David and Goliath
Introduction:
Each year there is a football game between Deer Park and LaPorte High Schools called the Border Battle. The Deer and the Bull Dogs battle it out on the field. There are nations in the world that live in perpetual conflict—the state of Israel and the Palestinians, Ukraine and Russia. In the literature we read and the films we watch there are arch-enemies. An archenemy is the main character's protagonist. It is often the hero's most prominent or well-known enemy. It seems that every hero has them. Batman has the Joker, Superman has Lex Luthor, and the Fantastic Four have Dr. Doom. Sherlock Homes has Professor Moriarty. In spy movies about the Cold War, it's always Russia versus the United States.
In the Bible, during the time of David, the Philistines were Israel's arch-rivals. The Philistines had come to prominence before the birth of Samson and ruled the tribes of Israel for forty years during the time of Samson. They were the nation that eventually captured Samson by shearing his hair and seeing that his vows to God were completely broken. They were unafraid to fight this most prominent and anointed of Israel's heroes. They poked out his eyes and tied him to the pillars of the temple to their god Dagon only to experience the way God restores those who repent. Samson's strength was restored; he pushed over the pillars and destroyed more Philistines in his death than in his life.
At the beginning of 1 Samuel the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant when it was brought onto the battlefield by Eli the priest's sons. Again, they captured something too hot for them to handle. The Philistines lived on the coast that bordered Israel. They had five prominent cities ruled by five lords. Each of these cities they took it to was plagued. When they placed the Ark in the house of Dagon as a trophy, Dagon fell before it and his hands and head were cut off. The Philistines were wise enough to send the Ark home. They knew when they had had enough, but were never afraid to fight.
During the time of Saul, they came again to fight Israel. They dominated the tool sharpening and making industry. There were no smiths in Israel, everyone had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their farming tools and only a select few in Israel had swords. The archenemy of Israel had seemed to have the upper hand. King Saul was a great general in many ways and fought them well to a point, but there was a place where God had enough of the enemy dominating his chosen people and so we read in 1 Samuel 16:13 that Samuel anointed David to be the new king and "the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward."
David was called and anointed for numerous purposes, but one purpose that plays prominently in his life is that he was called to fight the wars of the LORD.
The Philistine Goliath was a giant. He was of the remnant of the giants. They are mysterious. He was the Philistine champion. He is the most described person in Scripture. But these words never come from the mouth of David. He has the attitude that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I come to encourage you to day that whatever giant you are facing, God brought it to you to beat!
1. Brought to Purpose
1 Samuel 17:17-18, 20b (NLT)
"One day Jesse said to David, "Take this half-bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. And give these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain, See how your brothers are getting along, and bring me back a letter from them... He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battle..."
God moves us where we need to be when we need to be there. Normal everyday life and responsibility both prepared David for his future service to God and brought him to it when it was time.
At the precise moment God had planned, Jesse called David and sent him out to the army of Israel to deliver food. He was the Shipt driver dropping off the groceries. He was the errand boy, the gofer. He was the caddie carrying the master's clubs.
David never seems to worry about position as a defining characteristic of his life, but allows God to use life to carry him to where he needs to be when he needs to be there. This is a work of the Holy Spirit. God is immanent within His creation, moving things to where they need to be to accomplish His ultimate purpose and goal. He has not abandoned creation and history to itself, but is actively involved in the everyday affairs of the world on the macro and micro levels. He sees each sparrow that falls and clothes the grass. He is involved in the details. Be open to God.
Romans 8:28-9:1 (NLT)
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
1 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"
2. Built for Challenge
Taking care of sheep prepared him to care for God's people. As he stood on the battlefield he saw the world through the lens of a shepherd. Goliath was no quote-unquote giant to him, but a pest, a predator, attempting to take one of his Father God's sheep, Israel. His reply to Saul when Saul told him that he was only a boy and that Goliath had been a warrior since he was a boy reveals the shape of David's heart. He said,
1 Samuel 17:34-36 (NLT)
"I have been taking care of my father's sheep"... "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!..."
The loneliness of being the youngest son, who was looked over by people but whose heart was shaped in solitude prepared David not to care about anyone's opinion but God's. Throughout his life, he sought only to please God.
Galatians 1:10 (NLT)
"Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant."
His deficiencies were built into his person on purpose and so are ours. Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NLT)
"Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God."
We sometimes lament the difficulty of life and the challenges that we face, but what if that is just the way the game is played? If we went to a soccer game and there was no opposing team, we would wonder what was wrong! We have archenemies that are just built into the sport of life. Apart from God, they seem unbeatable giants.
We face the flesh, the world, and the devil. The flesh is the enemy inside us. We have an inante brokenness that can conquer us from within if we do not surrender to the Spirit of the Lord. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. God does not want us to be less human but to become the humans He created us to be. For David, there was a new birth that happened the day Samuel poured the holy anointing oil upon his head and the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily from that day (1 Sam 16:13). Our biggest enemy is not the world (the enemy around us) or the devil (the enemy beyond us), but our own selves.
Thankfully God's Spirit is enough! David fought lions (the flesh), bears (the world), and finally Goliath (the devil).
Saul offered David his armor. David tried it on, but quickly realized that it was bulky and not what he needed in order to do what God wanted him to do. God made you who you are. Don't try to be someone else! God built you for the challenges that you will face!
Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:10-18). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the demolition of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought unto obedience to Christ (2 Cor 10:4).
God has shaped you to face the challenges you're facing now and He will continue to mold you as you go forward. You can trust him with your life.
3. Being Persisent
1 Samuel 17:34 (NLT)
"But David persisted..."
The NLT translates the first part of David's conversation with Saul when Saul tried to convince him not to attempt to challenge Goliath, "But David persisted..." Persistence means "continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition." David had the attitude of a winner.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! He knew what he needed to do and so he kept at it until it worked out. Things get done because we do them. God wants a partner. He has chosen to work through human instruments and his image is displayed in you when you, like David work hard at doing His will despite the challenges that you face. Henry Ford said, "I'm looking for some people that don't know that it cant be done!" My dad used to tell me, "I can't never did nothing."
David's determined spirit is also seen in verse 40:
1 Samuel 17:40 (NLT)
"He picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in his shepherd's bag..."
David was determined that if it wasn't finished on the first try, it would be finished on the second and so forth...
The number 5 in the Bible is a powerful symbol of God's grace, favor, and generosity. There are five books in the Pentatuech. When Paul read it he saw the faith of Abraham contrasted with that of ancient Israel. The ten commandments were divided into tow sets of five, there were five types of offerings in Leviticus (all meant to take the place of the offerer). the Psalter with all its prophecies of Christ is divided into five sections...
David gathered five stones. He was determined that if he didn't knock Goliath out the first time, by the grace of God, he would knock him down and conquer him eventually!
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 (NLT)
"For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace."
4. Breathing Encouragment
Goliath came out each day for forty days to challenge Israel. In the ANE world there were times when the battle between two nation's selected warrior determined who won a battle.
Forty in Scripture has to do with challenge or testing. When Noah entered the ark it rained for forty days and nights, Moses spent forty years in Midian, Israel was tested in the wilderness forty day, as was Elijah and our Lord. His challenge was not only to the people, but to God. He insulted David's youth and inexperience.
When David came out to fight him, his words reveal what was in David's heart. He said:
1 Samuel 17:45-47 (NLT)
"David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
Henry Ford said, "Whether you believe you can or you can't, you're right." David had an attitude that boasted in the LORD. It was his battle cry. He may have been the underdog and the bets among the Israelites and Philistines were all on Goliath, David was confident in God!
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NLT)
"Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God."
Our battle-cry needs to be, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" (Phil 4:13).
5. Breaking into a Run
1 Samuel 17:48 (NLT)
"As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him..."
Kenny Rogers' classic song "The Gambler" says, "You've got to know went to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run."
There are some temptations, common to man, that Paul said to run from (2 Tim 2:22). Joseph ran out of the house when Potiphar's wife caught hold of him (Gen 39:12).
There were times when David "went down into the hold" or when his archenemy, the Philistines came out and he remained hidden in "the stronghold" (2 Sam 5:17; 23:14). But the day Goliath challenged Israel at the border battle, David ran to meet him.
We cannot live our lives constantly running from challenge. We were built for it.
David's first stone hit its mark, because God was there guiding it. David took Goliath's own sword and did exactly what he had prophesied he would do. He took his head!
This is a type of Christ conquering the devil. He took the sword and cut off his head when Jesus died upon the cross. He spoiled principalties and powers openly showing it!
Colossians 2:9-10 (NLT)
"For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross."
Conclusion:
What challenge is in front of you today? What dreadful voice has been calling out to you, challenging you to a battle? God is calling you and setting the stage for your victory.
Will you step up to the challenge? Maybe it is filling out that job application or enrolling in that program. Maybe its confronting the emotions that you have stuffed for years. Maybe you have never entered into the victory of Christ through the new birth. Today is your day. Run to your Goliath in the Power of God!
Your archenemy may be here, but greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
