7 Good Lessons From 7 Bad Bible Characters [Pt. 3: Goliath]

Today, we will now move on to part 3 of our series on finding good, deep, spiritual lessons from the not-so-flawless lives of 7 different infamous Bible characters. Last week, we talked about Delilah and the lessons of needing genuine love in our hearts toward God and the importance of being meek. We also talked about Pharaoh and his dark mistake of hardening his heart against God, and how that applies to us in our Christian lives.

Now, let’s focus in on part 3 of this series, where we’ll learn one key lesson from the Bible’s most infamous giant: GOLIATH!

Who Was Goliath?

The Bible only gives us two things that hint at Goliath’s full identity.

The first “identity hint” is in verse 4 of 1 Samuel 17:

“And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.“
(1 Samuel 17:4)

According to the Study Notes section of my Andrews Study Bible, Goliath was about 9 1/2 ft. tall (“six cubits and a span”); thus, he was likely related to the Anakim, a race of giants who lived in Canaan.

The second “identity hint” concerning Goliath is found in verse 33 of the same chapter. In this verse, Saul is talking to David when he tells Saul that he’s willing to go fight Goliath:

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
(1 Samuel 17:33, emphasis added)

So, another aspect of Goliath’s whole identity was that he was a great warrior with quality experience in battle ever since he was a young man. Now, don’t forget the above verse–1 Samuel 17:33–we’ll be getting deeper into it later on in this blog post.

One Giant Lesson

Unlike in our previous posts in this series, there’s going to be only ONE major lesson I’m going to highlight from the life of Goliath. However, we’re gonna see how this one major lesson plays out in three different ways.

What is this lesson? You ask.

Well, let’s see if you can spot it out in the 3 different ways Goliath displays it below.

1. Goliath’s Armor

Let’s back up to verse 5 of 1 Samuel 17:

He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.
(1 Samuel 17:5-7)

Here, we see Goliath girded in armor that is greatly awe-inspiring and intimidating. My favorite writer, Ellen White, adds even greater detail to what Goliath’s armor looked like in her book Patriarchs and Prophets:

“Upon [Goliath’s] head was a helmet of brass, he was clothed with a coat of mail that weighed five thousand shekels, and he had greaves of brass upon his legs. The coat was made of plates of brass that overlaid one another, like the scales of a fish, and they were so closely joined that no dart or arrow could possibly penetrate the armor. At his back the giant bore a huge javelin, or lance, also of brass.“

~Patriarchs and prophets page 646~

Can you imagine how Goliath must’ve felt in armor like that? How would YOU feel wearing such invincible-looking armor and bearing such mighty-looking weapons?

2. Goliath’s Experience

Remember that verse we just looked at in 1 Samuel 17:33? It’s fine if you forgot about it; here it is:

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
(1 Samuel 17:33, emphasis added)

Based on the above verse, we came to conclusion that one of the aspects of Goliath’s full identity was that he was likely a finely experienced warrior since he was a young man. Unlike David, Goliath knew the best battle techniques; he had secret methods to outwit his opponents in even the most INTENSE battles; he knew how to fight so well, I’m sure Goliath could easily slay an ENTIRE army with his eyes closed!

Surely little David was no match for the battle-ready Goliath, right?

3. Goliath’s Anger

Moving on down to verse 45, David now stands before his towering opponent. With a clear and courageous tone, David says to Goliath:

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
(1 Samuel 17:45-47)

Ellen White writes about Goliath’s reaction to David’s words. Try to see if you can spot Goliath’s major problem in the following statement below:

“The anger of Goliath was roused to the very highest heat. In his rage he pushed up the helmet that protected his forehead and rushed forward to wreak vengeance upon his opponent.”

~Patriarchs and Prophets page 648~

But, by the end of the story, the giant issue Goliath had costed him his life.

Were you able to figure out that giant problem Goliath had in his character based on the 3 above ways it was shown?

Goliath’s Giant Heart Problem

If you still haven’t figured it out, let me tell you:

THE ONE MAJOR LESSON WE CAN GAIN FROM GOLIATH’S STORY IS THAT PRIDEFUL SELF-SUFFICIENCY WILL NEVER HELP YOU STAND IN THE BATTLES OF LIFE.

But how does this lesson apply to us as Christians and our modern, 21st century lives?

Goliath-Style Christianity

Revelation 3 gives us one application:

Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
(Revelation 3:17)

Just like Goliath, we as Christians can also be filled with prideful self-sufficiency over the rich armor we bear and the wealth of experiences we have had in the church. And just like Goliath, we could also get MAD when our prideful self-sufficiency is provoked by some David. As individual Christians, and even as a Christian church, we face the grave danger of becoming Goliath Christians. Becoming Goliath churches. Becoming filled with self-sufficient pride over how “finely girded” and “finely experienced” we are in the church.

And dear reader, perhaps you’re trapped in the cage of prideful self-sufficiency. Maybe you’re wondering right now:

HOW can I be cured from this Goliath sickness?

A Prayer To Experience Giant Healing

Friend, the answer is found in verse 20 of Revelation 3:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
(Revelation 3:20)

Dear reader, have you opened up your heart to God and allowed His Spirit to come in and cleanse you from all pride? Have you allowed Christ to enter your heart and took time to eat with Him each day? Have you allowed God’s love to saturate your heart and cure you from all self-sufficiency? Friend, He is knocking right now. He wants to cleanse you and cure you from your Goliath-like pride. Why not take time to pray the following prayer below, and let Jesus to come into your heart today:

I’d like to conclude this post with a verse that I hope and pray will remind you that it is ONLY CHRIST Who can help us and teach us to be humble as we spend time learning from Him each and every day:

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
(Matthew 11:29)

May we each take time to learn from Christ, and learn to be “lowly in heart,” just like Him, and allow His Spirit to cleanse us and cure us from our Goliath-like pride and self-sufficiency.
Amen! Maranatha!

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Stay tuned for part 4 of this series on “7 Good Lessons From 7 Bad Bible Characters,” where we’ll explore several lessons from the story of Jezebel!
{***UPDATE: You can now view part 4 by clicking HERE***}