Leonid Stadnyk, a 37-year-old veterinarian from Podolyantsi in central Ukraine is currently the tallest man in the world. He began to grow rapidly at age 14, when an operation on his brain reportedly stimulated his pituitary gland. He is officially 8 feet 5 inches, wears size 64 shoes and believe it or not he is still growing. Mr. Stadnyk still has 6 inches to grow if he is to match Robert Wadlow the tallest man in modern history. In the Bible we meet a man from Gath by the name of Goliath and we are told that stood over nine feet tall. So he was probably close to a foot taller than Mr. Stadnyk. So you can imagine the courage that it would take to face someone as huge as Goliath. Goliath was not just tall, he was mean and he used his size to intimidate others. Goliath taunted his opponents in order to intimidate them. Goliath had successfully caused the Israelite army to cower in fear until a young shepherd boy stepped out and accepted his challenge. Today we are going to meet David whose great faith caused him to fight with courage despite overwhelming odds.
I. David’s experience in facing Goliath.
A. Every now and then the Philistines would invade Israel.
1. I Samuel 17 reports one occasion when they penetrated as far as Socoh, about fourteen miles west of Bethlehem.
2. Saul countered by calling up the army. The Israelites camped on a height overlooking a ravine (the valley of Elah) to block any further advance by the enemy. On the elevation across the valley the Philistines pitched their camp.
3. Each day a “champion” named Goliath would come out from the Philistine camp to taunt the Israelites. His size was intimidating. Goliath was a descendant of the tall Anakim race, the remnants of which had settled in the Philistine plain after the Israelite invasion under Joshua.
a. He wore a helmet and shin guards made of bronze.
b. His body armor weighed around 125 pounds.
c. The shaft of his spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam (about the size of a 4 x 4), its head was made of iron and weighed about 15 pounds.
4. When the Israelites drew up in battle formation, Goliath would propose that one on one combat replace fighting between the armies. If some Israelite warrior could kill Goliath, the Philistines agreed to become servants of the Israelites.
5. This daily winner-take-all challenge dismayed and intimidated Saul and all Israel. For forty days the daily challenge continued.
B. David a very unlikely candidate accepts the challenge.
1. Jesse sent David with food for his brothers and their commander. He was to check on the welfare of his brothers and bring back “their pledge,” some token that would confirm the delivery of the food and the well-being of the brothers.
2. David approached the perimeter of the Israelite camp just as the troops were moving into battle positions shouting the battle cry. On the other side of the valley the Philistines was doing the same thing.
3. Soon Goliath made his daily appearance and issued his challenge striking fear in the hearts of the Israelite army once again.
4. Saul had offered a hefty reward to anyone who would accept the challenge and face Goliath.
a. A hefty sum of money would be given.
b. The hand of the king’s daughter would be given in marriage.
c. The entire family would be exempted from taxes.
5. David was astonished that with this promise of reward that no one would stand up against this big bully.
C. Saul soon heard about the brash young man who showed no fear of the Philistine.
1. Saul scoffed at this suggestion. Goliath had been trained as a warrior; David was but a youth. David, however, defended his fighting credentials. He had slain a lion and a bear in defense of his sheep.
2. Goliath had taunted the armies of the living God. David therefore was confident that Yahweh would deliver him from the hand of the Philistine just as he had delivered him earlier from the paw of the lion and bear. Saul was convinced.
3. Goliath came out to meet his challenger. When he saw that he was a youth and that he had no armor or sword, Goliath cursed David in the names of his gods.
4. Goliath considered it a personal insult that the Israelites would send an unworthy opponent to fight him.
5. David went on to boast that he would decapitate Goliath and give the bodies of the Philistines to the birds and beasts. Through this victory all the earth would know that there was a God in Israel.
6. As Goliath began to move toward him, David began to run right at him. As he did so he loaded his sling and sent a small stone flying.
7. When the Philistines saw that their champion had fallen, they broke ranks and fled. Saul’s army pursued them to the very gates of their cities, about seven miles from the valley of Elah. As they returned to their own borders, the Israelites plundered the Philistine camps.
D. Gaining perspective on the giants that intimidate us.
1. You probably will not go head to head with a 9 foot tall giant, but all of us face things in our lives that intimidate us.
2. God raised up a new hero in Israel on this day, a shepherd boy by the name of David who would be the only one courageous enough to come face to face with this giant.
3. David’s faith and courage serve as an example to each of us whenever we face giants that intimidate us.
II. When we attempt to face a giant others will try to discourage us.
A. People who are close to you often will try to discourage you.
1. The tone of David’s questions left everyone with the impression that he himself wanted to go and fight the Philistine.
2. As a result David was sharply rebuked by Eliab, his oldest brother.
a. Eliab charged David with neglect of duty. David would have to have left the flock with someone younger than himself, and presumably less qualified.
b. Eliab belittled the shepherd work of David by referring to those few sheep in the desert. The term desert (midbâr) does not necessarily mean barren country, but land used for pasture.
c. Eliab accused David of conceit, arrogance and discontent with his humble occupation.
d. Eliab charged David with having a morbid curiosity that he only came down to watch the battle.
3. Many times the most discouraging words we hear come from those closest to us.
4. David refused to let the harsh words from his older brother discourage him.
B. People who are well-seasoned will often try to discourage you.
1. David was brought before Saul who was a well-seasoned veteran warrior.
2. Saul dismissed the idea of David accepting the challenge because David was just a boy and Goliath was a veteran soldier.
3. Saul’s royal rejection of David’s offer should have concluded the meeting. However, David’s idealism was exceeded only by his determination and his faith in the Lord. Consequently, he continued his efforts to change the king’s heart.
4. David was confident because the Lord had been with him in tight spots before and he believed God would not let him down now.
C. People who care about you will try to offering a helping hand.
1. Saul tried to help David by clothing him in his personal armor. David tried on the armor, but felt so uncomfortable that he removed it. To him it felt like more of a hindrance than a help.
2. When you face a giant many people will say that you need to consult those with world expertise and fight it with worldly weapons if you are going to have any chance for success.
3. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:3,4—NIV)
4. David realized that he did not need Saul’s equipment to beat Goliath; he just needed to rely on God’s strength.
III. Lessons from David that will help us overcome the giants in our lives.
A. Examine your heart and make sure that you fight the battle with the right motives.
1. If you look closely at the text you will see that David asked about the reward twice, this would lead us to believe that his motives were not totally service oriented.
2. David however showed that his primary concern was the Philistines blasphemy that was directed toward God.
3. Seventy-three out of the 150 Psalms are attributed to David, and not one of them ever mentions David’s victory over the Philistine giant.
4. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3, 4—NIV)
5. Just like David we should fight the battle for the glory of God and not for our own ego.
B. We need to put our confidence in God rather than our own abilities.
1. David had already been victorious in two previous mortal combats, one with a lion and one with a bear. In each case David “went after” the beast and “struck it.” Then, when the angry animal “turned on” David, he “seized it by its hair, struck it, and killed it.”
2. In David’s mind, “the uncircumcised Philistine” had reduced himself to the level of a beast “because he … defied the armies of the living God”. The Lord had delivered David “from the hand [“paw”] of the lion and the hand [“paw”] of the bear,” and he would deliver him “from the hand of this Philistine.”
3. David’s faith and courage were as extraordinary as his logic was simple.
4. David had faith because he had remembered the past victories that God had given him.
5. David stayed with his strengths by using his shepherd tools and gave the glory to God.
It was February of 1980. A group of 12 American amateur hockey players took the ice in Lake Placid NY to face the toughest and best hockey team in the world, the USSR national team. It was the Olympic games and two weeks prior to this game, the young American team were beat by the mighty Russians 12-2 in Madison Square Garden. But we all know what happened that night. The USA defeated the USSR 4-2 in one of the most stunning upsets in all of sports history. Most of us have seen the clip of the end of the game when as the clock winds down, the USA players begin their on ice celebration, and Al Michaels, the announcer who called the game for ABC yells- Do you believe in miracles. It was a proud day to be an American. David had defeated Goliath.
