The Bully

Reflections on 1 Sam. 17:1-11

Brats annoy us, but bullies intimidate us with their greater size and superior strength.

THE BULLY. Goliath was a bully. He stood more than nine feet tall. His reputation as a champion was intimidating. He wore bronze armor weighing 125 pounds and carried the heaviest weapons the Israelites had ever seen.He stood daily between the Philistine and Israelite armies in the Valley of Elah, about 15 miles west of Bethlehem, where he confronted the Israelites and insulted them. Saul and the Israelites were intimidated.

A SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF. At an earlier time, Saul would not have been intimidated. At the beginning of his reign, Nahash, the Ammonite king, determined to insult the Israelites of Jabesh Gilead by gouging out their right eyes. When Saul heard it, God's Spirit had come mightily upon him. He called Israel to battle and led them in a stirring surprise attack on the Ammonites (1 Sam. 11:1-11). But now God’s Spirit had departed from Saul. Though he was a head taller than the other Israelite soldiers, he did not accept Goliath’s challenge. He was as intimidated as his soldiers.

NEED FOR A LEADER. Saul’s leadership abilities had forsaken him. The Israelites were leaderless; they were like sheep without a shepherd. Little did they know that their shepherd was about to appear. The shepherd God had chosen would lead his people; they would hear his voice and follow him (2 Sam. 5:2). Similarly, when God’s people were leaderless in the first century and scattered like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36), the Good Shepherd appeared. Even today, his sheep know his voice and follow him (John 10:4).