So there they were: the Israelite army on one hill and the Philistine forces on another with a valley between them. The only action either army saw was a Philistine giant named Goliath walking out into no man’s land day after day to taunt the Israelites.

But we see the response of Saul and his army in verse 11. Every single man – from Saul all the way to the lowliest of foot soldiers – was drained of courage and sat in stunned terror of Goliath. Not a single man believed in himself enough to face the giant, which is understandable. But the real problem was that not a single man believed in His God to face the giant. 

We must let this picture of the Israelites cowering in fear crystallize in our minds and hearts as we continue reading because in the Israelite soldiers, we should see ourselves. Yes, we would have been afraid of Goliath, too, but more importantly, we have been rendered powerless before another giant – a greater enemy – that of sin and death. And just like the Israelites, we were out of the fight, sitting by helplessly, waiting for our champion to enter the fray, which He did in a manger in Bethlehem.

Why is it important to identify more with the Israelite soldiers in this passage than David?