1 Samuel 17:1-58
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Sometimes we don understand stories that we have grown up
The enemies of God.
The enemies of God.
Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.
There’s a valley in between them that separates them. More so than that is a valley of fear. These men are fearful.
And here comes Goliath.
Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him.
1 sam 17:4-7
a champion.
Literally the Hebrew here is interesting- literally you can translate this “a man between the two”
Essentially, he is the man among any other man you may put in his way. This is no surprise right, look how big this joker is.
He is 9 feet, 9 inches tall.
Just his appearance would have shot fear in the heart of most men. Add to that, his combat gear and body armor and this is a mean looking dude.
5000 shekels- 126 pounds
verse 7- 600 shekels 15.1 pounds
This is the longest description of any man armor in the Old Testament
Its designed to show you and to communicate to us the apparent invisibility of Goliath.
Not only is he big, but he also has a shield carrier that walked before him.
The enemy seems unbeatable.
The enemy seems unbeatable.
Goliath mocks the army of Israel.
Goliath mocks the army of Israel.
He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
Essentially, why are you even in battle clothes if you aren’t here to fight?
You are servants of SAUL
and I am a philistine.
We are enemies, i’m here, you are here lets go.
Then Goliath educates them in the practice of representative battle. The Israelites were not used to this. They were used to typical battle and fighting.
listen to Goliath here as he explains.
“If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”
1 sam 17:9
Essentially, there is no battle between armies. There is one fight between two men.
Quite Literally, Winner take all.
Verse 10, he mocks again.
Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.”
but they are afraid. The whole army is afraid.
Including Saul.
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
We can understand this.
now the story shifts to little David.
Recently anointed little David.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Look at the description here of David
Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand. Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. “Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them. “For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
1 Samuel 17:
Forty Days of defying the army of God.
David makes his way to do what little young boys do. He takes bread and cheese. But when David gets there the soldiers are on the battle lines, but no fighting is going on.
1 Samuel 17:
So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that 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.” Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will 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 taunt the armies of the living God?” The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who kills him.”
David doesn’t understand. Saul wants someone to fight the giant, but Saul won’t as the king, but whoever does he is going reward greatly.
David doesn’t understand the problem.
This uncircumcised philistine man is defying the armies of the living God. these people had the God of the covenant. Their God had beaten Pharoah. This should be no problem.
Why hasn’t anyone stepped up?
Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.” But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a question?” Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before.
Saul interviews David
Saul interviews David
1 sam 17:31-
When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” And 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 may the Lord be with you.” Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
Saul immediately rejects David
He is not able- Saul is right.
David trusts in the God who has not failed him ever before.
I love the way he puts it in verse 37- he delivered me.
God will be the one to fight this battle. Not David.
And David tells him that.
Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and 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 taunted. “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
Now to the fight
Now to the fight
1 sam 17:48
Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
There was no sword in his hand.
David uses Goliath’s own sword to cut off his head.
The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. Then David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.
Verse 50 makes the interesting point, “there was no sword in the hand of David.” This was not an ordinary victory. No one had even seen anything like this before.
But God had promised His people all the way back in the Garden of Eden that He would crush the head of their enemies. Today in the valley of Elah thru little David He had kept His Word.
A thousand years later on a hill called Golgotha, the place of the skull, he would keep his word again to the greater Son of David! ().
Christ would come and
therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another. “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. “And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.
ezekiel 34:22-24
David and Goliath then, is really not about pulling for the underdog. It is not about “the bigger they come the harder they fall.” It is not about the size of the dog in the fight vs. the size of the fight in the dog. It is not about defeating the giants in your life. It is not about little David as your example. It is about little David providing a preview of a coming attraction of a greater David who is your Savior, your substitute, your unlikely champion. Again , speaking of this coming Messianic Davidic King says it so well, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Let this unlikely champion make his Name famous in your life as He is becoming famous in all the earth. Look on Him as God sees Him. Let this Son of David, Jesus Christ, be your Champion.
15
giants in your life. It is not about little David as your example. It is about little David providing a preview of a coming attraction of a greater David who is your Savior, your substitute, your unlikely champion. Again , speaking of this coming Messianic Davidic King says it so well, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” Let this unlikely champion make his Name famous in your life as He is becoming famous in all the earth. Look on Him as God sees Him. Let this Son of David, Jesus Christ, be your Champion.