David: An Archetype Of The Almighty

1st Samuel 17

Good evening brother and sisters. It’s a blessing to open the word of God with you on this beautiful night. If you have your Bibles turn with my to 1st Samuel 17. That will be our primary focus of the study. But before lets get a running start into where we are picking up. We see this book of Samuel opens with a woman who is unable to conceive. She cries out to the Lord in the temple and God answers that prayer and she has a son. His name is Samuel. Samuel was given to the temple to serve the Lord with Eli. Samuel would act like a judge over the people of Israel. Eventually the people of Israel get fed up with the way things are going and they decide that they want a king. They reject God who has been there king since the beginning and decide they want an earthly king who met their own standards. Gid gives them what they ask for and Saul becomes the king. The picture of the perfect king from humans point of view. But very quickly we learn that while on the outside he looks perfect, his heart is not in the right place. He repeatedly does the wrong thing and doesnt truly repent. He has a hard heart. So we get to chapter 16 and God rejects Saul as king. And instead of choosing a man for the people, He chooses a man after His own heart. And we get introduced to a teen boy named David who was a shepherd. After David is anointed Saul begins being tormented by a harmful Spirit. And the only person who can help him is David with his lyre playing. David was successful in this role and he becomes the armor bearer of King Saul. And now we come to chapter 1. David is spending his time between the king and tending to the flocks at his fathers house. He is likely in his mid to late teens, or early 20s at this time.

Now for the sake of time I am not going to read the entire chapter and I will summarize parts.

So we start chapter 17 and Israel is at war with a tribe knowns as the Philistines. The Philistines were a group of people who were extremely idolatrous. They worshipped deities like Dagon and Ashtoreth. And the way they worshipped was incredibly evil and sick. They were more advanced when it came to warfare than the Israelites and these nations would battle time and time again. Each side was camped on a mountain with a valley in-between them. The Valley of Elah. Now we will pick up in verse 4.

English Standard Version Chapter 17

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.”

Talk about Goliath using the verses.

These were the terms of this battle. A 1v1 fight to the death between this massive giant and one of the Israelites. The losing side would become the slaves of the winning tribe. This stand off happened for 40 days every morning and evening.

Before we move on I want us to take a second and put ourselves in the shoes of these Israelites. You’re at war with your toughest and most hated enemies. Out comes with giant who shouts the terms of this war. You hear the terms are someone is going to have to fight this giant. And you realize there is no hope. Finally after 40 days of this happening you have probably lost all hope. No one wants to step forward. Because they know they will die and their entire nation will be in slavery to those enemies. Now we enter David. He brings his brothers some food from home. He gets there and as he is talking to his brothers Goliath starts doing his daily shouting. It says in verse 23 that David heard him. David says in verse 26 who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God. Saul hears that David said this and calls him over.

English Standard Version Chapter 17

32 And 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 but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

Now I want to pause here. Look at the words of Saul. Isn’t this such a statement from the Devil? This lie is the exact kind of lie that Satan will use to keep you from being effective and doing what God has called you to do. You cant do this you are but a youth! We say this to ourselves all the time! Oh I will read my Bible and pray more when i grow up. Or I will do my devotions when I have time in the future but I am too busy, or fill in the blank. We have all believed some of these lies. The prophet Jeremiah will believe the very same lie and look what God says to him about it. Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah 1:4–10 ESV

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

When you have God He can and will use you if you are willing no matter your age. I think that is so comforting. Making the decisions for today knowing that today is the day to serve God and follow him. I dont need to wait for the future. David likewise knows that with God on his side he has nothing to fear. And this faith gives him the confidence to do what he is about to do.

English Standard Version Chapter 17

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

David while he might not have looked the part of being a warrior like Saul was more than capable. He fought off lions and bears as a shepherd. He says in verse 36 that this Philistine shall be like one of them because he defied the armies of the living God. But look at where his confidence comes from in verse 37. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the Lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul says go and the Lord be with you. David understand that he is going into an impossible battle but he knows that God will be the one who will deliver him. Now I am sure all of you know this story pretty well.

David will fight the giant, and he will be victorious. But I have a question for each one of you tonight before we move on. Who do you se yourself as in this picture? Do you see yourself as David who is standing strong through faith in God? Do you see yourself in opposition to God and His people like the Philistines, or do you see yourself as the nation of Israel?

Well I believe each and every one of us falls into the camp of the Israelites. This story is my absolute favorite to share the gospel message when going house to house. Lets get into why.

The Israelites were outmatched in every possible way. In front of them stood this giant. They were powerless to defeat this giant. They knew that this giant would lead to lifelong slavery. That is until someone stood between them and the giant, and defeated it. Does that sound familiar? See David was a type of Christ. This is incredible because this is exactly what Jesus would do for us. We all face a giant. That giants name is sin. We are powerless to defeat this giant on our own. We know that a life of sin is a life of slavery. There was not way we could get rid of this sin. But Jesus. The most beautiful words in all the Bible. But Jesus stepped in-between us and that giant. He went to a cross where He would take that sin on Himself. He conquered the evil forces of sin, death, and Satan, allowing us to live a life of freedom in Christ. To be continually sanctified and be made more and more into His image every day. You see we couldn’t be David because that sin was too great of a burden for us to carry. So I love this story so much because it points directly to Jesus. If you do enough house to house here you will probably here someone say something like this doesnt apply to them because they dont actually sin. No I have never done x, y, or z. Lets look at 1st John 1:8-9

1 John 1:8–9 ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Another verse would be Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We all no matter unbeliever or believer have sin in our lives. This sin leads to eternal death, unless someone else took that sin upon himself which is what Jesus did. So now we acknowledge our sin, confess our sin, and Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He came to this earth in humility and as a servant to show us how we should live our lives. As we close I want to look at one of my favorite passages in all the Bible. Revelation 5

Revelation 5 ESV

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

John is in the throne room weeping because there is this scroll that no one is able to open. Look with me in verse 5.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Notice the word used there. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. Firstly I think it is no coincidence that David would be the however many great grandfather of Jesus considering this event. But the Lion. Jesus mighty, fierce, and majestic, is worthy to open the scroll. Because He conquered. But notice what John turns around and sees in verse 6.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain

A lamb. The complete opposite of a lion. A lamb is fragile, powerless, and completely reliant on others to take care of it. Jesus came as a baby. He came not in the power of a lion but of the meekness of a lamb. in Heaven after the Lamb appears we hear a song begin. What were tears become songs of praise.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!”

Jesus is worthy. Worthy of our devotion, worthy of our praise, and worthy of our entire lives. So as we go through the rest of this week I have a question we can ask ourselves.

In what ways have we believed lies from the enemy such as you are only a youth? Or you will have time later, that are keeping us from being fully effective for God’s kingdom?

"God will not use a compromised life to reach a compromised world. God will use a life that is given over to Him, that is a demonstration of the message that through the power of Jesus Christ and His love He can transform our lives and set us free"

-Pastor Joe Focht