You can turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Samuel 17. 1 Samuel 17, we looked at the account, the full account this morning with regards to David and Goliath, noting the glory of God in the valley of Elah. the champion, the representative champion for the nation of Israel, doing what no one in Israel could do. That is standing before Goliath, the giant and defending the honor of God. And we want to look tonight, or we noted only briefly that That particular account, of course, has Christological implications. It points forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, that greater than David, the son of David, though David's Lord, who does, in essence, conquer the giant, the devil, at his crucifixion.
And this is not just Christian interpretative undue liberties that are taken with the Bible. But certainly the very hermeneutic of the Lord himself and the Apostles and so I'm going to read 1st Samuel 17 beginning at verse 50 and finishing at verse 54 1st Samuel 17 beginning at verse 50 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 and 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 as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shuraym, 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Word of God. We thank you for your declaration, your revelation to the sons of men concerning Christ upon the cross, working out the salvation of men.
And we do praise you for this revelation. We pray that you would help us to understand it aright. We pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit, for both preacher and hearer, that we might glorify you in this act of worship. And we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen. Well,
Introduction: The Scope of Scripture
one of the things that we have talked about a lot in this church on a number of occasions is the scope of Scripture. The target or the goal of the Holy Scripture is what is it? Jesus Christ himself tells us in Luke 24 what the scope of Scripture is in that post-resurrection Bible study that he gives to his disciples. He's trying to calm their doubts and their fears and their apprehensions and their sadnesses And he tells them that everything that was written in the scriptures concerned himself.
He goes to the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, that three-fold summary of the Old Testament scriptures, and he teaches them from those scriptures those things concerning himself, that they pointed forward to him, that they had, if you were, a Christological trajectory, a trajectory towards Christ. The Old Testament isn't just a slapped-together collection of books that talk about the life and times of Israel, but much rather they are a God-breathed collection of books by human authors, superintended by the God who God-breathed those scriptures, that have one sole targeted aim, and that is to declare Christ. as the representative champion of his people. A number of persons, theologians throughout history, Athanasius, for those who understand the scriptures in a manner, in a Christian manner, recognize that the whole purpose of the inspired word is to declare the coming of the Lord in the flesh and to announce beforehand his coming as the fulfillment of all things. Martin Luther, take Christ out of the scriptures and what will you find remaining in them?
John Calvin, we ought to read the scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them. Whoever shall turn aside from this object, though he may weary himself through the whole of his life in learning, will never attain to the knowledge of the truth. and Spurgeon, from every text in the Bible, there is a road to Christ. My dear brother, do not ever think that you have got through a sermon until you have brought your people to see the Christ of it. So the Old Testament, the scriptures as a whole, point to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Old Testament in anticipation, the New Testament declaring the accomplishment of what had been anticipated.
So then, when we consider the occasion of David versus Goliath, What do we find with regards to a foreshadowing of Christ? To sum it up, Gregory of Nazianzus, Christ is the true David, who went forth to battle not with sword and armor, but with his divine humility, conquering the mighty Goliath, the tyrant Satan, through the weapon of his own suffering and death. So, let's have a look here at 1 Samuel 17, a number of things, and we're going to look at it in this way.
Shadow and Substance: Twelve Correspondences
Twelve points of shadow and substance regarding David and Christ from the battle in the Valley of Elah. So, twelve points of shadow and substance, that is, David as the shadow, Christ as the substance. The New Testament, particularly the book of Hebrews, Speaks about shadow and substance that the old covenant was marked by things which were shadowy They weren't the full substance of the thing that full substance came with Christ assuming our humanity and being our substitutionary representative for the perfection of salvation so Old Covenant shadowy things New Covenant the substance of those shadows and here we have the shadow David and The substance Christ and so
Point One: Bethlehem
the first of these twelve things we want to note and we're going to look at Some the text of first Samuel 17 and then move to Christ in New Testament accomplishment notice first then in these 12 points of shadow and substance, the little town of Bethlehem. In 1 Samuel 17 at verse 12, notice what we read there. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. If you flip back to 1 Samuel 16, you'll notice at verse 18, in the account of the the discovery, if you will, the anointing of David as king.
Notice 1 Samuel 16, 18, then one of the servants answered and said, look, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person, and the Lord is with him. Now, of course, you know where we're going now. You can turn with me to Luke chapter two, and we want to note while you're turning there that It's not simply a coincidence that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Ephrathah. Wow, didn't that work out great that Jesus was born in Bethlehem?
No, it was by divine design that the son of David, even David's Lord, according to his humanity, would be born in the very city of David. Notice in Luke chapter 2, beginning at verse 1, And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. So there in this narrative account in Luke's gospel, we see the confirmation, the affirmation of the fulfillment of the shadow, the substance Christ being born in the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.
Notice later in the angels declaration at verse 10, then the angel said to them, do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Again, it's not simply interesting narrative information that back in 1 Samuel 17, we have Samuel, under divine inspiration, noting the birthplace of this representative champion, David. It is because the greater story is the Christological, the Christ-centered story.
The conquest of a greater Goliath by a greater David. Jesus Christ himself, in fulfillment of Isaiah 11, 1, announces himself at the end of the book of Revelation as the one who is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star. so Jesus Christ is the one who with respect to substance overshadow comes forth from Bethlehem and the illusion not the illusion the direct reference to David being from Bethlehem is to draw us forward to the greater than David who would sever the head as it were of Satan himself
Point Two: The Shepherd King
notice secondly the Shepherd King and the shepherd king, David is introduced as a humble shepherd who comes to this war field, to this battlefield, not as a warrior, but as one simply tending to the flock of his father. Notice if we go back for a moment to 1 Samuel 16 and verse 11, we'll notice there where David was, during the seeking of a king. In 1 Samuel 16 at verse 11, we read, and Samuel said to Jesse, are all the young men here? Then he said, there remains yet the youngest, and there he is keeping the sheep.
And we move to the passage that we read this morning, 1 Samuel 17 at verse 15, notice the language there. But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. So why are we noting this second point as the shepherd king? Well, because David is anointed as king over Israel.
Now, there is going to be a stretch of time where Saul, after this particular anointing, is, of course, persecuting him, the nation of Israel, Saul chasing him, the Philistines seeking to destroy him as well. at times David taking recourse amongst the Philistines. There's a whole story, a whole back and forth that obtains in the life of David. But at this point, he is a king and he is a shepherd. And of course, hopefully your minds are turning as we even introduce the second point, the shepherd king.
David is the shadowy shepherd king of the greater substance shadow king, that is, the greater shepherd king, there's too many S's and H's and words in there, but the greater shepherd king, the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come to the narrative of the New Testament, what do we find? That Christ is, of course, the shepherd king. He announces himself as, I am the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep.
David goes out as a shepherd to give his life for the the sheep of Israel God's own flock and Christ in the fullness of the times as the greater David comes forth and this is prophetically announced that we if we have a connection here you can turn to 2nd Samuel for a moment 2nd Samuel 5 2 because there's a sort of a divinely recognized prophetically recognized reality of David being a sent shepherd More than simply the shepherd of sheep, but the shepherd of men notice in 2nd Samuel 5 at verse 1 then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke saying indeed I We are your bone and your flesh. Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in. And the Lord said to you, you shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over Israel. So there we see this announcement of God with respect, the recognition, the divine recognition of David as the shepherd king.
While we move forward in redemptive history, and you can turn with me to Ezekiel 34, we have similar language prophetically announced by the prophet Ezekiel here, and we see its connection connecting David and Christ, this sort of Davidic Christological bridge, if you will. It's a new phrase, but... a Davidic Christological bridge from the shepherd of the Old Testament, shepherd king of the Old Testament, to the shepherd king of the New. Notice in Ezekiel 34 at verse 23, I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, my servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd, and I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David, a prince among them, I, the Lord, have spoken." Now, you might be saying, well, you know, big deal.
Isn't Ezekiel just talking about David? Well, in a way, but Ezekiel is many hundreds of years after the death of David. And so Ezekiel is announcing a new covenant reality that David, that is Christ, will be the shepherd over his people. My servant David, he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
I, the Lord, will be their God. I, the Lord, have spoken. So Jesus Christ is the shepherd king who comes to his people to redeem them spiritually, to feed them spiritually, and to protect his flock. You can turn to Revelation 17 for a moment, just for a particular connection here.
Excuse me, Revelation 7. Notice that Revelation 7, When you get there, verse 16, they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. So this is Revelation 7, 16. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat.
For the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Isn't that a very interesting and wonderful verse, the lamb is also a shepherd. For the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them.
Jesus Christ is the substance shepherd king of David, the shadow shepherd king, David pointing forward to his son according to the flesh, but his Lord according to the majesty of divinity. Thirdly, notice the helplessness of the elect in the face of the enemy. If you find your way back to 1 Samuel 17, the helplessness of the elect of God in the face of the enemy. Notice that 1 Samuel 7, 11, and then verse 24, we noted this this morning with regard to the cowardice, the fear of the Israelites in the face of that blaspheming giant.
Notice 1 Samuel 17 at verse 10, and the Philistines 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. Verse 24, we see the same language.
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man that is Goliath, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So we have this obvious helplessness on the part of the elect of God, God's chosen theocratic people in this context. They are very fearful in the face of the enemy, in the face of the enemy, in the face of death, in the face of opposition. We have, when Christ comes, a very similar thing.
The elect of God prior to coming forth by the grace of God to belief in Jesus Christ are marked by a hopelessness and they are marked by a fear. You can turn with me to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2, we're noting the connection between the prefigurement and the fulfillment, the shadow and substance between the hopelessness of the people of God in David's day and the hopelessness and fear of the people of God in the New Testament and in our own day. Notice Hebrews 2.
Beginning at verse 14 in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood He himself that is Christ likewise shared in the same that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death That is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage for indeed he does not we could say take on the nature of angels, but he does take on the nature of the seed of Abraham. So we have here the remarking that the people of God, one of the purposes of the Lord Jesus Christ and his redeeming activity in his saving perfection is to make those marked by helplessness and fear in the face of evil and the opposition of sin and death and hell to make those such who are confident and steadfast to the end. Those who stand not in the fear of men, not in the fear of sin and death and hell, but rather who stand gloriously in the fear of God, because of a conquering substitute, even Jesus Christ, the Lord. And we'll see something as it has to do with confidence in a number of moments.
But remember that scene. You can turn with me to Revelation 12. And while you're turning there, remember that scene that we noted this morning where Goliath is going morning and evening. to interrupt the Shema, that religious act of the armies of Israel, that religious act of Israel whereby they declare their fidelity to the one God. Hero Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one We will love the Lord our God with all our heart mind soul and strength God commands the nation of Israel to engage in that particular shaman.
It was the case It was the case that at the time of that battle That battle that stalemate rather remember for 40 days Goliath is coming forth and he's morning and evening, interrupting the Shema in an act of blasphemy and defiance. He's coming to them morning and evening with relentless taunting and sparking this and inciting, if you will, this fear and this hopelessness and this fleeing from this ominous evil. Well, notice in Revelation 12, with respect to Christ and the devil. In Revelation chapter 12, notice at verse 10, then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come. for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
What did David do to Goliath? That accuser of the brethren who came forth day and night, blaspheming the God of Israel, blaspheming and opposing the armies of the God of Israel, was cast down by David. Here, Christ, the greater David, is marked as that one who brings salvation and strength, the kingdom of God, the power of Christ, and he deals a death blow to the accuser of the brethren who accused them day and night. We have this wonderful substance fulfillment of that shadow reality that David brings, a conquering act to the one who was instilling fear upon the people of God.
We want to notice, fourthly, the servant's son sent by the father to his people. If you turn back to 1 Samuel 17, we're doing this deliberately, hopefully not annoyingly for you going back and forth in the Bible. Hopefully you enjoy that. 1 Samuel 17,
Point Four: The Servant-Son Sent
we want to notice the servant son sent by the father to his people. We're doing this deliberately as we're engaging in a remembrance tonight of the Lord God's, the Lord Christ's work on our behalf. Remember, we're gathering together to remember the Lord's death till he comes again. And hopefully this is an exercise of seeing the wisdom of God in biblical revelation.
Again, we don't just have a slapping together of a bunch of ancient and dusty books, you know, with various stories of, you know, cool things in the life and times of Israel and in the life and times of Christ. We have ultimately one superintending author, the triune God of heaven and earth, who used tools of revelation, the prophets, the apostles, the men and women of old, who used these, and who brought forth to us not simply a, not a fictional story, but a unified account that arrives at one particular confluence. Many streams of revelation that arrive at one particular confluence, and that confluence is the substitute Christ, our representative champion, who deals the death blow to sin, death, and hell, and saves a multitude Of sons that he brings to glory notice again then getting back to the servant son sent by the father to his people first Samuel 17 17 beginning at verse 17 then Jesse said to his son David take now for your brothers and effa of this dried grain and these ten loaves and run to your brothers and 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. So the servant son, David, and how do we know he's a servant? Well, we would know from 1 Samuel 16. Hopefully we get it implicitly by this particular case.
But remember that David uses the language of servant in verse 32. Then David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And hopefully then your Christian minds are thinking, again, the servant son sent by the father to his people.
Christ is that greater servant son who was sent by his father to his people. How many times do we read in the gospel of John, for example, as Pastor Butler has been working through that gospel, where we see Jesus Christ declaring that he is sent by the father, that he does whatever the father says, that he comes to do the will of the father who sent him. He comes to his own to deliver salvation and the revelation of the kingdom of God, just as David was sent by his father to his own for a particular task, ultimately for the conquering of the enemy of God. And so we have this servant-son motif that connects both David or David to Christ.
We have a very interesting thing here as well with regards to the delivery of food by King David. You remember that account in John's, it's not only in John's gospel, but in John chapter six particularly, where Jesus feeds the 5,000 with bread and fish. He comes and he brings physical sustenance to that gathered assembly. But the point there is not to feed them with physical food.
The purpose there, or the point, is that Christ is the bringer of spiritual food. He even uses the language of eating his own flesh and drinking his blood, insofar as using that physical eating reality to say that whoever hungers or thirsts will be such who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus declares himself as the servant sent by the Father, who is the bread of life, who feeds his people, not with physical food, though he does that miraculously, but for the point of highlighting the greater feeding, that spiritual feeding, as the shepherd of the sheep. Notice, fifthly, the rejection of the sent son.
Both David and Christ are servant-sons sent by the Father to his people, a father to their people. And now notice, fifthly, the rejection of the sent-sons who are sent by their respective fathers to their people. First off, with David, 1 Samuel 17, and 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 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 we see later, of course, with respect to Saul, he rejects David's initial request to fight the giant. In verse 33, you are not able to go against this Philistine.
There's an obvious rejection of David, which points us forward typologically to the substance Christ, who is rejected in coming to his people. Remember John 1.11, he came to his own and his own did not receive him. His life of ministry can be summed up really by the words of Christ, the foxes have their holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. Not simply because he lived a life generally of poverty, but because, and also, he was constantly chased and sought to be killed, murdered, by those who opposed him.
He went to his own, and his own rejected him, his own did not receive him. His ministry was met with disbelief, his ministry was met with mockery, especially by his own family and his own hometown You know Eliab here rejects Eliab David's brother rejects Christ a rejects David Elia David's brother Eliab rejects David Christ's brothers and his family reject him as well. So we have this rejection of the sent son
Point Six: Single Combat Against a Foe
we have sixthly single combat against a terrible foe going alone against the enemy We're getting particularly to that point that we observe in the Lord's Supper, the death of Christ. In this connection between David and Christ, we have both engaging in single combat against a terrible foe. We obviously know that with David, he goes forth alone to meet Goliath, armed not with armor, remember, he removes it, armed not with sword and spear and javelin, but simply a sling, five smooth stones, and a shepherd's pouch. No one stands with him.
Saul doesn't join him. You know, the armies of Israel don't say, you know what, let's cancel this single combat and let's together fight against the enemies of God. No, David goes out alone to fight this terrible foe. Christ, in his passion, confronts the forces of darkness alone.
You can turn with me to Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63. We'll see in a moment also that there's a connection drawn between the single combat of David and Goliath and the single combat of Christ and the devil in the wilderness, in the desert temptings in, for example, Matthew 4. But notice first off in Isaiah 63.
Isaiah 63 at verse 3, I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me, and I have trodden them in my anger and trampled them in my fury. Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my robes. When we get to the New Testament, we see texts similarly spoken texts similarly written with Concerning this protect particular theme notice, and you don't have to turn there, but if you can turn there Matthew 26 and 56 55 in that hour Jesus said to the multitudes you have come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to take me I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and you did not seize me But all this was done that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled then all the disciples forsook him and fled." Hopefully you see the connection here. We see David going out to conquer an enemy alone and Christ in the hour of darkness going out to conquer an enemy alone.
There was a beforehand occasion of single combat in the wilderness, remember, when the Spirit drives Christ out into the wilderness after Christ's baptism by John the Baptist, Christ is driven out into that wilderness tempting. And as Spurgeon would say, the lion of the tribe of Judah goes toe to toe with the lion of the pit. In that desert exchange, we have Christ going out for an exercise of single combat against an enemy, against a giant or a Goliath, if you will, and that's simply a foreshadowing of Christ's single combat victory over the devil at Golgotha. This is Lancelot Andrews.
David went forth alone to meet Goliath, when none of the people of Israel would venture their lives. So Christ went forth alone against the powers of darkness, when none else could. He alone is found the conqueror, having spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly. We see that wonderful occasion in Revelation chapter 5.
With regards to, first off, a sad scene, John the Revelator is remarking that no one is able to take this particular scroll out of the hand of God. And what ensues after this initial sort of expression of sadness is glorious, Revelation 5.4, so I wept much. because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seals.
So we have this wonderful occasion where no one is able to go forth to do a mighty thing. And it's only the conqueror Christ, the root of David, the lion of the tribe of Judah, who is able to do so. And that's why the angels, the living creatures, the four living creatures, the four elders fall down before the lamb and sing this new song saying, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open it seals for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. This single combat victory against a terrible foe.
Point Seven: Insignificant Weaponry
We have the use of seemingly insignificant weaponry. I'll just breathe breeze through this to note that David strikes Goliath with a stone remember insignificant weapon remember how Goliath is decked out in 125 pounds of armor with a sword and a spear and a javelin and a man carrying a shield in front of him, David, with no armor but with a sling and five smooth stones and a shepherd's pouch, goes out. Christ, as many have noted, uses the humble stone of the cross to defeat Satan and destroy the power of sin. If we were to read 1 Corinthians 1 and 1 Corinthians 2, we would note that Paul is remarking after the way God operates.
He uses the base and the small things to confound the things that are big and mighty. We have David coming with seemingly insignificant weaponry in this account with Goliath. We have Christ in the fullness of times as the substance of that former shadow being the rock of offense that defeats Satan. The cross, that stumbling stone that defeats Goliath that is the Satan of opposition.
This is once again Lancelot Andrews. I think I've said it before if anybody has is with child and they're gonna have a son, I recommend Lancelot to you. In fact, Marissa, I'll recommend to Marissa that if she has a boy, it can be Lancelot. Lancelot Andrews-Hoff.
But Lancelot says this David when he went against Goliath took no weapon with him But a staff and by that staff he overcame him and with Goliath's own sword cut off his head So Christ when he went to be tempted by Satan carried no weapon but a staff the staff of God's Word this is with respect to the wilderness tempting and with that alone he overthrew the great Goliath of hell and vanquished him utterly Eighthly, we have the vicarious representation of His people. We're drawing to a close here with the last few points that I can work quickly through to get the message across, to prepare our minds for the Lord's Supper. But vicarious representation of His people. When we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, that thought ought to come to our minds.
Vicarious. That means in the place of, in the stead of, a substitute. The vicarious representation of his people. David goes out and he represents the nation of Israel, represents his king and nation in battle against this blaspheming opposer.
Christ does the same for us. For the nation of Israel, by David, it's a physical conquering. There is obviously a spiritual reality there. The God of the armies of Israel is being defied.
The victory itself, though, is one that is marked by a physicality, the non-shedding of blood, at least on the part of the armies of Israel. The Philistines don't fare so well. But it's a physical conquering with respect to Christ. He is the vicarious, the substitute, the vicarious representative for his people.
So we engage in the Lord's Supper here shortly. We should have that upon our minds that we were not holy. We were not undefiled. We were not harmless.
We did not obey the law of God. In fact, with every second and with every breath, we disobey the law of God and we're found guilty before God in our sin. But Christ comes as the blessed representative. What do we need?
We need a righteousness that avails with God. We were, of course, not actively obedient to the law of God, but our blessed Christ, our vicarious representative, that Son of David and David's Lord, came in the fullness of the times and was perfectly obedient to the law of God in our place. A representative, a vicarious representative. We also, of course, need the forgiveness of sins.
We have violated the law of God, and so we need that precious blood shed for the forgiveness of sins, and Christ brings that vicariously. He sheds his blood, not as just simply some expression of love, though love is most greatly expressed there, but he sheds his blood upon Calvary's cross so as to perfectly atone, perfectly secure the salvation of a multitude which no man can number. As we engage in the Lord's Supper, we're to examine ourselves, yes? But we're not to examine ourselves to the point, as we've noted before, of Protestant flagellation, where we wallow in our sins and seek to somehow self-atone with our own sadness and our own grief.
When we acknowledge our sins, we are immediately and quickly to fly to the advocate for sinners, Jesus Christ the righteous. It is an affront to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for you to wallow in your sins. Should you grieve over them? Yeah, but you shouldn't spend hour upon hour, day upon day grieving and wallowing in sin because it's an affront to the one who came into this world to save you from your sins.
Acknowledge your sin, express grief, absolutely, but within a matter of seconds, come sweetly, softly, and repentantly and humbly to that fountain which is open for sin and for uncleanness, Jesus Christ came as the vicarious representative. And I want to draw one important note. That's very interesting. Turn back with me to 1 Samuel 17.
We're going to end a little bit quickly. I'm going to highlight some key points so that we can get to the Lord's Supper. But there are some things here that are very valuable to point out. Notice in 1 Samuel, going back to 1 Samuel 17,
Point Nine: Prophet, Priest, and King
we want to see something with respect to David being a prophet, a priest, and a king. When we speak about the mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ, We speak about his office, a threefold mediatorial office. He is prophet, priest, and king. We have David, of course a king.
He's already been anointed as king. He's not officially in that role yet, but as the promised and anointed king, he does kingly things. In this occasion with Goliath, he goes forth, valiant in battle, and slays the giant Blasphemer. He's a prophet because we see himself not only engaging in historical retrospect that God has saved me from lion and bear, But he says that God will deliver me from this giant Philistine, but notice with respect to his priesthood Deuteronomy or not Deuteronomy notice first in first Samuel 17 this language when we when he talks about a when he calls upon them to let their hearts not be troubled.
We see in verse 32, then David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with the Philistine. Now, what sort of connection are we drawing here? I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 20 for a moment because it's a wonderful connection here.
David, in effect, acting here as a priest. In Deuteronomy chapter 20 beginning at verse 1 notice what we read there and this connects back to the Shema Remember what we talked about that the priest would go out before the battle and he would lead the nation of Israel in the confession of the Shema hero Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one Deuteronomy 21 That's 20 verse 1 not 21 when you go to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you Do not be afraid of them for the Lord your God is with you who brought you up from the land of Egypt So it shall be when you are on the verge of battle That the priest shall approach and speak to the people and he shall say to them hero Israel today You are on the verge of battle with your enemies now note Do not let your heart faint do not be afraid and do not tremble or be terrified Because of them for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you What is David sort of saying there when he says, let your hearts not fail because of this giant? I'm gonna go forth and fight against this giant. He's calling upon the nation of Israel to remember the command of God, to remember the hope instilled by God to the people of Israel, that he goes before them to fight.
He's acting as a priest, perhaps because of the priest's failure in this context, and he, as it were, rehearses the Shema with them, encouraging them that by the one God, in opposition to Dagons, in opposition to Beelzebubs and Ashtoreths, the one and only living and true God will have blessed victory. I want to just summarize with some of these remaining points. The vicarious representative we noticed just now. We would notice, of course, that
Points Ten Through Twelve: Skull, Victory, Glory
there is this skull motif in accord with the divine promise of Genesis 3.15. It's no mistake that David hits Goliath in the head and then severs his head. It's a continuation of the promise that the hero Christ, born of a woman, will crush the head of the serpent. There are other such instances that continue that skull-crushing motif until such time that the Christ comes and conquers the devil at the cross, which is the decisive blow and the full substance of all of those previous shadows.
There's an interesting legendary approach to Golgotha. You know that the Bible calls Golgotha the place of the skull. In the account of 1st Samuel 17 David brings the skull the head of Goliath to Jerusalem now is it called the place of the skull because David brought the head of Goliath there and announced victory and showed with open shame the victory of God over you know, over wickedness, over opposition, over evil and pagan idolatry, I like to think so, that, you know, that's the place where David brought Goliath's skull. Now, other people say that it's because the formation of the rock looks like a skull.
Others say because people are executed there, but their skulls wouldn't be there. An older, and a more legend, an older account, an older legendary account is, The place of the skull Golgotha is where Adam's head is buried, and that at the crucifixion Christ's blood shed spilt upon the skull of Adam as a symbolic gesture of the victory over death and the serpent. But all of that to come back to at least this, that Golgotha has substance glory in fulfilling that shadowy stuff of David conquering Goliath by striking him in the head and severing his head, bringing it in victory to Jerusalem. I can send these to you if you ask me for them. 10 is victory, deliverance and courage to the people of God. 11 is the spoils of victory. 12 and lastly is the battle of the glory, battle for the glory of God's name.
But on the note of the spoils of victory, let's just listen to these quotes in closing. This is Irenaeus, the Lord through his passion bound the strong man and set free humanity from his power, making a spectacle of him as David did Goliath, whose head he lifted high for all to see the victory. Be the venerable, which is a great name. David, carrying the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, foreshadows Christ carrying his cross to the same city, where he made a spectacle of the prince of this world, proclaiming victory through the shame of the cross.
And lastly, Spurgeon, David took Goliath's head and set it on a pole for all to see. In like manner, Christ lifted high his cross where he made a spectacle of principalities and powers. There the serpent's head was bruised and sin was put to open shame. In closing, when we read the Old Testament, we need to read it with Christian eyes.
We are supposed to read it with Christian eyes, eyes that see Christ. It was Nehemiah Cox, an old Reformed Baptist, particular Baptist brother, who said, in all our search after the mind of God in the Holy Scriptures, we are to manage our inquiries according to Christ. So when we come to the account of David and Goliath, I think we rightly have a Lord's Supper meditation. David points us forward to Christ, the greater shepherd king, the greater conqueror, that greater prophet priest and king, that greater one who would conquer not a physical foe, but would conquer the spiritual foe of all foes, the devil himself.
Christ, interestingly, David, uses Goliath's sword. David uses the weapon of the enemy to cut off the head of the enemy. In like fashion, Christ uses death, the weapon of the enemy, Satan himself. to crush the very enemy who brought death into this world. What a glorious Christ that we have.
When we remember our blessed Savior now in the Lord's Supper, we're remembering not one who has died and who stays dead, but one who died for us and who rose again for us, who saves a multitude of sinners that no man can number from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. What a glorious victory our greater-than-David Christ had over that greater-than-Goliath. So believer, as we partake of the Lord's Supper, rejoice in this conquering Savior, and unbeliever, rejoice in this conquering Savior. We would pray that God in his divine sovereignty and by the power of grace would bring you forth from deadness to life.
The Bible says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. What a glorious thing to be found, not with the enemy Goliath, that blasphemer of blasphemers, second to the devil, but to be found in Christ. Not having our own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is by faith in Christ, that righteousness which comes from God through faith. Rest upon Christ, and you're resting upon the champion of champions.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We rejoice in the goodness of your revelation to us, and we pray that you would help us, Lord God, to rest upon Christ, to see in him our blessed champion, our vicarious representative who came into this world, sinners to save. We thank you that we can be found in him by amazing grace, and we pray that you would save such who are in this place tonight that are outside of Christ, that by your amazing grace and by the word proclaimed, you would call them forth from deadness to life, that they would see the light of Christ and rejoice in the champion of salvation.
And we do pray as we go into now the Lord's Supper that you'd be with us, help us to rejoice in this sacrament, this ordinance given by our Lord Christ. It's an interesting occasion of both joy and solemnity. We do pray that you'd help us in this to remember our Savior till he comes again. And we pray in his name, amen.