Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the Daily Challenges. Yesterday we read the story of David and Goliath.  David has just convinced his king to allow him to fight the Philistines’ representative fighter, Goliath.

Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. (1 Samuel 17:38-50 ESV)

First, we can see what everyone I expecting.  Hand to hand combat between infantry, which means they need to both wear heavy armour, and fight at close quarters with swords.  Goliath has the advantage here, he’s big, strong enough to manage the heavy gear, and has more weapons including a spear and javelin.

He knows this, and taunts and disreppects David for his youth and status as a shepherd.  He laughs at David’s shepherd’s stick, not realizing that David has other plans.  He has a distance weapon, a sling and five stones.  The slign would be like a little leather cup with two strings, to be swung around and around.  Doesn’t sound like much, but a dangerous weapon that a well trained soldier could use to kill.  In this case, David hits him in the one unprotected space – his forehead.

Gladwell has an interesting theory that Goliath’s size is caused by a condition that also impacts sight, and this is why he has a shield bearer to guide him, and can’t see what David’s doing.  It’s an intriguing possibility, but we unfortunately don’t know!

Whatever the reasons, David had the God-given confidence to take Goliath down, even though he was an unlikely candidate!

Question: What does this have to do with Jesus?