David: A Faith That Meets Adversity Head On

David

Prayer / Announcements

We are continuing in our Character series where we examine the faith of different biblical characters. Last week we took a look at Rahab and the declaration of faith that she made regarding the God of Israel.

That was a great segue from Joshua, as we looked at him the week before and as I said their narratives run parallel. Rahab is from Jericho which was the first real battle that we see Joshua encounter as he lead the people across the Jordan.

We ended last week with Matthew 1:5 “5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,”

The one major time that Rahab is not referred to as a harlot, or has the connotation attached to her name.

If you keep reading to verse 6 Matthew 1:6 “6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.”

She is not the wife of Uriah anymore because Uriah is dead, David made sure he was killed to cover up his sin.

What is a common phrase that we know about David? He was a man… After God’s own heart.

Where do we get that from. He kind of has a checkered past to say the least. Right there in Matthew 1:6 we see Adultery, and Murder, you could throw in lying, and stealing as well, and this is just one instance of His misgivings.

Why does that moniker “Man After God’s Own Heart” get attached to David. It comes from 2 verses. The first is.

1 Samuel 13:14 “14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.””

You could make an argument that this is before David is king and shouldn’t sum up his character.

If you remember Saul is king, the first king of Israel, and it is a concession on God’s part in the first place to give them a king, nevertheless He does, and Saul does not obey God’s commands regarding sacrifice and offering. He makes a burnt offering and doesn’t wait for the priest. So Samuel tells him, big mistake, God would have established your kingdom forever.

Ok so that gets us to the verse regarding David. It is years before he is even anointed king and over twenty years before he is even king. Its not really fair to judge since he has not done anything yet.

But…here is the thing. The same thing is said about David in the New Testament as well.

Acts 13:22 “22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’”

At this point it is time to maybe scrub this a little bit. But Paul doesn’t. He truly was a man after God’s own heart, and what made that a reality was his faith. David had a faith that wasn’t afraid of adversity.

Slide

Hebrews 11:32 “32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:”

David is mentioned by name but lumped in with a group. After this the author just starts naming faith events that have taken place in peoples lives.

Slide

1 Samuel 17:3–8 “3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet 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 bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.”

Very familiar narrative. The story of David and Goliath. This first section of scripture really just gives us the description of the man Goliath, and the setup of the battle that we are stepping into.

Lets start with his size. He was a giant by all respects. Its hard to settle on a solid number for any of this as there is varying opinions but it is very likely he was at least 9 feet tall, and all his armor would have weighed in the neighborhood of 150-200 pounds. His spear is said to be 20-30 lbs. Modern javelin is around 2 pounds.

This is a beast of a man. For context Andre the Giant was just over 7 foot tall, and weighed in at 520 lbs. A more modern person I looked up Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson referred to as “The Mountain” was the 2018 Worlds strongest man and is 6’9” and weighs in at 450 at competition weight.

A little math here and it would seem that Goliath likely would have been just over 600 lbs. Thats bigger than some of the cows on my farm.

We have this menacing figure, and a challenge. Send your best and that is who wins the war.

1 Samuel 17:9–11 “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 armies 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.”

Have you ever faced a challenge you felt you couldn’t overcome?

Goliath lays the ground rules. If I kill your guy you serve us, if your guy kills me, we serve you. That is the challenge, not yielding, killing.

Verse 16 we find out Goliath would do this morning and evening, for 40 Days. This is a head game. Goliath is inflicting fear on the Israelites, and Saul. They are losing the battle before it ever begins. Isn’t that a strong strategy of the devil. If he can get in your head before hand he has already won.

Goliath is doing that and it is working. This is especially pertinent for Saul. Not only is he the leader of the army as king, but look at this.

1 Samuel 9:2 “2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”

1 Samuel 14:52 “52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.”

Saul was the obvious choice to go and fight Goliath. He was a fierce military leader, and perhaps more of a physical person than all of Israel. So whats the problem.

1 Samuel 16:14 “14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.”

Without the Spirit of the Lord, Saul didn’t have the courage, or ability to stand against this army.

Enter David.

SLIDE

1 Samuel 17:32–37 “32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 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.” 34 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, 35 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. 36 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.” 37 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!””

Faith that faces Giants

What strikes you the most about David’s speech?

We will come back to David’s words in just a minute. First I want to look at Sauls answer. He starts off in 33 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.

He ends in 37 Go, and the Lord be with you!

We read this like, what?! you want to fight him? Well go ahead if you’ve got a death wish. We forget the stakes that we read just a few verses earlier.

1 Samuel 17:9 “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.””

This isn’t about David its about the whole nation. Saul is truly at the end of himself. 40 days Goliath has made these calls for a battle, and 40 days Saul has not answered. There is no other option. I think deep in his heart Saul was ready to surrender.

Goliath had worn him down.

Faith that was built in private

What past experience has prepared you to face a current challenge?

Faith That Sees God’s Past Faithfulness

Isn’t this God’s pattern for preparing us. Dallas Willard had a saying that goes something like this. God has yet to bless some one other than where they are.

Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. I want to big family, or the big platform, or the job promotion, whatever it is but we haven’t put the work in. God blesses where you are at when we are faithful, and then he blesses us when we move forward.

This was the case with David, God was preparing him to battle a Giant, even when he was the forgotten, runt of the family made to watch the sheep. David prepared for battle when he was a lowly shepherd boy. He prepared by trusting God. He trusted God to protect him from a bear and a lion, and he learned from that any challenge can be faced in life when trusting God.

Faith That Encourages Others

“32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

Slide

1 Samuel 17:45–47 “45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.””

Faith That Speaks Boldly

Bold, Bold, Bold proclamations.

David is answering directly to Goliath’s taunt. V. 10 I defy the armies of Israel this day. David lets him know that he is coming in the name of the Lord of Hosts, who is the Lord of Hosts? Oh he is the God of the armies of Israel. Jehovah Sabaoth.

Not only will the Lord deliver you to me, I will take your head from you.

v. 47 all this assembly. It is not only the Philistines that need to be taught about God, but the Israelites needed a reminder of who their God is, and what He is capable of, they just needed a reminder to have Faith. David’s was faithful in a time where there was no faith. It was the shot in the arm the nation needed.

Faith That Honors God Publicly

David understood that it had nothing to do with him. It was God who would give the victory, and he walked in faith that his God would deliver.

Faith That Acts Decisively

1 Samuel 17:49 “49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.”

1 Samuel 17:51 “51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

Faith That Leads to Victory

David’s victory wasn’t about his abilities. It was about who God is. Victory in our lives as christians is not dependent upon us. We have to do our part but it is dependent on God and who He is. Think of Salvation, we trust in God’s character, and not our own.

Back to Man After God’s Own Heart - Adulterer, Pride, Murderer, Liar, Thief, Deceiver, Manipulator. Just to name a few. How is David called this.

It is his action in returning to God over and over. It is him taking responsibility for his actions. It is holding sacred God and the things of God.

David had numerous opportunities to kill Saul. He wouldn’t touch the Lords anointed. In other words I am going to wait on the Lord. You read the Psalms and you see his anguish over his sin, and a constant return to God, for both redemption and judgement.

He trusted God even when the outcomes were not what he would have wanted or expected. Late in life he numbers the people out of pride and God passes judgement.

1 Chronicles 21:1 “1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.”

2 Samuel 24:12–13 “12 “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.””

His answer:

2 Samuel 24:14 “14 And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.””

70,000 People would die.

It was the posture of his heart. We are not perfect nor will we ever be perfect on this side of eternity. Not gonna happen. But God is faithful if we turn to him with everything.

The same boy on the field with Goliath, that wanted to honor God with his life, is the same Man we see David become as king and later in life, despite his downfalls.

What are some ways that God has taught you that the Battle is His?

What are some giants you’ve faced in life?

What do you appreciate about David’s faith during this encounter?