Fighting in God's Battle

Last time we saw how David was anointed king because Saul had been rejected by God. Samuel and Saul are not talking to each other and now in the Philistine nation rising up against Israel. These Philistines have been a constant thorn in the side of Israel since Israel set foot in the promised land and now all the Israelites lined up on one mountain and all the Philistines lined up on the other mountain with a valley in between. Then, out of the army of the Philistines, comes one who sticks out like a sore thumb. He is a 9’6” behemoth of a man who is loaded down with over 200 lb of armor and weaponry. He is covered with coat of mail which is woven iron, bronze armor on his legs, and a bronze helmet on his head. This guy looks like an impenetrable fortress on two feet. On his back is a javelin of bronze and he has a huge sword that would later be described as something unlike anything the Israelites have ever seen. He comes down to the valley and yells to all of the Israelites saying, “I defy the armies of Israel this day! Send someone to fight me and if I win you will all be our servants and if you win we will be yours.” Saul and all Israel are struck with terror. No one wants to go out there to fight with this guy so he returns to his camp after waiting for a competitor. A few hours later he comes back out and the scene replays itself with this guy taunting Israel day after day.

Meanwhile, the young boy David continued to shepherd his father’s sheep. His three oldest brothers are at the battle line, but it seems that he is too young for battle. His father sends him to take food for his brothers and to check on them to see how they are doing. As David drops off the food it just so happens that Goliath has come out for his daily ritual. There is a great commotion as Israel shouts a war cry like they are about to battle. I picture this boy running to get a look across the valley at the enemy. What a sight this would be for a young shepherd boy! Can you imagine seeing this yourself in person? Imagine wedging your way through to get a peak at what’s going on and there you see this giant Philistine stand up to defy Israel’s ranks again saying, “I defy the armies of Israel this day!” David hears all of this and looks around. These guys in Israel’s army who are bigger than David are cowering. I imagine the look on David’s face is one of horror and disgust. Those feelings are not about Goliath but about Israel’s army. Have you ever seen someone you look up to failing miserably? He can’t believe it. They respond to him by saying, “Have you seen this guy? He is HUGE! Whoever kills him will get riches, no taxes, and they get to marry the king’s daughter.”

The first recorded words of David are interesting. “What’s going to be given to the man who kills Goliath?” But that’s not all he says. He calls Goliath’s taunt what it really is: defiance against the armies of the “living GOD.” We can’t let this uncircumcised Philistine do that can we? Somebody has got to step up and take this guy out! It was about that time that his brother Eliab shows up. You would think that Eliab, who is comparable to Saul, would want to prove that he is a worthy contender for the kingship. Instead he questions David’s motives and accuses him of being evil for even showing up saying, “Where are your sheep David? Don’t you need to get back to those sheep? Leave the big boy stuff to us.” To this David simply responds, “What have I done that is wrong? I’m just speaking the truth.”

Apparently, the truth of David’s words were piercing to the men of the army because they somehow reach the ears of king Saul whose reward hasn’t fetched many volunteers over the last 40 days. That’s right, this has been going on for 40 days and no one has stepped up! Picture him pacing back and forth in his tent trying to find a way out of this. If no one else will go, he will have to go. But suddenly, news comes in of someone asking about the reward and saying that Goliath has to be defeated. Can you imagine the disappointment when Saul sees this boy set foot in the room? When David comes in he says, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” “Huh?” Saul is in disbelief, saying, “This guy has been fighting battles from his youth and you are still just a youth.” David defends himself by saying all that God has done through his hands as he has rescued his sheep from lions and bears and even killed the lions and bears to save his sheep. He knows that God can make this Philistine like the lions and bears. To this Saul, surprisingly, agrees to let David go into the fight and says, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” Before he walks out of the room Saul has his armor put on David. You would think that this is the best armor that Israel has if it is supposed to protect the king. But how ridiculous would it look for this boy to be trying on the king's armor! So David says, “I haven’t tested them,” meaning that he hasn’t practiced fighting in these yet. They will hinder him so he goes out to battle unprotected. Who does that?

Now, Israel may have been laughing at David as he went into the tent. Can you imagine the thoughts going through everyone’s mind as he leaves the tent and begins to walk toward the path down the mountain? There is a lot riding on this battle. If the man sent down there is not able to win the fight, Israel will be servants of the Philistines again. They see their only hope being this boy who begins to walk down the mountain. What were they thinking? Maybe, “He’s going to get himself killed!”, or “He’s crazy!” Do you think they were ashamed? Maybe they thought Saul would fight this battle and be able to pull it off so no one else volunteered. Here goes a little shepherd to meet a giant.

He goes to meet the enemy without a sword, shield, or armor. All he has is a stick and a sling. But wouldn’t you know it, there is a pile of smooth stones there waiting for him along the way. He grabs 5 of the smooth stones for his sling and steps foot on the battlefield with Goliath. Goliath is offended and he curses David by his gods. The thought is that my gods are going to fight this battle for me and you are going to be eaten by the birds and beasts by the end of today! To this David responds, “You are fighting with weapons of men instead of the true God on your side. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel who you have defied. The Lord will deliver you into my hands and I will cut your head off then all of the Philistines will make a feast for the birds and the beasts by the end of today.” At this I imagine everyone would gasp. All of Israel’s face would flush red. Who would dare to speak that way to someone so big in that way? We don’t want him angry! Goliath began to walk toward David and David showed no hesitation. He starts running full speed towards Goliath with the stone swinging in his sling. This stone is probably somewhere around the size of a baseball and when it leaves that sling it would be going over 100 mph. The trick is to hit the target. He winds it up and every Israelite is staring with bulging eyes as David and Goliath get closer… and closer… and then David releases the stone. Then… WHACK! The stone struck Goliath square in the forehead and knocked him flat on his face. David comes over on top of the giant and grabbed Goliath’s sword and cut off his head. I imagine he lifted the sword high in the air for all to see. After that all Israel was shouting and they start running right at the Philistines. The Philistines have to pick up their jaw from the ground and start running with their tail tucked between their legs, trying not to get clobbered all the way back to their city.

Synopsis and Point for Israel

People still refer to having the odds stacked against them as being like David and Goliath. Many movies have followed this theme with the underdog rising up to defeat their Goliath. But what is this story here for? What was the intention of God for the original audience and for us today?

For the original audience who is reading this book of Samuel they would be drawn to compare Saul’s failure in leadership with David’s rise in leadership. This is the story where the shift in tide can be truly seen. Saul is seen cowering and afraid because relying on his looks and size won’t work for this enemy. The king that the people desired to have and the one that they saw as fit for their king wasn’t what he appeared to be on the outside. This idea brings us back to 16:7.

(ESV) — 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

This idea is proven in the text as we see Goliath with all of his physical greatness being brought to nothing by the hand of the one whom God has chosen. This ideal man who has a heart that pleases God is greater than Goliath. This is the message that the people of Israel would understand as they hear this story. Nothing physical can withstand the all-powerful God who fights on the side of those who have a heart that wants to please him and honor his great name.

What Does It Mean For Us?

When we pull this story into the New Testament we can see the story’s significance immediately as it pictures for us Jesus our Messiah. As we noted last time, Jesus is the son of David and David shines a light into what the Messiah or anointed one will be like. As David defeated Goliath so did Jesus.

How did Christ defeat Goliath? Did he go out in a physical battle dressed with physical armor? Was he loaded down with all kinds of guns and ammo and riding in a tank with a Bazooka on his shoulder? No way! Jesus triumphantly conquered Satan, sin, and death through the cross. No one could see how he was going to pull it off but he did it. The weapons of his warfare were spiritual not physical. When we look at how Jesus conquered His enemy, it is the same kind of imagery. No one else was going to step up and fight this battle. So God did and he wiped the enemy out himself. Look at what was foretold of Jesus in .

(ESV) — 15 Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.

Isaiah says that the Lord looked and saw that there was no one to intervene to save his people. Therefore he used his own strength to save us. This picture is so much like David who saw that no one was willing to fight Goliath and became the intercessor himself. In the same way we see Jesus pictured in the New Testament with a sword coming from his mouth to destroy his enemies. We see in the book of Revelation Jesus riding on a white horse, trampling down his enemies. Jesus is the one who comes to our rescue, bringing us the salvation we desperately need.

We all realize that Jesus came in a way that no one was expecting. In fact, because Jesus didn’t come to earth with guns blazing, no one believed that he was going to be able to defeat the enemy like David. His own brothers were criticizing the way he went about establishing himself and teaching (). Even John the Baptizer was confused by Jesus’ approach. () Jesus didn’t let any of that affect him and did what he knew was right to do. Also, because this battle was spiritual instead of physical we might miss the fact that Jesus went into the battle without hesitation. He came down the mountain (from heaven) and took on the form of a servant to show the world the glory of God. His final victory was coming at his death so he set himself to accomplish his mission.

(ESV) — 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

We don’t see him afraid of the battle that he must fight. God strengthens Jesus and he endures great suffering in order to defeat the ultimate Goliath. The final picture of this story is the most important of all. God’s defeat over all who rise up against him is found here. His victory was for us but more than that it was for his own name’s sake. He fought the battle that we could never win to show the principalities and powers that he is the all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful creator of the universe. Jesus is David, we are Israel, and God will deliver Israel through David. Period. End of Story.

So What Should We Do?

Like Israel we recognize that we were unable to defeat Satan, sin, or death. However, our David won that battle and God has given us the ultimate victory. Jesus gives us the courage to face our obstacles and enemies. There are two important lessons for us.

Courageous Faith

When we read this story don’t we wonder how this young boy could be so courageous in the midst of his own people. David shows up on the scene younger and smaller than everybody else. He has never been in a battle. He doesn’t know what has happened the last 40 days. But he sees this HUGE man acting like he can dishonor God and go unpunished. David takes offense on God’s behalf and that zeal for God moved him to speak. Do you think it was an uncomfortable conversation? To have a young guy come up and say, “Somebody has to do something about this guy” would probably be infuriating. We see his brothers respond in anger with: “What are you doing here David? Can’t you find something better to do? I know what’s in your heart; you want to cause trouble.” How many of us would feel ashamed and head home at that point with our head hanging low? David didn’t back down. He didn’t punch Eliab or come up with some disrespectful thing to say either. He let his actions do the talking for him. David wasn’t just going to convict people of their sin. He would go out to fight in the battle for God’s honor.

How could David overcome the fear, peer pressure, and self doubt in that situation? When we are faced with any kind of opposition to doing what is right what do we do? Have you ever kept silent when others dishonor God’s name? We might think, “I will just mess up whatever I say and make things worse for everybody.” Have you ever stopped doing something that is right because of family, friends, or even members of the church are pressuring you to change? When we read what David did we can see the outcome of a courageous faith and be encouraged to stand firm against the opposition. We realize that it’s very important to do what we know ought to be done for God’s glory. The words of David as he comes up against Goliath show what he is focused on and it has nothing to do with what the people behind him are thinking. Listen to his words again as he speaks to Goliath on the battlefield.

(ESV) — 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to 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 saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

Wouldn’t it be great if all Christians could own that level of courageous faith with boldness and confidence that the battle is the Lord’s. God would be honored in our lives and the whole world would learn to fear God. Our fruit would be abundant for God. The God who saves us from our greatest enemies Satan, sin, and death would be glorified. Do you think that Eliab was among those who were shouting and running in the charge against the Philistine? David’s courageous faith created that outcome. Our courageous faith can have a similar affect.

We can find real courage from this story to overcome sin

Real courage won’t come from knowing that we will be able to defeat the giant in our lives. Real courage will come from knowing that God has fought the battle that was too hard for us and defeated sin and death through Jesus. We are Israel. We have to rely on God like our David (Jesus) did to defeat the enemies that God has given into our hands. This means that we can overcome the sin in our lives that weighs us down and makes us filthy before God. God has already given us the victory over sin so now we chase those things down and put them to death. We don’t submit to them again. That is what Paul tells us in and 6. While we were still enemies God saved us by the death of his son and now we get to choose who we obey.

(ESV) — 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Picture yourself as that Israelite who watched David cut off the head of Goliath. Sin now holds no power over you. Are you going to go serve the Philistines? NO WAY! Your belief has exploded and now you sound the battle cry! That sin is a Philistine that is running away terrified. It holds no power over you. It is no Goliath. Goliath is the condemnation you once felt. It is dead!

(ESV) — 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

(ESV) — 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

We have a treasure now that cannot be taken away only given up if we choose to let sin back into our lives and let it rule over us. We don’t have to be afraid anymore. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Our sin will not follow us beyond the grave and we can win battles against sin today. God has made a way for us all to be reconciled to him as we put on a heart like David’s that wants to glorify and magnify God by conquering our sins with his help.

Conclusion

The story of David and Goliath is the story of Israel’s redemption at the hands of the great Messiah, Jesus. Israel was without hope and lost without God when a shepherd boy comes in and believes that God would keep his promise to rid the land of the inhabitants and give it to Israel. But I want us to see that the story of David and Goliath is our story. God has won the ultimate battle over sin and provides for all of us a hope that we can conquer the enemy of sin in our own lives. The victory over sin is ours. It has been given to us by our glorious God. We are able to have great, courageous faith because of what God has accomplished for us in Christ. We see the great victory God has achieved for us which motivates us to honor God’s name, remain firm in the faith, and return to the camp of the enemy.

Related Media

Related Sermons