Provocations

By pbobby

Two tribes, the Philistines and the Israelites want to control each other, their possessions and their land. They have met on opposing mountains to do battle in the valley below.

The Philistines have great faith in their legendary Goliath of Gath. He stands six cubits and one span (approximately 9 feet, 9 inches), has proportionate masses of muscle, and a voice of thunder that causes mere mortals to shudder when it rumbles through the valley and echoes off the surrounding hills.

The Israelites have great faith in their God who has chosen them as the nation of nations, and delivered them out of bondage with many supernatural feats called miracles.

Goliath can be seen and heard, but this God of Israel, none can see, touch or hear. The two tribes have been massed and have been saber rattling for days with no one for sure when or if a battle will ensue. Goliath of the Philistines, in full armor so weighty that no ordinary man could wear it, has begun to taunt and threaten the Israelites. He uses a shield that requires a team of his kin to carry it, a sword that no other could possibly wield and a spear the size of a weaver's beam.

He roars at the Israelites, "Send down your best warrior and let us do battle. If he can kill me, we will surrender; but if I kill your best warrior, you and yours will belong to us."

The Israelites and their King Saul were filled with great fear. What could they possibly do to prevent annihilation?

All this posturing and threatening had been unfolding for days. From our vantage point of today, the whole idea seems rather civil; let the battle be fought by two men rather than to have hundreds, even thousands of men, killed in battle to resolve this dispute. This obviously was not a benevolent gesture on the part of the Philistines; they were playing to their own strength.

Then a young shepherd boy comes to bring food to his three older brothers and sees what is going on. He is incensed, and says, "I will do battle with this giant, and my God will give me the strength to prevail."

When King Saul hears of this, he calls for the shepherd to come to him. When David arrives, King Saul seems very disappointed, saying, "You are just a boy, and Goliath is a trained warrior."

David's response was that he is a shepherd who has defended his sheep by killing lions and bears; so how could this man be any problem? "This man has defied our God and Nation! Our God, who saved me from the lions and bears, will go with me and save me from this Philistine."

Then King Saul said, "Go! And may the Lord be with you."

David put five smooth stones in his shepherd's pouch, carried his slingshot with him, and went out to meet this menacing, gargantuan enemy of his God and his Nation. When Goliath saw him, he ridiculed him and cursed both David and his God.

Then Goliath bellowed, "Come on down, and I will feed you to the buzzards and the wolves."

David responded, "You come to me with sword, spear and javelin while I come to you in the power of my God, whom you have defied; I will kill you and cut off your head. This battle is the Lord's, and He will give you to me now!"

They came closer to each other, and at his best range, David took one of the stones, placed it in the sheath of his slingshot. He then whirled it above his head to a siren speed and with keen accuracy hurled that lethal stone straight through a chink in Goliath's armor, killing him instantly. David then took Goliath's sword and calmly chopped off his head just as he said he would. The Israelites, now emboldened went after the fleeing Philistines, killing many of them all the way to Gath (their home) and plundered all their valuables.

What a great victory for God's chosen people!

Now honestly, have you ever questioned the veracity of this story?

Do you believe this story literally as printed in the Bible, I Samuel, Chapter 17?

If you do, pbobby thinks you believe in myth*.

Now I offer the following questions for your consideration.

* "Myth: A traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon."

Well, what do you really think? pbobbby believes in myth too!