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Morning to everyone. Just one 
brief announcement before, just an announcement to add, and that 
is that Marissa Hoff, Tracy and I's daughter, is pregnant with 
child, so we rejoice in that gift from God. We don't look 
forward to another grandchild. We presently have another grandchild 
as life begins at conception, and it's a It's a joy to have 
that, and it's been a joy to have so many babies added to 
the church recently, and some on their way still. So if you 
see Marissa and Josh Hoff today, you can thank them, or thank 
them. You can thank them for bringing another baby into this 
world. You can rejoice along with them. Let's turn in our 
Bibles, and if you can turn with me to 1 Samuel 17. We're gonna 
look at the glory of God in the Valley of Elah today, narrative 
concerning David and Goliath, one of the greatest battles that 
never happened solved by one of the greatest battles that 
did. As David and Goliath face off in single combat in the Valley 
of Elah for the glory of God. So 1 Samuel 17 beginning at verse 
1, we'll read a large portion here. So, bear with us as we 
read the Word of God. It should never be a labor, it 
should always be a delight. We're going to read a large portion, 
beginning in verse 1 of 1 Samuel 17 and finishing at verse 54. 
This is the Word of God, 1 Samuel 1. Now, the Philistines gathered 
their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Soco, which 
belongs to Judah. They encamped between Soco and 
Azica in Ephes Damim. And Saul and the men of Israel 
were gathered together, and they encamped in the valley of Elah, 
and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. The Philistines 
stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain 
on the other side, with a valley between them. And a champion 
went out from the camp of the Philistines named Goliath from 
Gath, whose height was six cubits in a span. He had a bronze helmet 
on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. And the 
weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of bronze. And he had 
bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his 
shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was 
like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred 
shekels. And a shield-bearer went before 
him. Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel and 
said to them, Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am 
I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man 
for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to 
fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But 
if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our 
servants and serve us.' And the Philistine said, I defy the armies 
of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight 
together. When Saul and all Israel heard 
these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly 
afraid. Now David was the son of that 
Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who 
had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced 
in years, in the days of Saul. The three oldest sons of Jesse 
had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three 
sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to 
him Abinadab and the third Shammah. David was the youngest and the 
three oldest followed Saul. But David occasionally went and 
returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 
And the Philistine drew near and presented himself 40 days 
morning and evening. Then Jesse said to his son David, 
take now for your brothers a an effa of this dried grain and 
these 10 loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp, and carry 
these 10 cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how 
your brothers fare, and bring back news of them. Now Saul and 
they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting 
with the Philistines. So David rose early in the morning, 
left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went 
as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the 
army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 
For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, 
army against army. And David left his supplies in 
the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army and came and 
greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, 
there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming 
up from the armies of the Philistines. And he spoke according to the 
same words. So David heard them. And all 
the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and 
were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said, Have 
you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to 
defy Israel. And it shall be that the man 
who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give 
him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from 
taxes in Israel. Then David spoke to the men who 
stood by him, saying, What shall 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 defy the armies 
of the living God? And the people answered him in 
this manner, saying, So shall it be done for the man who kills 
him. Now Eliab, his oldest brother, 
heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was aroused 
against David. And he said, Why did you come 
down here? And with whom have you left those 
few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence 
of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. And David 
said, What have I done now? Is there not a cause? Then he 
turned from him toward another and said the same thing. And 
these people answered him as the first ones did. Now when 
the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to 
Saul, and he sent for him. Then David said to Saul, Let 
no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and 
fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, you are 
not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are 
a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. But David said 
to Saul, your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And 
when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 
I went out after it, and struck it, and delivered the lamb from 
its mouth. And when it arose against me, I caught it by its 
beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both 
lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of 
them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. Moreover, 
David, the Lord who delivered me, Moreover, 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 the Lord be with you. So Saul 
clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on 
his head. He also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened 
his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested 
them. And David said to Saul, I cannot 
walk with these, for I have not tested them. So David took them 
off. Then he took his staff in his 
hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, 
and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, 
and his sling was in his hand. and he drew near to the Philistine. 
So the Philistine came and began drawing near to David, and the 
man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine 
looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only 
a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 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. And the Philistine said to David, 
Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air, 
and the beasts of the field. Then David said to the Philistine, 
You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with 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 defied. This day the 
Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and 
take your head from you. And this day I will give the 
carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the 
air, the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that 
there is a God in Israel then all the assembly shall know that 
the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the 
Lord's and he will give you into our hands so it was when the 
Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David that 
David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine 
then David put the put his hand in his bag, and took out a stone. 
And he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so 
that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his 
face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine 
with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed 
him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore 
David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and 
drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head 
with it. And when the Philistines saw 
that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel 
and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far 
as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And 
the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Sherem, 
even as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned 
from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 
And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to 
Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent." Amen. Well, let's 
pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for your word of truth. We rejoice in this account of 
your glory being demonstrated and vindicated on these planes 
of battle. We thank you for your word to 
us. Might we glory in you, our God, that same God that David 
gloried in, defended and sought to vindicate. We do pray that 
you'd help us to rejoice in you, that you would impress upon us 
the glories of our God, that we would hallow your name here 
this morning and throughout this day, that you would cause us 
to rejoice in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. to sing the praises 
of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, David's greater son, 
and to rejoice in the gospel of that same Christ. And we pray 
in his name. Amen. Well, this is quite a battle, 
a count, no doubt. For many of you, perhaps like 
me, one of your favorite stories in the biblical record, not a 
story, fictionally speaking, but one of my favorite stories, 
historically and biblically speaking, a wonderful narrative that highlights 
the glory of God in the vindication of his name and the defense of 
his covenant people. And just to set ourselves in 
a little bit of context here, the date of this event is probably 
around just before the turn of the 10th century BC. So in the 
11th century, around 1020 to 1000 BC. At that time, Egypt 
was still the largest world power, but they were on the decline. They were no longer the empire 
that they used to be, and there were some rogue nations, if you 
will, that could skirt about the area. having their own particular 
kingships and their own particular nations. And two of those, of 
course, are Philistia and Israel. And we see this account, as the 
narrative describes it, we have the two armies on opposite sides 
of a valley. There's a brook, a river of sorts 
going through in a valley, slowly graduated hills on either side 
of this particular valley. So if we can picture with our 
mind's eye, not with vain imagination, these two masses of armies ready 
for battle in a particular stalemate, though, on either side of this 
large valley. The valley of Eyla was probably 
about, at this part of the battle, about one kilometer in length. So the armies are separated by 
about one kilometer. And we see David, or we see Goliath 
rather, walking out from the Philistine army and taunting 
the armies of the Lord of hosts. This is a time where the monarchy 
was certainly in a decline. It's at the beginning of the 
monarchy of Israel, just after the time of the judges. So the 
time of the judges, we don't have a monarchy yet, obviously. 
Saul is the first king anointed for monarchy in Israel. And so it's at the time where 
there was a transition from this tribal confederacy in Israel 
to a monarchy proper under Saul, but declining as we see in chapter 
16, well, chapters 15 and 16, Saul is no longer God's man in 
Israel. It's David that is anointed in 
chapter 16, a teenager David anointed in and set aside by 
Samuel, by God through Samuel, 1st annual 16 to be the the great 
and future king of a united monarchy between Israel and Judah So that's 
something of the historical context Saul's on the decline David's 
on the rise and certainly by the end of this narrative we 
say we see that David is most certainly on the rise and So 
we're going to look at the glory of God in the Valley of Elah 
under three heads, and those are these. First, the fear of 
a cowering army in the face of the enemy. Secondly, the faith 
of a courageous cheese delivery boy in the face of the enemy. 
And then thirdly, the defeat of the enemy in the might of 
the Lord. It's a wonderful account that we have here of the glory 
of Lord demonstrated in this valley. So first, the fear of 
a cowering army in the face of the enemy. And that's what we 
have here time and again, at least three times, but certainly 
implicit by other portions of the chapter. But we have three 
times highlighted the fear of a cowering army in the face of 
this enemy, Goliath. Notice first off here, just very 
briefly again, the location. We're in the Valley of Elah. 
They're encamped on these two sides of the valley. Verse 3, 
we read that there's a particular stalemate probably that's taking 
place. Notice verse 3, the Philistines 
stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain 
on the other side with a valley between them. It's probably not 
just, hey, this is what's going on. It's probably speaking to 
military strategy. If one army comes and seeks to 
assault the other, they're going to come down from a heightened 
advantageous position, run across a valley, and then seek to climb 
up another hill. So whoever is assailed, they 
will have the advantage over the assailant. Or whoever is 
assaulted by one army will have a particular strategic advantage. 
So there's a bit of a stalemate on either side of this valley 
here as they're encamped on either hill. So we see this stalemate, 
we see the enemy described. Why is there this fear of a cowering 
army? Because notice the description 
of this giant that comes out to defy the God of the armies 
of Israel. Verse 4, we see first off the 
enemy described and we see that The language is, and a champion 
went out from the camp of Philistines named Goliath from Gath, whose 
height was six cubits in a span. Now, that particular measurement 
is, some people have differed, but it's probably just under 
10 feet tall, six cubits in a span, so you can imagine an army not 
constituted of men who are 10 feet tall, probably men around 
my height or shorter that are encamped. And this giant comes 
that's at least three feet taller than all of them to oppose them 
and to speak blasphemies by his God against the God of Israel. 
So there's this formidable appearance. If you back up with me just a 
moment to see generally some of the background of these people, 
you can turn to the book of Numbers. to the book of Numbers, and Numbers 
chapter 13. You'll probably recognize this 
address of Holy Scripture, but when you get to Numbers 13, you 
can look at verse 33. The spies are sent into Canaan to 
spy out the land, to see. if it's ready for the taking, 
for lack of a better phrase. And notice verse 33, there we 
saw the giants, the descendants of Anak, come from, or excuse 
me, the descendants of Anak came from the giants, and we were 
like grasshoppers in our sight. And we were like grasshoppers 
in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. So we have this 
general report of giants, the Anakim, those who are the descendants 
of Anak, who were giants. Now turn to Joshua with me, in 
Joshua chapter 11. Joshua 11, just giving a bit 
of a background here to who this giant Goliath is. In Joshua 11, 
notice at verse 21, regarding the conquest of various regions, 
there's a summary report given, and we see at verse 21 of Joshua 
11, and at that time, Joshua came and cut off the Anakim, 
those are the giants, from the mountains, from Hebron, from 
Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from 
all the mountains of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them 
with their cities. None of the Anakim were left 
in the land of the children of Israel." Now notice, they remained 
only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. So, finding our way back 
to 1 Samuel 17 and verse 4, a champion went out from the camp of the 
Philistines named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubits 
in a span. So, the giants were left in three 
locations, one of them being Gath, and here we have this giant, 
a descendant of Anak, there challenging the army's of the God of Israel. And so, not only is he just short 
of 10 feet tall, but notice the continued description in verse 
5. He had a bronze helmet on his 
head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the 
coat was 5,000 shekels of bronze. Now, this isn't simply Samuel 
recording interesting information about the armor that Goliath 
is wearing. I mean, it is interesting to read a description of the 
armor that Goliath is wearing, but it's in order to set up the 
contrast of David's conquering of Goliath without armor, without 
matching weaponry, and by reliance upon his great God. This armor, 
as we read at the end of verse 5, was 5,000 shekels of bronze. So this 10 foot tall giant is 
wearing 126 pounds of armor. Now if you've ever, you probably 
have never, nobody has ever tried to put on, unless you have tried 
to put on a 126 pound weighted vest here, you can talk to me 
afterwards and see what it felt like. But if you can imagine 
for a moment, even when we put on a, ski jacket. We're kind 
of weighed down and we're imposed a little bit or we're hindered 
a little bit. The ski jacket probably weighs 2.38 pounds. 
So putting on 126 pounds of armor is significant. This description is given in 
order to fuel the forthcoming contrast and for us to glory 
that it is God who has victory in the face of human weakness. 
Notice at verse 6, and he had bronze armor on his legs and 
a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his 
spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed 
600 shekels. So that's 15 pounds. So he has 
this spear with a shaft, of course, with a 15-pound spearhead on 
it, which is itself heavy. If you've ever picked up a 15-pound 
weight, you don't really think, I'm going to throw that. Generally, 
depending on your strength, you think, OK, I'll pick it up for 
for eight reps, and then I'll drop it heavily to the ground. 
So, the spear was like a weaver's beam, a thick wood with a 15-pound 
spearhead on it. A shield-bearer went out before 
him. The end of verse 7. So this is 
a picture of a very physically formidable man. There is a formidable 
appearance to this man, but the physical appearance is not only 
what we have here on the part of this giant. To add to this 
formidable appearance, we have his incessant taunting of the 
armies of Israel. Notice at verse 8, Then he stood 
and cried out to the armies of Israel and said to them, Why 
have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine 
and you the servants of Saul? And then he asks for them to 
choose out a man to come out to battle there on in the in 
the Valley of Elah now this wasn't a strange thing to battles in 
well throughout history there have been occasions of single 
combat battles where for among other reasons to save bloodshed 
and to prevent mass bloodshed, two champions will come out from 
opposing armies to settle the dispute that way. Rather than 
spend many resources, much money, time, energy, and the much shedding 
of blood, let's resolve this by two champions battling together. If Goliath wins, then Israelites 
will be their servants. If Goliath falls by the hand 
of an Israelite, then the philistines will be the servants of the israelites 
and now notice in verse 10 i defy the armies of the of israel this 
day give me a man that we may fight together so Just try to picture it, this 
giant of a man, literally, a giant with 125 pounds of armor, with 
the stuff of weaponry that would strike fear into any man, standing 
before the men of Israel, and not just that, but taunting them. Notice in verse 16, and the Philistine 
drew near and presented himself 40 days, morning and evening. So this didn't just happen on 
one brief one minute occasion, but this happened over the course 
of 40 days of this stalemate and night and both day and night 
now Again, because the Bible rarely, well, never, just has 
narrative for narrative's sake, what is lurking behind or what 
is in this? What depth of understanding should 
we see here in verse 16? And the Philistine drew near 
and presented himself 40 days. Well, not only should we see 
the number 40 with respect to the testing of 40 years in the 
wilderness by God, upon his people, the Israelites, but more to our 
point with regards to the taunting, Goliath is taunting both morning 
and evening. What takes place morning and 
evening with regards to Israel? The rehearsal of the Shema. You 
can turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 6. because Goliath is 
deliberately coming out when the armies of Israel, led by 
a priest, are rehearsing their God-commanded rehearsal of their 
faith in the one God. Notice in Deuteronomy 6, at verse 
7. Well, going back to verse four, 
of course, the word Shema is literally the first word that 
we hear in Deuteronomy 6, for the word here. So verse four 
of Deuteronomy six, hero, Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is 
one. You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, 
with all your soul and with all your strength. And these words 
which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach 
them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you 
sit in your house, when you walk by the way, notice, when you 
lie down and when you rise up. So Goliath is coming out before 
they lie down and after they rise up in order to taunt their 
God by his gods. He's interrupting the key element 
of Israelite faith, the rehearsal of their faith in the one God, 
the living and true God. So when we read the Philistine 
drew near and presented himself 40 days, morning and evening, 
it's more than just the time of the day. It's a religious 
defiance. It's a testing of their faith 
in the one God of heaven and earth. So we have this enemy 
described, his formidable appearance, and both his incessant taunting, 
and now notice the fear-filled response of Israel. Our last 
point, and the proper point here with regards to a cowering army, 
the fear of a cowering army, notice the fear-filled response 
of Israel. First in verse 11, after the 
Philistine, we read this lengthy account of his appearance and 
his first tauntings. We read in verse 10, and I defy 
the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight 
together. When Saul and all Israel heard 
these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly 
afraid. Now, To a particular degree, 
I think we should understand that a little bit. You have a 
10-foot-tall giant of a man. Remember that we read here King 
Saul in all Israel. King Saul was anointed as king. He was chosen as king, essentially, 
by the people who demanded God for a king. And he's described 
as being the most handsome man in all of Israel. Maybe, did 
Saul write this? No, of course Samuel did. But 
he's described as the most handsome man in all of Israel, and that 
he is head and shoulders above the valiant men of Israel. So, 
he's a tall man himself. He's no stranger to warfare. 
He's a tall man himself, and yet he is dismayed and greatly 
afraid, and all of the valiant men of Israel along with him. Notice verses 24 and 25. 24 and 25 and all the men of Israel 
when they saw Goliath fled from him and were dreadfully afraid 
So the men of Israel said have you seen this man who has come 
up? So they're greatly afraid and 
as we already mentioned to a particular degree we can understand that 
but we ought to to with the narrative account and with the Bible as 
a whole be discouraged at their response because of the promises 
of God. As Pastor Butler has preached, 
and as he's been going through some Old Testament studies during 
Bible study, we see that the people of God cower, but they 
cower in complete opposition to a God who has promised them, 
saying, fear not, for I go before you in the battle to deliver 
these people into your hands. And so this isn't simply a lapse 
in courage, but a failure to believe in and rest upon the 
covenant promises of God. And this is, as we'll see tonight, 
because tonight we're gonna look at the gospel of Christ in the 
Valley of Elah, the typological connection between David and 
Christ, there isn't just one or two, there's probably 67, 
but we're only gonna look at 12. one for every 2.5 minutes. But you see the narrative account 
here is to show that Israel was to put their faith in the God 
who has promised that he would bless the covenant people and 
that he would go before them if they were faithful. You can 
turn back with me to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Let's just see this, 
that this isn't simply a lapse in judgment, but it is, again, 
a failure to believe in and rest upon. the covenant promises of 
God. Notice in Deuteronomy chapter 
1 and verse 28. Deuteronomy 1 verse 28. It's 
a wonderful collection of verses throughout Deuteronomy here that 
speak to God's promises. Notice what the text says here. 
Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged 
our hearts, saying, The people are greater and taller than we. 
The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. Moreover, we have 
seen the sons of the Anakim there." So there is this terror. But notice what we follow after 
that. Then I said to you, Do not be 
terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before 
you will fight for you. according to all he did for you 
in Egypt before your eyes." You see, there's something lacking 
here on the part of the armies of Israel. Saul and the armies 
of Israel, and we'll see this when we get to David, but they're 
not remembering. You know, one of the things that 
often takes place in the Bible is that God, through the prophets, 
God, through the writers of the scriptures, having to remind 
people time and time again of the promises, of divine promises, 
of divine blessing. And here, in the occasion with 
David and Goliath, Saul and the armies of Israel are forgetting 
all the amazing things that God has done for the nation of Israel 
throughout history. I mean, we can think of so many 
things. We think of the promise to Abram, 
the pulling of Abram from out of Ur of the Chaldees, and the 
promise given to him that there would be a multitude of nations 
who would come to the God of Israel, that there would be a 
number of descendants who would worship the living and true God. 
We can think of miraculous events. Israel ought only to have drawn 
their minds back to the Exodus, when God exercised might upon 
might, miracle upon miracle, to deliver according to his covenant 
promises, and that in the face of even a faithless generation. We could rehearse a multitude 
of different things throughout the history of Israel, the Exodus, 
the provision of manna, the victory over the Amalekites, God's presence 
at Mount Sinai, all of these things that David rehearses in 
the Psalms, where he calls upon Israel in the context of singing 
worship to reflect upon the things that God has done for his people. But even with that, we see this 
fear-filled response on the part of the nation of Israel. If you're 
still in Deuteronomy, you can turn to Deuteronomy 9. If you're 
not in Deuteronomy, you can turn to Deuteronomy 9. Notice as well 
in Deuteronomy 9 at verse 1, Deuteronomy 9 at verse 1. Hero 
Israel, you are to cross over the Jordan today and go in to 
dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities 
great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the 
descendants of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you heard 
it said, who can stand before the descendants of Anak? Therefore, 
understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over 
before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring 
them down before you, so you shall drive them out and destroy 
them quickly, as the Lord has said to you. So finding our way 
back to 1st Samuel 17, while we can to a certain degree with 
our, you know, human understanding, say, you know, I kind of get 
that they're fear-filled, but biblically speaking, and with 
respect to the fact that there is a God who comforts and protects 
and guides his people, We see here and ought to be discouraged 
at the response that they give Saul and all Israel heard the 
words of the giant this Philistine and they were dismayed and greatly 
afraid So we not only have the nation of Israel the armies the 
valiant men of Israel dismayed and greatly afraid but also we 
have a weak king and Again, head and shoulders above all in Israel, 
who himself, who was supposed to be the valiant one, really 
in this exercise, it should have been Saul who walked out to meet 
Goliath. It's one of the things that we 
see here by the contrast God is trying to show. That it's 
David who is the hero, no doubt, at the end of the narrative, 
but it should have been this valiant king, King Saul, head 
and shoulders above all, who walked out to meet this giant 
from Gath. But he cowers with all of the 
army of Israel. This brings us then to the faith 
of a courageous cheese delivery boy in the face of the enemy. And notice what we have here. 
There's just some biographical information first that we see 
at verse 12. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem, 
Judah, whose name was Jesse. We had already met this previously 
in 1 Samuel, especially in 1 Samuel 16 with respect to the anointing 
of David as the king. He's advanced in years. There 
are three oldest sons who are in this battle, Eliab, Abinadab, 
and Shammah. Now, why wasn't David in the 
battle and why was he back with Jesse shepherding the sheep? It's probably because David was 
too young for commission in the armies of Israel. I believe the 
age was 20, so he probably was somewhere between the ages of 
15 to 19 when he went out against Goliath the Giant. So he's not 
old enough, which just brings more weight and force to the 
glory of the story, but he was not old enough to serve the army 
so he's he comes out to his brothers Jesse his father commissions 
him to go out to bring verse 17 an effa of this dried grain 
and these ten loaves and run to your brothers at the camp 
and carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand 
so David goes out Again, not because he's heard of this charge 
of Goliath these blasphemies and these tauntings of Goliath 
and he's going to go out to battle He's simply going under divine 
providence to deliver grain and cheese to his brothers and to 
the battalion leader So a little bit of biographical information 
there, and we see this return to the battleground beginning 
at verse 19 Notice now Saul and they all and they and all the 
men of Israel were in the valley of a law Fighting with the Philistines 
so David rose early in the morning left the sheep with a keeper 
this will come up in a moment and took the things and went 
as Jesse had commanded him and he went to the a came to the 
camp as the army was going out and To the fight and shouting 
for the battle. So David comes to the camp We 
have a return to the battleground narrative and now we want to 
see under the faith of this courageous cheese delivery boy We want to 
see the response of David to the Giants tauntings notice the 
response of David to the Giants tauntings first off a We see 
here that David is not feared by the sight of Goliath like 
everyone else. He's the only one who is not 
feared by the sight of this 10-foot tall man with pounds and pounds 
of armor on, looking imposing, but much rather he's incensed 
by the opposition to Yahweh. Notice at verse 26, then David 
spoke to the men who stood by him saying, What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God? 
David doesn't care if he was, you know, 5 feet tall, 10 feet 
tall, or 20 feet tall. This blasphemer is defying God. He's defying the one and only 
living and true God, as we'll read in a moment, by his pagan 
gods. And so David is Jealous for and 
zealous for the name of the Most High God and just backing up 
a little moment notice something here If you've ever read the 
narrative or if it sort of jumped out at you while we were reading 
you might say, okay What what's David saying here? And what is 
the flow notice at verse 22 or 25 rather? So the men of Israel 
said, have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has 
come up to defy Israel. And it shall be that the man 
who kills him, the king will enrich with great riches, will 
give him his daughter and give his father's house exemption 
from taxes in Israel. Now, we then read, then David 
spoke to the men who stood by him saying, what shall be done 
for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from 
Israel? We want to ask, what? Why is 
David asking for what has already been stated? Did David not hear 
it? Is David asking for a little 
reiteration or clarification? This is a rebuke by David, because 
the people of Israel, the soldiers of Israel, are speaking about 
material reward. they're talking about, you know, 
hey, if someone goes out to defeat this giant, they're going to 
be rewarded by this, by this really this wicked King Saul, 
they're going to be rewarded by the king with riches and, 
and a daughter and land and some tax-free status. And so David, 
with this question in verse 26, is not, you know, hey, what's 
that? What's going to happen? Could 
I get in on this, you know, material reward? He's indicting them, 
and the four that is in the middle of the verse is a reason or a 
justification for his rebuking question. What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God? 
he sees the tauntings of Goliath as a defiance of the living and 
true God. This taunting of Goliath as yes, 
a defiance of the armies of Israel, but only in so far as they are 
God's army used by God for the glory of God on God's good earth. And so David does not fear the 
sight of Goliath, but he's incensed by the opposition to Yahweh. Also, we see his assertion of 
just cause for his presence there. Notice, Eliab, his brother, in 
verse 28. Now, Eliab, his oldest brother, 
heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was aroused 
against David, and he said, why did you come down here? And with 
whom have you left those sheep, those few sheep in the wilderness? 
I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come 
down to see the battle." Now, we know Eliab is wrong here, 
but we see that David's answer is just. Now, when we say Eliab 
is wrong, first of all, for impugning David with these things as if 
he has impure motives to come. I mean, David really doesn't 
even get a chance, though Eliab should have already known this, 
that their dad sent him to bring these foods to the armies of 
Israel. And he also asks this question, 
who have you left those few sheep in the wilderness with? Well, 
we read before that David charged a keeper to keep over the sheep. 
So Eliab's answer here is completely out of order. But notice David's 
justification in verse 29. And David said, what have I done 
now? Is there not a cause? What do 
we think he means here? Now, he doesn't mean that there 
was a cause for me to come because Jesse ordered me to bring grain 
and cheese, though that did happen, and he did do that. We see here 
that the cause is because Saul, the king of Israel, and all the 
armies of Israel are too afraid to go out and to meet this blasphemer. Is there a cause? There absolutely 
is a cause because all of you, including you, Eliab, my brother, 
are too afraid to go out and to take away this curse against 
Israel from us. So David says, is there not a 
cause? Then he turned from him toward 
another and said the same thing. You know, that's just a very 
brief portion of the narrative, but I want us to visualize this. David answers his brother, is 
there not a cause? And then he goes around to so 
many other people and says to them, is there not a cause? This 
Goliath, this giant is coming out 40 days and 40 nights. interrupting 
our sort of battlefield worship, if you were of the one and only 
living and true God, is there not a cause that I should be 
here can imagine him going to all of these men older, Stronger 
in that physical sense seasoned in warfare and saying is there 
not a cause for me to to be here Setting up the fact that he's 
the only one this this servant this shepherd this shepherd King 
who will go out to conquer the enemy then he turned from them 
toward one another said the same thing and these people answered 
him The first ones did now notice his bold Volunteerism verse 31 
now when the words which David spoke were heard They reported 
them to Saul and he sent for him then David said to Saul let 
no man's heart fail because of him your servant will go and 
fight with the Philistine what a what a beautiful scene I Our 
hearts ought to be warmed with the reading of that passage, 
the whole narrative. But that passage, your servant 
David, the cheese delivery boy, the grocery delivery boy, the 
shepherd who comes from Jesse will go out and will defeat this 
giant. This 15 to 19 year old man, You 
know, let's lean on the older side there. This 19-year-old 
man, boy, before he's even of military age, is the one who 
will go out where Saul, head and shoulders above all, and 
all the valiant men of Israel will not go. This David goes, 
and notice the answer here. You are not able to go against 
this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth and 
a man of war, And he a man of war from his youth. I mean, you 
know, if we didn't know the story and we just parachute it in, 
that's probably good counsel in a warfare setting. He doesn't say that he's 10 feet 
tall, but that's implied, this Philistine. He's perhaps pointing 
at Goliath, putting his hand out to the battlefield in the 
Valley of Elah and saying, look at this guy. He's a warrior from 
his youth. You're just a youth now. This 
one has been a warrior from his youth. Many years, many battles, 
many seasons of battlefield and warfare testing. Look at him, 
look at his armor. There's no way you should go 
out. You can't go out to meet this Philistine. But we have 
David's historical retrospect now. He's already volunteered. 
Your servant will go and fight this Philistine. And now we see 
David's historical retrospect. Notice what he does here. But 
David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, 
and when a lion or bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 
I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb from 
its mouth. And when it arose against me, 
I caught it by its beard and struck and killed it. Your servant 
has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine 
will be like one of them. See, he has defied the armies 
of the living God. Moreover, 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." 
So we have two things here. We have David, first off, doing 
what the nation of Israel, what the armies of Israel should have 
been doing. They should have been engaging 
in that historical retrospect. That means looking back upon 
history and seeing how God has delivered him. Israel, faced 
with this giant, should have looked back upon history and 
recognized that God is the deliverer of his people. They are faithless 
and filled with fear, and one of the evidences of that is they 
don't have the spiritual wherewithal to reflect upon God's deliverances 
in the past. But David does exactly that. And not only that, but he then 
expresses absolute confidence in the God who does deliver. 
So, historical retrospect, God was with me when I killed both 
lion and bear, and now, with respect to this present and future 
episode, notice again verse 37, the Lord who delivered me from 
the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, historical 
retrospect, he will now deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Turn with me to the book of the 
Psalms, because there are a number of instances where I think it's 
okay for us to suppose that David is reflecting upon this occasion 
with Goliath. Perhaps not only that, certainly 
other deliverances, but notice Psalm 18. At verse 2, Psalm 18 
at verse 2, the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 
my God, my strength in whom I will trust my shield and the horn 
of my salvation, my stronghold. Verse 29. For by you I can run 
against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall. In verse 32, 
it is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. You know, not only did David 
engage in historical retrospect upon that great day against Goliath, 
but throughout the course of his life, he's engaging in looking 
back upon the deliverances of God. Notice also a Psalm that 
is certainly familiar, Psalm 23. Psalm 23, of course, verse 
1, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Verse 4, 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. Not wrongly so this verse is 
often read at at funerals As a verse, you know in essence 
for the dead it brings comfort to the living, of course But 
it's often used at funerals perhaps just because of the word death 
or or something but it's a It's a verse for the living, and not 
necessarily at funerals, but for their walk as the people 
of God in a lower world where they are opposed, where they 
have an assailing devil, where they have an opposing world, 
and where they have a lusting flesh. And notice, Yea, though 
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You know, 
am I drawing an unfair connection to the valley of Elah as the 
shadow of death? Well, maybe in part. That might 
not be the specific valley that he's referring to, but certainly 
there's a connection here. Yea, though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you 
are with me. When David is reflecting upon 
his many deliverances, no doubt that occasion, this occasion 
with the giant in the valley of Elah came to his mind as he 
has faith in his God to deliver him. And so then finally, notice 
the defeat, finally, thirdly and finally, the defeat of the 
enemy in the might of the Lord. Notice first the physical contrast 
between the two combatants. We have at verse 38 to verse 
43a a particular set of differences here. Notice at verse 38, this 
is the physical contrast between the two combatants. So Saul clothed 
David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head. 
He also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword 
to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And 
David said to Saul, I cannot walk with these, for I have not 
tested them. So David took them off." you 
know, not that we have to unnecessarily fill gaps, but as we're, I think, 
safe to suspect, imagine the looks on the faces and the whisperings 
upon the lips of people as they're seeing David strip off all of 
this mighty armor. You know, they're looking at 
the Philistine, they're looking at Goliath with 125 pounds of 
bronze armor with you know, pounds and pounds of weaponry with a 
shield bearer in front of them. And they're saying, oh, man, 
you know, they're fearful and they're just fear filled. They're 
looking here. OK, David. OK, it's good. OK, 
he's putting on armor. Wait, he's taking the armor off. What's what's happening here? 
And we know that David isn't taking the armor off so that 
he might quit the battle But notice at verse 40 then he took 
his staff in his hand and he chose for himself five smooth 
stones from the book and put them in a shepherd's bag in a 
pouch which he had and his sling which is in his hand and He drew 
near to the Philistine. So just consider the contrast 
here for a moment a giant 10 foot tall much armor a Boy slash 
man a boy man 19 years old at the at the oldest with no armor 
He doesn't have a sword a spear and a javelin. He only has his 
shepherd staff and his shepherds pouch and and five stones that 
he picked out of a brook. This is deliberate on the part 
of God through Samuel to depict this contrast between human strength 
and what appears to be human weakness, though that which rests 
upon the God of great deliverance. So this physical contrast between 
the two combatants, we have the sheer size difference, the difference 
of age and experience. We remind ourselves of Goliath's 
arsenal and David's seemingly underprepared reality, though 
we know he is not underprepared. He grabs his shepherd's staff. It's a glorious imagery of a 
staff of a shepherd's or a pastor's care. He grabs a staff. As the one who will be the leader 
of Israel, we see a demonstration here of faith in God, not needing 
a sword, but bearing rather a shepherd's staff, a reminder of God's provision. Remember that he defeated lion 
and bear in the fields when they sought to take his sheep. So 
he grabs a weapon that he's familiar with. He grabs a weapon that 
he could defeat Lion and Bear with, and he's in essence showing 
that the same God who protected him with the shepherd's staff 
will protect him against Lion and Bear, will protect him against 
this giant from Gath. And he takes five smooth stones 
from the brook. In Exodus 17, we see God providing 
water from a rock. Here in 1 Samuel 17, we see God 
providing rocks from water. This is a divine provision on 
the part of God to David for this particular battle. We're 
moving on a little bit in time here. I think I'm at 45 minutes. 
I will end soon. I don't want to keep you long, 
but let's just stop for a moment and see and just envision here 
this physical contrast while we now move to the spiritual 
contrast between the two combatants. Just briefly though, you've perhaps 
heard some of the takes on the five smooth stones from the brook. 
Maybe you haven't, but some of the interpretations throughout 
history are interesting. Some of the early church fathers 
thought they were the five books of Moses. They represented the 
five books of Moses. People in our modern day say 
that, oh, hey, they're the five points of Calvinism. They're 
not, though that's an interesting interpretation. Some have thought 
that they represented or interpreted them to represent the five wounds 
of Christ, that they're typological of the five Wounds of Christ 
that the greater than David the Shepherd King himself the grand 
one Bears in the defense of his sheep and for his sheep and then 
some have seen it as simply five particular virtues But I think 
we're simply to see it as divine Provision for the victory of 
David over Goliath not simply for military victory but for 
the glory of God that by seemingly small and insignificant things 
God can bring victory to his people. There's also a particular 
military strategy there, a small military strategy. Smooth stones 
fly easier than crooked ones, than a big spiky thing or some 
sort of uneven stone. It's easier for a smooth stone 
to go into a sling and it's easier for for its velocity, trajectory, 
and all that sort of thing. But notice the spiritual contrast 
between the two combatants. Notice that verse 43 with respect 
to Goliath. We read on in the narrative that 
he took his staff in his hand and he chose for himself five 
smooth stones from the book Put them in his pouch moving down 
to verse 41 so the Philistine came and began drawing near to 
David and the man who bore the shield went before him and And 
when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, 
for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 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." So there's a spiritual 
contrast here. This Goliath, this uncircumcised 
giant from Gath, comes and he curses David, probably by Dagon, 
Beelzebub, and Ashtaroth. We know Beelzebub from the New 
Testament, where the Jews charged Jesus with casting out demons 
by Beelzebub, the lord of the flies. That was a Philistine 
god. Their chief god was Dagon. They 
also worshipped Ashtaroth, but there were other smaller regional 
deities as well. But the point is that The giant 
is cursing David by his gods. But David stands, notice, upon 
the glory of God, and answers Goliath, stressing the defiance 
of the living God. Notice verse 45. Then David said 
to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, 
and with 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 defied. So Goliath comes and curses by 
his pagan and useless gods, gods of wooden stone, gods of metal, 
gold, silver, and bronze, but David comes and He stands upon 
the glory of God, answering Goliath and stressing spiritual defiance. Goliath stresses simply the defiance 
of a small, handsome man coming to battle. Notice he says, am 
I a dog that you come to me with sticks? The narrative is he's just a 
youth, ruddy and good looking, and then Goliath says, am I a 
dog that you come to me with sticks? So the Philistine is 
defying David, cursing by gods, but he's bringing out the physical 
appearance while David is resting upon the glory of God. The giant 
boasts in himself, verse 44, and the Philistine said to David, 
come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air 
and the beasts of the field. Notice though that David by contrast 
boasts in God the deliverances that God brings notice at verse 
46 this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike 
you and take your head from you It's an interesting thing here 
in single combat and if anybody has played sports before you 
you've heard of trash-talking where where opponents will engage 
in trash talk. You know, they'll try to get 
into the head of their opponent and, you know, try to intimidate 
them, try to taunt them a little bit to throw them off their game. 
Well, that was something that was part and parcel to single 
combat in the ancient world. There would be this one upmanship 
of oratory that the combatants would seek to engage in. And 
we have that first by Goliath, come to me and I will give your 
flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. 
But David's response is at least four times larger. You come to 
me with a sword and a spear and with a javelin, but I come to 
you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies 
of Israel. Goliath, you come to me with the physical implements 
of warfare, resting upon faith in human strength, but I come 
to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies 
of Israel. And notice the emphasis, whom 
you have defied. David is jealous and zealous 
for his God and doesn't answer with physical tauntings resting 
upon human strength, but rests upon the strength that the Lord 
God himself provides. The giant boasts in himself, 
David boasts in his God. Now notice the fall of the giant. 
the fall of the giant, in verse 49. Then David put his hand in 
his bag, took out a stone, and he slung it and struck the Philistine 
in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, 
and he fell on his face to the earth. There is something very 
significant going on with this verse, so he fell on his face 
to the earth. You can back up with me in 1 
Samuel to Samuel 5, 1 Samuel 5. And we'll close here in two minutes 
and 33 seconds. But notice in 1 Samuel chapter 
5, we want to see an important connection. Because once again, 
this is not simple narrative. Okay, so physically, the giant 
fell to his face to the earth. Okay, it's an interesting piece 
of detail, piece of information. Notice in 1 Samuel 5 at verse 
1, then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it 
from Ebenezer to Ashdod. When the Philistines took the 
ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it 
by Dagon. And when the people of Ashdod 
arose early in the morning, there was Dagon fallen on its face 
to the earth before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon 
and set it in its place again. And when they arose early the 
next morning, there was Dagon fallen on its face to the ground 
before the ark of the Lord. What a blessed scene that is, 
but getting back to our text, make no mistake that there's 
a direct connection here. So he fell on his face to the 
earth. Just like his God Dagon, whom 
he had just invoked to curse David in defying the living and 
true God, Goliath falls on his face to the earth. What is the 
point? The point is that Goliath is 
in essence engaged in a forced worship of the God whom he had 
just defied. David drops him to the ground. 
The champion of Israel comes and slays the giant, dropping 
him to the ground. And we see here Goliath symbolically 
worshiping the very God he mocked. So then we have this wonderful 
scene of the removal of the head of Goliath and the plundering 
of the enemy so David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling 
and a stone and Struck the Philistine and killed him, but there was 
no sword in the hand of David therefore David ran and stood 
over the Philistine took his sword drew it out of its sheath 
and killed him and cut off his head with it and he brings his 
head back to Jerusalem and This is probably a foreshadowing or 
this is a demonstration that Jerusalem will be Israel's. It 
was that time under Jebusite rule and Jebusite occupation, 
Jebusite ownership. And so David brings the head 
of Goliath to Jerusalem in order to argue for victory authority, 
the power of God, divine vindication, and the victory of God in the 
face of enemies. We don't have any more time to 
continue with particular points, but just very briefly in conclusion, 
we see the proper approach to divine promise. We are brethren 
to rest upon divine promise. We're not to forsake faith in 
God in the face of human weakness and fear. But we are to recognize 
the glory of God as David did here, that David, for the glory 
of God and resting upon certain promises, is able to conquer 
wickedness when faced with those who blaspheme and defy his God. We see the failure of opposition 
to the living God. If you're here this morning, 
Make no mistake, in this account, you are with Goliath and the 
Philistines, defying the armies of God, defying God himself. 
You may not be engaged in an open verbal blasphemy right now, 
but if you're outside of Christ, you're on Goliath's side here, 
resting upon human things, human means, resting upon the idols 
of your own imagination or the imagination of others, and not 
the living and true God. And David is not necessarily 
your champion. As we'll look tonight, Christ 
is your champion, the one to whom David points, the one who 
is the great shepherd king who died for his people, who slayed 
the devil, who slayed that greater than Goliath, the devil, at the 
cross. And also make no mistake that 
this occasion of David and Goliath is perpetuating in a good way 
the promise of the hero born of woman who will crush the serpent 
with his heel. A head is separated in that skull-crushing 
motif, just like JL piercing the head of Sisera, just like 
that millstone being dropped upon the wicked son of Gibeon, 
Abimelech. This perpetuation of the Genesis 
3.15 skull-crushing motif is pointing to the victory through 
a substitute champion, even Jesus Christ the Lord. So as I have 
gone way over time, like I often do, I leave you with the promise 
of Christ. This occasion points us to the 
glory of God and the purposes of divine vindication, the glory 
of God, His name and the vindication of His promises, but it points 
further in the future as well to the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
great shepherd king who would come to deliver His people from 
their sins. Saints rejoice in Him. Sinners 
believe on Him. And because it is only possible 
with this God, we pray that He would cause each and every tongue 
to leave these doors singing the praises of so great a Savior. 
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You 
for Your Word. We rejoice in Your goodness to 
us. Through Your Word, we thank You that You can That we can 
gather for the worship of this same god the god of the armies 
of israel We pray that we would rejoice in your glory that we 
would sing the praises of your name that you would Strengthen 
these saints here gathered this morning comfort them in the knowledge 
of your promises and in your glory by your glory. And Lord 
God, we pray that you would save sinners. There is salvation only 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray by amazing grace 
that you would cause young and old here right now, presently 
outside of Christ, that by that grace you would cause them to 
leave these doors singing the victories of their redeeming 
King, Jesus Christ, our precious Savior. And it's in his name 
that we pray. Amen.