1 Samuel 17:38–49

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, 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 and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

Trick question—What was the distance between David and Goliath when he fired that river rock at him?

Trick answer—Whatever David wanted it to be.

David had an absolute mobility advantage over Goliath. David could sprint about 20mph; Goliath would be lucky to get up to 10. Frankly, killing him quickly was merciful. David could have enticed Goliath into chasing him all over the Valley of Elah until the overloaded oaf keeled over from heat stroke.

A slinger can launch a stone at over 100mph. Add 20 more because David was running at him and the stone hit Goliath’s forehead at 120+. A major league fastball can kill you at 100mph, and a baseball isn’t as hard as a river rock.

So Goliath goes down like the Titanic.

David’s defeat of Goliath isn’t a miracle in the most literal sense of the word, but the hand of God is all over this encounter. The “lucky shot” David gets off is, of course, anything but luck. The timing of David’s visit, and what he hears while he’s there, is just as “lucky.”

But the biggest “lucky thing” is the lions and bears that God sent to get David ready.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Saturday ones are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to the DEEP click here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.