The Shepherd and Stone

Philistines Come

American Standard Version (Chapter 17)

17 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders. 7And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him. 8And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

Israel’s Response

11And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

Estimates put Saul’s army at approximately 3000 men.

Each one of them heard the challenge given by Goliath. They were weighed and ALL were found wanting. Including the king- who stood head and shoulders above the other Israelites.

What Did They See In Front of Them and What Did They See Inside

The army of Israel looked at Goliath and saw:

A man standing somewhere between 8’6”- 9’2”

A thundering voice speaking against them. Vile things.

Armor that weighed somewhere around 200lbs - more than probably weighed.

A fierce warrior

Inside themselves they did not find

strength, courage, or faith to stand against this man.

David Meets Goliath

David did not go to battle. He stayed with the sheep. But eventually his father sends him with supplies to his brothers on the front lines.

American Standard Version Chapter 17

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 25And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 26And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

How Does David See Goliath?

Does David make any mention of this man’s stature?

Does David speak with any type of fear?

In fact, let’s look at the words that David uses

Who is this UNCIRCUMCISED Philistine? He uses this specific language intentionally. David is seeing Goliath for who he truly is. Not one of God’s children. He doesn’t care about danger or reward. He cares about the insult this ungodly person is making to God’s people.

That he should defy the armies of the living God. He shows again here that he is not looking at this as a simple shepherd boy but as a child of God chosen by his Heavenly Father as one of His children.

David Rebuked

American Standard Version Chapter 17

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why art thou come down? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30And he turned away from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

David comes to front lines and sees what is happening and honestly has some pretty bold opinions about the circumstance.

After speaking out about the issue, his brother speaks against him. I think for several reasons....

David hasn’t been there through all of this. He hasn’t had to deal with what they’ve dealt with.

David is small, pretty, and young. Who are you to have an opinion? You haven’t been around long enough to form one.

But lastly, how dare you come here and stand so bold as I cower in fear?!?!

But Eliab is seeing David the same way that he saw Goliath and the entire situation- with fleshly eyes.

Sometimes the toughest battle we face aren’t from our “enemy” but from our brothers and sisters.

David had a choice at this moment. He could have tucked his tail and ran back to the field and I believe Israel would ultimately be defeated. Again, no one would stand against Goliath.

Or....... he could press on. And press on he did.

David Meets Saul

And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul; and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34And David said unto Saul, Thy servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, 35I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37And David said, Jehovah that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and Jehovah shall be with thee.

Here we see the same song and dance as what David saw on the front lines.

Saul sees only what is in front of him and does not see with spiritual eyes.

But David responds in the manner of a warrior.

I am David the lion slayer.

I am David the bear killer.

But more than that he sees it in the way it truly is. He said Jehovah delivered me out of the paw of the lion and of the bear. He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

David looks back to build confidence in the future and knows where his strength and victory comes from!

Whose Armor Do You Take To Battle?

American Standard Version Chapter 17

And Saul clad David with his apparel, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. 39And David girded his sword upon his apparel, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

We continually see this contrast between human views of the battle and the spiritual view.

Saul with his fleshly eyes figured that the only hope he could give David was HIS armor.

But that was Saul’s armor. Saul’s protection would not fit David. Saul’s protection was not made for David.

Many victories were won with Saul’s armor, but it was David’s armor the armor of God that would win this fight.

War Cry

American Standard Version Chapter 17

41And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of a fair countenance. 43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field. 45Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46This day will Jehovah deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from off thee; and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day unto the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah’s, and he will give you into our hand. 48And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

David is once and for all making it clear that EVERYONE on both sides has seriously miscalculated the situation.

You come at me with tools of warfare, but I come in the name of Jehovah of hosts!

I come to you as a representative of the One Living God as an instrument of His power!

Closing the Distance

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

Everything that David said led to this exact moment. All that he spoke of means absolutely nothing if he won’t engage.

Closing the distance.

Closing the distance in fighting is a vital skill for MMA, self-defense, and boxing. It allows fighters to impose their will on their opponents, gain a mental edge, and potentially strike first.

It’s Time to Step Out of Ranks!

It is time to stop looking at the world and the giants we face and running in fear.

It’s time to stop seeing the situation and say it’s too late. It’s too far gone.

We do not have any other options. We as Christians are going to be one of these characters:

All of the soldiers of the Israelite army. Afraid and unwilling to engage.

Are you Eliab? Judgmental and condemning when faced with your own cowardice?

Or are you David who sees the enemy through the lens of our Father and stand willing to exact His will as a representative here on Earth?

Will you not just stand, but close the distance and take the fight to them?