“He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals! ” (1 Samuel 17:43-44, NIV)
As we see in today’s text, trash talk has a long history. It certainly ranks among the top skills required of a golfer. A friend of mine – my dentist, actually – excels at this facet of the game. His verbal abuse borders on being an art form. Eloquent. Concise. Frequently fact-based.
Of course, most of us have heard the outcome of the epic David vs. Goliath match. We’ve read the story. If trash talk could be assigned a handicap, Goliath was a plus 3.
David was also capable of sanctified trash talk: David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”
This was not a fair fight. Goliath never had a chance. It’s always ill-advised to talk trash to the representative of the “Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel.” Never mind that he’s a puny, adolescent shepherd boy armed with a slingshot, and Goliath is a battle-tested giant.
This contest allowed David (technically, the Lord Almighty) to put one in the win column—a big one!
Considering that it was Jesus’ opinion that the Old Testament was about Him (Luke 24:25-27), this introduces some fascinating nuance into the account.
Seeing how David prefigures Jesus isn’t exactly hard to do. Someone who arises from obscurity and, in a somewhat surprising manner, delivers God’s chosen people from their mortal enemy is easily recognized as a harbinger of what is eventually revealed in the Gospels.
But what about Goliath? Lest he is forever portrayed as a massive trash-talking failure, consider this: While David points to Christ, he’s not the whole story. Goliath represents the enemy of God and God’s anointed. Among other clues, his armor gives the appearance of scales, like the skin of a serpent.
Just as David went to battle and defeated Goliath, Jesus went to war and defeated the serpent and sin, and he did this for us.
Next time I play against my dentist, I’ll tell him I plan to leave his carcass for the birds and wild animals. That ought to mess with his head.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that your sinless Son, like David, defeated the ultimate enemies of your chosen ones.