Discussing
Malcolm Gladwell on Jesus, underdogs and his own evolving faith

Malcolm Gladwell has a reputation for upending common assumptions.

While he puts an interesting spin on the well-known fable in his TED talk and book, Gladwell utterly fails to respect the story biblical text is actually telling. The story was not about the underdog, but about David's faith in God, and really, of God's faithfulness to David.

Positioned in 1 Sam 17 between David's secret anointing and Saul's jealousy and attempts to assassinate David, the story of Goliath is about David's character in contrast to those around him, his brothers and Saul. He is not only brave, but more importantly, David is faithful to God, he will not abide Goliath's insults of God's people, and has faith in God that God will protect him just as God has before. David says (and this speech almost always gets dropped in popular retellings) "You come at me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty...." The story is ultimately about God and how people react to him, either as faithful David, or self-serving Saul, or the blasphemer Goliath. That's the story the bible intends to tell.