This coming Lord’s Day we will begin looking at one of the most exciting episodes from the early life of king David. It is found in 1 Samuel 17.

David’s encounter with Goliath has been called, “one of the world’s classic narratives,” and “one of the most fascinating and encouraging events recorded in Scripture.” Generations of believers, and their children, have read this story of David’s victory over the Philistine giant and drawn strength and hope. And even outside of the Church and Christianity, this is a well-known and moving account. It presents an enormously disadvantaged ‘underdog’ winning a stunning victory over a vastly superior opponent, beating almost impossible odds in the process!

I suspect that most of us assume that we know what this episode is really about, and how we should interpret and apply it. After all, it seems so obvious. This is about you and me, and the many ‘giants’ we confront in life. And it is an encouragement to be like David. When we encounter giant-sized adversities and problems, we need only to load our ‘slingshot of faith’ with five smooth stones, and drop the opponent dead in his tracks! As did David, we also face our giants. And if we have enough faith, then we can prevail over anything!

But . . . what if this really isn’t the correct way to view this episode at all? What if looking at the story of David’s victory over Goliath in this manner misses the point entirely . . . by a mile, actually?

This is why we need to slow down, cast off our assumptions, and look at this episode in a totally different light, one that is more faithful to the flow of the larger story of redemption. And this is exactly what we are going to do this Lord’s Day. We are going to get re-acquainted with one of the most beloved and encouraging events in the whole Bible! And what we shall discover along our way will be more wonderful than we could have ever assumed or imagined!