Who doesn’t love the story of David and Goliath? When you read it, it’s like watching a movie in your mind. The underdog kid takes a stone in his slingshot and conks the nasty giant on the head and he falls over dead. Applause!
This movie reel that we are watching in our mind that happens in 1 Sam 17… I want to pause it on one frame. Before that frame, I want to highlight what has led up to this spot in the story. … Young David has already been anointed to be the next king by Samuel, unbeknownst to God-rejected current king Saul (1 Sam 16:1-2). David has become Saul’s music therapist by others’ persuasion (1 Sam. 16:14-23). David’s father Jesse has commissioned David to go feed bread to his brothers on the battle line (1 Sam 17:17). In this process, David hears Goliath’s challenge of 40 days for someone of Israel to step up and fight him like a man (1 Sam 17:16, 23). David’s brothers have rejected him being there (1 Sam 17:28-29). Perhaps because of his music-therapist connection with Saul, David gets an audience with Saul where this young whipper snapper presents himself as the one to take on Goliath (1 Sam 17:31-32).
Before I push “play” on our movie reel, I must stall briefly to lift our eyes out of the historical account to what’s going on prophetically. If you read my last post, you see that David was a type of Christ—seen from the verse where God tells us he has “provided me a king among his (Jesse’s) sons.” (1 Sam 16:1 confirmed in Isa. 11:1)
Okay. Back to our movie. Take a handful of popcorn. Here we go.
These two verses begin the identity of David not only as a conquering king after God’s own heart (before he was installed as king), but also as a prophet. Here are some points to ponder:
- When you read the continuing story of David killing Goliath, don’t miss the fact that he acted kingly in this famous moment before he was king, just as Jesus accomplished his greatest salvation feats before being installed as king (which is yet to happen!)
- Notice also that the testimony David was driving at in the verses above was that “there is a God in Israel.” This story prophetically is about a king in Israel. This will be the case in the Millennium after Jesus has returned as King.
- But the biggest point I want you to see is how that David launched his identity as a prophet in these verses. BTW, was he actually a prophet as well as king? Yeppers. See Acts 2:30 and additionally, consider the “Messianic Psalms.” All those are prophetic and written by David. So yes, he was also a prophet.
Now let’s read the verses again, and this time, ask yourself, “how did David know that? Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (1 Sam 17:45-46)
He knew how this story was going to end because the Spirit of the Lord was with him. He was future king, yes, but he was also a prophet. You read those two verses a third time and you get a glimpse into how God worked with prophets to record the scriptures. What the prophets recorded in the Bible didn’t come from their imagination or their gifted writing abilities. They were dropped in their pens/head/mouths just as the words David said in our verses were dropped into his mouth (2 Pet 1:20-21). What he told Goliath in that prophetic moment was God-breathed into David’s mouth. And then it was lived out. He took off Goliath’s head “this day.”
Just as a closing thought. That “feeding dead bodies to the fowls of the air.” In our story, Goliath had just told David he was going to kill him and give his flesh to the fowls of the air. Um. It didn’t happen like that. Instead, David turned that on Goliath and told him. No, he was going to give the carcases of the host of the Philistines to the fowls of the air. This also points to the future, Look at Rev. 19:17-18. Those fowls of the air will be the clean-up crew after the Battle of Armageddon. For David historically, it happened “this day.” Prophetically, it will happen “that day,” and that’s a whole different study!
There is certainly more to this whole story than the fascinating historical event that it was! It speaks of the future.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
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