The section of scripture we have before us today is one of Scripture’s classics. Today we are going to take a look at the account of David and Goliath. This account has everything that you want in a good story. The valley of Elah is full of drama and suspense as the Israelite and Philistine armies prepare for battle. It seems like there always had been bad blood between the Israelites and Philistines. During the time of the judges the Philistines stole the ark of the covenant from the Israelites and Samson tore down the temple of Dagon with a whole heap of Philistines inside. As I said, bad blood. Most recently Saul’s son Jonathon, the prince of Israel, wupped up on some 20 Philistines all by himself. The Philistines were humiliated and wanted the Israelites to feel a little of that humiliation. That’s where Goliath comes in.
Goliath is a mercenary from Gath that the Philistines hired to humiliate the Israelites. No offense to his momma and daddy, but Goliath was a freak of nature. That thing was 9 feet tall! That’s the standard ceiling height in a modern home. Go stand next to a wall in your home and look straight up to the ceiling (go ahead I’ll give you a moment to do it…). That’s how it would feel to stand in front of Goliath.
And Goliath isn’t just tall, he is what my southern friends might call a biggin. The bible tells us Goliath “had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels.”[1] That’s about 125 pounds of armor. Football pads weigh about 20 pounds. The average Marine carries about 60 pounds into battle. Goliath walked around wearing 125 pounds of metal on his back and could still get the job done.
This is a big boy and he has big boy weapons. Again, the Bible tells us “on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.”[2] That’s like throwing a ten-foot-long pole with an Olympic shot put on the end of it. You get the idea why the Philistines thought this guy would be able to humiliate the Israelites.
Well, Goliath did exactly what the Philistines wanted him to do. A quick read through the biblical account and it actually seems as though Goliath enjoyed humiliating the Israelites. Every day, for forty days, “Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle?””[3] … “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”[4] Well, there wasn’t a man in all the ranks of the Israelite army that was foolish enough to accept that challenge. Not even king Saul, Israel’s champion who stood a head taller than the rest was willing to face Goliath. The bible tells us on hearing Goliath’s insults and threats “Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.”[5]
This is setting up to be one of the greatest showdowns in history. Even before our hero steps on the scene this account has us on the edge of our seats. As I said, this account has everything you want in a good story. But God did not record the account of David and Goliath for our amusement. This account, like everything else in Scripture is as it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man (and woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God expects us to apply the account of David and Goliath to our daily lives.
Earlier this week Michelle and I were taking what has become our traditional morning walk. I told her that I was going to be preaching on the account of David and Goliath and that the obvious and easy application would be to compare Goliath to Covid-19. Michelle pointed out that we have been in quarantine for about as long as Goliath taunted the Israelites and that made the comparison even more tempting for me. But, if you will please pardon the pun, I’m kind of sick of talking about Covid-19. I understand that this virus is a big scary giant that threatens all of us, but I don’t think it is the only giant that we face.
Goliath insulted the LORD and paralyzed the Israelite army. Can you think of anything in your life that does the same thing? Is there anything in your life that is offensive to your LORD and prevents you from living the kind of life your God wants you to live? …I am asking you to ask yourself that question because I am not sure that our Goliaths would look the same. For some people their Goliath might be an addiction. Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, food, porn, or anything that we allow to hurt or harm the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells is offensive to the LORD and prevents us from living the kind of life God wants us to live. For other people their Goliath might be an attitude. Anger, lust, greed, jealousy, cruelty or anything that we allow to hurt or harm the people around us is offensive to the LORD and prevents us from living the kind of life God wants us to live. For still others their Goliath might be apathy. Disinterest in devotion, neglect of prayer, callousness of one’s own sin, unwillingness to defend the faith, Indifference concerning the needs of others, or anything else that allows us to blend in among the pagans is offensive to the LORD and prevents us from living the kind of life God wants us to live. I don’t know what your Goliath looks like, but you do. You know better than anyone what kind of big scary giant you face.
I am sure that the young shepherd boy named David faced many of the same kinds of giants that you and I face, but the specific giant that David faced in the scripture lesson that is before us was an actual warrior named Goliath. When David heard the insults and threats Goliath made, he asked, “26 Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David recognized Goliath for what he was. He called Goliath an uncircumcised Philistine because Goliath was outside of the covenant relationship with the LORD and was in open opposition to the LORD’s people. David recognized that Goliath’s insults and threats were an attempt to defy the living God. To David Goliath was the very embodiment of sin and therefore needed to be dealt with immediately.
Seeing his zeal, the soldiers bring David to Saul and “32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” What, do you think, made David so bold? What was different about David compared to all the other soldiers in the Israelite army? Why did he not cower in fear before Goliath like everyone else did?
David saw the big scary giant as clearly as anyone else saw him, but that is not all that he saw. When king Saul tried to talk David out of fighting Goliath, David told king Saul about the lions and bears that he, as a shepherd, had to fight in order to protect the sheep. David told king Saul “37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” David saw the giant standing before him, but more than that David saw the God Who stood behind him. David had no problem looking back to see examples of the LORD’s deliverance and these examples of the LORD’s deliverance filled David with confidence and trust that as long as he fought by the power and for the glory of the LORD, David would be “delivered from the hand of this Philistine”.
Be it a warrior that taunts or a sin that tempts, we all have a Goliath of sorts to face; we all have something in our lives that is offensive to the LORD and prevents us from living the kind of lives our God wants us to live. I know how scary that giant can seem. It feels like there is no way you can overcome it, no way you can defeat it, no way you can gain victory over it, but I am telling you there is no reason for you to be afraid of it. I’m not asking you to ignore the giant standing before you, on the contrary I want you to see the giant standing before you because something needs to be done about the things in your life that offend our LORD and paralyze God’s people, but more than that, more than the giant standing in front of you, I want you to see the God Who stands behind you.
My fellow soldiers, we do not have to look that hard to see examples of the LORD’s deliverance. I mean Easter was only 3 weeks ago. I am not sure if you can get a more encouraging example of the LORD’s deliverance than Easter. Just to refresh your memory, on Easter our LORD delivered us from death and the devil when Jesus rose victoriously from the dead. Not that it’s a competition but compared to death and the devil a lion and a bear are a kitten and a cub. The examples of the LORD’s deliverance filled David with confidence and trust, and they can do the same for you. When you pray in the LORD’s prayer “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” don’t just say the words, rather believe that they are true. Believe, based on previous examples of the LORD’s deliverance, believe that when you fight by the power and for the glory of the LORD, He, who has already delivered you from death and the devil, will also deliver you from the sin that tempts you.
David believed that the LORD would deliver him. David stood before Goliath and said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”[6] David told him “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”[7] David faced Goliath in the name of the LORD Almighty knowing that the battle was the LORD’s. As a result, the bible tells us “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”[8] Faster than it took me to read those words the battle was over. David trusted in the LORD and the LORD delivered him.
The historic account of David and Goliath is everything you want in a good story, but God did not preserve the record of this battle for our amusement. At its core, this account is about trusting in the LORD’s deliverance. David trusted in the LORD who delivered him from the lion and the bear, and that trust allowed him to face a giant. Likewise, trusting in the LORD who has delivered us from death and the devil will allow us to face our giants. Be it warrior that taunts or sin that tempts as long as we fight by the power and for the glory of the LORD, we have nothing to fear. Amen.
[1] 1 Samuel 17:5
[2] 1 Samuel 17:6-7
[3] 1 Samuel 17:8
[4] 1 Samuel 17:10
[5] 1 Samuel 17:11
[6] 1 Samuel 17:45-46
[7] 1 Samuel 17:47
[8] 1 Samuel 17:48-50