Commentary of Charles Spurgeon, Adam Clarke & Matthew Henry
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto
them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your
servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be
our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
Vs.8-10
His challenge:
The Philistines having chosen him for their champion, to
save themselves from the hazard of battle, he here throws down the
gauntlet, and bids defiance to the armies of Israel.
He came into the valley that lay between the camps, and, his voice
probably being as much stronger than other people's as his arm was, he
cried so as to make them all hear him, Give me a man, that we may fight together.
--He looked upon himself with admiration, because he was so much taller
and stronger than all about him.
--He looked upon Israel with disdain, because
they had none among them of such a monstrous bulk, and defies them to
find a man among them bold enough to enter the list with him.
(1.) He
upbraids them with their folly in drawing an army together: "Why have you come to set the battle in array?
(2.) He offers to put
the war entirely upon the issue of the duel he proposes: "If your
champion kill me, we will be your servants; if I kill him, you shall be
ours." ...When he boasts, I am a Philistine, and you are servants to Saul, he would have it thought a great piece of condescension in him, who was
a chief ruler, to enter the lists with an Israelite; for he looked on
them as no better than slaves.
Be not daunted by the comely face, the princely figure, or the battle
array of your antagonist! Let not his vaunting words deter you....Flinch not let not your heart quail.... But there lies in ambush, in the camp of your
adversary, an assistance...the old dragon stings himself to death. As vice consumes the
vitals of the man who indulges in it--in the long run,
become its own destroyer.
