He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. – 1 Samuel 17:43

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 26, 2016): 1 Samuel 17

Apparently the ninth planet of the Solar System has been found, and ironically it has been found by the same Astronomer who was responsible for killing Pluto. The new planet, currently appropriately called Planet Nine, has yet to be physically seen, but it is inferred by the movement of a number of trans-Neptunian objects (objects on the other side of the orbit of Neptune.) And according the movement of these objects, whatever is out there is massive – probably five to ten times bigger than earth. Brown jokes that he has been looking for a ninth planet in an effort to please his daughter. Although she was barely born at the time of the demotion of Pluto, apparently she still is not sure how she feels about her father’s role in the planet’s demise. But she has also promised to forgive dad if he finds a planet to replace Pluto. Enter Planet Nine, the largest trans-Neptunian object found to date – at least, that is the hope.  

The story of Pluto’s demise hinges on Brown’s discovery of Eris, the only trans-Neptunian object at the time larger than Pluto. Eris’ discovery, along with a number of other trans-Neptunian objects, caused the scientific community to redefine of the idea of a planet – there were simply so many of these objects out there on the other side of Neptune. If they were allowed to be called a planet, somehow the idea of a planet would have been seen as being devalued by the presence of so many of these objects. Instead these objects, along with Pluto, were to be identified as dwarf-planets. Pluto was simply not all that special anymore. Thus it could no longer be called a planet. And then there were eight – until the discovery of Planet Nine.

Goliath was a giant – and that made him special. There were very few that could match his stature. Add to that that he was a warrior of great strength and the result was that meant, at least in his own eyes, that the warrior that would come to meet him would also be special – he would be a planet among great number of common warriors. In fact, in a very real way, Goliath’s self-esteem was probably reinforced by the kind of warrior that the enemy would send into battle to meet him. And, until this point, there had been no one on the side of Israel who was special enough to dare to meet him on the battlefield.

And then finally a warrior appears in the form of a child. It was possibly the greatest insult that could have been delivered to the great warrior. The one who Israel sent out to meet him was not one of their best warriors, it was not even a common soldier looking to make a name for himself. It was child with no armour, and this child was too weak to even hold a sword. And for Goliath, that was simply an unbelievable insult. It also made Goliath severely over confidant – a condition that God would use to orchestrate the great warrior’s demise.                

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 18