“Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts.’” (1 Samuel 17:45)
Reflecting upon David’s victory over Goliath, Reformation translator, theologian and commentator William Tyndale compared it to Christ’s victory over sin and death: “When David had killed Goliath the giant, glad tidings came to the Israelites that their fearful and cruel enemy was dead and that they were delivered out of all danger. For this gladness, they sang, danced and were joyful. In like manner, the good news or ‘gospel’ of God is joyful tidings.”
The books of 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles, which record the history of Israel from the prophetic ministry of Samuel to the fall of Jerusalem, provided the reformers with some of the best-known narratives of the Old Testament upon which to comment, including Hannah’s prayer, the anointing of Saul as Israel’s first king, David’s triumph over...