This must be the most popular and the most remembered Bible story from the Old Testament.  It’s full of suspense: the story revolves around a boy who has the heart of a warrior, an aging warrior whose heart is failing and a fierce and formidable enemy.  It could be a Hollywood formula for a movie blockbuster.

But the Biblical truth is often overlooked as the dramatic scene unfolds.  The story is not just about the boy and the giant. It’s a foregone conclusion that the boy will slay the giant.  The story is really the contrast between the aging warrior and the young boy; and the contrast centers on faith and the lack of faith. It is a comparison of two diametrically opposed personalities and their differing responses to a stressful situation: David responds in faith,while Saul cowers in fear.

The contrast In terms of physique: David was a young man, barely out of his teens.  He had a sturdy build from roaming the hills of Bethlehem as a shepherd.  He was courageous, but he lacked the blood-lust of a professional warrior, he only wounds when his life is in danger. The king, on the other hand,  was in the peak of his masculine strength, he was a battle-hardened and seasoned warrior whose presence was remarkable.  The giant was as rough as he was big, he was a bully and built like one.

The contrast in terms of spiritual vigor:  David knew his God and has proved his God’s power in the past when in his solitary and dangerous life in the hills as a shepherd, he was attacked by a lion and a bear. David trusted his God unreservedly.  King Saul has weaned himself from trusting God, he is fighting his battles for himself, depending on his own prowess, his skill and his battle experience.  The giant just thinks he is a god.

In terms of emotional resilience:  David did not let the changing circumstances of his life affect him.  He was taken for granted by his family which had gathered for a sacrifice and feast without even informing him.  He was anointed king while his older brothers were refused.  He was hired promoted from sheep herding to play the harp for King Saul at court whenever he was seized with paralyzing fear or sleepless paranoia. When King Saul left for battle, David returned to taking care of his sheep.  When his brothers followed the king into the battle, and had been in the battle ground for forty days, David obeyed his father’s command to bring food to them even though they were mean to him. He obeyed without question, objection or hesitation. When he saw the giant, he was not afraid.  He was not angry when he was accused by Eliab, his eldest brother, that he was just being naughty.  He was not angry when King Saul said that he was inexperienced. The only intense emotional reaction David had was when the giant blasphemed Jehovah: that made David angry. It was what drove him to want to fight the giant; it was what gave him the assurance of victory over the giant: he was fighting for God’s honor.

King Saul’s emotional responses were knee-jerk reactions to the fast-changing conditions of his life. One minute he was entirely intimidated by the size of Goliath, he shirked off fighting the giant himself.  His fear of the giant stunned him, he was unable to think like the seasoned warrior that he was:  he forgot that it was possible for him to defeat Goliath.  Saul appeared the warrior, but his heart and his mind were faint.  The stakes were too high: if he lost, he would surely lose the kingdom to the Philistines and all Israel will blame him.  His fear of losing the kingdom was matched only by his fear of losing face and his fear of the giant.

The contrast as to the methods of fighting:  David stuck to the weapons he knew best: his staff, his sling and five smooth stones.  He was willing to improvise, to use weapons he had on hand in a totally unexpected way.

King Saul favored his armor without reflecting that the heavy brass armor would just hamper his movements and slow him down.  The heat from the metal plates of his armor will dehydrate him faster and make him faint and weak just as quickly.  He was not creative and he could not adjust his battle strategies to fit the battle conditions.

The contrast as to motivation:  David wanted to avenge the insult Goliath had been heaping on Jehovah for forty days.  He wanted the Philistines to know that the God of Israel is alive and he is almighty.  He deserves praise and worship and not defiance, insult and blasphemy. David also wanted Israel to trust God. David was not fighting for reward or renown, he was fighting for the honor of God. King Saul, though, only desired victory to enhance his prestige and to secure the kingdom in his hand.  Saul’s victory will prove that he still deserved to be king even if God had long rejected him.

What made David victorious?  His inexperience, his youth, his weakness all drove him to trust God fully.  His desire to please God and to honor God far outweighed any fear or concern for his own life, his appearance, and his social acceptability.  He was the kind of person who was willing to give all of himself to God even if it culminated in his death.  This is zeal for God and it is what sets apart every hero of faith in the Bible.

J.I. Packer in his book Knowing God quoted Bishop J.C. Ryle who described the zealous man as a man who sees one thing, cares for one thing,  lives for on thing, is swallowed up in one thing, and that one thing is to please God. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, to advance His glory.  If he is consumed in the very burning, he is content.  He feels that, as a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God had appointed him.

This is really why David won and Saul, who was a mere spectator in the sidelines, did not. David won against the giant, he won over the Philistines, he won the hearts of the people of Israel, he won the friendship of Jonathan, he won the loyalty of Samuel, he won the favor of God, and eventually, he won the kingdom.

Applying this lesson to our personal lives: I wonder if we have that same zeal for God? Perhaps our lack of zeal for God is the very reason why our service is lackluster. It is not so much what we do for God that spells spiritual success, it is why we do what we do for God.

Perhaps our lack of zeal is the very reason why in the heat of spiritual conflict, we find ourselves in the sidelines and not in the thick of the fray. Our lack of zeal must be why we are plagued with a nagging feeling of inadequacy although we preach, teach, work, and witness tirelessly.  We still feel that something important is lacking: that thing we lack is zeal.

Zeal for God spells victory in God; for God grants only enough power to match our zeal. Spiritual victory is measured not by the quantity of work we accomplish but in the depth of our surrender and the fervency of our zeal. Jesus Christ had this zeal, his zeal for God ate him up; his zeal led him to the cross.  But in his death on the cross, he gained God’s eternal approval.  His zeal earned for him, eternal exaltation to the right hand of God.  If we are to be Christ-like, and sit in heavenly places with Christ, we must also have his zeal for God.

Have zeal, will slay giants.  Are you ready?