When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear. When all the men of IsraelThis phrase sets the stage by identifying the collective group involved—"all the men of Israel." The Hebrew word for "men" here is "אִישׁ" (ish), which can refer to men in general or warriors specifically. The context of this passage is a military one, as these men are part of the Israelite army. Historically, Israel was a nation chosen by God, often facing battles against surrounding nations. The phrase underscores the unity and collective identity of the Israelites, who were bound by covenant to God and shared a common heritage and destiny. saw the man
The "man" referred to here is Goliath, the Philistine giant. The Hebrew word for "saw" is "רָאָה" (ra'ah), which means to see, perceive, or consider. This seeing is not just physical but also involves an assessment of the situation. Goliath's imposing stature and armor would have been intimidating, and the Israelites' perception of him was one of overwhelming threat. This highlights the human tendency to focus on visible circumstances rather than spiritual truths. they fled from him
The reaction of the Israelites is one of retreat. The Hebrew word for "fled" is "נָסוּ" (nasu), indicating a hurried escape or retreat. This response reveals a lack of faith and courage among the Israelites, who were God's chosen people. Historically, this reflects a moment of crisis in Israel's faith journey, where fear overshadowed their trust in God's power and promises. It serves as a reminder of the importance of faith in the face of daunting challenges. in great fear
The phrase "in great fear" captures the intensity of the Israelites' reaction. The Hebrew word for "fear" is "יָרֵא" (yare), which can mean fear, reverence, or awe. In this context, it denotes terror and dread. The Israelites' fear was not just of Goliath's physical prowess but also of the potential consequences of facing him. This fear contrasts with the biblical call to fear the Lord above all else, highlighting a moment where the Israelites' focus shifted from divine assurance to human intimidation. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Men of IsraelThese are the soldiers of Israel who were part of King Saul's army. They were tasked with defending Israel against the Philistines. 2. GoliathThe "man" referred to in this verse is Goliath, the Philistine giant who challenged the Israelites. His presence and challenge caused fear among the Israelite soldiers. 3. The Valley of ElahThis is the location where the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines took place. It is a significant setting for the confrontation between David and Goliath. 4. King SaulAlthough not directly mentioned in this verse, Saul was the king of Israel at the time and was responsible for leading the army. 5. The PhilistinesThe enemy nation opposing Israel, represented by Goliath in this confrontation. Teaching Points Fear and FaithThe fear of the Israelite soldiers highlights a lack of faith. Believers are called to trust in God's power rather than be overwhelmed by the size of their challenges. The Power of PerspectiveThe soldiers saw Goliath's size and strength, but David saw God's power. Our perspective can determine our response to challenges. Leadership and InfluenceSaul's inability to inspire courage in his men shows the importance of godly leadership. Leaders should point others to trust in God. Courage in the Face of AdversityTrue courage comes from reliance on God. Like David, believers should face their "giants" with confidence in God's deliverance. Community and SupportThe collective fear of the soldiers shows the impact of community influence. Believers should encourage one another in faith, especially in difficult times. Bible Study Questions 1. What factors contributed to the fear of the Israelite soldiers, and how can we avoid similar fear in our own lives? 2. How does the account of David and Goliath illustrate the principle found in Deuteronomy 20:1-4 about not fearing our enemies? 3. In what ways can we shift our perspective from the size of our problems to the greatness of God, as David did? 4. How can leaders today inspire faith and courage in those they lead, drawing lessons from Saul's leadership? 5. Reflect on a time when you faced a "giant" in your life. How did your faith influence your response, and what can you learn from David's example? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 20:1-4This passage provides God's instructions to Israel about not fearing their enemies because He is with them. The fear of the Israelite soldiers contrasts with this command. Joshua 1:9God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous, a directive that applies to all believers facing daunting challenges. Psalm 27:1David, who later confronts Goliath, writes about the Lord being his light and salvation, emphasizing the absence of fear when God is present. People Abinadab, Abner, David, Elah, Eliab, Ephah, Goliath, Israelites, Jesse, Saul, ShammahPlaces Azekah, Bethlehem, Ekron, Ephes-dammim, Gath, Jerusalem, Shaaraim, Socoh, Valley of ElahTopics Afraid, Exceedingly, Fear, Fled, Flee, Flight, Greatly, Overcome, Presence, Ran, Sore, TerrifiedDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Samuel 17:24 5567 suffering, emotional
5819 cowardice
8754 fear 1 Samuel 17:17-26 5086 David, rise of 1 Samuel 17:20-51 5658 boys 1 Samuel 17:23-25 5501 reward, human 1 Samuel 17:23-26 5836 disgrace Library The victory of Unarmed Faith
'And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; 35. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureApril the Thirtieth the Test of victory
"David behaveth himself wisely." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 55--xviii. 5. The hour of victory is a more severe moral test than the hour of defeat. Many a man can brave the perils of adversity who succumbs to the seductions of prosperity. He can stand the cold better than the heat! He is enriched by failure, but "spoilt by success." To test the real quality of a man, let us regard him just when he has slain Goliath! "David behaved himself wisely"! He was not "eaten up with pride." He developed no "side." …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year April the Twenty-Ninth the Mood of Triumph
"I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts." --1 SAMUEL xvii. 38-54. The man who comes up to his foes with this assurance will fight and win. Reasonable confidence is one of the most important weapons in the warrior's armoury. Fear is always wasteful. The man who calmly expects to win has already begun to conquer. Our mood has so much to do with our might. And therefore does the Word of God counsel us to attend to our dispositions, lest, having carefully collected our material implements, …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year The Call of David.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone."--1 Samuel xvii. 50. These words, which are taken from the chapter which you heard read just now in the course of the Service[1], declare the victory which David, the man after God's own heart, gained over Goliath, who came out of the army of the Philistines to defy the Living God; and they declare the manner of his gaining it. He gained it with a sling and with a stone; that is, by means, which to man might seem weak and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII How David Prevailed.
"So David prevailed over the Philistine!"--1 SAMUEL xvii. 50. Yes, he did, but he would not have done so if he had remained as quiet as the other Israelites. David was one of those who could not be easy so long as the enemies of his country were in the ascendant. To see a Philistine strutting about, defying the armies of the living God, was more than he could bear. Is not this the spirit which should animate Christians to-day? It is not one GOLIATH merely, there are many. DRUNKENNESS, PROFANITY, …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread Knox -- the First Temptation of Christ
John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, was born at Giffordgate, four miles from Haddington, Scotland, in 1505. He first made his appearance as a preacher in Edinburgh, where he thundered against popery, but was imprisoned and sent to the galleys in 1546. In 1547 Edward VI secured his release and made him a royal chaplain, when he acquired the friendship of Cranmer and other reformers. On the accession of Mary (1553) he took refuge on the Continent. In 1556 he accepted the charge of a church in Geneva, …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I Hwochow Women's Bible Training School
COURSE OF STUDY FIRST TERM Book of Genesis. Gospel according to St. Luke or St. Mark. Acts of the Apostles, chapters i. to ix. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible." Reading Lessons, with necessary Explanation and Writing of Chinese Character. Arithmetic. Singing and Memorisation of Hymns. SECOND TERM Book of Exodus, Numbers, and 1 Samuel i. to xvi. The Gospel according to St. John. The Epistle of St James. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible"--(continued). Reading …
A. Mildred Cable—The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh The Shepherd-King
'And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt them mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel! fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided Me a king among his sons. 2. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Temporal Advantages.
"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."--1 Tim. vi. 7, 8. Every age has its own special sins and temptations. Impatience with their lot, murmuring, grudging, unthankfulness, discontent, are sins common to men at all times, but I suppose one of those sins which belongs to our age more than to another, is desire of a greater portion of worldly goods than God has given us,--ambition and covetousness …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners:
A BRIEF AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF THE EXCEEDING MERCY OF GOD IN CHRIST TO HIS POOR SERVANT, JOHN BUNYAN; WHEREIN IS PARTICULARLY SHOWED THE MANNER OF HIS CONVERSION, HIS SIGHT AND TROUBLE FOR SIN, HIS DREADFUL TEMPTATIONS, ALSO HOW HE DESPAIRED OF GOD'S MERCY, AND HOW THE LORD AT LENGTH THROUGH CHRIST DID DELIVER HIM FROM ALL THE GUILT AND TERROR THAT LAY UPON HIM. Whereunto is added a brief relation of his call to the work of the ministry, of his temptations therein, as also what he hath met with …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 1 Samuel 17:24 NIV1 Samuel 17:24 NLT1 Samuel 17:24 ESV1 Samuel 17:24 NASB1 Samuel 17:24 KJV
1 Samuel 17:24 Commentaries
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