Elhanan the Giant Slayer - A Typological Prophecy for Our Generation

Everybody knows of David, the second king of Israel, Slayer of Goliath and forefather of the Christ the eternal king, but few know the name of Elhanan. This will be a theological typological unpacking of the obscure Elhanan.

1 Chronicles 20:5 ESV
5 And there was again war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

Now let's rewind a few years before this moment. Picture this, Elhanan is standing in the armies of Saul lined up against the Philistines and Goliath is mocking the God of Israel and defying Israel's armies. He is paralyzed with fear like everyone around him. Saul feared and thought the battle impossible, everyone did. No one would go out as a champion toe to toe with Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:10-11 ESV
10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

40 days pass, day after day, the mocking, the cowardice, the faithlessness continue. No one arises. Elhanan is in that army! Elhanan crippled with faithlessness and fear like every other Israelite.

Then comes David a teenage boy with supplies for his brothers on the 40th day. Anointed. Filled with zeal. Full of confidence in the power of His God. Why? Because in the fields, alone, He became intimate with Yahweh. He knew Him personally. God described David as a man after His own heart. When David came He didn't expect a giant, nor a cowardly Israelite army but God's providence prepared the way before Him to accomplish His purposes and magnify His own Holy Name. David looks around in dismay at the troops around him. He is no warrior but he is angered at the faithlessness of Gods people. The God who rescued them out of Egypt cant slay a giant? Faithless generation! Elhanan is indicted here, a fellow faithless Israelite.

David goes into Saul and offers to fight on the armys behalf. A shepherd not a warrior. A boy not a grown man! Sauls gives his blessing and arms him with his armour and weapons. But this won't do, it only encombers him, His hope is not in the weapon or armour, military training or strategy, His hope and faith is in the Most High. For the battle is the Lords.

He takes a humble sling, which anyone can make from simple materials for his weapon. (I made one with some cord with my son the other day).

1 Samuel 17:41-47 ESV
41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 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, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

We know the rest of the story, with one cast of the stone Goliath fell dead by the providence of God and the Philistines were routed.

Now Elhanan watched on. These Giants were not demigods, they were not immortals, they were mortal. David, a man like himself proved it, and also proved the very power of God when united with faith. Israel would have felt elation but great shame over their prior 40 days of faithlessness and defeat.

Fast forward a few years and the Philistines are still attacking Israel. This was just a continuation of the ongoing war between Israel and the Philistines. Another battle ensues with giants in the ranks of the Philistines. Amongst them is Lahmi the brother of the famed Goliath. Enraged, no doubt seeking revenge for his fallen brother, wanting to eradicate Israel. Before David's victory Israel would have capitulated in fear, thinking its impossible, they are too strong - they have giants. Post David though, the armies are filled with courage for victory has been proven possible against such a formidable opponent.

The battle lines were drawn. There stands Elhanan in the ranks of Israel. Each side charges at each other and clashes. Elhanan sees the Giant towering over regular men. Though fear still exists, its dulled by His heart filled with zeal and faith in the God of Israel. He knows the battle is the Lords and had learned from David "that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand." Instead of running from the giant as he did previously (like the rest of faithless Israel), he runs at the giant. How a regular man cuts down a giant that is double or triple his size I do not know, but this I know - by the hand of the Lord, Elhanan cut down Lahmi, Goliaths brother. For his faith and courage He earned an immortal name in scripture, "Elhanan - giant Slayer".

God used an ordinary man to slay Goliaths brother. A no name few even know of today. But His victory teaches us something even more important than David's victory. God's uses ordinary people. You. Me. Nobodies. This is where His Mighty Spirit dwells, in temples not made with hands but made of dust and ash, flesh and blood - our humanity.

Typological Prophetic Interpretation

Here's my typological unpacking of both David, Goliath, Elhanan and Lahmi. Their name meanings and origins are significant and paint an incredible picture:

Lets start with the name meanings:

• David means "Beloved" and is a type of Christ "the Beloved Son" and who sits on the throne of His father David, being in His line. David was born in Bethlehem, as was Christ.
• Bethlehem means "house of bread" - interesting as Christ is the bread come down from heaven, His flesh (human nature) is the bread of eternal life as stated in John. If we feed on it, by continual thinking on it, we abide in Him and His teachings.
• Elhanan means "God is gracious" and he was born in Bethlehem also, the "house of bread". His father is Jair.
• Jair means "He shines" or "He illuminates" or "He Enlightens"
• Goliath means "Exposer, Exile; Etymology: From the verb גלה (gala), to uncover, expose or remove.'
• Lahmi means "my bread" or "my war" - It carries the dual sense of sustenance ("my bread") and conflict ("my war").
• Gath - (the city the Giants came from) means "winepress"

Now lets weave this together to make coherent sense. I'll bullet point this so its easier to read: (This is chronological)

• David(beloved) is anointed to be king, some years prior to the battle with goliath. This represents the anointing of the Son with the Spirit being consecrated and sent into the world by the Father. Like David sent by His father to His brothers at the battlefield, Christ took on our human nature, identical to our own and came to our battlefield.
• Goliath (the exposer, the one who uncovers) represents sin, that all humanity cowered in slavery to. When David(the beloved) enters the battlefield he is dismayed at the unbelief around him, but never doubts God and immediately (that day) confronts the enemy of God and conquers Goliath(sin) through God using simple common means, a sling and stone (human nature filled with the Spirit of God).
• Goliath (the exposer) is therefore the means by which God reveals His power - who uncovers the glory of God by His destruction. David demonstrated what was possible when simple things are united with faith and Gods Spirit.
• The 40 days of mocking represent the 40 jubilee cycles (49-50 years per cycle depending how you interpret the law) between the initial advent of Christ and His coming as king establishing everlasting righteousness on earth (per Daniels 70 week prophecy). That amounts to roughly 2000 years, during which Gods people cower before sin and still live enslaved to it. Faithless, like the armies of Saul cowering before the giant Goliath. We approach 2033 ad, the 2000th year since the beginning of the new covenant. Here's the thing though, David(the beloved Christ) already came. Sin (Goliath - the one who exposes the truth) was already conquered by Christ coming in our exact human nature and by abiding in the Spirit, never sinning.
• The Christians of today are the armies facing the Giants (sin) years after Goliath. Though they are just as faithless in the power of God as Sauls army. They mock, they jeer, they attack anyone who stands to fight the Giant.
• Elhanan(God is gracious) is the remnant within Gods professed people, who (like Elhanan), look upon Davids (Christs) example and are filled with zeal and faith. They are the enlightened ones, taught by God through the Spirit to walk as Christ walked, being sons of Jair "light, enlightenment".
• The giant (sin) our generation faces is not Goliath that the beloved Christ slayed, its his brother Lahmi "my war, my bread" they face - sin nature theology. Christians feed on sin like bread but simultaneously fight it. Yet Lahmi lives. Sin nature theology is Lahmi. "You shouldn't sin but you must inevitably sin because of a fictional sin nature you have" . Nonsense! Faithless generation! Nowhere is this stated in scripture nor the apostolic fathers (the disciples of the disciples).

Matthew 17:17-20 ESV
17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

The Full Synthesis

The Beloved (David), sent by His Father to His brothers on the battlefield, confronted and slew the Exposer (Goliath) who had held God's people in terrorized bondage for forty days. He did this not with the king's armour but with common shepherd's tools (human nature filled with the Spirit.) The Exposer's death uncovered the truth: giants fall when faith meets divine power. Now, in the generations following, those defined by grace (Elhanan), born of Enlightenment (Jair), fed in the House of Bread (Bethlehem), are called to slay not the Exposer himself - that victory belongs to the Beloved alone but his brother, My Bread/My War (Lahmi), the sin nature theology that God's people simultaneously consume and combat. The armies still cower, forty jubilees deep into the mocking, teaching that Lahmi cannot be killed, that we must live at war with what we feed on. But the children of illumination know better. They watched the Beloved. They learned the battle is the Lord's. They learned from the example of their brother who had their exact flesh and share His Holy Spirit. Now they run toward the giant.

Where are the Elhanans who will run at Lahmi and slay him? Arise Lord and let your enemies be scattered, that all the world will know the Lord of heaven does not slay sin with theologians or traditions or church memberships and programs but by the Spirit of the incarnate Son dwelling in His people!

Whoever abides in Christ does not sin, whoever keeps on sinning has neither seen him nor known him. Light doesn't negotiate with darkness, it casts it out. Truth doesn't negotiate with error it refutes it. Sin nature theology is wicked and a tool of Satan used by the sons of darkness to keep people in their sins, faithless, defeated. Jesus took on our flesh, our human nature and proved it isn't sinful, it was just separated from God, once reconciled to Him and filled with the Spirit we can live loving obedient righteous lives, free from sin, perpetually, identical to Christ our older brother. To deny this is to deny the incarnation and 1 John 4 says those who deny Christ came in the flesh are Antichrist. Rise up sons of light, dont be passive but fight the sons of darkness who have made peace with sin , the wolves who devour the lambs amongst us teaching sin is inevitable. Faithless generation, do not be unbelieving!

The apologists of sin are as numerous as sand on the beach, but so were the prophets of Baal before Elijah. Yet with a wet drenched altar Elijah called on God and fire fell from heaven consuming the sacrifice and altar entirely. For the battle is the Lords and scarcely are numbers on the side of truth.

1 John 3:5-10 ESV
5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Luke 18:7-8 ESV
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

John 14:12-16 ESV
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

1 John 5:3-4 ESV
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.