Only a Boy named David

Intro

Our world today is plagued with Philistines ready to do battle, and Christians must stand up and prepare to fight for the Lord and not defend for themselves (on their own terms.)

Read through passage:

1 Samuel 17:32–54 KJV 1900

32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And 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. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I 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. 36 Thy servant slew 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. 37 David said moreover, The Lord 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 the Lord be with thee. 38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, 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. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

A. There are so many Goliaths in our lives and most of the time, in our fleshly mindset, we do not believe that they can be defeated. However, we have someone on our side who is bigger than any Goliath we could ever face. David recognized having the Lord on his side before he even had a chance to take time thinking of the stature and "impossibility" of his foe.

In the beginning verses of this chapter we see that all of the Israelite men were too afraid to stand for what they knew what right, and what is worthy to be stood up for.

The Theme of this passage I found to be a question = Where is your basis of confidence?

a. When David came into camp, he saw a whole army of grown men(Warriors) who were cowering in their tents because they feared Goliath.

It wasn’t just fear either, it was a distrust in who backed the Israelite armies.

Main point = With God on our side, there is no Battle in which He will leave us to fend for ourselves.

key Verse 1 Samuel 17:45-46

1 Samuel 17:45–46 KJV 1900

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

What thoughts do you think were going through Goliath’s head after David said all of this? The armies of Israel were hiding from a fight, and then a young shepherd boy comes out and is saying that he will kill Goliath.

Proposition: Why is it important to go into a spiritual battle with the initial thought of having the Lord on your side rather than "can I do this?".

If we enter a battle with the initial thought of “can I do this” it puts the whole focus on MY abilities and whether or not I feel that I can get the job done.

Commentary insights:

David Defeats Goliath (17:1–58). The Philistines were at war with Saul. Their greatest champion, Goliath (who stood over nine feet tall) taunted the Israelites for their cowardice. In ancient times it was common for champions of opposing armies to face off in a personal duel. No Hebrew had the courage to face Goliath.

Jesse’s older sons were in the battle lines, and Jesse sent David to the field with provisions. David heard the defiant words of Goliath and was zealous to defend the name of the Lord by challenging the giant to combat. With the weapons of a lowly shepherd but armed with the power of God, he killed Goliath, and the Philistines scattered in defeat.

(33-37) David’s training as a shepherd prepared him.

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

a. You are not able…for you are a youth: Saul thought David was disqualified because of his age, size, and inexperience. This shows that Saul looked at the battle purely in natural, outward terms. Saul’s first impression said there was no way David could win. God’s way said there was no way David could lose.

b. You are a youth and he a man of war from his youth: Saul essentially told David, “He’s been a soldier longer than you have been alive. How can you ever defeat him?” Again, this shows that Saul only looked at the outward, not the spiritual dimensions of this battle.

c. Your servant has killed both lion and bear: God prepared David for this exact battle when David was a lowly shepherd. A lion attacked the lambs and David fought the lion. A bear came against the sheep and David battled with the bear. All along, God prepared David to fight Goliath. How long did David prepare to fight Goliath? All his life, up to that day.

i. This is generally God’s pattern for preparation. He calls us to be faithful right where we are and then uses our faithfulness to accomplish greater things. If David ran scared at the lion or the bear, he would never have been ready to fight Goliath now. But he was faithful then, so he will be faithful now.

e. David had no idea he was being trained to fight a giant. In the midst of our preparation we rarely see how God will use it. Yet now, David can look back and know that the same God who delivered him before will also deliver him now. David knew that God’s help in times past is a prophecy of His help in the future.

In this chapter, God reveals 5 lessons for building your faith.

(1) trust in God;

(2) meekness;

(3) submission;

(4) belief in His promises;

(5) service to Him;

1. we each have a Goliath, or many, to do battle with in our lives. This passage should cause the listeners to remember the power of having the Lord fighting our battles with and for us as opposed to doing it on our own.

2. We must trust that God will deliver us in every circumstance, and that He has the power to deliver us.

1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary iii. Saul Needs a Warrior to Fight Goliath (17:1–18:5)

At no point did David take any credit for the successful outcome, which he confidently expected. By using his sling, David could operate beyond the range of Goliath’s weapons

Believer this is the same in our life. The weapon we are equipped with is God’s word. And God will use His Word to operate beyond the range of our foe’s weapons.

Do not discredit the power of having the Lord on your side but rather step out in faith that what God promises He will do, will come to be.