First observations on I Samuel 17 [David vs. Goliath]

The entire concept of holy war has bothered me since I grew up. When I was a boy it seemed that David was a great guy because he was helping God's people against a bunch of heathen non-believers [although he did go off the way a bit with that Bathsheba thing], but as I got older and learned that it was acceptable to kill Vietnamese who weren’t doing anything to us but might have some kind of Communist connection and saw many American Christians exult after the Six-Day War I really began to have problems with some of this. I assume that there are lessons to be learned here on things like faith, courage, and the perils of bad-mouthing the LORD.

v.4 For some reason, I have never questioned the height of Goliath, although I do wonder how close [based on possible translation problems that differing languages and systems of measurements] we can infer nine feet or so, but I always wondered how one could make a fair determination of a winner from a one-on-one conflict. It would seem that with so many armed men present that they would not accept the result.

v.11 why were Saul et. al. terrified. Settling disputes by one-on-one could not have been the

v. 16 What were both armies doing for 40 days? You have to assume that they didn’t just retreat to their tents and play cards until the next day’s challenge.

v. 17. It sounds almost like the Iraq war. Soldiers need things from home that the government which has hired/conscripted/recruited them does not supply.

v. 20 David the shepherd had a shepherd.

v. 28 David’s oldest brother already thought of him as conceited. Nowadays battles are often available for viewing, but how would one just watch one then? And if it were possible wouldn’t there have been wives there helping out?

v. 37 Saul seems like a less than decisive guy, allowing himself to be persuaded by the boy’s arguments from his shepherd experience. Or did he question his own relationship with the LORD so much that he was afraid of David being closer to the Divine that he?

v. 39 David did not eschew armor because of any matter of principle but for comfort.

vv. 40-47 Both of the men are guys and could talk big.

Lectionary text cuts off with Goliath going down, saving us David's severing of Goliath’s head and hes carrying it around with him.

Although it is not a text question, one does wonder a bit why those who created the Lectionary ended the story at this point. To spare parishes the gore when it was read? To make the text more PC?