1 Samuel 17:31–39

Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.

David’s experience with lions and bears is crucial here. No one thinks of David as a warrior, but he’s actually quite battle-hardened. His fights have come repeatedly and without warning.

Lions and bears are formidable adversaries. Asiatic black bears can run about as fast as Usain Bolt’s world record top speed of 27.5 mph—and lions can run twice as fast.

They’re big. They’re fast. They have sharp teeth and claws, and they have the element of surprise when they attack.

David winning those fights is impressive. David being used to winning them is super impressive. A sling in the hands of a skilled shepherd is a powerful weapon.

Combine that with David’s faith, and you’ve got a fighting machine unlike anything Saul has ever seen.

So, Saul doesn’t understand what he’s looking at. He thinks his armor will help David.

It doesn’t. David sloughs it off in favor of what he’s used to. The shepherd’s garb might seem horribly inadequate for a fight to the death, but David has won a bunch of them already (against arguably tougher opponents) wearing exactly the same thing. He’s comfortable in this outfit, and he’s comfortable with the task before him.

To David, this fight looks like just another day at the office.

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.