1 Samuel 17:48 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose,’ – maybe his armour bearer had found a seat through all this; he was carrying so much armour; it would have been welcome – ‘and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.’ He ‘put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead’, through the metalwork that was there in all probability. Some old writers said he must have been too overconfident and pushed up his visor. We don’t know about that, but anyway the stone knocked him clean out. Although the word ‘slew’ is used – it is used again later – he seems to have been completely unconscious. Not surprisingly he fell forward with all that weight on the end of his spear and so on. His balance must have been tilted forward.‘So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone.’ That is not said in order to get credit to David. The inspired word says it to emphasise the miraculous elements in all this. ‘but there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹ Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine’, who in this verse seems to be unconscious but alive. All the more humiliating that the Philistine onlookers should see him slain, incapable of defending himself. ‘[He] took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.’ You can imagine the scene. When the two were facing each other, and the people of Israel must have thought to themselves, ‘What has our king done? Our future now is in the hands of this this young man, who is virtually unarmed. And there is this invincible champion of the Philistines.’ They must have shuddered in horror and fear and even anger that such a one should be sent forth. And the Philistines must have leered with contempt, and victory in their nostrils, and certain that this was just going to end in this young man's early death. There were no doubt the faithful few in Israel, who couldn't understand this, but they prayed. Some might have been extremely anxious to see such an underdog going against such a powerful champion, but they were sympathetic. You can only imagine all the emotions. Then in a flash it's all over, and it's finished, and they are having to pursue the enemy.David, the young David: wonderful things happened to him. The Lord's deliverance from wild animals, the anointing to be king over Israel, then Goliath, the slaying of Goliath, which was, in effect, his public presentation to the nation of Israel. Now they would see him for the first time. Mark you, he is a type of Christ in this, isn’t he? One man saves the whole nation. He is a type of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who went alone to Calvary to take upon himself our suffering, and be our champion and our deliverer. David had immense blessings, but he also had endless troubles. He had to be so patient before his life's work could begin. He had to be abused by his older brothers. He had to be in service, subservient to others: his father, his brothers, looking after the sheep, Saul, as his musician and armour bearer. Then for years he was a fugitive from the venom of Saul. Even after he became king, he was betrayed over and over again, and given enormous problems and trouble. Early in his life, with the lion and the bear, and then with Goliath, he learned this: ‘David,’ said the Lord to him, ‘you have got to fight. I will secure the victory but you must pick up arms, and you must fight.’