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You can turn in your Bibles to 
1 Samuel 17. 1 Samuel 17. As you're turning there, you're 
probably recognizing that address. It's home to the historical account 
of David and Goliath. We have Adam and Eve, Noah's 
Ark, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Jonah and the great fish. Many 
biblical stories that arouse and stir our interest because 
of the various characters, because of the event, because of the 
immensity and maybe the specifics, the detail of the events that 
are taking place. And certainly the account, the 
victory of David over Goliath is a wonderful story. And I use that word as a true, 
accurate, God breathed narrative concerning something that took 
place in time and in history for the glory of our triune God. We're going to read a large portion 
of scripture, 1 Samuel 17 beginning at verse 1 and finishing at verse 
51. So sit on your keys or continually 
pinch yourself as we keep reading, but hopefully you won't have 
to because it is the word of the living and true God. But 
it is a large portion of scripture, and it is never an error to read 
as much scripture as we can. But to take in the entire account, 
let's now pick up reading at 1 Samuel 17 at verse 1. Now the Philistines gathered 
their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Soco, which 
belongs to Judah. They encamped between Soco and 
Azekah 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 600 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 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 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 the father's house, 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 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 
hands, 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 Philistines 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 and the wild beasts of the earth, and that all the earth 
may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this 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 
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." Amen. 
Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for this wonderful account of victory of your man, your king, 
this particular time in history, in biblical history. We thank 
you for what it speaks with regards to zeal, for your name, for your 
reputation, and for your glory. We thank you, Lord God, for the 
victory that you give your people over those who are your enemies. 
And we pray that you'd help us as we consider this passage. 
to appreciate what it speaks to us, to appreciate what it 
clearly states, and to, Lord God, seek to have such a zeal 
for your name and for your reputation as David did so many years ago. 
We pray that you would be with us now in this exercise of worship 
and that it might be unto the praise of your glorious name. 
Amen. Well, Happy Mother's Day. We're 
going to talk about the decapitation of a giant this morning. As I 
said at the outset, this is one of those stories that we would 
have maybe at the top of our lists. If you're like me, we 
of course recognize and appreciate the Bible as God's humble servants 
for its totality. There are those stories though 
that arouse our interest, that stir us up to consider the wonderful 
events that are being set forth in a in a particular area of 
Holy Scripture. Right at the outset, I want to 
bring to your attention the point of this entire passage. Very 
often the story, and you've heard this before, the story of David 
and Goliath can sometimes be used, or what people will argue, 
is that the primary point, its primary direction is to maybe 
instruct children to stand up against bullies and put them 
down in the playground. to help us as Christians to overcome 
our psychological giants, or perhaps used as inspiration and 
motivation for consumers to launch a class action lawsuit against 
evil corporations who have wronged them, or something of the like. 
Or even closer to the text, some people might think that the primary 
point is that God overcomes his enemies who blaspheme him and 
revile him. While that is here, while that 
is true, that's not the primary message of this. Perhaps the 
primary message, some might say, is that the folly is to present 
or demonstrate the folly of faith in the might of men versus or 
against the greatness of faith in a great God. But the point 
is found in verse 46, when David responds to Goliath's threats 
He says this, 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 and the wild beasts of the earth. Note 
that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. The 
purpose of this account, the purpose, the God, the divinely 
owned and used purpose of this historical event. was to show 
all the earth that there is a God in Israel. We'll look at that 
later tonight. This morning we're going to consider 
verses 1 to 32. 1 Samuel 17 verses 1 to 32. And what we're going to note 
first, four things this morning. First off, introducing the battle 
scenes. Sometimes it's good to expand 
upon what's going on, the geography, the various details of this particular 
event. First off, introducing the battle 
scene. First off, note the two armies. Verse three, the Philistines 
stood on a mountain on one side and Israel stood on a mountain 
on the other side with a valley between them. So we have the 
Philistines and the Israelites coming against each other in 
battle. And if you're a student of the Bible, You'll know that 
this isn't the first time that the Philistines and the Israelites 
came against each other. In fact, ever since the time 
of Israel going into the promised land and entering into the land 
promised to them by God, the Philistines have been that constant 
thorn in their side. Throughout the history of the 
nation of Israel, the Philistines were one of, if not the most, 
the most annoying, the most antagonistic and the most wicked of their 
enemies who sought to put them under their boots and to bring 
them into servitude. We note, though, in the historical 
accounts of the Israelites versus the Philistines, that they were 
put under bondage to the Philistines by God's preordainment because 
of, providentially, their disobedience to God. Israel would be disobedient. They would either go after the 
gods of the Philistines, the gods of the pagans around them, 
or they would be disobedient to God's law. And so God, in 
return, would subject them to Philistine government and rule. 
And this sort of back and forth would take place throughout, 
for example, Joshua, More specifically, maybe judges, if you read the 
book of Judges, we have back and forth Israel falling away 
from the covenant of the Lord and being brought into subjection 
under the Philistines, then returning and repenting and being faithful 
to the Lord, the Lord blessing them by giving them rule over 
the Philistines. And we have that historical yo-yo 
going back and forth throughout the biblical account. But we 
have the Philistines on one mountain overlooking the valley. Remember 
the Philistines? They are those ungodly pagan 
people, worshippers of Dagon, the mermaid man. They worshipped 
a god who had the lower parts of a fish and the upper parts 
of a man. They worshipped a female deity, 
Ashtaroth, goes by other names in antiquity, and also they were 
worshippers of Baal. The Israelites, on the other 
side, were, of course, God's chosen people. God's chosen nation, 
his special people, called from out of the mass of humanity to 
be his typological chosen people that would point forward to the 
reality of the church purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. But 
we find Israel, by God, gathered together here against the Philistines. And if you were to, just to look 
at this geography, note verses one and two. The Philistines 
gathered their armies together to battle and were gathered at 
Soko, which belongs to Judah. They encamped between Soko and 
Ezekiel in Ephesus de Mim. Now, if you were to Google Map 
this particular word here, and I'm sorry for bringing Google 
Maps into a sermon, but you can do this later at home and you 
can see the geography where this battle took place. If you type 
in Ezekiel, It'll bring up, if you're looking at a map this 
way, it'll bring up a Zika here and a range of mountains that 
kind of drop and go this way. And then we read here, and Saul 
and the men of Israel were gathered together and they encamped in 
the valley of Elah. They were also on a hillside 
though. So you have the Philistines gathered together along the hills 
here, and then the Israelites gathered together along hills 
that go like this, and then the valley of Elah in the middle. So they're up on positions of 
advantage, they're up on positions of where they're looking down 
upon this valley where the battle would take place if it were not 
for this single combat challenge issued by Goliath against the 
army of Israel. So just to visualize this, you 
have armies encamped on mountains looking, opposing each other 
with a valley that's in the middle. This is located about If you 
were to drive, it's about 45 minutes from Jerusalem to this 
Valley of Elah, about an eight-hour walk, a seven-hour walk, actually, 
from Bethlehem, where David would have walked from. He probably 
didn't walk, though. He probably had a little more energy and 
a little more stamina and probably ran or jogged the grains and 
the cheeses to the army. Now, the sizes of the armies, 
we have to appreciate the immensity of this battle that was supposed 
to take place, or the immensity of the armies gathered together 
there. Turn back with me, if you will, 
to 1 Samuel 4 for a moment, just to see the size of the armies. As we gradually work through 
just a few verses, you'll appreciate the size of the armies gathered 
together. 1 Samuel 4, verse 10, 1 Samuel 4, verse 10. So the 
Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. And every man fled 
to his tent. There was a very great slaughter 
and there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. So in a battle 
between the Philistines and the Israelites previously, there 
were 30,000 foot soldiers killed. That wasn't the fullness of the 
Israelite army, but that's a lot of people. So 30,000 people of 
Israel's army were Killed just the foot soldiers in this particular 
text 1st Samuel 11 8 So you turn a little bit to the right 1st 
Samuel 11 8 again appreciating the immensity the size of these 
armies of antiquity 1st Samuel 11 verse 8 when he numbered them 
in Bezek the children of Israel were 300,000 and the men of Judah 
30,000 This isn't just the people of 
Israel generally and the people of Judah generally, but the armies 
gathered together that were being gathered together for battle. 
Previously, the text says, whoever does not go out with Saul and 
Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen. So we have 
300,000 men of Israel and we have 30,000 of Judah called for 
battle or gathering for battle there. 1 Samuel 13.5. Just a 
little bit over, 1 Samuel 13, 5. Then the Philistines gather 
together to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen 
and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. So he lists first the chariots, 
30,000 chariots, and then 6,000 horsemen. But then after that, 
the foot soldiers and people as the sand which is on the seashore. 
multitude and then finally 1st Samuel 15 as we move our way 
back to the text verses 1 to 9 Samuel also said to Saul the 
Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people over Israel now 
therefore heed the voice of the words of the Lord thus says the 
Lord of hosts I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel now 
he ambushed how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from 
Egypt Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that 
they have and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, 
infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. 
So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them to lame, 200,000 
foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. So hopefully you get 
the point here after a number of texts. In the very least, 
we have multitudes and multitudes of people. But more than likely, 
we have probably gathered together there at least 200,000 men and 
10,000 from Judah, but it's probably more. And the Philistines would 
have a similar number as well. So you have not thousands of 
people, not tens of thousands of people, but hundreds of thousands 
of people gathering together for battle. So just to see the 
introduction to the battle scene there, in your mind's eye with 
wholesome imagination, you can picture these two massive armies 
gathered together, one on a lower hill range, one on an upper hill 
range with that valley of Ella in between. Moving on then now 
to the introduction of the giant, the introduction of the giant. Notice we're back in 1 Samuel 
17 now at verse 4. Notice first off, he was a proficient 
fighter. He was a proficient fighter, 
and a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines named 
Goliath from Gath. He was a proficient fighter. 
Here, champion, sometimes we think of the word champion as 
referring to someone who is a winner of athletic contests. But hopefully 
you understand by the context, what's in view here is first, 
yes, someone proficient in military advances and conquests and battle, 
but more specifically, someone proficient and victorious in 
one-on-one duels, single combat, it's called with regards to antiquity, 
where one man goes out from an army against another man from 
an opposing army, and to the victor goes the spoils. But he 
was a champion, a man proficient in physical duel. He was a massive 
towering figure. And we're going through this 
exercise for a reason. Notice what the text says, though. 
Named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He was a massive towering figure. Now, depending on how we do the 
units of measure conversion, Goliath here is said by some 
to be anywhere from six foot nine on the small end to about 
11 foot four on the taller end. Some even say 16 feet. The consensus, 
I believe, arrives at about 9 foot 9 inches. So, whether he's 6 
foot 9, that's still pretty tall, 6 foot 9. 11 foot 4 is massive, 
but if he's 9 foot 9, that's a very tall, massive, and an 
imposing figure. 9 foot 9, just to picture that, 
that's 3 feet and 7 inches above my head. So, if you were to plant 
Marissa on my shoulders, standing on my shoulders, there would 
be Goliath. He was a massive and a towering 
figure. He was well-armored. Notice the 
description of the armor. And this will come into view 
here as we consider David in a moment, but notice he was well-armored. Verse five, 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. He was very well-armored. Not 
only was this a massive and imposing figure, but he would have been 
decked out in a lot of armor, which would just add to the bulk 
and the immensity of this particular man. He had immense strength. So we read through this armor, 
we don't necessarily appreciate the weight of the armor. There 
is a little bit of weight listed there, as Goliath is being described. All 
in all, the armor and his weaponry probably weighed 272 pounds and 
10 ounces. 272 pounds and 10 ounces. An imposing 10-foot man wearing 
272 pounds of armor. He had immense strength. The 
strength that is required to put on, we feel weighed down 
when we throw on a ski jacket. But this giant from Gath named 
Goliath is decked out. in 272 pounds of armor and weaponry. He was no oaf. Now, you know 
what oaf means, a clumsy, non-intelligent, bumbling, lumbering figure of 
an individual. But he was no oaf. You see, I 
think sometimes he can be pictured as just this tall oaf of a man 
who is just swinging stuff at his enemies. doesn't know anything 
and is not very intelligent. But listen to the words that 
he speaks. He is articulate, he is smart, and he plays upon 
the psychological frailty of his opponents. 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. He'll go on to speak. And as 
you're reading, you should understand that this is no giant oaf of 
a man. but a large man with a measure 
of human intellect that, again, should be surprising given our 
image or our picture of giants. if we have one that's like that. 
But notice he continues, 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. 
Now notice down as we skip David's account, notice what said of 
him in verse 16, and the Philistine drew near and presented himself 
40 days, morning and evening. He was a blasphemer. How do we 
know this? Besides the fact that in the 
account it tells us that he defies God, he defies the armies of 
Israel, verse 16 has more in it than what it tells us. And the Philistine drew near 
and presented himself 40 days, morning and evening. What did 
the Israelites do morning and evening? Every morning and every 
evening, devout Jews prayed the Shema back to the Lord. Hear, 
O Israel, the Lord God, the Lord is one. And they would continue 
with their prayer, the Shema. Goliath, again, no oath, knows 
that these religious nationalistic Israelites would every morning 
and every evening be engaging in an act of religious worship 
to their God. So he, knowing this, every morning 
and every evening would come out and challenge them and defy 
them and defy the God that they profess. So he was a proficient 
fighter, a massive figure, well-armored. He had immense strength. He was 
no oaf, and he was a blasphemer. Now notice the introduction to 
the giant slayer. And what we need to notice first 
off with regards to the giant slayer is notice the difference 
between the descriptions of Goliath and David. We don't have now, 
as we shift our attention to David, a portion of narrative 
that describes David in his physical splendor, or in his military 
proficiency, or in the bulkiness of his armor and weaponry, or 
displaying the immensity of his strength, but rather a very small 
portion of the narrative that simply says this, now David was 
the son of the 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 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. 
That's almost all we have in the bracketing between the description 
of the giant and the narrative concerning the giant's blasphemy. 
Just simply stating that David is the son of an old man who 
had three brothers that went off to battle, and he tended 
the sheep. You see, we should appreciate what the author is 
doing here, what he's writing concerning this display. that 
it is the description or it is an elaboration upon the ethic 
that David states in verse 47. 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. You see that 
the human mind projects a warrior and a champion like Goliath, 
but God making the base things, making the lowly things, making 
those lower things as glorious in his sight. He sees David and 
displays David as the hero. But we have that difference in 
the description. Secondly, we have a humble young 
man, a humble young man. How do we know this? Because 
previously in first Samuel 16, David is chosen as God's appointed 
king. David is chosen as God's appointed 
king in 1 Samuel 16. This is what Gil says. Josephus 
says, this was not long after the things related in the preceding 
chapter were transacted, 1 Samuel 16. And very probably, with regards 
to the battle, the Philistines had heard of the melancholian 
distraction of Saul and thought it a proper opportunity of avenging 
themselves on Israel for their last slaughter of them and for 
the purpose, gather together their dispersed troops. So in 
the previous account that he's speaking of, 1 Samuel 16, we 
have God rejecting Saul as the monarch and appointing and anointing 
David as king and choosing him from among his brothers. So David, 
with that knowledge that he would be, that he was the anointed 
and appointed and chosen king, monarch of God for God's people. Nevertheless, he, verse 15, occasionally 
went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. David was a humble man, yes, 
appointed king, but nevertheless a shepherd who was faithful to 
his task as such. He was a helpful son. Remember, 
the text said that his father was old, advanced in years. David, 
not taking on the mantle of king in full thrust, but rather humbling 
and condescending to come back and to aid his father in the 
taking care of sheep. And he was an obedient son. Notice 
as the text continues, verse 17. Then Jesse said to his son, 
David, take now for your brothers 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 from 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 the keeper, and took the things, and went 
as Jesse had commanded him." Very simple things, I think, 
that we overlook. David was obedient to his father. 
It's the things that we should appreciate, especially when we 
have the reality, again, of David as the appointed king. You see, 
the human heart, the human nature compels many an individual or 
would have compelled many an individual to say, forget about 
it. I'm the anointed king. First off, I'm doing you a favor 
by being here and tending to the sheep. But secondly, you 
want me to go to deliver cheese and grains to my brothers who 
weren't appointed king? Get a servant to do it. But no, 
David rose early in the morning, and that's another thing, left 
the sheep with a keeper. See, he's very smart, very ordered, 
very organized. He left the sheep that he came 
back to keep, left them with the keeper, and took the things 
and went as his father, Jesse, had commanded him. So we have 
the giant displayed physically, the giant displayed in the splendor 
of his appearance as a champion, as a massive towering figure. 
But we have David, the giant displayer, displayed as a humble, 
helpful, and obedient son tending to sheep. Lastly, and moving 
more towards the battle here, we have a prelude to the slaying, 
a prelude to the slaying. Notice what we have. First off, 
the giant continuing his challenge at verse 23, the giant continuing 
his challenge at verse 23. 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." Remember the persistence, or 
note the persistence of this giant from Gath. Again, it's 
not just a one-time going out from the camp of the Philistines 
out into the valley to yell out to the armies of Israel, defying 
them and challenging one of them to come out for battle. Every 
morning and every evening for 40 days, this blasphemer coming 
out from the camp of the Israelites enemies to challenge them to 
battle. The giant continues his challenge. 
Israel is fearful. Notice what the text says, verse 
24. And all the men of Israel, when 
they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. Now, 
you might be thinking, okay, this is a nine-foot-nine giant. Who wouldn't be afraid? But remember 
what we have in the camp of the Israelite army. We have, as the 
text in 1 Samuel says, and as the text in Joshua and Judges 
say before it, with regards to men chosen for battle, many mighty 
and valiant men. Many mighty and valiant men in 
the history of Israel went up against giants, and some perhaps 
even taller than this Goliath. So you might say, well, yeah, 
anybody would be afraid, but the Israelite army was packed 
with mighty and valiant men. Remember Saul himself. In the 
choosing of Saul for king, he was chosen because he was tall, 
head and shoulders above the rest of the men in Israel. So 
the king, yes, rejected by God and the spirit removed from him, 
nevertheless, physically speaking, was still an imposing man himself, 
seasoned in battle, and yet he would not go up against this 
giant. Remember Jonathan. Jonathan was 
one who went with an armor bearer and took apart a whole garrison 
of Philistines all by himself. It should surprise us that we 
find this, that the Israelite army was dreadfully afraid. It 
should surprise us. Abner, the general, valiant in 
military conquest, was one of those included here as being 
dreadfully afraid. In the history of Israel against 
the Philistines, we have, remember, Shamgar with an ox goat, killing 
I believe it was 600 Philistines. Samson with the donkey's jawbone. killing a thousand Philistines. 
Samson at the end of his life, destroying many more than that 
and taking himself after slavery and the removal of his own eyes. 
So there is much history to conquest of Israel and mighty men in Israel 
over this giant. But nevertheless, they were dreadfully 
afraid. And we read that before. Remember 
verse 11, when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, 
They were dismayed and greatly afraid. I think what we're seeing 
here and what we'll note maybe more tonight, but what we're 
seeing here is the reality that God is vindicating his judgment 
against Saul, the removal of his approval and spirit from 
Saul and his vindication of David as king and leader in Israel. We're seeing this. All Israel 
is afraid, not only afraid, but dreadfully afraid. And it is 
providentially to bring about the vindication of David as king 
in Israel and ultimately the glory of God in his providential 
undertaking. So Israel is fearful. David's 
brother criticizes him. Notice this at verse 28. David's 
brother criticizes David. 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." Eliab 
here is not bringing forth truth with regards to David and hitting 
him over the head with it, as if this is David, this is what 
marked David's character and his behavior. What we have in 
view here, well, first off, Eliab is asking why David even came 
down and he probably knew why he came. He was obedient to his 
father and bringing the foods for the food for the commander 
of the army and for his brothers. But he goes on and says, and 
with whom did you have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? 
He's all over his brother because he thinks that David just left 
the sheep and didn't leave them under anybody's care. I think 
what's going on is Eliab is jealous. Eliab is jealous. It's not David 
who's prideful, but Eliab. Why? Because he was brought before 
Samuel and was brought before God, and God rejected him as 
one to be king in Israel, 1 Samuel 16, along with all of David's 
other brothers. So Eliab, most likely here jealous 
because he wasn't chosen to be king in Israel, the oldest brother 
of Jesse, is speaking in this manner to David. Why have you 
left, or who have you left those sheep with in the wilderness? 
I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come 
down to see the battle. So Eliab is all over David. He's all over him, falsely charging 
him for these transgressions of neglecting the sheep and being 
characterized by pride and insolence of heart. But David answers. 
David is zealous and responds well to criticism. But first, 
notice his zeal. Before we get back to the answer 
to his brother, notice David's zeal in verse 26. You see, some 
people might read the first part of that and think that David is somehow 
in it for whatever the reward is from Saul. You see, he's asking 
the question, what shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine 
and takes away the reproach from Israel? This is what Gil says 
with regards to that, which he asked not for the sake of the 
reward, but to observe the necessity there was of some man's engaging 
with him and killing him, or otherwise it would be a reproach 
to Israel and to signify that he had an inclination to attempt 
it. And so that's why we have the 
real reason for the asking of this question, for who is this 
uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of 
the living God? You have all of the mighty men 
of Israel. You have Saul, the king, the one who's head and 
shoulders above every man in Israel. You have Jonathan, the 
one who slayed a multitude of Philistines. You have Abner, 
the general of the army who were afraid dreadfully afraid, but 
this sheep boy coming to, not sheep boy, he was a young man, 
but sheep boy coming to deliver cheeses and grains is the one 
who says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy 
the armies of the living God? Two things here very quickly. 
That is, first off, he said this, David said that statement, who 
is this uncircumcised Philistine because of who Goliath was. Who 
is this man that he should say such and such against the armies 
of Israel and against the God of Israel? This is an uncircumcised 
pagan. One outside, not enjoying the 
benefits of the covenant made by the Lord God with Israel. 
One who is not of the ten words. One who rejects every single 
one of those ten words. One who worships Dagon, the mermaid 
man. One who worships a female deity. 
One who is a worshiper of Baal. Who is this pagan, this unbelieving 
heathen, this one who daily, and this is what's in view here, 
I think, and what we need to appreciate. David's theology 
is behind this. You see, because David is the 
one who pens Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God and 
the firmament shows his handiwork. Day after day utter speech, night 
after night reveals knowledge. This Goliath, who would have 
gazed upon the firmament, who would have gazed upon the heavens, 
who would have had sermons preached to him daily and nightly, based 
upon general revelation, nevertheless utters these threats with every 
breath that the Lord God gave him. His immensity of figure 
and his overbearing strength would have been given to him 
from the Lord God of that general revelation. Every step he took 
and every mouth he spoke was because of the God who upholds 
all things by the word of his power. So who is this uncircumcised 
Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? 
And then, of course, David says this, two things arouse the zeal 
of David, the person who Goliath was, and secondly, the persons 
he spoke against. He was speaking against God's 
chosen people. To speak against God's chosen 
people, to defy the armies of the living God, is to defy God 
himself. And I think that's ultimately 
what's behind the zeal here. The highest thing here is that 
this uncircumcised Philistine is speaking against the Lord 
God. So that is what aroused the zeal of David. And David 
had great faith. As we near the close this morning, 
David has great faith and seeks to increase the faith of others. Something very noble that we 
ought to appreciate in that. The men of Israel fear, the mighty 
men, the valiant men fear in the face of Goliath, but in the 
face of this giant who is, you know, four feet taller than David. 
David, in his zeal to overcome this giant, nevertheless shows 
great faith and seeks to stir up the faith of others. Notice 
at 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. Let no man's 
heart fail because of him. Israel was greatly dismayed, 
greatly afraid, and David seeks to increase the faith of others 
by saying, let no man's heart fail because of him. Why? Your 
servant will go and fight with this Philistine. As we'll see 
tonight, we'll note that That actually didn't create great 
faith in Israel. We have Saul himself rejecting 
and saying, you're not going up against this man. You can't 
go up against this man. He's a warrior from his youth. 
You're just a youth. So David sought to increase the 
faith of others, but we see that it did not work until the end 
of the narrative where the actual victory most certainly did. So 
we have this prelude to the slaying. We'll look at the slaying in 
its fullness tonight. We have the giant continuing 
his challenge, Israel fearful, David's brother criticizing David, 
but David's zealous, responding to that criticism. That's what 
we didn't look at, I apologize. Just before we close, David responding 
to the criticism of his brother. Noteworthy as well with regards 
to the character of David, because it's a younger brother responding 
to an older brother. And we have this David responding 
to the criticism of Eliab, verse 29. And David said, what have 
I done now? Is there not a cause? What's probably in view here, 
and I think what's in view here, is that what have I done now? 
Eliab, David's older brother, maybe not only since David was 
anointed king, but probably before that as well. was always nagging 
and after his brother for being maybe an impetuous, you know, 
little jerk that older brothers sometimes always do that towards 
younger brothers. You know, as they grow up, the 
older brothers, sometimes their patience is unwholesomely tested 
by their younger brothers when they should love them and should 
be patient. David says, what have I done now? As if to say, 
you're always bugging me for what I say, what have I done 
now? Most of the time when I do things, you're wrong to criticize 
me and respond the way, what have I done now? But you see, 
he says, is there not a cause? Some people see in that, is there 
not a cause? The task that Jesse sent him 
to do, which was to bring the grains and the cheeses, but that's 
not what's going on here. Is there not a cause? That is, 
is there not a cause for me? to respond to this blasphemer, 
this wicked man who dares to defy the armies of the living 
God, who dares to defy the Holy One of Israel himself. Is there 
not a cause? Don't call me an insolent man, 
insolent in heart. Don't call me prideful. Don't 
say anything because I'm the only one here in Israel. That's 
probably not what he would say. But as if to say I'm the one 
who's seeking to answer rightly against this one who would dare 
defy the armies of Israel, and not just one, but an uncircumcised 
Philistine who is defying the armies of the living God. I know 
many of you won't be able to come tonight, but tonight we're 
going to be looking at the rest of the narrative, the actual 
battle itself. And there's much in here to consider, 
to even try and tackle the whole passage is a monumental task. 
But we're gonna look at verses 33 to 53 tonight. But just as we close before the 
prayer, This should arouse, this account, knowing first off what 
its point is, that is the glory of God, to show that there is 
a God in Israel. But what this text should do, 
it should arouse our zeal. And what I mean by that, you 
see, there is an unwholesome zeal. We find two types of zeals, 
I think, in the Bible with regards to God's people. We have that 
pre-crucifixion Petrine zeal, the zeal of Peter. prior to the 
crucifixion where he's lopping off ears and he's speaking against 
God manifested in the flesh. You know, he has a zeal, but 
it is not in accord with knowledge. I think the pre-crucifixion Peter, 
once he heard Goliath, would have ran, you know, would have 
ran like crazy, without a sword or anything, would try and take 
on Goliath all by himself, and would fail. The post-crucifixion 
Peter probably would have been like David, but that's just Christian 
conjecture. The other type of zeal is a zeal 
which is in accord with knowledge. That is a zealousness for the 
name and the reputation and the truth of God Most High. That's 
what stirred David's zeal. That's what stirred David's response 
to his brother and his response to Goliath and his composure 
towards Saul in saying, I can do this. It was the reputation 
in the name of Yahweh, the Lord of hosts. And this should arouse 
our zeal for God because we're surrounded by many metaphorical 
Philistines. We're surrounded by many of those 
who are uncircumcised Philistines who defy the armies of the living 
God. We can find them in our workplace. 
We find them in our schools. We find them in many places that 
we find ourselves who will actively speak against the living and 
the true God. And we ought to find something 
here in this account, something in David. Again, we know what 
the primary point is. But if there's anything that 
runs down to us from the text, it is it is recognizing the name 
and the reputation and the glory of Yahweh and seeking to have 
Davidic zeal in this lower world, defending his honor and defending 
his name. And finally, this should direct 
our minds to Christ. Luke 24 is one of the most important 
passages in Holy Scripture. Why am I saying that? We're reading 
1 Samuel 17. Luke 24, Jesus says on more than 
one occasion that all the scriptures, the law, the prophets, and the 
Psalms all speak concerning me. Many have noted rightly 1 Samuel 
17, there is so much comparison between David and the Lord Christ. Between David and the Lord Jesus. 
David is a, if we have, we have Abraham, We have Israel and we 
have David, I believe, as those three figures typologically pointing 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. In this account of David, don't 
we have the Lord Jesus? One who comes and who is very 
unassuming. The human expectation for a Messiah 
would have been one who comes in splendor upon a white horse, 
literally coming down to trample the Roman army and Jewish unbelief. We don't have that. We have him 
coming born a carpenter's son and a son of Mary who was assumed 
to be adulterous. We have him not dwelling in a 
mansion, but dwelling fairly meekly in unassuming abodes. And we have him reproached by 
the people, just like David. David's rejected by his brothers. 
David's rejected by Saul. Here, his power, his abilities 
are doubted. We have the conquest, we have 
the single conquest of David doing something that no one else 
in Israel could. Don't we? Just like Christ. David here, you see, no one could 
do, no one could come up against this giant, against this massive 
task, but David did. Christ, more greater, greater 
so, does what no one else could. That is, come in fullness of 
the times to die as a sacrifice for guilty sinners. And we notice 
at the end of the discourse that David did what Christ does in 
the New Covenant Church. David conquers the Philistine 
giant. Now the men of Israel and Judah 
arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the 
entrance of the valley into the gates of Ekron. What does Jesus 
do? He conquers that Goliath of sin 
and of death and of hell. And by virtue of that, we his 
people march unafraid. With courageous hearts, with 
Christian valor, and we are strong, we should be strong for the battle. 
So hopefully we see in this something that should arouse our zeal and 
that should direct our minds to Christ. Remember what Christ 
says, it's something important as we read our Old Testament 
text. As we read it for what it says with regards to the narrative 
of that time, this did bring about the glory of God in that 
time and in that history. But it is not separated, that 
account isn't separated. from the Christology of our Bibles. We see in 1 Samuel 17, David 
pointing us to that greater David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came 
and who conquered sin, death, and hell for his people. If you're 
here this morning and you are Christ's, exercise that wholesome 
zeal for Yahweh, the covenant Lord of hosts, for our beautiful 
and glorious triune God, if you're not Christian here this morning. 
You need to find yourself as Goliath. I'm not just trying 
to be cute as we close the sermon and trying to relate you to Goliath 
in some sort of weird and symbolic way. Goliath was outside of the 
church. He was outside of God's covenant 
people. He was a blasphemer, an insolent 
man, one who defied God. You might be here in a Christian 
church this morning, but by virtue of your staying in unbelief, 
by virtue of you being outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, rejecting 
his overtures of saving grace by a sovereign God, you are like 
Goliath, you are like the Philistines. You don't want to be, figuratively, 
on that day of judgment, one who finds his head severed, one 
who finds himself finally cut off from any overtures of saving 
grace and entering into an eternity of hell. You don't want to be 
one of those Philistines who flee because of the victory of 
God and have God's people chasing after them. You don't want to 
be one who's ultimately destroyed, whose carcass is fed to the birds 
of the air and the beasts of the earth. You want to be found 
safely as one in the camp of Israel, as a David, if you will, 
one who is zealous for the church, one who is zealous for God, and 
one who will speak up against those who seek to defy God's 
people, and by virtue, speak against God. And so, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and be saved. Recognize the holiness of God. 
Recognize your own sinfulness. Day after day, you transgress 
against the living and true God, rejecting His law, rejecting 
Him. But know that there is such a 
Savior in Jesus, that He came into this world to live a perfect 
life, to die a perfect, glorious, bloody death, so that we might 
have everlasting life, so that His people might live forever. 
in Emmanuel's land and enjoy the blessings of salvation, a 
world without end. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for this account of David and Goliath. We thank 
you for what we read concerning David's zeal for you, David's 
zeal for truth, David's zeal for your reputation and for your 
glory. We pray that you'd help us as 
we consider this passage and as we consider it again this 
evening, Lord God, that you'd help us to appreciate what you've 
done in and through David, what you have done through him. And 
that we would see, we would have our minds, and in the eyes of 
our faith, pointed toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who entertained 
and who undertook a greater conquest for his people. We pray that 
you'd help us always to appreciate your word as it comes to us, 
revelation from on high. That we would approach it, certainly 
not as a dusty tome of antiquity, but a living and true word, one 
that lives and abides forever. We just pray that you would cause 
us now to leave from this place, to go into our day, to go into 
the rest of our week seeking to live unto your glory, that 
we would be properly aroused unto a wholesome zeal for your 
name and for your truth. And Lord God, that we would have 
our minds set upon Christ Jesus, in whom we have all spiritual 
blessings. And it's in his name that we pray, amen.