When do the Giants Stop

Introduction

Welcome to the 9 AM enlighten modern service. As you may notice I am not in the Oasis of Love studios this morning. You may also notice that I am alone. I am actually in Mississippi visiting my father and the rest of my family. Today is the one year anniversary of my mother’s passing and I wanted to be here for that.

Today’s verses come from the 2nd chapter of Samuel. Before we read them, I want to give you some context for these verses. In the proceeding verses David was faced with a different difficulty.

A three-year famine caused David to inquire how Israel had offended the LORD. It was common in the Old Testament to attribute such catastrophes to the LORD’S intervention. King Saul had breached Israel’s long-standing covenant with the Gibeonites (compare Josh 9:25–27). Although 1 Samuel does not narrate Saul’s murder of these Amorites (who resided in his homeland of Benjamin), such an act was consistent with Saul’s policies (compare 1 Sam 22:16–19). David turned over seven descendants of Saul’s house (sparing Mephibosheth) to the Gibeonites for execution to avenge their loss (21:1–9). David buried Saul’s kin honorably with his and Jonathan’s bones (21:10–14)

Dockery, D. S. (Ed.). (1992). Holman Bible Handbook (p. 244). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

So as we consider the verses for today, understand that David has just dealt with a very significant problem. He has dealt with 3 years of famine and has gone through the difficult process of surrendering seven (7) members of Saul’s family to the Gibeonites for execution. Clearly he struggled with this or he would not have taken the bodies and buried them with honor next to Saul and Jonathon.

2 Samuel 21:15–22 LEB

There was war again for the Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought the Philistines, and David grew weary. Now Yishbi in Nob, who was among the descendents of Raphah (now the weight of his spearhead was three hundredweight of bronze, and he was newly armed), said that he would kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah helped him, and he attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall not go out with us any longer to the battle, so that you do not quench the lamp of Israel.” It happened afterward that there was again battle at Gob with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph who was among the descendants of the Raphah. There was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. And Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like the beam of a weaver. Once again there was battle at Gath, and there was a man of great size. The fingers of his hand and the toes of his feet were six and six, twenty-four in number. He was also born to the Raphah. He taunted Israel but Jonathan the son of Shimei, the brother of David, killed him. These four were born for the Raphah in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

The word of God for the people of God

Revisiting the loss of my mother represents a degree of adversity. She passed last year, but 2020 has been a year of adversity. As communities we have faced adversity in many ways - socially, politically, medically, and now hurricane season has started with a category 4 storm, Laura. Which, by the way, is my sister’s name. But I’m sure that is purely coincidental. As a community of faith we are not exempt from adversity and difficulty.

There is no development of Christlikeness in a person’s life apart from adversity. Tribulation helps us to mature into the people of faith God wants us to be. - Robert Mullins

The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. - Oswald Chambers

We may face adversity as individuals. But as people of faith we never face adversity alone.

Transition

There are four (4) things I want to point out about this passage.

Adversity is never-ending

We have limits to our strength and ability.

We succeed only with the support of our community.

Success is measured in the context of our community and faith.

Adversity is never-ending

In these verses we see how David, even as a successful king who is getting on in age, continues to face difficulty and adversity. It was never-ending. Verse 15 begins, “There was war again...” This fight with the philistines is not a new fight. It is the same old fight that David and the nation have been struggling with for most of David’s life. When David, as a young boy, killed Goliath it was during one of the wars with the Philistines.

In today’s verses, David and his army are faced with four new giants. One of the giants is either named Goliath or is the brother of Goliath. Either way, I’m sure David is wondering when he will be free from this conflict.

Adversity was the Apostle Paul’s close companion. Paul knew suffering and wrote about this in his letter to the Christians in Rome.

Romans 5:3–5 LEB

And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces patient endurance, and patient endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We have limits to our strength and ability.

Renowned as a warrior, David is beginning to reach his limits. Verse 15 ends with, “ … and David grew weary.”

In verse 16 we find a description of David’s adversary. This adversary was huge. Verse 16 tells us that his spearhead weighed 300 weight of bronze. This means the spearhead alone weighed between 7 and 8 pounds. That is huge. He was also newly armed. So the weapons that he brought to the fight were strong, polished, and razor sharp.

But David was weary. He had reached the limit of his strength.

Have you ever felt weary? It is a common human experience. We often become pessimistic and quietly desperate. We lose our joy despite continuing to be in the fight for God. Questions and doubts can easily flood our minds. Is this all that we were made for? Where did the joy of life go? How does this happen? What is this weariness in doing good? 

In The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton writes:

Pessimism is not in being tired of evil but in being tired of good. Despair does not lie in being weary of suffering, but in being weary of joy. It is when for some reason or other good things in a society no longer work… when its food does not feed, when its cures do not cure, when its blessings refuse to bless.

So we have this weary king faced with a giant armed with new weapons who has specifically identified David as his target.

This must have felt familiar to David. Years earlier, David had faced a huge adversary named Goliath. And he had faced him with no armour or weapons, except for a small slingshot. In that encounter David had refused any real assistance. But the situation we are looking at today is different. Today, David is weary. This makes the situation different and David approaches it differently.

We succeed only with the support of our community.

In today’s verses David doesn’t fight the giant alone. He gets help and together they kill the giant. There is success because of the cooperation. Then David’s community goes even further and they determine that David will no longer go out with the army to do battle. He has a new role. But the battles do not end because David has a new role. The giants keep coming.

How different this situation is from David’s encounter with Goliath when he was a young boy. In today’s verses there are four giants instead of just one. And in today’s verses David assists in killing one giant, but his soldiers - his community - kill the others. Today’s victory is not David’s. Instead, the victory belongs to the community.

Community is critically important in the life of the believer. Walking with others is critical. Jesus surrounded himself with a community of faith. Paul had Barnabas and the support and encouragement of christian communities he visited.

Here's what Paul Tripp says in his book, Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy:

"We weren't created to be independent, autonomous, or self-sufficient. We were made to live in a humble, worshipful, and loving dependency upon God and in a loving and humble interdependency with others. Our lives were designed to be community projects. Yet, the foolishness of sin tells us that we have all that we need within ourselves. So we settle for relationships that never go beneath the casual. We defend ourselves when the people around us point out a weakness or a wrong. We hold our struggles within, not taking advantage of the resources God has given us." (p. 147)

If David had chosen to fight alone that day, would the results have been different? David was weary. Community made all the difference.

Success is measured in the context of our community and faith.

The Bible tells us the story of God and his people. It is a story of community. While there are individuals that stand out, both good and bad, they are only significant in the context of community. As a body of believers, the focus is the unity of the spirit.

James 2:1 NIV

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.

While David is an important individual, the significance of his achievements is centered in his role as God’s anointed. It is the community - the people of God - that is significant.

Ephesians 4:4–6 LEB

one body and one Spirit (just as also you were called with one hope of your calling), one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

While there were early leaders of the church, all the significant events were proceeded by the gathering of the believers in prayer and worship. It is the community that succeeds.

While Antonie is a powerful, spirit-filled leader, it is the church that must work together to advance the kingdom. While John may teach truth, it is this community of believers that is being equipped.

While David led, he did not defeat the giants alone.

Conclusion

So here we are. Facing giants, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We are weary.

What do we do? The giants just keep on coming.

But it’s ok. We are not alone. God has foreseen thits and we need to remember what he truth is.

Adversity is never-ending

We have limits to our strength and ability.

We succeed only with the support of our community.

Success is measured in the context of our community and faith.

God is with us and we can and will succeed here as this body of believers at the Oasis of Love and as the body of believers worldwide as the universal church.