was this which gave to David the qualities which this history reveals — a sound judgment, a fearless tongue, a sweet temper, and a lion's heart.

I. A SOUND JUDGMENT. David came to Elah a youth amidst an army of veterans. Yet his judgment was sounder than Saul's, than Abner's, or that of any of the bronzed warriors around him. Why? Because he came to Elah from Bethlehem, from the quiet hills where he had communed with God, and strengthened his faith in Him. The men of Israel had natural courage enough, but this was a combat which, on all natural principles, seemed hopeless. David, however, looked at the matter through eyes that were "full of religious light." David saw God upon the scene. He was the only one who saw Him; and that sight made the shepherd the true tactician. Faith in God gave him at once the true point of view. Mere secular computations had half blinded Israel's eyes. The impressions and the services of the young are sometimes better than those of the old, because the elder may have lost simplicity of faith and have learned to look at life from a worldly point of view. Inexpert in the details of a matter, still the prayerful woman, the believing youth, may have a higher, clearer view of some Divine principle, some promise of Jehovah, which should be His people's guide. So the mother of Mills, a quarter of a century before the leaders of the Church had moved, declared that missions to the heathen world ought to be begun, and dedicated her own son in his infancy to the work. So Mills himself and his young associates, praying by the haystack in the fields of Williamstown, saw what Israel ought to do, saw that was possible which others called chimerical, and planned a bold campaign for Christ while yet the eyes of the fathers were sealed. They were mere striplings who offered themselves first to meet the giant forces of the pagan world. Wisdom dwells not in the noisy camp with the timid multitudes, but on the solitary hills of prayer.

II. AN INDEPENDENT TONGUE. "Swift to hear, slow to speak," is a good rule for youth, but not when it is clearly seen that others have forgotten God's commandments, or have fallen to questioning his promises. Be modest, but be not so cautious a Christian that you shall cease to be a Christian. Whatever you have clearly seen in your study of God's work, be not afraid to speak it out nor to let it be known that you differ from others. You have good examples for it. "His word was in mine heart, as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:9).

III. AND THE FRANKNESS OF DAVID'S TEMPER WAS EQUALLED BY ITS SWEETNESS. It was not easy in the presence of all the. soldiers to listen quietly to a brother's taunts and sneers, to be accosted as an idle runaway, to be contemptuously ordered back by that surly Eliab, jaundiced and spiteful with his jealousy. What an admirable self-control does David show! Have a soft answer for your detractors, and even stay with them if you may, like David, to fight their battles and cover their disgrace.

IV. It hardly need be said THAT HIS COURAGE WAS SIMPLY CONFIDENCE IN GOD. And it was a reasonable confidence. He did not fail to measure the strength of his giant enemy, but he heard him defy the living God, and when he heard that he knew his enemy was doomed. He knew that Jehovah would "make bare his holy arm," and "make all the earth to know that there is a God in Israel." Woe unto him that striveth against his Maker! The most powerful of men, the most gigantic combination which diplomacy or society or capital can frame, are doomed when they set themselves against God's holy law. David had not only heard the word of Jehovah's promise; he had had experience of His faithfulness. This was not the first danger he had met with quick, uplifted prayer. And David's confidence in God was reasonable from another point of view. The hazards he was taking were not encountered needlessly, from a mere exuberance of daring or delight in danger. He might well ask, "Is there not a cause?" The interest of Israel, the honour of Jehovah, were at stake: it was reasonable, therefore, to believe that he would not be left to fight alone. Still less did he seek this public championship of Israel, or welcome it to win for himself a name. But David's confidence in God was attended by no carelessness. Because "the battle was the Lord's," David did not think there was little for him to do. What do we see? He carefully selects the most appropriate means, and then he plies them with intense energy.

(Arthur Mitchell, D. D.)

We may look at David and Goliath as they appear in contest, as illustrating the forms, spirits, weapons, and destiny of the great moral antagonists of our world — good and evil.

1. These two men give us a picture of the forms of good and evil. Evil in our world is like Goliath — of gigantic stature, immense energy, and imposing aspect. It is a colossus. Good in our world is like David in its appearance — small, weak, and insignificant; possessing nothing to which the world attaches the idea of strength or glory. So it appeared in Christ. "He was a root out of a dry ground."

2. These two men give us a picture of the spirit of good and evil. The spirit of evil, like that of Goliath, is proud, contemptuous, malignant. The spirit of good, like that of David, is that of humble trust and dependence upon God.

3. These two men give us a picture of the weapons of good and evil. Evil, like Goliath, has many and powerful weapons to fight its battles. Like Goliath, it is full-armed. Armies and navies are on its side. The weapons of good are of the simplest kind; the sling and stone of David would symbolise them. "The weapons of our warfare," etc.

4. These two men give us a picture of the ultimate destinies of good and evil. Goliath, notwithstanding his great strength, proud vanities and mighty weapons, was slain, and his body given to the fowls of heaven, and the beasts of the earth. So it will be with evil. Like the imago in the monarch's vision, the little stone of truth shall shiver it into atoms. The end of truth will be like that of David — triumphant and progressive in honour and influence in the empire of God.

(D. Thomas.)

People
Abinadab, Abner, David, Elah, Eliab, Ephah, Goliath, Israelites, Jesse, Saul, Shammah
Places
Azekah, Bethlehem, Ekron, Ephes-dammim, Gath, Jerusalem, Shaaraim, Socoh, Valley of Elah
Topics
Anger, Battle, Brother, Burned, Burneth, Camest, Care, Conceited, David, David's, Desert, Eldest, Eliab, Eli'ab, Eliab's, Eli'ab's, Evil, Fight, Flock, Hast, Heareth, Hearing, Heart, Hither, Insolence, Kindled, Leave, Mayest, Mightest, Moved, Naughtiness, Oldest, Order, Presumption, Presumptuousness, Pride, Sheep, Spake, Speaketh, Speaking, Spoke, Waste, Watch, Wicked, Wickedness, Wilderness, Wrath
Outline
1. The armies of the Israelites and Philistines being ready to battle
4. Goliath challenges a combat
12. David, sent by his father to visit his brothers, takes the challenge
28. Eliab chides him
30. He is brought to Saul
32. shows the reason of his confidence
38. and slays the giant
55. Saul takes notice of David

Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Samuel 17:28

     5550   speech, negative
     5791   anger, human
     5818   contempt
     5822   criticism, against believers
     6156   fall, of humanity
     7785   shepherd, occupation

1 Samuel 17:20-51

     5658   boys

Library
The victory of Unarmed Faith
'And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; 35. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

April the Thirtieth the Test of victory
"David behaveth himself wisely." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 55--xviii. 5. The hour of victory is a more severe moral test than the hour of defeat. Many a man can brave the perils of adversity who succumbs to the seductions of prosperity. He can stand the cold better than the heat! He is enriched by failure, but "spoilt by success." To test the real quality of a man, let us regard him just when he has slain Goliath! "David behaved himself wisely"! He was not "eaten up with pride." He developed no "side."
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

April the Twenty-Ninth the Mood of Triumph
"I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 38-54. The man who comes up to his foes with this assurance will fight and win. Reasonable confidence is one of the most important weapons in the warrior's armoury. Fear is always wasteful. The man who calmly expects to win has already begun to conquer. Our mood has so much to do with our might. And therefore does the Word of God counsel us to attend to our dispositions, lest, having carefully collected our material implements,
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Call of David.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone."--1 Samuel xvii. 50. These words, which are taken from the chapter which you heard read just now in the course of the Service[1], declare the victory which David, the man after God's own heart, gained over Goliath, who came out of the army of the Philistines to defy the Living God; and they declare the manner of his gaining it. He gained it with a sling and with a stone; that is, by means, which to man might seem weak and
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

How David Prevailed.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine!"--1 SAMUEL xvii. 50. Yes, he did, but he would not have done so if he had remained as quiet as the other Israelites. David was one of those who could not be easy so long as the enemies of his country were in the ascendant. To see a Philistine strutting about, defying the armies of the living God, was more than he could bear. Is not this the spirit which should animate Christians to-day? It is not one GOLIATH merely, there are many. DRUNKENNESS, PROFANITY,
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Knox -- the First Temptation of Christ
John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, was born at Giffordgate, four miles from Haddington, Scotland, in 1505. He first made his appearance as a preacher in Edinburgh, where he thundered against popery, but was imprisoned and sent to the galleys in 1546. In 1547 Edward VI secured his release and made him a royal chaplain, when he acquired the friendship of Cranmer and other reformers. On the accession of Mary (1553) he took refuge on the Continent. In 1556 he accepted the charge of a church in Geneva,
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

Hwochow Women's Bible Training School
COURSE OF STUDY FIRST TERM Book of Genesis. Gospel according to St. Luke or St. Mark. Acts of the Apostles, chapters i. to ix. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible." Reading Lessons, with necessary Explanation and Writing of Chinese Character. Arithmetic. Singing and Memorisation of Hymns. SECOND TERM Book of Exodus, Numbers, and 1 Samuel i. to xvi. The Gospel according to St. John. The Epistle of St James. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible"--(continued). Reading
A. Mildred Cable—The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's

He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

The Shepherd-King
'And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt them mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel! fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided Me a king among his sons. 2. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Temporal Advantages.
"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."--1 Tim. vi. 7, 8. Every age has its own special sins and temptations. Impatience with their lot, murmuring, grudging, unthankfulness, discontent, are sins common to men at all times, but I suppose one of those sins which belongs to our age more than to another, is desire of a greater portion of worldly goods than God has given us,--ambition and covetousness
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers.
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial;
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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