The Living God
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Transcript
A. Rapport for the time
B. Reading of the text
C. Review of the text
D. Relevance of the text
I. Setting the Scene
I. Setting the Scene
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
Philistines have gathered on one side of a valley in Ephes-dammim and the Israelite’s are gathered in the valley of Elah stands between them. In my mind it looks like a World War 1 battle in my mind with two groups on opposite sides and a valley between for them to fight in.
T.S. As the scene has been set we now are introduced to the foes and our Philistine Adversary. As if in a boxing match you have not in this corner the Philistine Adversary---Goliath introduced.
II. Philistine Adversary
II. Philistine Adversary
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
7 The shaft 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.
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Goliath is introduced to us with stats and a proposition to the Israelites. First, we need to understand the numbers. Goliath is some 9 ft tall according to these numbers. vs. 5 five thousand Shekels is 125lbs of armour. vs. 7 Spear’s head weighed in at 15 lbs.
His offer is that if the Israelites will send someone out to battle him he is more than willing to take them on and save everyone from battling. vs. 9—whoever wins between he and whoever the Israelites will send out will serve the other and this will be all over with the minimum amount of blood shed.
You can see that the Israelite’s are in a bit of what we would call a situation against a man who is far beyond what they themselves can handle. vs. 11 shows us that Saul and Israel are still using their own wisdom and not seeking the Lord’s plan as they were—Dismayed and greatly afraid. We will come back to this..
T.S. Now that we have set the scene and been introduced to the Philistine’s corner we now are introduced to the Israelite.
III. Israel’s representative
III. Israel’s representative
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.
13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul,
15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
We are reminded that David was the youngest and in the end of vs. 15 that he is currently going back and forth between Saul and taking care of the Father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
God’s training of David at this time was as armor-bearer in the house of Saul as well as still taking care of the family sheep. Think of the responsibilities placed upon him during this time and how he was really being trained by God during this time to one take over as the leader of Israel.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
Goliath comes out into the Valley for forty days morning and evening calling out the Israelite’s to send someone to fight him. Saul and the people still live in fear.
17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.
18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
IV. Israelite Fear
IV. Israelite Fear
23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Fear is a major factor in our day to day operation of who we are as humans. How fear is conquered in our life often tells a story about us. In our own power we all have to admit we often give in to fear and allow it to control our lives. We let the opinions of others or our own wisdom to guide and direct our hearts. This is just the truth. The Israelite’s are allowing what their eyes can see do dictate how they handle this situation and that is they are not. For 40 day this man has come out to challenge them morning and night and nothing has happened except to create more fear.
T.S. What happens in the following verse is that what would one day become the leader of Israel-the king that God has anointed and empowered with the Spirit of God speaks for the very first time. We get to hear from the heart of David for the first time.
V. David Speaks
V. David Speaks
26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
“For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
This Philistine is not in covenant with the God of creation and is defying the living God. We stop at this point in the text because David said a mouthful. He makes the statement of their God being a living God because the God of the philistines is dead. This is a spiritual battle going on that has nothing to do with the size of the Philistine but instead about the heart of the people. The fear of the people comes from a lack of looking to the “Living God.”
Not the dead God of the Philistine’s.
1 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon.
3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.
4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.
5 This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
Dagon was embarrassed by the one true God
26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?
10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
17 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.
36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.
26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.
15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
Application: We serve a living God this very day. His is not dead and he has not fallen asleep. He sits in the thrown room of heaven this very moment and we rely upon the fullness of love from the Father that has provided for us the Son that we might live in the power of the Spirit. The only Living God of the universe has made a way for us when we had no way. We serve that living God with all that we are and all that we will be.
False God’s exist to this day that the world rely’s upon all the time. False religions follow men who have long past and are dead and the provide no hope.
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