Facing Giants Part 2

Facing Giants, Part 2

1 Samuel 17:31-58

 

This morning we turn again to 1 Samuel 17 as we finish out our two-part sermon set centering on the story of David and Goliath. It was noted last week that the story of David and Goliath is one the needs little to no explanation in terms of the battle itself. The story of David and Goliath is a well known one. Goliath, a giant, versus David, a young shepherd boy who wasn’t even old enough to serve in the army, let alone take on a giant who had cause fear in the Israelites and his mere presence would put the people to flight. 

 That week, we looked at the circumstances leading up to the battle between David and Goliath. In the beginning of the chapter, we see that the Israelites were up against a formidable enemy, the Philistines. As we are introduced to the battle scene, we find the Israelites and Philistines on two separate mountains with a valley, the valley of Elah in between then. The two groups are noted as confronting one another, which seems to be in the form of shouting challenges to one another. The hope based upon what we know of warfare in that day is that one group could cause their opponent to come out to attack them. The reason for this is, that group would then be fighting an uphill battle and the group still on the mountain side would have a significant advantage.

The scene shifted in verse 4 of the chapter because a man, who is in that verse called “a champion” steps in front of the battle line of the Philistines and issues a challenge to the Israelites. He essentially says, there is no need for the battle lines and battle formations, instead, he challenges the Israelites to choose a representative for themselves and he will fight that representative one on one. If that challenger defeated him, the Philistines would serve them, but he defeated their challenger, the Israelites would become their servants.

This “champion” struck fear in all of the people. They were dismayed at what the man had to say, they are noted as very fearful in verse 11, verse 24 tells us that whenever the people saw him, they were very fearful, and they would flee. We looked at this “champion” and his anatomy last week. This man was a giant, named Goliath from a town called Gath. Gath was a town known to have giants, and this Goliath was quite the giant.

From verse 4 to 7 we learned that Goliath stood at six cubits and a span. A cubit is about 18 inches and a span is about 9 inches. That puts Goliath at around 9 feet 9 inches. The armor he wore weighed five thousand sheckels of bronze (around 100 pounds) and the head of his spear weighed six hundred sheckels of iron, or around 15 pounds.

Morning and evening, Goliath was coming out and challenging the men of war, but none of them, not one, was willing to go against him. And it is in the midst of these scenes; the giant threatening, the people fearing, and the threats repeating, and David comes onto the scene. David had been anointed as the next king of Israel in the previous chapter, but at this point, Saul was still the king on the throne. Saul, along with the men of war, were fleeing and in fear due to Goliath and his threats. When David arrives he displays faith in God over fear in Goliath.

David, seemingly not old enough to even serve in the army at this point, leaves the field where he had been tending sheep because his father needed him to get an update on the battle, and take food to his older brothers. When David arrived, he hears the battle cry and dropped everything to run to the front line. Upon arrival, he learns about a three part promise the king had issued for the one who defeats the giant (riches, a princess, and a tax free family), he is questioned by his oldest brother, given information about the battle from the other men.

As David looked around at the battle scene, he sees men fearing, fleeing, and hiding. Even the current king, Saul, is described as fearing and dismayed. David on the other hand displays a posture of faith and volunteers to take on Goliath, the giant Philistine. While the people were focused on the physical facts of the fight with a formidable giant, David turns his attention toward the fact that what he needed was faith in God and the God who had been faithful throughout his life, would be faithful in the fight. David brings God with him to the battle scene and what we will see is that God’s presence in his life changes everything.

 

Illus. God’s Property.

 

This morning, we will look at the details and circumstances surrounding the battle of David and Goliath and draw out insights and encouragement for our lives when we find ourselves facing giants personally. As we look at the factors involved in the battle between David and Goliath this week, I want to give three more strategies we see David display on the day he faced the giant. Specifically we will look at what to focus on, what to put on, and who to depend on as we face giants in our own lives.

 

1. Focus on the Fact that God is With His Followers

 

1 Samuel 17:31-38, When the words that David spoke were heard, they informed Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”  But Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

 

• Saul’s response to David tells us a great deal about where he was focusing.

 

• His focus, like the others, was on the physical aspects of the battle.

 

• For 40 days he had been thinking about the giant who was coming out and threatening the people day and night. His focus was on the giant, who seems to be saying the same thing day and night for 40 days.

 

• Goliath was not just big and bold with his words, Saul indicates an awareness that Goliath had been a warrior since his youth.

 

• While Saul is focused on the physical facts, David is focused on his faith, what the Lord has done in the past, and his trust in what God would do in the present.

 

• Saul wasn’t alone in looking at the physical aspects. The people were looking at the physical, and Goliath was as well.

 

What Goliath was looking at…

 

1 Samuel 17:8, “Am I not the Philistine and you the servants of Saul?

 

1 Samuel 17:10, “I have defied the ranks of Israel this day!”

 

How the people were processing…

 

1 Samuel 17:25(a), “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel…”

 

What Saul was seeing…

 

1 Samuel 17:33, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him, you are only a youth, while he has been warrior since his youth.”

 

David’s perspective…

 

1 Samuel 17:26(b), “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he has dared to defy the armies of the living God?”

 

1 Samuel 17:32, “May no one’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”

 

1 Samuel 17:34-37, But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” 

 

• David looked back on all the Lord had done, the way God prepared him while he was out tending sheep, the way God protected him when he protected the flock from giant lions and bears and he makes it clear, God protected me there, he saved me from the paw of the lion and bear, He was with me there, and I know He is with me here.

 

• He brings God to the battle scene and knew that the Lord was with Him personally.

 

• If you are facing a giant in your life, I encourage you to begin focusing on the fact that the Lord is with His followers.

 

Illus. Joshua.

 

Psalm 23:1-4, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

 

• When David wrote, “with me,” those two words are one word in Hebrew. It is a word that is in the first person, it is personal. And it means to tie to, bind together.

 

• David wrote, you are “with me,” you are personally tied to me, bound to me!

 

• Even when what I see or where I find myself is a dark valley, you remain tied to me!

 

Matthew 28:20(b), Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 

• This is the reality for those in Christ. With the Philistines in front, Saul was seen fleeing and fearing, and his fear was warranted, why? Because the Lord was not with him. We saw the Spirit depart from Saul. But the Spirit was upon David, and David knew it, that made all the difference!

 

• When David was facing a giant, it wasn’t just that he knew what it was like when a lion or a bear came to attack the flock in his care. David knew that the Lord was his Shepherd, and just like David was with his fathers sheep and took care of them, guiding and protecting, the Lord would do the same for His people.

 

• David points to the Lord. He does not see himself as a servant of Saul, or a that Goliath is simply defying the Israelite army, rather, he declares that this giant is trying to defy the armies of the living God, and the Lord would give him the victory.

 

Illus. Focus on God’s Presence.

1. Put On the Full Armor of God

 

1 Samuel 17:38-39, Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.” And David took them off.

 

• Since Saul’s mind was set on the physical realities of the battle, he clothes David with his armor.

 

• The armor he handed David, his personal armor, did not fit, however. Remember, Saul was head and shoulders above everybody else, and David was a young man. The armor didn’t fit.

 

• With the armor on, and Saul sword strapped over the attire, David attempted to walk in it, and he struggled to walk.

 

• Saul believed it was what David needed, but David knew that putting on Saul’s armor would slow him down and make him an easy target.

 

• David told Saul, and cannot go into battle with this armor, I have not trained with them.

 

• The word “trained” is defined as “proven.”

 

• “This armor is not proven for the battle I need to fight.”

 

• Was it good armor? Probably the best in the land. Could it take a blow? Likely. Would most other men keep the armor on? That too seems likely. But not David.

 

• It did not physically fit, and it did not spiritually fit. It was not the kings armor that would bring about victory, it was not military strategy, or the wisdom of humanity…It was the Lord who was going to bring about victory.

 

• David ends up taking up the armor he had trained with personally.

 

1 Samuel 17:40, Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

 

• Took up the armor he had trained with in the field with the sheep. He looked back on the way he guarded sheep, with his staff, with a sling, with stones, that is what he would have known and that is what he would use.

 

• The sling was likely a long strap made of leather or wool with a pouch in the middle where a stone would go and be slung from.

 

Illus. 5 stones?

 

• Saul didn’t know the end of chapter 17, nor did David, but we do!

 

• Goliath didn’t know the end of chapter 17 either! His reaction to David’s armor is shown in verses 41-44.

 

1 Samuel 17:41-44, Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he was contemptuous of him; for he was only a youth, and reddish, with a handsome appearance. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals.”

 

• Picture the scene, it is not just David versus Goliath. It is David and God, against Goliath and his shield bearer.

 

• Goliath seems to make a joke about it, “Am I dog?” David’s size and supplies were a laughing matter to Goliath it seems. He tells David right then and there, come to me…I am going to feed you to bird and wild animals…

 

• What is happening with this giant in front and at this battle scene is important for you and me Spiritually.

 

• That said, there is an armor God has given that we are to take up in the battles we face.

 

Ephesians 6:10-17, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

• When Paul wrote “take up” it literally means to pick it up, carry it, and use it. It depicts something that is available, it just needs to be picked up and taken for oneself.

 

• Paul used the equipment seen on a Roman soldier and made the application spiritually. This is the armor to take up!

 

1 Corinthians 2:14-16: The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

 

• The enemy would have us believe that there is no way could get victory. But Faith tells a different story.

 

• As David took off the armor, I wonder if Saul was thinking that the odds of victory were becoming less and less likely…

Illus. Gideon.

1 John 4:4, Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Illus. Published facts.

Quote: Martin Luther: “With God, One is the majority!”

 

III.       Depend on Him to Deliver

 

• After Goliath told David he would feed his flesh to the birds and wild animals that day, giving him the type of words that had everyone fleeing in fear. David is dependent on God and filled with faith.

 

1 Samuel 17:45-47, David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a saber, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. Then I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that this entire assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will hand you over to us!”

 

• Everyone looked at the size of Goliath, but David looks at the size of God in comparison.

 

• Remember, the average man was 5’3”, Goliath was 9’9”. Compare to the size of David and the average man physically, Goliath was scary. But compared to God, Goliath was nothing.

 

• Isaiah 40:12 tells us that God has held the oceans in the palm of his hand, He has measured the heavens with His fingers…

 

• David knew how big God is, and he says today, all the earth will know there is a God in Israel, and He doesn’t save by sword or spear, the battle is the Lord’s He is going to deliver you over to us!

 

• David was dependent on God to deliver the victory, and Goliath into their hands.

 

1 Samuel 17:48-53

 

• The Philistines didn’t end up keeping their end of the deal. At the beginning of the chapter, Goliath said, if anyone could defeat him, the Philistines would serve the Israelites. But they don’t keep up their end of that deal.

 

• They ran away, they would not make good on what they promised that day.

 

1 Samuel 17:55-58

 

• We face giants of all shapes and sizes, those giants will make promises they won’t keep if we surrender to them, they will threaten us, taunt us, tell us that our armor is not enough. They will try all sorts of things, but ultimately, we need to know where to look and where to go.

 

• To focus on the fact that the Lord is with those who are His, to put on the full armor of God, and depend on God to deliver, no matter the size and strength of the giants we might face.

 

1 Corinthians 15:57, Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Illus. Victory through Christ.

Illus. Legend.

1 Samuel 17:31-58