1 Samuel 17:49-51 KJV And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. [50] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. [51] Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
I. INTRODUCTION—THE SEVEN SWORDS OF DAVID
-Several months ago, I was probing through the life of David and noticed a key word that seemed to come up at various points in his life. It was the word “sword.”
-If you look carefully, you will discover that there were actually seven swords in the life of David:
• The Unproven Sword—The one offered by Saul (1 Samuel 17:39).
• The Victorious Sword—The second sword came on the same day (1 Samuel 17:51).
• The Sword of the Covenant—The third sword came about on a covenant between David and Jonathon (1 Samuel 18:4). It would have far-reaching effects into the life of Mephibosheth.
• The Old Sword—One preserved in a place of worship (1 Samuel 21:9) that brought him new victory.
• The Restrained Sword—The fifth sword was restrained and it saved Nabal, a churlish man (1 Samuel 25:13).
• The Sword of Subterfuge—This sword is mentioned as the one that killed Uriah (2 Samuel 11:25; 12:9-10).
• The Sword of a Son—The seventh sword is one David had to flee from. It was the one that probably troubled him the most because it was held by his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 15:14).
-All of these swords in David’s life are separate sermons in themselves. A lot of spiritual lessons come to us when we meditate on the Word of God. In fact, I am of the thought that David’s swords were placed in the Word of God as lessons for all of us who are inclined to hearing them.
-There is probably a pretty good chance that most of us will have the opportunity to interact with all seven of David’s swords in our own spiritual walk.
II. DAVID AND HIS GIANT
-Suffice it to say that this is probably one of the most famous of all Bible stories, David and Goliath. I have a feeling that most all of us have been in the position a time or two when we felt like we were the underdog.
-David was the classic underdog and there is something in all of us that wants to pull for him. So I am not going to work through all the comings and goings of David and his giant-killing. It was one Israel’s most important victories that they would achieve and it was God’s way of pushing David to the forefront.
A. Old Testament Typology
-There is something about looking in Scripture and making the connection to the New Testament from the Old Testament. The battle with Goliath gives us another opportunity to see that.
-If you can picture David as a type of Jesus Christ and Goliath as the devil and the work of sin there is much that can bring the gospel to this story.
• The children of Israel in a battle against a formidable enemy—in our times a church that is arrayed in a battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
• Goliath appeared invincible—there have been times that our struggle with the devil and with sin that they appeared invincible.
• David as a picture of the Lord who overcame Satan at Calvary—because Jesus Christ is the head of the church and has overcome the devil, we may also follow in the same pattern of victory.
• David was anointed before he ever got to the battle—when we received the Holy Ghost there was an anointing that was on us before we ever got to the battle. You cannot do David’s work unless you have David’s anointing. You cannot have spiritual authority until you have spiritual anointing!
• David cut off Goliath’s head with his own sword—Jesus Christ, through death, destroyed him that had the power of death (Heb. 2:14).
-There are other various pictures to bring from this passage:
• Samuel—The picture of a spiritual leader who has the mind of God.
• The seemingly, overwhelming odds of evil arrayed against the good.
• Goliath—The depiction of the devil.
• The Philistines and the armor-bearers of Goliath—A picture of the demonic hordes that are in a position against the people of God.
-You can also imagine other elements in this battle.
• David on his knees at the brook looking for stones.
• David sandwiched between two giants, Saul at his back and Goliath in front of him.
• David in the middle of the Valley of Elah, a tiny figure compared to Goliath.
• Strong men who are wielding swords and spears, a slight kid holding a sling.
• You can almost smell the fear of the Israelites, taste the bitter arrogance of the Philistines, and feel the heat from the hatred that had been stirring for forty days.
-All in all, it appeared that there were the makings of a perfect storm with all of the details of this story.
A perfect storm is a confluence of events that drastically aggravates a situation. In fact there was one that was played out in October 1991. It was also known as the Halloween Nor'easter which was an unusual nor'easter. It absorbed one hurricane, and ultimately evolved into a small hurricane within another storm late in its life cycle.
The cycle of the storm is secured in a book by Sebastian Junger entitled “The Perfect Storm.” It tells the tragic end of the Andrea Gail which was a sword-fishing boat that was lost in the storm. Several weeks’ later bits and pieces of the boat washed up on the shores of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is one of the most provoking books I have ever read.
B. Other Players in the Picture
-You also have to take into consideration the other players in this picture of the struggle with the giant.
-There was Saul, a king who had lost his anointing and approval of God. Strongholds can develop when you find yourself in the position of having to accommodate disobedient people around you. Their disobedience has the capacity to create situations that will swallow you up.
-This is crucial for those of us who are in position of authority. Whether we realize it or not, most all of us fall in the capacity of having authority.
• Parents
• Spouses
• Pastors
• Youth Leaders
• Sunday School teachers
• Elders
-How easy it is to forget sometimes how crucial that our role when we are fulfilling our God-given obligations. Saul had pulled Israel into a direction that was detrimental to them.
-There were David’s brothers who heaped on him all sorts of condemnation. His brothers represented a mix of the carnal among the spiritual. When they heard that David had come in from the pasture, they began to hurl accusations at him.
-Don’t be surprised if there are times that your own brothers can’t seem to catch the whole picture of what is taking place. It happened to Joseph, it happened to David, and it happened to Jesus. But it can really sting sometimes when those whom you thought would bring you the most support heap on the greatest criticism and condemnation.
-Keep your spirit right! Years ago, an elder minister at General Conference gave me some good advice. I bought a book from T. F. Tenney and after he signed the book for me, he said, “Keep your head up and your knee down!” There is a lot of good advice to that statement.
-His own brothers were scornful of his presence. In fact their scorn was withering:
• Eliab's anger was kindled against David.
• Why camest thou down hither?
• With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?
• Who is watching those scrawny sheep that you left?
• I know thy pride, you spoiled brat!
• I know the naughtiness of thine heart.
• Thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
• You are hoping for a ringside seat to this bloody battle.
-We are seeing now how strongholds will develop in the mind and spirit of a person just by watching the actions of those who are supposed to be on the Lord’s side.
-Then tack on the soldiers who were huddled in their fear of Goliath and the Philistines. If we allow evil to begin to dictate our imaginations
-So you have working on one-side:
• Disobedience.
• Carnal, scornful brothers.
• An army filled with fear.
-You are well on your way to developing a stronghold for the enemy to walk up to.
III. STRONGHOLDS
-This victorious sword was one that was taken from a huge, defiant giant. He roared, intimidated, shouted, humiliated, and provoked Saul and his army. We would normally associate a valley with a place of comfort and yet many of the valleys listed in the Bible have some difficult and heartrending situations to take place there.
-It certainly appeared that this army could do nothing at all concerning the onslaught of this bunch of Philistines. Tack on the fact that their leader was a man who had been disqualified because of his disobedience and had lost his anointing of the Spirit of God.
-Add all of these details together and you have the makings of a stronghold that the enemy of God had chosen to exploit against them.
-The Moffatt’s Translation gives some fitting descriptions about how the Philistines set up strongholds in Judah:
• Mustered their forces for war—17:1
• Occupying the hills—17:3
• From the ranks of the Philistines walked forward a champion—17:4
• For forty days the Philistine champion went forward and took his stand—17:16
-All of these things worked toward creating an atmosphere of oppression on the children of Israel.
A. The Source of Strongholds
-A stronghold is a fortress that was placed on an overlooking hill near a city. It served as a sentinel post so that any enemies who were seen approaching the city. It was also used as a place that the citizens could flee to when they were under attack.
-These strongholds were very difficult to overcome. Paul used this thought when he wrote to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
-These strongholds that rise up come as:
• Thoughts
• Ideas
• Speculations
• Reason
• Imaginations
• Philosophies
• False Doctrines
-They attempt to barricade themselves against the work the God wants to do in our lives. But I want you to particularly notice something from 1 Samuel 17:1.
1 Samuel 17:1 KJV Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
-It appears that these vile Philistines had gone into the territory of the Israelites and had created strongholds around some key places. In fact, Judah was a territory that rightfully belonged to the Israelites. How often has that taken place in our lives? The devil setting up shop in a place that belonged to God and to us.
-Sometimes when you study the Bible, you can look at the meanings of names and it will shed some light and give spiritual lessons to us.
-Back in May (2011), some of us had the opportunity to visit with Brother Jeff Arnold and he brought out some incredible thoughts from the life of Elijah in relation to the geographical places he spent time in.
-The same lessons of illustration can be used in this passage also. There were three specific locations that you find the Philistines attaching themselves to. They created strongholds in these areas to stifle them and then they brought out their giant, Goliath.
B. Shochoh—The Fenced In Place
-They decided to create a stronghold at Shochoh. The name of this place means “fenced in place.”
-The enemies of our soul always work to attack the places that have been fenced in. The reality is that fences are good for our souls.
-Let the cries come from the world all day long, that we are involved in legalism and rule minding, but the church must have some boundaries to save her from this world. A church that loses its identity will soon lose its message.
-I will never forget J.R. Ensey telling us a harrowing tale in my senior Pastoral Theology class back in 1991.
Brother Ensey told us of going to General Conference a number of years ago where a special session for ministers was held. A certain pastor had been asked to speak to the ministers about his personal experiences concerning the importance of upholding holiness in the local church. The church he pastored had about 600 people at that time, and they had let down tremendously in separation from the world.
This pastor related how that on three different occasions God dealt with him about His displeasure with this situation of waning holiness. He did not say how that God had talked to him the first time, but he did tell how God dealt with him the final two times.
In the first instance, he told of purchasing a piece of property in the country where he had fenced some sheep. When he bought the small flock, a few goats were thrown in by seller as a kind gesture. At the time the pastor thought this was kindness but he soon realized why the goats were free.
In the middle of his property he fenced off an area and put up a shelter with food and water for his flock. One morning he came to check on them and found they all had broke through the fence and was grazing beyond its perimeters. He found the breach, repaired it and managed to get them all back inside.
The next day the animals were out again: not far away, just a few feet outside the fence. He thought to himself that there must be something there they wanted and needed, so he enlarged the fences border just enough to include the area where the sheep and goats had been grazing. He said to himself, “Now you will be happy. This is just what you wanted.”
When he came back the following day, they were again outside the fence, not far but just beyond the bounds that he thought would make them happy. He repaired the breach and once more herded them all back inside, only to come back another day and find them outside. He enlarged the fence once more, saying, “OK, this is where you want to be. The fence is now big enough to accommodate your desire.” But the next day there were outside the fence again. Thought this process he realized that it was the goats that were the real instigators of these “breakouts” and understood why they had been given to him.
The property where he kept his flock was surrounded on all sides by a fence and dirt roads. The fence surrounding the property obviously had little ability to keep the sheep and goats in, and the pastor was frustrated and tired of the animals constantly getting out. He figured there would be nothing appealing in the road for them to heat and would therefore probably be safe enough. So he removed the fence completely. His attitude was this, “All right go ahead and have the whole field. I’ll let them do whatever they want. I know they can get through the main fence but why would they want to? They’ll be alright.”
Early one morning, he received a call from a neighboring farmer. He said, “Preacher, you had better come down here. You’ve really got a mess on your hands. A pack of wild dogs came through last night and they’ve slaughtered your flock.”
When the pastor arrived on the scene he found every sheep and every goat dead. Their stomachs and throats had been ripped out and the carnage was gruesome. The dogs did not even eat them, they just slew the flock in a blood lust and left them while they yipped and yapped their way back to whatever pit they came from.
As he stood there in the midst of the blood and gore, looking at his slaughtered flock, the Lord God spoke to him these words: Fences are not just to keep things in; they are also to keep some things out.
-Tear down the fences and it won’t be too long before incredible strongholds begin to overtake your soul. It will affect your personal life, your family, and it won’t be long until it encroaches in on the church.
-Holiness and separation from the world is God’s idea and it is an awfully good one!
-It does a church good to reaffirm its commitment to holiness periodically.
C. Azekah—The Dug Over Place
-The second place they tried to create a stronghold was in Azekah. The name of this place means “the dug over place.” The implication was that this was a place that had been turned into a farming region. It was a place that had once overgrown with weeds, underbrush, and brambles but had been turned into a place of production.
-The devil loves to attack places that have been changed by the grace of God into something productive and useful.
• He attacks places of prayer in an effort to dry them up.
• He attacks places of worship to take the joy out of salvation.
• He attacks marriages and tries to create chaos between husbands and wives.
• He attacks families and tries to turn kids into rebels.
• He attacks churches and works to shut down their evangelistic efforts.
• He attacks the passion that comes from worship.
-The purpose of the enemy in this stronghold is to resist us in prayer and when this takes place, our faith begins to wither. Whatever dreams and visions that you may have had early on in your walk with the Lord soon become choked down with the cares of this life.
-This is why the Philistines wanted to gain a foothold in these three key areas. Shut down the production of a strong spiritual life and much of the devil’s job is accomplished.
• Frustration sets in.
• Discouragement drags you down.
• The tendency to compromise your principles begins to express itself.
-All of these things working together seek to create a sense of spiritual bondage so that the voice of the giant overrides the greater call of conquest and spiritual authority. This was what David found out when he came out of the pasture to check on his brothers.
D. Ephesdammim—The Boundary of Blood
-The third place we find is Ephesdammim. This place means the “boundary of blood.” The Philistines decided this was a place that really needed a stronghold. How often the devil sets up camp on this place. It is a place where he starts his shouting, vicious attack of condemnation.
• What you have done is reproachable and cannot be forgiven!
• How can you really say you love the Lord and do something like that?
• God can forgive everyone else, but you are too far gone!
-The Philistines wanted to create a stronghold at that level also. However, we have to go back to 1st John:
1 John 1:7 KJV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 KJV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 2:1-2 KJV My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: [2] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
So let us give God
So let us give God
So let us give God
All of the praise
Give God the glory
Give God the glory
Give God the glory
And He will give You
And He will give You
And He will give You
The Victory
-That is a song worth singing!
IV. CONCLUSION—A VICTORIOUS SWORD
1 Samuel 17:49-51 KJV And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. [50] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. [51] Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
-Before the day was over, the giant had been killed and beheaded with his own sword. There is something about completely beating down your enemy!
-David was not satisfied with just killing the giant, he only gained some satisfaction when had cut off the head of the giant.
-If you kill a giant, pick up the sword and take off his head.
• Never do any work for the Lord halfway.
• Never spare in pity any device of the devil.
• Bad habits and besetting sins have to be leveled with a decisive blow.
• Don’t give them the opportunity to recover.
• Every error carries a sword, you have to take the sword to the giant.
-Once more:
Give God the glory
Give God the glory
Give God the glory
And He will give You
And He will give You
And He will give You
The Victory
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
Satan the blood of Jesus is against you
So let us give God
So let us give God
So let us give God
All of the praise
Philip Harrelson
August 14, 2011
