Goliath Was Not What He Seemed
An interesting thought from Malcolm Gladwell.
I’m currently reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.
He presents an interesting perspective about Goliath that I had not considered before - and it has a powerful spiritual application.
What many medical experts now believe, in fact, is that Goliath had a serious medical condition. He looks and sounds like someone suffering from what is called acromegaly - a disease caused by a benign tumor of the pituitary gland. The tumor causes an overproduction of human growth hormone, which would explain Goliath’s extraordinary size…One of the common side effects of acromegaly is vision problems. - Gladwell, David and Goliath, 14
Gladwell points to several things to support this theory - one is Goliath calling David to come to him (1 Samuel 17:44). Another is Goliath apparently not noticing the dangerous sling in David’s hand until it was too late.
If Goliath did have poor eyesight, this teaches us something important.
In reality, the very thing that gave the giant he size was also the source of his greatest weakness. There is an important lesson in that for battles with all kinds of giants. The powerful and the strong are not always what they seem. - Gladwell, David and Goliath, 14-15
David saw the battle clearly and knew “the battle belongs to the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:45-47). Even with all his strength, armor, and weapons, Goliath was blind to this fact.
The story of David and Goliath is about who the battle belongs to, who sees that truth clearly, and who is blind to it.
While giants may be frightening, they are not all they seem to be.