The narrative of David and Goliath is one of the best known in the Old Testament. It tells the story of a seventeen-year-old shepherd boy who is sent by his father Jesse, to take provisions for his brothers who are fighting the war against the Philistines.
It is also a well-known fact that David is a type of Christ. Not only does the gospel of Matthew refer to Jesus as the Son of David in His genealogy, but many Old Testament prophesies speak of Jesus as a descendant from the line of David. The root of Jesse in Isaiah 11:1 being one.
But the narrative speaks of more than just a shepherd boy as a depiction of Jesus. The geographical setting, the nations warring, the champions of each camp, the weapons chosen for the battle, the similarities between Jesus and David and the employment of numbers reveal layers of Jesus not visible from surface reading.
The numbers that feature predominantly are 40,17 and 5. The narrative is recorded in 1 Samuel 17. This number 17 represents sin, the fall and the victory over sin. From Genesis to Revelation the threat that runs through the Bible is that of evil verses good.
Genesis 1:7, which is 17, when the colon is dropped, reads: “And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. The pictogram of the letter מ mem looks like a wave and can be interpreted as peoples, nations and languages. This interpretation is evident from Revelation 13 where the rising of the beast is described as from the sea.
Co-incidentally, Revelation 1:7, also dropping the colon, speaks of another event where there will be a separation of the people and reads: “Behold, He is coming in the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those that pierced Him, and all the people of the earth will mourn. Both verses end the with words confirming the context. In Genesis 1:7, “and it was so” and in Revelation 1:7, “even so, amen.”
Jesus restored the chaos of Genesis 1 and He will the restore the chaos of the world at His second coming. In addition to this, Jesus died and rose from the dead on the 17th Nisan.
The numerical value of the letter מ mem, is 40. The life of Jesus at his first coming links to the number 40. Jesus came to fulfil the law and the prophets. Moses was on mount Sinai for 40 days when he received the law, Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, tempted by Satan before He started His ministry.
The inability man to comply with the law was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world. In the narrative of David and Goliath, the sin of the world is personified in the giant, Goliath. He was a Philistine from Gath.
Both David and Jesus slew Goliath. David in the physical and Jesus in the spiritual. David took 5 smooth stones, one for each of the five cities of the Philistines: Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath and Gaza. Jesus was victorious over all that He created, heaven and earth, things visible and invisible, thrones and powers, rulers and authorities. Five entities. He disarmed the powers and authorities by triumphing over them on the cross. This is Colossians 2:15, 2 plus 15 is 17.
It is the blood of Jesus that overcame the enemy. The blood cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7), and there is redemption of sin in the blood (Ephesians 1:7). It is here that the enemy is stopped at the border of blood, Ephis dammim, the place where the Philistines camped in the valley of Elah.
Both camps had a champion. The camp of Israel, David, and the camp of the Philistines, Goliath. David’s name means beloved, Jesus was the beloved Son of God. David was a shepherd boy, Jesus is the Good Shepherd; David’s brothers rejected him, Jesus’ brothers rejected Him; David’s words to his brothers were, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him”, and Jesus says, “do not let your heart be troubled.”
What is significant is that Saul did not know David. He calls for David and David informs him that he is the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. The name Jesse ישי means Yah exists. As a type of Christ it can be understood that Israel did not recognise him, just as they did not recognise Jesus when He came as the Saviour of the world. Jesus identifies Himself as the the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), the Light of the world (John 8:12), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:12), the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 11:25),the Vine (John 15:5) and the Son of God.
The sad reality is that from the time that David slew Goliath, Saul started to persecute him and in like manner the Jews shouted “Crucify him”.
