Defeating Life's Giants
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we finished 1 Samuel 16, and we saw David was in the service of king Saul.
As we said last week, chapter 16 is a hinge chapter, that helps show how David ended up in the service of Saul.
When we come to chapter 17, we begin learning some of the details that catapulted David into the limelight of Israel.
Our passage today is a familiar one that is loved by young and old a like. So if you have your Bibles, I want to encourage you to turn with me to 1 Samuel 17, and we’ll begin reading with verse 1.
The Philistines Gather for War
The Philistines Gather for War
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines.
If you are like most of us, you have no idea where this is or what it looks like.
Bethlehem was to the east of the battle area, then came the city of Socoh, and then a little farther was the town of Azekah. If you were to draw a line east and west between the two towns of Socoh and Azekah that would be the line on which the Philistines gathered. North in a valley known as the Valley of Elah was where Saul and his army were camped.
Let’s read on:
The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
So the two armies are lined up. The Philistines to the south of the Valley of Elah, and Israel on the north side of the valley.
Now we are going to be introduced to a new character.
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
We are introduced to a champion named Goliath.
We are told he is from Gath—about 7 miles farther west from Azekah.
He is described as being approximately 9 feet 9 inches tall.
And he had massive weapons:
—Bronze helmet for his head.
—A coat of scale armor of bronze weight 125 pounds
—Bronze greaves on his legs.
—A bronze javelin slung on his back.
—His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod—huge!
—The iron point weighed 15 pounds.
—And he had a servant that carried his shield in front of him.
This is a massive man with advanced armor for his day.
This massive man comes out with a proposition for Israel.
The Proposition
The Proposition
Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”
The proposition is really very easy:
The Philistines picked the giant Goliath.
All Saul’s army needs to do is to pick their champion.
When they do, Israel’s champion will fight the Philistine champion Goliath.
Whoever wins—their side wins and the other side becomes their slaves!
But Israel has a problem! Look at verse 11.
On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
Saul and all of the Israelites were:
Dismayed—disheartened, shattered.
And they were terrified!
Scene Change—Enter David
Scene Change—Enter David
Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old.
We are introduced to David and Jesse a second time. And we’re reminded of some facts—Jesse had 8 sons. And he is very old.
Verse 13 gives us some more information about the family.
Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
The 3 oldest boys, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah are with Saul’s army at the Valley of Elah.
David—the youngest went back and forth from king Saul and tending his father’s sheep. That must have been strange to move from the sheep the the king’s court, and then back to the sheep again!
Quick Check of the Battle
Quick Check of the Battle
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
For 40 days, twice a day, Goliath would come and take his stand to fight Israel’s champion! And for 40 days no champion of Israel stepped forward to fight the giant!
Back to David!
Back to David!
Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
Jesse tells David to take groceries to his brothers:
—36 pounds of roasted grain.
—10 loaves of bread
—10 cheeses for the commander of the boy’s unit.
Then he is to see how his brothers are doing and he’s to bring back news about them to dad.
And he reminds David of where they are. They are in the Valley of Elah.
And they are fighting—or so he thinks—against the Philistines, the arch enemies of Israel.
David is off!
David is off!
Let’s continue our story.
Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
Early in the morning David is off—he may have been glad to be away from the sheep.
He reached the camp right as the army of Saul was going out to line up for battle
Notice that they were all shouting the war cry—they were brave men (at least for a minute or two).
As the men lined up for battle, David left the supplies that he brought with the keeper of supplies.
Then he ran to the battle lines to talk with his brothers and see how they were.
Then Goliath stepped out—the Philistine Champion from Gath! And he shouted his “usual” proposition and defiance of Israel’s army.
And David heard it!
Then David saw the Israelites run back to camp in great fear!
So, there is David in utter disbelief of what he’s just witnessed. And according to the next couple of verses, he hears some of the men talking.
The Talk of the Camp
The Talk of the Camp
Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
Do you see this man! He keeps coming out day after day.
He comes out and defies Israel!
And no one goes to fight, even though the king will give things to the man who kills him:
—Great wealth.
—The kingd daughter in marriage.
—And the man’s family will be tax exempt!
David can’t believe his ears so he asks those standing close by:
David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
David wants to know:
What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine.
The one who removes this disgrace from Israel.
And he wants to know who the uncircumcised Philistine is.
And how the Philistine could possibly be allowed to defy the armies of the living God!
They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
So the men repeat to David all that will be done for the man who kills Goliath!
Family Problems!
Family Problems!
David’s oldest brother become angry when he hears David asking questions! Look at verse 28.
When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
Don’t miss the emotion and the anger in this passage!
We are straight-up told the Eliab was angry when he heard David asking questions.
He wants to know why David has come.
More importantly, who is taking care of David’s job? Who’s taking care of the sheep?
Then he accuses David of having evil motives! He says David’s heart is wicked.
The only reason David came was because he wanted to see a fight!
David is indignant!
“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.
David protests—What have I done?
He protests some more—Can’t even speak?
Then he turned away from his brother and began talking to some of the other men standing around.
And he gets the same answer as before.
King Saul Hears About David
King Saul Hears About David
So, news of David’s questions and conversations reaches king Saul.
What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
So Saul sends for David!
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
David tell Saul two things:
Don’t lose heart on account of this Philistine.
Because I—your servant—will go and fight him!
But look at Saul’s response.
Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
Thanks, but no thanks!
You can’t go fight Goliath—you are only a kid!
And this guy has been a warrior since he was your age!
But David is going to plead his case, and give his resume! He may be more qualified than Saul thinks!
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
David is a shepherd who keeps his sheep safe.
When a lion or bear came to attack the flock and carry off some of the sheep David sprang into action.
He pursued it! Struck it down! And rescued the sheep from the mouth of the beast!
If the lion or bear turned to try to fight David, he would grab it by the hair, strike it, and kill it!
David says he has killed both lion and bear!
And as far as he is concerned he will do the same thing to this uncircumcised Philistine!
David is confident because Goliath is defying the armies of the living God!
So he believed Yahweh who rescued him from the paws of the lion and bear, will rescue him from the hand of this Philistine!
Now I don’t know about you but that’s a pretty impressive resume! And apparently king Saul thought so too. Look at the second part of verse 37.
“Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Preparing for Battle
Preparing for Battle
So the next thing that needed to happen was that David had to get ready for battle.
Saul is going to prepare David to fight—like he would fight!
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.
Can you imagine a teenage boy wearing king Saul’s armor—for one thing it was probably too big for him.
David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.
I love this—he gets all the armor on, and puts the sword on over the tunic.
Then he tries to walk around—but it’s not working.
David says, “I cannot go in these, because I am not used to them!”
So, he took them off.
The Battle
The Battle
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
First, David took his staff. For him this was a formidable weapon!
Then he picked up 5 smooth stones from the stream bed in the Valley of Elah.
He puts the 5 stones in his shepherd’s bag.
And he began walking toward the Philistine with his sling in his hand!
Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.
Here comes Goliath! He and his shield bearer are moving toward David.
Than’s when it hit Goliath—look at the next verse.
He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
He saw that the “man” that was coming to fight him was really a lad—little more than a boy.
Goliath hated David’s youthfulness.
He hated David’s looks.
And he hated David’s weapons!
Am I a dog? All you’ve got is a stick! (Remember all of Goliath’s weaponry!)
Then Goliath began to curse David by every Philistine god that was out there!
Goliath continues to spue hatred toward David!
“Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
Come here kid!
I’ll give your flesh to the birds and to the wild animals!—You are going to die!
David’s Response to Goliath
David’s Response to Goliath
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
You come at me with the world’s weapons: Sword, spear, and javelin.
But I’m coming against you in the name of Yahweh Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel.
It is this God that you are defying!
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
Because Goliath is defying Yahweh
This very day Yahweh will give you into my hands!
I will strike you down.
And I’ll cut off your head.
And it will be me that gives the carcasses of the entire Philistine army to the birds and wild animals.
Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Then everyone who is gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves.
This battle is the Lord’s!
And the Lord will give you into our hands!
What an amazing understanding of God! And what amazing trust and confidence David had!
The Battle
The Battle
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
The Philistine continues to move toward David.
David begins to run toward the battle line!
Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
He reaches into his shepherd’s bag and pulls out a stone.
He puts it in his sling and slings the stone toward the Philistine.
The stone hits its mark—and sinks deep into the forehead of the giant.
And Goliath falls face down on the ground!
IMPORTANT POINT:
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
David triumphed over the giant Goliath—with a sling and a stone.
No sword in his hand—just a sling and a stone! That’s how David killed the Philistine!
A sling and a stone—and the Lord Almighty!
David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
David ran up to the giant, and stood over him!
He pulled Goliath’s sword out of the sheath and cut off his head!
When the Philistines saw their hero was dead, they turned and ran away!
Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
Israel’s men see this—are shocked at first—but then begin to shout and run after the Philistines.
The chase them to the entrance of Gath and the gates of Ekron—so this is north and west of the battle field.
And there were dead Philistines all along the way!
When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
When the army comes back, the plunder the Philistine camp.
But what happens to David?
David
David
David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
He takes the Philistine’s head to Jersualem.
And he gather’s up all of Goliath’s weapons and takes them for himself.
Saul’s Question
Saul’s Question
The next couple of verse are strange because according to chapter 16 and even the first part of 17, David was supposed to be in the service of Saul. So one wonders how to interpret verses 55-58.
As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.” The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
Saul doesn’t know who David is.
Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, doesn’t know who David is.
And Saul gives the order to find out who this kid is!
As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
So when David comes back to camp.
Still holding Goliath’s head.
Abner takes David and brings him to back to king Saul.
And Saul asks him a question:
“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Hey kid, whose son are you?
And David answers Saul.
I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.
SO WHAT?
SO WHAT?
There are some big take-aways in this passage.
All of us have giants in our lives that seem to be too big for us to conquer. And the truth is they are too big for us to conquer!
Just like the armies of Israel, our giants seek to strike fear to the depths of our beings!
And just like Israel, we too can lose sight of the fact that God is greater than any enemy we face! Remember what the apostle John said? 1 Jn 4 4 “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Remember with God you are NEVER the underdog! No you are more than conquerors! Romans 8 37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
So when you face a giant. And that giant is bigger than you. That giant is strong than you. And that giant has the bigger advantage than you—REMEMBER God wants everyone to see His Glory! So He is ready to conquer the giant in your life! So that the everyone will know that the Lord saves!