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Welcome back! It’s hard for me to believe we’ve already spent seven weeks studying 1 Samuel 17. I hope you’ve been able to dig into the rich treasure here, and the Holy Spirit has helped you better understand what you’ve discovered.

As I reviewed my work in this study, the Spirit reminded me about other battles all Christians face. Paul alluded to them in his letter to the Ephesians, and he also identified our true enemies. As I studied this week, I found some interesting parallels between them and the villains of our study text, and I was amazed anew that a giant and a whole host of Philistines would succumb to the previously demoralized army of the Living God led by a youth with nothing but a staff, a sling, and five stones. Oh, and colossal faith in the LORD of hosts.

Last Week’s Work

CROSS-REFERENCES

This past week has been a little crazy schedule-wise, so I limited my research to focus on God’s two names mentioned in vv26, 36, and 45: the living God and the LORD of hosts. Interestingly, I found the former term used throughout the Bible. For example, in the Old Testament, it’s associated with military victory (2 Kings 19, Isaiah 37:4, Jeremiah 23:36) and divine rescue. In the New Testament, it helps define Jesus’s identity, and the Apostle Paul equates Him to the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

I also noticed a few of David’s references to God as LORD of hosts. For example, he used that name when he and 30,000 men brought the ark of the covenant back (from the Philistines, no less!) into the city of Jerusalem. And, in a prayer of gratitude, he later reaffirms the LORD of hosts is God over Israel.

OTHER TRANSLATIONS

When I compared verses 21, 36, and 45 from the English Standard Version, the Amplified Bible, the New American Standard Bible (2020), the New Living Translation, and the Good News Translation, I discovered they were all remarkably similar except for v45, where I found these descriptions of God as LORD of armies (NASB20), LORD of Heaven’s Armies (NLT), and the more expansive LORD Almighty (GNT).

COMMENTARY

I reviewed bibleref.com, where the Spirit called my attention to the comparison of Goliath’s armor to the scales of the serpent from Genesis 3. I saw how both characters challenged the authority of God: the former as he defied the armies of the living God and the latter by manipulating Eve to disobey.

Moreover, the Spirit pointed out that the result in both scenarios was fear. But in our current study, I see how the Living God, the LORD of hosts is key to overcoming fear and spiritual enemies. No matter how much bigger or better equipped they appear to be, I’m assured the LORD determines the battle’s outcome.

But how do we know the LORD of hosts is with us? David received the Spirit of the LORD when he was anointed king. I believe that Spirit inspired David to tell Goliath he and his comrades were about to die. The good news is we don’t have to be afraid of our “giants,” either! If we’ve received the Holy Spirit, we have access to the same courage through faith in the same God!

Wow! I’m so grateful for this chance to become better acquainted with the God who saved my life. And, who better to teach me than King David? So far in this series, I appreciated David’s beautiful poem about God as Shepherd, our omnipotent caretaker and protector in Psalm 23. And here in 1 Samuel 17, David himself took on the protector role. He is the faithful, courageous warrior who seemed unaffected by the fear—the weapon of our eternal enemy—that so gripped his countrymen and king!

Dig-In Challenges

Let’s wrap up this study of 1 Samuel 17 and align with what we’ve discovered:

1. PRAY: Use my prayer from week 2 or your own.
2. ALIGN: Review your study notes (or what I’ve posted since week 2) and consider what you’ve learned in this study.
3. ALIGN: Then, think about how the Spirit has convicted you through this study. In other words, where has He shown you misalignment between what we’ve discovered and how you practice your faith?
4. ALIGN: Next, look to God’s Word for guidance to correct that misalignment. For me, this is often a verse from the study text or from one of the cross-references.
5. ALIGN: And finally, reflect on how you can practice thoughts or actions that align more closely with what you’ve discovered here.
   To make this stick, I commit to changing my thoughts* and/or actions** for at least three weeks.
   *by focusing daily on my correction verse(s), above.
   **by stopping or starting an activity as the Spirit leads.