This past Sunday, we studied the famous passage of David versus Goliath. In my last point, I explained that David was a type of Christ.  A “type” is a person, event, or object in the Old Testament that is intentionally designed by God to predict or point forward to Jesus Christ.


This story, then, is not merely a source of inspiration or a model for Christian living. David is first and foremost a type pointing to Jesus. David’s victory over Goliath is a forecast of an even greater victory that will eventually come through Jesus Christ. David’s act of slaying the enemy is a divine prediction of the Son of David's triumph over Satan, sin, and the grave and how God’s people receive the benefits of Christ’s triumph.


Below are few quotes from some important theologians that explain this concept further.


"The holy Scriptures of the Old Testament are never half understood except as they are seen in the light of Christ Jesus. They all pointed forward to Christ Jesus; they all found their fulfillment, the key of their interpretation, in Christ Jesus. The Old Testament history is not merely a history of some wandering patriarchs and of a strange, wayward people of wonderful powers and wonderful propensities to evil. It is not merely a history of Israel. The Old Testament is a history of redemption, of God's mightiness and mercies, and of a chosen nation, all along toward the promised, long-looked-for time when God's Son should come to be the Savior of mankind. We cannot understand the Old Testament, except we read it in its bearing upon Christ, as fulfilled in him."

-John Broadus

"[Christ] is Isaac, the beloved Son of the Father who was offered as a sacrifice, but nevertheless did not succumb to the power of death. He is Jacob the watchful shepherd, who has such great care for the sheep which he guards. He is the good and compassionate brother Joseph, who in his glory was not ashamed to acknowledge his brothers, however lowly and abject their condition. He is the great sacrificer and priest Melchizedek, who has offered an eternal sacrifice once for all. He is the sovereign lawgiver Moses, writing his law on the tablets of our hearts by his Spirit. He is the faithful captain and guide Joshua, to lead us to the Promised Land. He is the victorious and noble king David, bringing by his hand all rebellious power to subjection. He is the magnificent and triumphant king Solomon, governing his kingdom in peace and prosperity. He is the strong and powerful Samson, who by his death has overwhelmed all his enemies."

-John Calvin

"When David overcame the great Goliath, there came among the Jewish people the good report and encouraging news that their terrible enemy had been struck down and that they had been rescued and given joy and peace; and they sang and danced and were glad for it (1 Sam. 18:6). Thus this gospel of God...is a good story and report, sounded forth into all the world by the apostles, telling of a true David who strove with sin, death, and the devil, and overcame them, and thereby rescued all those who were captive in sin, afflicted with death, and overpowered by the devil. Without any merit of their own he made them righteous, gave them life, and saved them, so that they were given peace and brought back to God."

-Martin Luther