David's War With The Philistines Series

Scripture

We are in a section that some call the epilogue to “The Life of David.” This section gives us information about a few themes in David’s life. Upon first reading, it may appear unimportant, but the epilogue teaches us a lot about David and his kingdom.

The section that we are going to examine today is David’s war with the Philistines. It involves battles with four different giants. Scholars debate whether this narrative is from early in David’s life or later in his life. It certainly took place after David killed Goliath of Gath, which is recounted in 1 Samuel 17. I lean toward thinking that these battles took place later in David’s life.

Let’s read about David’s war with the Philistines in 2 Samuel 21:15-22:

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”

18 After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. 21 And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. (2 Samuel 21:15-22)

Introduction

Earlier this week, I spent a large portion of the day at the auto dealership waiting for my wife’s car to be serviced. I got a lot of work done there, probably because I am less distracted and can focus on my work. At one point, I had to use the restroom. I passed by a number of offices and noticed one of the employees looking at a computer screen. It appeared to me that he was examining the fine print of a purchase agreement, or something like that. I thought to myself, “Boy! That has got to be bo-o-o-oring!”

As I read our text for today, 2 Samuel 21:15-22, some of you may have had a similar thought run through your mind. Boy! This is going to be bo-o-o-oring! After all, what can we possibly learn from David and his men killing a number of giants?

But this is where digging into God’s word pays such rich dividends. We remember that God called David to be his anointed king on earth. David was to replace Saul, whom God set aside because of his disobedience. While Saul was still king, however, David came to national prominence by fighting and killing Goliath of Gath. God promised to build David a kingdom that would last through all eternity, and that a descendant of David would rule as the eternal king. David eventually succeeded Saul as king. The early years of David’s reign as king were extremely successful as he followed closely after God. But enemies constantly threatened David and his kingdom. By opposing David, these enemies were also opposing God.

Lesson

Second Samuel 21:15-22 shows us the power of God in destroying enemies.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. God Destroys Enemies by Preserving His Anointed (21:15-17)

2. God Destroys Enemies by Honoring His Servants (21:17, 18, 19, 21, 22)

3. God Destroys Enemies by Fulfilling His Promise (21:16, 18, 20, 22)

4. God Destroys Enemies by Silencing His Enemies (21:20-22)

I. God Destroys Enemies by Preserving His Anointed (21:15-17)

First, God destroys enemies by preserving his anointed.

Verse 15 begins by saying, “There was war again between the Philistines and Israel.” The Philistines constantly attacked Israel. I have mentioned previously that David never lost a battle, and he was in many battles. The Hebrew implies that the Philistines were the aggressors in this war against Israel.

So, once again, as verse 15 continues, “David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines.” The phrase “went down” suggests that David descended from his capital city, Jerusalem, which was at an elevation of almost 2,500 feet above sea level, to the border of Israel and Philistia, which was much lower.