INTRODUCTION
Opening Statement: Psalm 78 is a Historical Psalm that summarizes Israel’s history in a poetic way. The Psalm does have some sad elements in it, but it concludes somewhat abruptly on a positive note with their national hero, King David, from Judah, the founder of the dynasty that would rule in Jerusalem for over 350 years. The Psalmist chose to summarize David’s life like this: Psalm 78:70-72: “He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands.
Transition: In order to see how a summary like this could apply to David, we’ve looked at two key events taken from his life.
Review: The FIRST EVENT was when David was confronted about his sin with Bathsheba and against Uriah, her husband (2 Samuel 11:1-27). We saw that he was willing to face sin. Integrity is willing to face sin. At some point in your life, all of you will face an experience that God will use to surface sinfulness within you. Your response to that experience will determine your integrity. Will you stand as an entire unit, an integer to face the fact that your behavior did not match your belief? Or, will you fractionalize or compartmentalize or cover the stumble and act like it didn’t happen. You see, people who pursue excellence in integrity do mess up, but they come clean and that makes all the difference with God.
The SECOND EVENT from his life that demonstrated his integrity was when he was in a dark cave and could have taken King Saul’s life but chose to leave that up to God (1 Samuel 24:1-22). David learned how to worship and love God in spite of being constantly pursued by an assassin like Saul. David’s Psalms were written in excruciating circumstances! In his time of waiting, God taught him how to wait and worship. We must all learn to do this otherwise; we sacrifice the ultimate on the altar of the immediate.
Key Word: There’s a THIRD EVENT in David’s life that further reveals his integrity. It’s when he faced the giant Goliath. One author entitled his chapter about David and Goliath as “David and the Dwarf.” David proved to be the true giant.
Series: I have been talking to you about Leadership and Service Excellence. Today, I want to wrap-up my nested mini-series about Integrity. You see, integrity is a leadership essential. As a leader, integrity of heart means that even though you may be small and the odds are stacked against you, your heart is big with God’s agenda.
Definition: The idea of completeness or wholeness is at the root of the Hebrew term for integrity. And the reason I state that is because our text is found in the Hebrew Old Testament today. The term “integrity” has within it the idea of an integer. What is an integer? Within the realm of mathematics, it is one whole number. It is not one number and part of another number. It is not fractionalized. Rather, an integer suggests completeness or wholeness.
Application: When we apply this concept to our lives, we understand that we are considered whole or complete people when our beliefs have been integrated into our behavior. A person of integrity is not fractionalized with duplicity or hypocrisy. A heart and life of integrity is consistent in one honest direction. If a person of integrity begins a job, they finish it. If they make a promise, they keep it. If they commit a huge mistake, they admit it. If they believe something, they support that belief with their lifestyle. In this sense, they are whole and complete without a fractionalized life. David, while not perfect, was complete, whole in that he always was God-responsive.
Recitation: "But now your kingdom [King Saul] shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."
Text: 1 Samuel 17:1-54
OUTLINE
David’s Battle with Goliath – He Was Willing to Face a Challenge (1 Samuel 17:1-54).
Opening Statement: One author has suggested that Goliath reminded him of the cross-eyed discus thrower. He didn’t set any records…but he sure kept the crowd awake! (Swindoll, Insights Newsletter, April 1995). We all pretty much are familiar with this story. It’s a childhood favorite. Young David uses his sling to eliminate a giant, cross-eyed or not, who was defying the armies of God.
Summarization of Story: Day after day, Goliath paraded along the slopes of the Valley of Elah threatening and blaspheming the armies of Israel. And they were all afraid of him. He was 9 feet tall. His armor weighed 200 pounds. Goliath had a basic strategy. INTIMIDATION! And it worked! No one would fight him. Every morning and every evening for 40 days Goliath came out to taunt God’s people. The dawn of the 41st day though was the beginning of the end for Goliath. There was a young shepherd boy sent on an errand by his father that took him into the vicinity where this insulting Goliath was parading his strength. David stopped and stared in disbelief when Goliath pulled this shenanigan that day. Something happened within David at that moment. “No giant should ever be able to intimidate the armies of God in this way. He’s going down.” You know the outcome. David introduced Goliath and these Philistine hordes to the Lord of Host, whose name they had blasphemed long enough (Swindoll, Killing Giants, Pulling Thorns). 1 Samuel 17:50: “Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.”
Recitation: 1 Samuel 17
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah [vast canyon], and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. [How many times does the Bible actually describe what people wear or what weapons they carry? Not many times. It is significant then that we find such details here. Not only is the writer emphasizing how intimidating this guy, Goliath, was, he is also setting up a contrast. You’ll see it in just a second.] 4 Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [Goliath was 9 feet 9 inches tall. NBA?]. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze [Five thousand shekels weight equals 125 pounds. It was a coat of mail.]. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron [Goliath’s spear head weighed 15 pounds.]; his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us." 10 Again the Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together." 11 [The Philistines proposed a battle in which two representative champions from Israel and Philistia would duel it out, a not uncommon method of limiting war in the ancient world (cf. 2 Sam. 2). It minimized blood-shed and made life a whole lot easier for everybody, that is, if your champion won. However the Israelites had no one who could compete with Goliath physically.] When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. [Here’s the second part of the contrast the writer set up earlier by describing what Goliath wore and what he carried. Now he begins to describe Goliath’s future opponent. He will add a few additional details to the story, but eventually he plays off of this idea of armor and physical description.] 14 David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock at Bethlehem. [He was simply a shepherd, not a soldier.] 16 The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand. [Constable: The battle had been a stand-off for 40 days (v. 16). The number 40 often represents a period of testing in the Bible (cf. the Israelites’ testing in the wilderness for 40 years, Jesus’ testing for 40 days, etc.). This was another test for Israel. Would the nation trust in the arm of the flesh or in God?]17 Then Jesse said to David his son, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 [He was a mere errand boy – a boy Friday.] "Bring also these ten cuts of cheese [toasted cheese sandwiches was on the menu] to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them. 19 "For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines." 20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. 22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. 24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel." [Monetary reward, a wife, and a tax-exemption awaited the person who would stand up to Goliath.] 26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?" 27 The people answered him in accord with this word, saying, "Thus it will be done for the man who kills him." 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother [The one that thought he was going to be the next king but as it turned out, David was anointed instead of him. So there’s a little bit of animosity between them.] heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle." [Now for most of us, this would have been the end of the story. When big brother makes an accusation, the battle is on. Right? Not for David. He had a bigger battle to fight. Sometimes, we never get to Goliath because we can’t make it past our own family.] 29 But David said, "What have I done now? Was it not just a question?" 30 Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the same thing as before. 31 When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, "Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." 33 Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth [older teenager] while he has been a warrior from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." [Now, the writer picks up on the contrast with Goliath again.] 38 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. [This is funny! On one hand, there is fear and intimidation. On the other, there is a boy who looks like he’s wearing a Halloween outfit.] So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." And David took them off. 40 He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand [Constable: Some students of this passage have suggested that David chose five stones because Goliath had four brother’s and he wanted to be ready to attack them too. However there is no indication in the text that David had any concern for them or even that they were present at this battle. He probably chose five stones simply so he would have some in reserve if his first shot missed its mark. I favor the latter view of the two. David is courageous, but he’s not stupid. If the first one missed, he’s got four more tries. As it turned out, he was one-for-one.]; and he approached the Philistine. 41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy [red-headed – there’s nothing wrong with being red-headed, but it adds to the youthfulness of his looks.], with a handsome appearance. [Note where Goliath was when he got a good look at David – on the battle field. Goliath is thinking: “They have sent me a red-headed pretty-boy. I’m insulted by that.” He had an ego bigger than Muhammad Ali.] 43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [He cursed him out.] 44 The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies [plural – David’s passion was greater than Goliath. Goliath wanted David; David wanted the entire army.] of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands." 48Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, [Someone said “I’ll bet that was the first time that this ever entered his mind.” As Max Lucado expressed, "God made His point. Anyone who underestimates what God can do with the ordinary has rocks in his head."] so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. [If the stone merely knocked him out as some suggest, then this would finish the job for sure.] When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 Then David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent. 55 Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" And Abner said, "By your life, O king, I do not know." 56 The king said, "You inquire whose son the youth is." 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
Observation: This is why David was a man of integrity. When a person after God’s own heart sees a great injustice, a great need, and a great leadership vacuum, that heart rises up and says, “Things must be different and I will be a difference-maker.” David’s story teaches us that an inspired person of integrity can beat a mighty military warrior with but the tools of a shepherd and a heart of integrity.
Question: What does it mean to be after God’s own heart? It means your life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. When He says, “Go to the right,” you go to the right. When he says, “Stop that in your life,” you stop it. When he says, “This is wrong and this is what I want you to do about it,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God (Swindoll Newsletter, April 1997). David knew that what Goliath was doing was wrong. His integrity would not allow him to permit that kind of thing to exist. Oh, he could have retreated back to the quiet hills of Galilee with his sheep. He could have allowed King Saul and his armies to figure out a solution. But instead, he saw and embraced this challenge because he was a man after God’s heart – he had God’s agenda within him. Oh, the money would be great; the wife sounded really, really good to an older teenager no doubt; and exemption from taxes – well what more could a 17 or 18 year old want? But these were secondary. David never said, “I want wine, women, and a tax-free song. Look out Goliath, here I come!” No! 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands."
Application:
Your daily training is more important than your isolated battles. Victories are first won not on the playing field but in the training room. David had some victories under his belt before he tackled Goliath. Win in the little things and bigger victories come easier. Bob Knight said he had never met a basketball player that had a will to prepare to win like Jordan.
Your heart is more important than your looks. Allow me to remind you of the statement that was made prior to the battle. God told Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).” Goliath had all of the things that would normally impress and intimidate. David was sort of scrawny looking and a “pretty-boy” compared to Goliath, but his heart was gigantic. There wasn’t a man in the whole valley on either side that would have placed a bet on David. But the little man will fool you if he has a bigger heart. It’s what happened in the valley of Elah centuries ago and it’s what happened on Mt. Calvary. We remember today that a great son of David arose who defeated another Goliath in His day. Jesus Christ defeated Satan. While Satan is not yet dead, Jesus Christ has felled him. He has won a great victory over this enemy who was behind Goliath and is behind all the enemies of God and His people. Integrity of heart places total trust in Him. Your greatest act of integrity is submitting your heart to the Savior. Do you humbly offer your life to God or are you self-reliant? Remember, as Goliath demonstrates, pride precedes a fall (Prov.16:18). Selfish ambition is one of the biggest obstacles to a clean heart. There’s nothing wrong with good looks and life-victories. It’s great to look like a champion and succeed. But remember, you are only a winner if Jesus Christ has won the battle over your own heart.
Your viewpoint is more important than your view. David didn’t have much of a view, but he had an incredible viewpoint. He wasn’t on the front lines. He wasn’t respected by anyone. He had nothing to really bring to the table of the successful. About the only thing that David had to look at were sheep. But David had been given the ability to see as God always sees. What is your viewpoint, not your view? Some of you may not like your view, but God is after your viewpoint. While everyone else saw this monstrous champion as too big to kill, David saw him as too big to miss. What is your viewpoint? “I can, I will, I know, I am confident, I believe, God is able.” Or, is it “I can’t, If only, I don’t think, I don’t have the time or skills, I’m afraid, It’s impossible.” Change the viewpoint and the view gets a whole lot better. It did for David and it will for you. What are some challenges to having a good viewpoint? What is it that distracts from a proper viewpoint?
Your challenge is more important than your challenger. Getting rid of Goliath wasn’t their biggest problem. Goliath was big, but that wasn’t their biggest problem. Their biggest problem was fear within themselves. Every giant introduces a person to himself. A crisis does not make or break us; it simply shows us who we already are! They didn’t know who they were. Goliath just gave an edge to the issue. For 40 days, Goliath demoralized Israel’s army. What’s amazing is that no one stepped up. And this was David’s disbelief: “How can any of you soldiers still look at yourself as a man after going through this for 40 days?” I like Swindoll’s application here. He writes: “How applicable to any ‘giant’ we encounter! That’s the way with the giants of fear and worry, for example. They don’t come just once; they come morning and evening, day after day, relentlessly trying to intimidate. They come in the form of a person, or a pressure, or a worry. Some fear that hammers on your heart every morning and every night, day in and day out, yelling across the ravine in your personal valley (David, p. 38).”
Quotation: Lee Riley told his son Pat Riley, a man who has coached now in the NBA for years: “Every now and then, somewhere, some place, sometime, you are going to have to plant your feet, stand firm, and make a point about who you are and what you believe in. When that times comes, Pat, you simply have to do it.” What intimidates you? This is your Goliath and the victory belongs to the Lord. It’s time to make a stand. Integrity demands it.
Application: There are some giants in your life, some challenges that need addressed – challenges that may not be as obvious as David’s challenge over Goliath, but nevertheless the daily battle rages and it rages in a number of places. The battle rages at work. Do you repair cars? Do you install electrical wiring? Do you work with numbers? Are you a student trying to earn a good grade? Do you sell clothes or antiques? Do you practice law or medicine? Every occupation has its challenges and short-cuts and requires integrity to steady us on the course (Thoughts from Swindoll, Building Blocks of Biblical Character). The battle rages at home. The battle rages in hearts. Some of your challenges may not be as sensational as the David/Goliath story, but believe me; they are equally as important when it comes to your personal victory. No one may be there to cheer for you when you record the numbers right in the ledger, despite what your boss told you to do. No one may be there to pat your back when you take the extra hour to install the right part, rather than putting the old part back on and passing it off to the customer as a quality job. But somewhere there is a David and he’s on his feet applauding the giant-slayers.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion: Excellence in Integrity does so much for our credibility. I’ll close this sermon and nested mini-series with this story. Early in Billy Graham’s evangelism ministry, he was moved by the poor image and lack of credibility that many evangelists had in the eyes of the general public. It challenged him toward integrity. He called his team together one day to discuss the problem while engaged in a crusade in Modesto, CA. He asked the members of his team to go to their rooms for an hour and list all the problems they could think of that evangelists and evangelism encountered. When they returned, the lists were remarkably similar, and in a short amount of time, they made a series of resolutions or commitments among themselves that would guide them in their future evangelism work. Over the years, they have upheld a high standard of integrity.
The first point on their combined list was money. They would not abuse the love offerings neither would they wring as much money as possible out of an audience. There was good money in it. And they were paid well and should have been paid well for the labors. However, the opportunity to siphon off the top was easily available to them and they had to make a decision to not abuse the people’s trust.
The second item on the list was the danger of sexual immorality. Graham, to this day, will not check into a hotel room until someone has thoroughly searched the room.
The third concern was competition with the local church. They determined to compliment the local church regardless of denominational labels. They were not going to police their theology in the process. They simply would work with every church including the Catholic Church to help new believers get started with the Savior.
The fourth and final issue of concern was publicity. They would not exaggerate their successes. Yes, even the religious worker wants to stretch the stats.
Graham said, “We had always held these principles,” but he adds, “It did settle in our hearts and minds, once and for all, the determination that integrity would be the hallmark of both our lives and our ministry (Just As I Am, 128-129.).”
