1 Samuel 17:55-19:24 records how after David’s surprise victory over Goliath, instant fame placed him in the limelight. However, this upward rise soon had its downward side and David found himself in the untenable position of being in King Saul’s employment when the King tried more than once to kill him. To make matters worse David soon became the King’s son-in-law and then Saul’s own children had to help David escape from Saul’s wrath. Through all this, David found that his security could only be in the Lord and Him alone.

1 Samuel 17:41-54 tells us that when David finally went out to fight Goliath it was the ultimate mismatch. However with some stones and a sling and his ‘secret weapon’ of trust in the Lord, David was able to gain the victory, proving that victory does not always go to the strong, but to those whose trust is in the Lord. Those who belong to Christ also share in His victory over sin and death and Satan and so are ‘overcomers’ in Him.

In 1 Samuel 17:28-40 it is evident that there can be no doubt that David was different to the rest of the Israelite army and even the members of his own family. His sight was different in that he could see that God was bigger than Goliath. His motives were different even though his brother, Eliab, was critical of his intent. And his strategy too was different. Saul’s armour did not fit and was the wrong kind. Again David is a ‘type’ of Jesus who was to come and who was different in every sense but did not allow anything or anyone to deter him from the goal of saving His people

The story of David and Goliath is usually misunderstood to be a description of a clash between a champion and an underdog, but the story itself has far more meaning than that. It is true to say that Goliath was big and David was small, but because David is a ‘type’ of Jesus who was to come, the beginning of the story in 1 Samuel 17:28-37 emphasizes how David heard all of Goliath’s taunts and was willing to step into the breach for God’s people – something that the Lord Jesus did for God’s people to a greatest degree.

In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, Saul’s continued disobedience and hardened heart meant that his life soon began to spiral downwards. However in the providence of God, David, the youngest son of Jesse became instrumental in bring blessing to Saul in his torment. In this way David is a type of Jesus, his greater Son, who was to come and who brings the fullness of forgiveness, salvation and peace to all who come to Him in faith.

When Samuel went in obedience to the Lord’s command to the home of Jesse to anoint a new king in 1 Samuel 16:1-13, he must have thought deeply about the disappointments he’d known, the task he’d received and the obstacles he’d faced. The anointing of the previous King, Saul, had ended in disaster and now Samuel may well have thought that the same lay ahead. God, however, had other plans for Samuel and for His people in the anointing of David, who would not have been the world’s choice. The principle Samuel learned in all this was the need to wait for God’s instructions and then obey.