The Land of Giants – Part 3

In the first blog of this series, I wrote about visiting South Sudan and meeting people from the Dinka Tribe who are considered to be the tallest humans, on average, on the planet.  As I explored South Sudan, I was astounded by the height of this group of people!  I’ve never been anywhere in the world where so many people are so tall! 

For a little similarity, it’s interesting to consider that there was a city in the Bible that was known for have many giant inhabitants – this was the city of Gath.  It was one of the cities of the Philistines and the hometown for Goliath.  It’s also interesting to note that four other giants lived in Gath, as you can read in 1 Chronicles 20:4-6 and 2 Samuel 21:15-22.  In thinking about Gath and giants who lived there, if I was living in biblical times and I was Jewish, I wouldn’t list Gath as my top tourist destination.  Instead, I’d be inclined to put Gath on my “no go” list. 

But David visited Gath and for a season, he even lived there.  This is all the more curious when we consider that David killed Goliath who came from Gath.  During David’s flight from Saul, David briefly stayed in Gath, as we read in 1 Samuel 21:10-15.  And in 1 Samuel 27, we read that David moved to Gath, and then Ziklag, for almost 1.5 years to escape Saul’s murderous pursuit!  Towards the end of David’s reign, some of the giants whom the Israelites fought were from Gath.

So, what’s the big deal about Gath, a city famous for its giant population?  And, more to the point, why would David willingly choose to move away from Israel to this city, where Goliath’s relatives lived?  In 1 Samuel 27:1 we read, “Then David said to himself, ‘Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.’”

When we read this verse, we see that David doesn’t see how he can stay alive if he continues to live in Israel, staying in the same routine of running from Saul for more than a decade.  So, David chose to live in a city that had giants, some of whom were relatives to Goliath.  I wonder what it was like to live with giants and among people who had been your enemy for such a long time.  I suspect that David and his followers had some struggles with living in Gath, so maybe that’s why David requested that he and his men be given their own town (Ziklag). 

It's interesting to me that David, who would be one of the most influential kings of Israel, he lived with the enemies of Israel for almost 1.5 years.  Maybe this move was perceived as a failure, giving up on the king anointing that Samuel gave David.  Perhaps David living among the giants and Philistines was perceived by the Israelites as betrayal and treason.  There could have been some soul wrestling and struggle within David, even when he was demonstrating his loyalty to the Philistine King where he lived. 

As this relates to your life, it’s possible that you might find yourself in a season or situation that isn’t what you expected, but it’s a temporary place on your identity journey.  David’s time in Gath was part of his journey to becoming king.  Let’s choose to trust God in our lives, no matter when our journey takes us to unexpected experiences and locations!