Is the story of David and Goliath taught outside the Biblical story?
Understanding the story of David and Goliath can help us understand how to read and teach the Bible. Please read on to see how Biblical theology can change how you teach or understand the Bible.
Biblical theology is one of the things I have been taught, and while I am no authority on this topic, some things about it are not hard to grasp. So would you take a moment to walk through this with me?
Start as the tower of Babel.
We must start with a very important event in the Bible’s story: the tower of Babel. God had to break up the people into nations by language because they had set their hearts against God. God had a plan to create a nation through a man name Abram. This event sets the stage for the rest of the Bible story, and if one forgets it, they will end up where the Bible never intended.
So now we come to the story of David facing the Philistine giant. Let’s back up just a little bit. God had Samuel had chosen Saul to be the king of His nation Israel, but Saul quickly started to believe it was his kingdom. So God looked for a man who would realize that Israel was God’s kingdom.
This scene is very familiar if you have been following the Biblical story. In the original form of the Kingdom, Adam was supposed to understand that the garden was God’s and He was in charge. David seems to understand this.
Many messages, lessons, and devotions have been taught through the story of David facing Goliath. It usually follows a story that we all have giants in our lives, and God is there to help us conquer them. I must admit that I taught this way in the past. I will not say this is wrong, but it is not the storyline as I see it. I also believe that approach makes us the story star instead of the actual subject.
The actual subject is God’s Kingdom, not us! David was a man after God’s heart because he understood that Israel was God’s.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
1 Samuel 17:26
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
1 Samuel 17:45
David understood whose Kingdom it was.
David realized there was a cause, but it was not his cause (1 Samuel 17:29). I will not teach that story as if it speaks about us dealing with our so-called personal giants. I will teach the story as we are all responsible for being good stewards of God’s Kingdom. We must do our best to prevent the enemy from destroying God’s kingdom.
Before I close, let me say God’s kingdom is not the United States of America or any other nation. God’s kingdom is not of this world. God’s Kingdom is His Church, His Body. Each church is supposed to be a little paradise in the middle of a crooked and perverse world.
Let me say this, God is interested in our giants, but they are for God to take care of. Jesus said it, not me.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV 1900)