Introduction:
Some background setting for the time and history leading up to this event:
We learned from the book of Ruth that the period of Israel’s history before the time of the Kings was a very dark point. There was no law and order. Every man did that which was right in their own eyes. The nation lived and repeated a seemingly endless cycle of wandering from God, receiving God’s judgment, crying out to God, God sending a deliver, they would live for God as long as the deliver was alive; and once the deliverer died, the would repeat the cycle again. Before we get to critical and say things like “How dense were they?” or “How could they not see that one coming?”, we need to remember that often do the very same thing in our lives in dealing with sin.
If we look a bit closer, the history of this point in Israel’s life goes much further back than just the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David. Let’s take a brief trip back and see where many of these problems started. Boiling it down to the core issue, we see a very real illustration of the different between God’s perfect will and God’s permissible will. It all started back in Genesis 29:10-21;25-26;30-31;35. We can see in these passages that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Rachel was his choice for a wife; however, the more you study Scripture, it is Leah who God notices, blesses, leaves her father and his gods (Genesis 31:19), and eventually is the one that Jacob requests to be buried with. (Genesis 50:31) It is through Leah that we get the Messiah. It is through Leah that we get King David, God’s choice for Israel; however, it is through Rachel that we get King Saul, man’s choice for Israel!
After going through the cycle of lawlessness, judgment and deliverance, Israel had enough. Once again, they took their eyes off God and places them upon the other nations. Interesting fact is had they obeyed God in the first place and destroyed all the people of the promise land, there would have been no other nations to put their eyes on! Seeing these other nations operate relatively peacefully under a Kings rule, Israel decided that they know wanted a visible king to rule over them and no longer be under a complete Theocracy. God through Samuel warned them that having a king would come with a cost (1 Samuel 8:6-22). Despite the cost of having a King, Israel still wanted to be like the other nations and accepted the King and the consequences that came with having one.
At this point, Samuel anoints Saul to be King in Israel. The Bible records that he stood head and shoulders above the rest. He was a man’s man. He was the people’s choice to be King. God did use Saul in some great ways; however, Saul eventually went his own way and disobeyed God. Samuel then anointed David to be the next king because he was God’s choice. The Bible records this about David, “a man after mine own heart.” Acts 13:21-23
David did not immediately become King. He remained faithfully tending his father’s sheep. He served as a musician to the Kings. Now, in the story of our text, David was sent by his father to bring supplied to his brothers who were at war with the Philistines. At this stage, we will now enter into this account and see this morning how David overcame the Giant of Goliath. In the same way the he did, you and I can also overcome the many giants in our lives.
1. Realise the situation at hand.
Although Goliath was calling out the national of Israel, he was really standing against Israel’s God! David understood this principle.
All of the trained military men and even the King could only see the giant before them. They could not look past him. Each one had heard and seen the many miracles of their God. I am sure the accounts of life in Egypt, God’s deliverance from Pharaoh, God’s provision in the Wilderness, and all the ways he has gone before them since were known by the king and these men. Rather than looking to God for strength and help, the men were either looking to Saul for help or could not get their eyes off the giant that stood before them calling them out!
Now before we get to down on these men here, let’s take a look at what they were looking at:
Goliath’s height:
Hebrew Bible: 9’9” (6 cubits + 1 span)
Greek Old Testament: 6’9” (4c + 1s) [Not all Greek manuscripts however]
Dead Sea Scrolls (4QSam): 6’9” (4c+1s)
Josephus (Ant. 6.171): 6’9” (4c+1s)
Goliath’s armor weighed 125 (57 kg) pounds of armor and the head of his spear weighed 15 pound (6.8 kg).
They were not fitting an ordinary man. He would have been very intimidating. No one had faced such a man in battle before! Since their eyes were either focused on Goliath or on Saul for help, they had forgotten the power of the God they served. They had forgot how He defeated the entire army of Pharaoh with them lifting a weapon in battle. They forgot how God brought the walls of Jericho down so they could walk in and take the might city.
Often times, when giants come into our lives, they cause us to take our eyes off our God and place them on the giant. It is no wonder we lived just as a defeated life as these soldiers were living when David walked onto the scene.
2. Remain faithful to the task at hand.
Despite being anointed King of Israel, David was still faithfully serving his father by tending to the sheep. When Jesse called him to go bring supplies to his brothers, he was faithful to obey his father. Before leaving to his new assignment, David made sure that the sheep were taken care of by leaving them with a keeper. (vs.20)
David understood the principle of being faithful in the little things before God would give him bigger things to do.
3. Resist going with the status quo. (vs. 23-27)
When David arrived, he could not believe that no one would put a stop to this Philistine. Why were the men so afraid when they served such a great God? Why would people let God’s name be blasphemed by this Philistine? What not the cause of Christ something worth giving your life for?
4. Restrain your reaction to criticism (28-30)
When his brother heard this, he falsely accused David. You see when everyone else is not looking to God around you it will make them very uncomfortable to be around someone who is doing that! David refused to go with the flow because David knew he served a great God who could do the impossible!
NEVER listen to people who point out the strengths of the giants in front of you but forget about the even Greater God that is with you!
5. Remember God’s: (31-40)
A. Promises
B. Provisions
C. Purpose (vs 46)
6. Receive God’s victory in your life! (41-54)
Conclusion:
So what giants are in your life today? Is it the Giant of Doubt, Fear, Prayerlessness, Distress, Sickness, Complacency, or one of many others? Where have you been focusing your eyes? Are you only seeing the giant or are you seeing your God who is bigger than any giant in your life?
If you are here this morning and you do not have a relationship with God, then the biggest giant that you face and must deal with is the Giant of Sin. You see sin is what separates us from God. As long as this giant controls your life, God cannot and will not have a relationship with you. Maybe, you have found that the more you try to overcome sin in your life, that the more you fail at doing so. Just like the army of Israel in their own strength ran and hid from Goliath. To deal with this giant of sin, you need someone to fight the battle for you! You need Jesus Christ to be your Champion. You can try religion, works, money, or whatever you want, and you will find that none of them will defeat this Giant. John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me.” You see, Jesus died on the cross in your place. He died to pay for your sins because the “wages of sin is death”. Jesus did not stay dead, but rather rose again the third day. This fact means that He has defeated the Giant of Sin and offers the victory to all who will accept His finish work on the cross as their payment for sin.
Christian, I am not sure what giants are in your life today! This one thing I can assure, the God you serve is much bigger than any giant you may face. We must get our eyes off the giants and back onto our God. We must remain faithful to what He has given us to do. We must resist going with the status quo and reacting to criticism. We must always remember God’s promises to us, His provisions in our life, and His purpose for our life. When we are able to do these things, then we ,like David, will be able to have great victory over the giants in our lives!
