1 Samuel 17:1-37
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning, so a quick review before we go to our passage today
at the beginning of chapter 16, we saw David’s anointing
that following the rejection of Saul as king for his faithlessness
the Lord has chosen David to be King over his people
and the author spends time to contrast Saul and David
showing David to be the right choice
externally, Saul is everything you would want in a king
his family, his appearance
while David is shown as unimportant, even in his family
But the Lord looks on the heart, and he sees in David a man after his own heart
David loves the Lord
the reason the faith of the King is important
is the fate of God’s people is tied to their king
so having the right king is vital, it is a must have for Israel
because only through a faithful king will the people experience life and blessing
pointing us to our need for Jesus
the perfectly faithful and righteous king who reigns now and forever
and praise God, our fate is tied to him, based on his faithfulness, not on ours
that is the king we follow
Last week, we saw David and Saul meet
after Saul was troubled by a harmful spirit from the Lord
David was brought in as the solution, playing the lyre
and through that, the Spirit of the Lord, would drive away the harmful spirit
making Saul well
showing that Saul now has a dependence on David on a personal level
Well now, the entire nation of Israel is troubled,
how will God use David, the newly anointed king that no one still knows about
to deliver his people?
Starting in verse 1:
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 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.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks 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. 12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. 17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. 24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And 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.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.” 28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled 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 presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before. 31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 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.” 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 and Goliath is one of the most well known stories in the Bible
so well known, that there are morals and life lessons that people outside the church try to draw from it
I found a list of 5 life lessons learned from David and Goliath from a non-Christian website that’s dedicated to helping people succeed in life
Making David like a motivational speaker telling us: Believe in yourself, Be brave, face your giants, you can do it!
but the author of Samuel doesn’t tell us any of those things
the point of the story is not that Israel failed to believe in themselves
their problem is closer to they were only believing in themselves
what we see is a story of a people who have forgotten the truth and forgotten who they are
they have listened to the world’s version of reality, they have fallen victim to a lie of how the world works
and it has led them to despair
These are lies that we fall victim to
we forget who we are, we forget who we belong to, and when the world troubles us, we fall into fear or despair
but then the King shows up
and he’s armed not with some special courage or self confidence, but just the truth
he belongs to the Lord, that is his identity and the identity of his people, even when they forget it
he’s not believing in himself
he believes in the one who has the power to actually do something
the world belongs to the Lord, he is God over all
in our passage, we see that Saul, his army, and the Philistines have a wrong view of reality, of the world
David is operating out of what actually is
God is all powerful, what seems impossible to us is not just possible for him
it can be accomplished in ways that are so counter to worldly wisdom, they jar us out of it
taking us to the truth
this historical account, this story, is a beautiful reminder that God rescues his people
and that salvation will come through his king, ultimately through Jesus
and that’s true, despite our failure to remember it
he rescues us out of fear, out of death
nothing is impossible with God
Just an FYI, in case you haven’t noticed, this is a really long passage
so I can’t go verse by verse the way I normally would
I’ll summarize parts and come back to others next week when we do the rest of David and Goliath
I’ve had to do a bit of cutting to get this to fit close to our normal time
so you can think of this like the theatrical version of the sermon
instead of a 3 hour long Lord of the Rings director’s cut
So looking at the first 7 verses
we see that the Philistines are preparing to launch an attack on the Israelites
and the picture we get is the two armies camped on mountains separated by a valley
it almost sounds like a sports arena, the way it’s described
and out comes Goliath, the Philistine champion to insult and challenge Israel
the description shows us he is a big, powerful, intimidating figure
Unlike last passage where only King Saul was troubled
we see all of Israel is being troubled by the Philistines
and Goliath is the embodiment of that trouble
a warrior that seems impossible to overcome
then we get to Goliath’s challenge in verses 8-9:
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.”
So Goliath’s challenge to Israel starts with calling out who he is and who they are
Goliath identifies himself as a Philistine
and he identifies Israel as servants of Saul
the chief identity of Israel, at least as far as the Philistines are concerned, is that they are servants, or slaves, not of the Lord, but of Saul
there is nothing unique about Israel to the Philistines
they are just like everyone else
this was part of what Samuel promised would happen in chapter 8
that they would be slaves of the king they ask for
and this is how Israel now sees themselves
they have lost their identity
they no longer find it in the Lord
under Saul, they have prospered, they have overcome almost all of their enemies except the Philistines
they have grown in unity and stability
so their hope has shifted from the Lord to Saul
as Saul goes, as he leads them, that’s where they will go
How often do we let our hope shift like this?
some part of our life finds success
our job, our family
or some leader finds success
a leader in a church
or in the community
or a political leader
and there’s nothing wrong with success
but then we start shifting our ultimate trust and hope in that
rather than recognizing that God is behind all of it
that he is the source of everything
we allow how we perceive ourselves and the world to change
As part of the church, our identity is as
followers of Jesus
not of the Presbyterian Church in America
or not in being Reformed
not in having all the right answers theologically
it’s great to have good theology, and yes, I’m Reformed
and I’m thankful for the PCA
but all that stuff is meaningless, all of that stuff is a stumbling block
if it keeps me from seeing that my ultimate identity is in Christ
good theology should help us grow in our understanding of who we really are
what our identity is, it shouldn’t replace our identity
So Israel has allowed this to happen
leading to their response in the next 2 verses:
10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks 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.
Israel hears the challenge of Goliath
and they look at him as the world sees him
as the embodiment of military power
and they follow their worldly king, they follow the faithless Saul
in fear
the source of their identity, their new hope, has failed them
When we allow our identity to shift from Jesus to something else
that something else will eventually fail
no matter how successful we might be at our job
we will eventually stop working
our careers cannot help us in any eternal sense
our family relationships
eventually, all of those end
countries fail
I was talking to someone about how these next couple of months
the fall of a presidential election year
are months that I do not enjoy
we get the same message every 4 years from both sides
this is the most important election of our lifetime
our future depends on us winning
if the other side wins, then everything is bleak and our hope is gone
I’m not saying that elections aren’t important or that we shouldn’t be good citizens and do our civic duty in voting
the Bible is pretty clear that in general we should be good citizens and submit to the authorities over us
but to put this in perspective
there will be a time when the United States ceases to exist
either when Jesus comes back or before then
our ultimate identity is not in being a citizen of America or some other country that will have its time and be gone
it is in Christ
I hope that’s a source of comfort for all of us
Jesus has not failed and will not fail
in Him, our hope is always sure
but as we see with politics, or jobs, or relationships
when those things become ultimate, when they define who we are
something or someone will eventually show up and challenge us
a Goliath will show up and expose our false hope as an idol, a false god
leading to what Israel is experiencing: fear, despair
So Israel is following Saul in his fear and faithlessness
and what does God do about it? verses 12-13:
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
God sends the King
David comes on the scene
here the author takes time to again emphasize David’s standing, his insignificance
he’s from a small town
and he’s the youngest of 8 sons
and we have the same 3 sons here who are mentioned in the chapter before
these 3 sons, along with the rest of his family, witnessed David’s anointing by Samuel
but nothing has really changed for David since then as far as how they view him
and remember, the author does not record what Samuel says at David’s anointing
so the impression we get here is that his brothers don’t know exactly what the anointing means
David’s been anointed, set aside for something special, and we were snubbed
Eliab is again highlighted as the firstborn, the most important in the family
and all 3 are shown here in this passage as following Saul not just into battle as they should as Israel’s king, but also following Saul in his fear
they are reflecting the character of who they are trusting in
Which is what we do
we reflect who we worship, we reflect what we are hoping in
and when that crumbles, so do we
Chapter 17 serves as a confirmation that the Lord was right to choose David over his brothers
because their actions reflect their hearts
verses 14-15:
14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
so here in verse 15, we see that David, who met Saul in the last chapter
has been going back and forth from Saul
he is one of Saul’s armor bearers and he plays the lyre for Saul when he is troubled by the harmful spirit
but he has also been taking care of his father’s sheep
so his job has been to go back and forth doing this while his brothers follow Saul off to war
David has 7 older brothers, so there are 4 others who are still at home with Jesse
and Jesse lets David go to Saul to play the lyre
but it’s almost like he said, yes, you can go, but don’t forget your chores and responsibilities here
again, David, even though he is part of Saul’s court, is still insignificant
still is treated like a servant in his family
David has already been anointed, in a sense, his reign as king has already begun, but he serves
again, showing us a picture of the servant king, Jesus
who came to us to serve, to overcome the world, for us
verse 16:
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
So Goliath has been coming out challenging Israel for 40 days
and no one has come forward, they are all controlled by their fear
following Saul
And we see in verses 17-22 that Jesse is sending provisions to his sons through David
in addition to watching the sheep and going to Saul, David is also the errand boy for his father
I read this and wonder, what are the other 4 sons doing?
so David makes sure all of his responsibilities are covered with the sheep
and we see him faithfully obeying his father and serving his family, he doesn’t just deliver the provisions and leave
he goes to see his brothers as they are preparing for battle
verses 23-25:
23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. 24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And 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.”
So David hears Goliath challenge and mock Israel
and he witnesses Israel’s reaction
he sees the fear and despair of God’s people
and then he hears how Saul has tried to offer incentives for whoever faces Goliath and kills him
he’s offering wealth, marrying into the royal family, and a tax exemption
in a worldly sense, this person and their family could go from obscurity to being one of the most influential families in Israel
Verses 26-27:
26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
David has witnessed all of this, and now he reacts to Goliath and the fear of the people
revealing a completely different view of the world
and a completely different understanding of his identity than the rest of Israel
All of that will be done?
This person is mocking the armies of the living God
What Goliath is doing is mocking the Lord
challenging and defying the power of God
that’s where David’s identity and trust is, he is ultimately a servant of the Lord
and that’s who Israel is called to be
servants of the one true and living God
the one who created the world out of nothing
the one who has made us his people
this man is nothing, he is a creature just like the rest of us,
he’s not part of God’s people
he is blaspheming the Lord, how have we allowed this to continue?
he is disgracing God’s people and we are buying into that disgrace by letting him continue
by giving into fear
you can hear in the few words he speaks
how zealous he is for the Lord
you hear his righteous anger
and how his perspective on the situation is completely different because of where his identity lies
This is David’s honest response to what’s going on
Goliath is nothing, our God is everything
this has been going on for 40 days? why?
When we face adversity or when we’re in about any situation, should we be surprised when our identity in Christ leads us to respond differently than those around us?
no, what should surprise us or give us pause, is if we always respond exactly like the world
we view the world a completely different way than those who don’t know Jesus
we are secure in him no matter what
we are objects of grace no matter what
we are loved no matter what
because the world ultimately is nothing and Jesus is everything
why should we respond like someone who faces insecurity?
who feels the need to perform to earn favor?
who is only loved conditionally?
are we embracing our identity? or acting like someone we’re not?
when we fail at being who we are, remember that David points us to Christ
who did not fail, living the life that we could not in our place
a life that never failed to find his identity in the Father
who loved the Father with heart, soul, mind, and strength
whose actions reflected a heart that is radically different from the world
radically different from our own left to ourselves
so his faithfulness, his identity, counts as our identity
do we trust that that is true?
Well, how is David’s reaction taken?
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled 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 presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
Eliab, his brother who should understand David and where he’s coming from
is angry
you’re mocking us, you’ve come to see us lose
who do you think you are? don’t you have some sheep to go watch?
Why does he react this way?
maybe he’s jealous that David was anointed and he was passed over
maybe he recognizes that David is speaking the truth, but Eliab is convicted because he doesn’t have the courage to say it
David’s response is exposing Eliab’s heart, it’s exposing his faithlessness
or maybe just his lack of understanding
Should we expect this from those who are close to us?
Jesus went through it from his family
he’s teaching and growing in popularity at the beginning of his ministry
and his own family, including Mary, his mother, shows they’re scared for him
that they don’t really understand everything yet
they try to protect him by telling others that he is crazy
here’s a couple of verses from Mark 3:
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
we don’t really know much else about Eliab
this is the last we hear of him in Samuel
but we know that eventually, Jesus’ mother and brothers understood
when we follow Christ, we will be misunderstood
we should expect it
even at times from others who belong to Christ
because responding to the world out of a heart that loves the Lord
out of a heart that loves neighbor, is not worldly, it’s weird
and off-putting
people may be angry with us at times
quick reminder that sometimes people are angry with us because of Jesus and other times they’re angry because we’re being jerks
and it’s important to recognize those times and repent
that we may respond differently, we may respond with truth, but we should always speak the truth in love
but even when we do that
people may completely misinterpret what motivates us
but we should expect to be misinterpreted and misrepresented by people who don’t know Jesus
we should not expect people who do not have the Holy Spirit to act like they have the Holy Spirit
or to fully understand those that do
back to our passage:
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled 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 presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
David’s response to Eliab is basically:
Why are you angry? I was only speaking the truth
and we get a glimpse into their relationship
what have I done now?
the indication is this kind of conflict has been continual between David and Eliab
and then David’s response to Eliab’s accusations, to being chastised by his brother
is to keep speaking the truth to others
it’s important to recognize when we need to keep talking
when our identity in Christ demands that we keep going in the face of resistance
it’s also important to recognize when there is wisdom in not talking
but, for David, this is not one of those times
verses 31-32:
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
So word reaches Saul that David is saying these things
and he knows and likes David, so he sends for him to talk about it
and David makes this statement in verse 32
let no man’s heart fail because of him. your servant will go and fight
David has come to deliver his people out of distress
he will take away their reproach, their shame, their fear
by overcoming an enemy that seems impossible to defeat
What a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for us!
no matter what our life is like by worldly standards
whether it is easy or hard
whether it is filled with beautiful relationships or we’re isolated
whether there is prosperity or poverty
there is an enemy lurking for all of us, troubling every single human
telling us, come and fight me
an enemy that we cannot overcome on our own
death
an enemy the world often tries to ignore, telling us to distract and entertain ourselves so we don’t think about it
because if we do, our heats will fail, there will be despair
or that it’s natural, so we should just accept it
but death surrounds us, and whenever we lose a loved one
it’s a reminder that we were not created to die, we were created to live
that we’re not supposed to be separated from those we love
this is not the way it’s supposed to be
Death is not natural, it is the result of our sin, our rebellion against God
the result of us trying to find our identity in our own greatness rather than God
But We follow a king who conquered death
and conquered it for us, so that our hearts might not fail
so that our despair can be replaced with hope
Jesus went through death, he faced it
and he did it in our place, Romans 6 tells us that we have been united to him in his death
his death counts as our death, so that we do not die for our own sin
Jesus has already done that
and we know he conquered death, that his death was effective for us
because he rose from the dead
and was not just seen by a couple of people
but by more than 500, including many witnesses who gave their lives testifying to what Jesus has done
who had nothing to gain in a worldly sense by lying
who had to tells us the good news, had to tell us the gospel
do not despair, do not let your heart fail
our king has conquered death, and those who follow him, who believe that it’s true will live with him
David is giving us a picture of Jesus’ undeserved love for his people here
Saul and Israel are paralyzed by fear
his own brother insults him
my reaction would be, you don’t want me to help, fine, I’m going back to the sheep
you’re on your own
Jesus fights for us even though we’re worse than how Israel is portrayed here
while we were enemies of God, he died for us
to bring us to God, to rescue us and make us his people
we act out of the identity of the one who acts for us when we don’t deserve it
Verse 33:
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.”
Saul tries to talk him out of it, it’s probably the reason he called him to him
but he is only thinking out of a worldly identity
I like you, you can’t say the things you’re saying, you’re upsetting people
and you can’t go against this guy
he will kill you
all of us are afraid, and there’s a good reason for it
what makes you think you can do this?
and David offers his case in verse 34 to 36
he’s defended his sheep from lions and bears
and this is no different
only now he’s defending God’s people
and then David interprets his case in verse 37:
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!”
Where is David’s confidence? Where is his identity?
the Lord
he’s not saying, I’ve had practice against bears, so I can take out this guy
he’s saying, the Lord delivered me then, it’s because of him that I defended the sheep
just as he did that with something small, he’ll do the same now with this challenge
David recognizes what Jesus tells us
nothing is impossible with God
God will save his people
and he does it through his king
because, ultimately, our King is God himself
Jesus is fully God, able to accomplish salvation
and he is fully man, able to represent us before God as our king
He takes our trouble, he takes on our attempts to find our identity in anything but him
and he says, do not let your heart fail, I came to serve, I came to fight for you
you are mine
