but with important qualifications. What is presented here is an instance of the agelong antagonism between the two seeds, between believers represented by David and those outside the covenant represented by Goliath, “this uncircumcised Philistine” who defies the “armies of the living God” (1 Sam. 17:26, 36). In this confrontation the Lord ensures the survival of his people and the overthrow of all of his, and our, enemies—as he still does. The third stage in David’s rise to the throne declares him