Sermon Tone Analysis

The Character of Courage - 1 Samuel 17:28-58

What gave David the courage to face the Philistine enemy Goliath?

Was it merely youthful ignorance?

No.

We can see in the life of the young David that ultimately what brings down the giant and brings victory to Israel is David’s confident submission to God.

But how do we get from that to David’s courage to face Goliath?

We would love to see ourselves as being courageous for God.

How will we get there?

David’s courage is a product of his character, and his character is a result of closeness to God and submission to Him. - Consistency in seeking God (which yields intimacy in knowing Him) is what gives David confidence in submitting to God.

That obedience, when tested, builds character—a commitment to honor God from the heart in any circumstance.

And it is that maturity in David’s life which reveals itself in the likes of courage.

PRAY

David arrives because faithfulness to his father’s wishes that he should go see how his brothers are at the battlefront...

Last week in the first half of the chapter we determined that David had faith in God, which is a complete confidence in and submission to him, though he is unseen (Heb.

11:1).

That was our focus because it is foundational to understanding where David is coming from as he submissively does the will of his father Jesse, as he reacts in astonishment that no one is eager to take on the Goliath for the glory of God and the honor of His people Israel, and as he offers himself to be an instrument in God’s hands to bring an end to this whole disgraceful display.

And as stated last week, David does not view himself as an underdog, and neither should the original audience nor the readers today.

The living God of Israel is on their side.

For David, who is confident in God, courage to act is neither surprising nor abnormal.

What I hope you’ll see today though is that David’s courage arises from his character, and that character is founded upon deep-seated conviction, and that conviction comes from consistency in seeking God.

In other words, David’s zeal for God is fueled by intimacy with him.

So courage isn’t something David has to summon.

It is an overflow of his character, which I argue must be an outcome of consistently seeking God.

As we reminded ourselves last week, faith is a gift (Eph.

2:8-9), but once received, it is acted upon through a determined consistency to know God for who He is.

Knowing God results in confident conviction, and conviction leads to endurance in making right choices in our daily duties and in the trials that we face, which leads to depth of character, which leads to courage and confidence in the hope of God’s promises.

Because character is our emphasis today, I want to skip to the end then go back to where we can see David’s character at work.

The result of the battle (due to David’s confident submission to God’s will) is indeed that the Lord grants victory and David’s family is honored.

But for the sake of our application of David’s example, I want us to look more closely at what leads up to the victory.

The interchanges between David & Eliab, David & Saul, and David & Goliath reveal the depth of David’s delight in God (intimacy with God and desire for God’s glory).

The result of the battle is indeed victory and honor.

(Victory for God, for Israel, for David.

Honor for God, for Israel, for David and his family.)

The Result of David’s Confidence in God (vv.

50-58)

The Lord grants victory.

V. 50 is a reminder that David kills the giant with the weapons of a shepherd rather than the traditional weapons of war.

It also explains why, v. 51, he had to used Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head (keeping his word from v. 46).

The Philistines flee (instead of doing what Goliath had proudly promised, of course), and now the once-fearful men of Israel forget their fear when they see the hand of God in their favor and pursue and defeat the Philistines.

David’s act reminds them who is on their side and what they are supposed to be about that day.

David bringing Goliath’s head to Jerusalem (probably meaning to that region) undoubtedly put fear into the hearts of those Jebusite enemies of Judah as well, and for the author likely foreshadows that David would like make Jebus (Jerusalem) the center of his kingdom.

David’s house (family) is honored.

It seems easy to be confused about what’s going on in vv.

55-58.

- But here’s my interpretation.

It isn’t that Saul doesn’t know who David is, but he doesn’t know David well, which is perfectly understandable for a variety of reasons.

(Saul’s position and self-interest, no doubt MANY attendants, David’s travelling back and forth, the passage of time since their first bringing David into his employ, etc.)

So Saul is asking about David’s family because he now has an interest because of not only David’s bravery but because Saul himself has promised to exempt the family from taxes and give his daughter in marriage to this family.

David responds simply and humbly, a reflection of his character… the same character that results in victory and honor for God, for Isreal, and for his family.

Now for the three interchanges.

David & Eliab (vv.

28-30)

Eliab accuses David of wrong motive.

The reader knows that David is innocent of the charges laid against him by his eldest brother, and honestly, we are left suspecting that it is Eliab who is wrongly motivated by jealousy in his treatment of David.

(no doubt the early readers of Samuel would recall Joseph’s brothers)

Eliab wrongfully accuses David of wrongdoing, but David, even though innocent, does not retaliate.

He is focused on God’s glory and has no time for Eliab’s pettiness.

(Recall Nehemiah - Neh 6:2-3)

When David’s character is tested (and directly attacked, called into question), David passes the test with patience and focus on the real issue at stake.

David & Saul (vv.

31-40)

When Saul hears about what David has been saying (like the end of v. 26…), he sends for him to search out the matter himself.

David immediately says, without missing a beat (and it’s what all these men of Israel should have been thinking), “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.

Remember, we drew attention to this last week, what David knew about God and all Israel should have known: (God’s reminder through Moses to the people…)

So David volunteers to fight this Philistine—not focused on his size and his armor and his threatening words, but focused on his defiance of God and God’s desire to stop that mouth for His own glory.

But as we come to expect of Saul, he takes one look at David (and undoubtedly remembers who he is now… the young shepherd who plays music well) and his eyes tell him that David is not equipped to fight Goliath.

(Eliab attacked David’s motive.)

Saul calls into question David’s ability.

In response, David first explains to Saul that he is in fact a quite capable fighter against fierce enemies.

He doesn’t claim to have secretly trained as a warrior.

No, but in his role as protector of his father’s sheep, he has killed both lions and bears.

(I particularly like the part that after having struck the lion or bear probably with his sling, if it didn’t stay down when he rescued the sheep but rose against him, he’d finish it off, perhaps with a shepherds club.)

By the way, David’s competence in this area is no doubt due to countless hours of training with a sling.

David gets to the real crux of his confidence though when he says that “the Lord… will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

- David’s argument is like this: If God is faithful to deliver me when I trust in him as I’m keeping my responsibility to protect the sheep, how much more will God defend his own honor against this Philistine who is defying “the armies of the living God” and allow me to strike down this threat.

Because of David’s character, this is a no-brainer.

It isn’t David’s ability that is really the issue, but God’s ability.

Saul recognizes David’s courage, but more importantly, Saul seems to recognize God’s presence with David (end of v. 37).

And then Saul tries to equip David with traditional armor and weapons, which he assumes David will need.

I love that David submissively tries it out, but that he can’t because he doesn’t yet have any experience with them (he hasn’t “tested” them, hasn’t trained in them).

- But God has tested him and trained him!

So David takes the tools of a shepherd, with which he is very competent and trained, to battle this Philistine.

- Read v. 40 again.

When David’s character is tested again before Saul… He doesn’t listen to Saul and then doubt that he can do it.

No, he simply believes, “God has delivered me before and he can do it again—and more now than ever!”

David & Goliath (vv.

41-49)

Goliath moves forward, shield-bearer in front of him.

When he sees David a little closer, and undoubtedly doesn’t think he’ll be needing that shield, and he mocks David.

He takes note of David’s staff (“sticks”) but not his sling.

His gods are probably Dagon and Ashtaroth.

He tries to intimidate David with a threat of death and dishonor.

(Burial was important to Isrealites.)

But...

David’s response to Goliath shows the strength of his character and the source of his courage: “I come to you in the name of the Lord”

And David one-ups Goliath’s threat.

- God will give you into my hand.

And I’ll take you down and cut off your head.

(Wait, there’s more.)

And I’ll give the bodies of the whole Philistine army to the birds and beasts.

Most importantly, and I love how clear David is about this: “that all the earth will know that there’s a God in Israel” … “and that all this assembly (including and especially Israel) will know God’s deliverance doesn’t require a sword and spear.

The battle is the Lord’s!”

Goliath has probably heard enough and begins drawing near to make a quick end to this little shepherd.

But David brings a shepherd’s gun to a knife fight.

- And he has five stones.

In case he needs more, he’s prepared.