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Well, certainly this is a passage
that everyone is familiar with. And as I said, the actual battle
itself, toward the end of chapter 17, is quite brief. But you'll
see how the author develops the backstory. He tells us the backdrop. He gives us the particular occasion
so that we can see what God the Lord is doing. It's unfortunate
that sometimes persons that profess the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
come to the Valley of Elah and they see in the text their own
Goliaths. They see their poor self-image.
They see the bully down the street. They see their emotional distress. They see the difficulties and
the trials that they have. And they take fresh courage from
the Valley of Elah. You may do that by way of a sideline
application. But the battle at the Valley
of Elah is not about you. It is about the glory of God
Most High. It is about the glory of Yahweh
of Israel, and David, his servant, pursues that relentlessly. And so the author gives us that
pursuit. He demonstrates it for us and
He highlights it to us. In fact, the main part of chapter
17 is verses 45 to 47. We will see that, God willing,
next Sunday morning when we gather here again. It is a declaration
of the sovereignty, of the almightiness, of the excellence, of the solitary
glory and majesty of the God of heaven and earth. So it is
not about your Goliaths. It is about God's enemy and how
his servant removes him from the face of the earth. Well,
as we consider verses 1 to 37, we will not deal with every detail.
You will be able to get home today and eat your lunch. But
there are three considerations that we ought to make as we move
through the passage. In the first place, the threat
posed by the Philistines. in verses 1 to 11. Secondly,
the plan orchestrated by God in verses 12 to 22. And then
in the third place, the determination manifested by David. Note with me in the first place
the threat posed by the Philistines in verses 1 to 3 in chapter 17. It highlights for us the geographical
setting. This is important information.
This gives us an indicator as to what is going on in this particular
chapter. Notice in verse 1 of chapter
17, now the Philistines, who were the perennial enemies of
the Israelites, if you've read the Bible up to this point, you'll
notice that the Philistines didn't just drop out of heaven onto
earth. They have been a constant thorn in the flesh of Israel. In the time of the judges and
in the first Samuel, we see these Philistines continue to rear
their ugly heads and Israel having to put them down by the power
of God Most High. But notice in chapter 17, the
Philistines gathered their armies together to battle and were gathered
at Soca, which belongs to Judah. You see, this is an encroachment
upon friendly territory. The enemies of Israel, namely
the Philistines, are now in a place which belongs to Judah. This
battle is crucial for the life and the health and the safety
of Israelite society. The commentator Samora says,
set against this geographical background, the goal of this
strategically important battle was certainly to secure the Valley
of Elah, the natural point of entry from the Philistine homeland
into the hill country of the Saulide kingdom. The battle was
thus crucial. This is very important stuff
that is facing Israel, this threat of the Philistines. Unfortunately,
Israel is cowering and quivering and hiding. Praise God that he
has his servant David. Praise God that the son of Jesse
is available. Praise God that there is one
who will stand up to deal with this taunting giant from Gath. Notice the appearance of Goliath
in verses 4 to 10. A champion went out from the
camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath." Now, he
was 9 feet 9 inches. Kids, that means he was one big
fella. He was a big boy, give or take
a couple of inches depending on the cubit and all of that,
but we're talking about a 9 foot 9 inch man. More than likely,
though it doesn't give his weight, if he was a small-ish framed
man, I know that seems odd, a small-ish framed man, but there are men
that are slender and men that are medium build and men that
are bigger build. He'd probably be around the 500 pound range
if he was slender. Somehow I don't think that Goliath
was slender. He's probably up around six or
700 pounds. And notice his weapons. He's
wearing 126 pounds of armor. This is one big bad dude, and
this is what the author wants us to appreciate. He is carrying
a spear. Now, this is a big spear in and
of itself, but the tip that does business on the end of its enemies
is about 15 to 16 pounds. This is a formidable enemy. The author over and over again
wants us to appreciate this. So that when victory comes, we
will praise and celebrate not David the son of Jesse, but the
God of heaven and earth who took the stone from the sling and
guided it into this big-headed monstrosity from death and brought
him down that day to show in the earth that there is a God
in Israel. Notice as well, with reference
to this particular man, chapter 16 in verse 7. This is something
that comes up often, I think, in the rest of 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel 16.7, at the choice
of David. Notice in verse 7, the Lord said
to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at his physical
stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see
as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks at the heart. He's describing the outward appearance
of this particular man. The armies of Israel see this
particular man, but they must have forgot this principle because
they're quivering and they're cowering and they're hiding and
they're shaking and they're quaking. Not so when it comes to David.
And then notice his words in verses 8 to 10. What does he
do? He basically blasphemes the God of heaven and earth. Again,
in the interest of time, we won't go through every jot and tittle.
But what is he doing? Hey, guys, do you want to come out and shoot
marbles? Hey, guys, do you want to play Nintendo? No, he says,
send out your best, Israel, because I'm going to mop up the ground
with him. And if it is the case that he happens to beat us, then
we'll become the servants of you. But if it is the case, as
Goliath was most confident it would be, that we beat you, then
you will be our servants. Now this was a taunt. This was
not a genuine promise of the covenant, a covenantal transaction. Because what happens, David does
kill Goliath and the Philistines do not willingly subjugate themselves
to Israel. It is a taunt. It is trash talking. It is essentially saying, bring
what you've got. Let's see what you can produce.
Let's see you take on this man from Gath. He is taunting. He
is reproaching. He is violating the God of heaven
and earth. And before we leave the threat
posed by the Philistines, we must appreciate the response
of Israel. Verse 11, when Saul and all Israel
heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly
afraid. That's pathetic. It's terrible. This is the way the church oftentimes
responds, doesn't she? There's a particular threat posed
by the enemies of God. And what does the Israel of God
do today? We shake, we quake, we cower,
we cry, we snivel, we have therapy sessions, we have group hugs,
we never ever for the life of us reflect upon the fact that
Christ Jesus himself promised to build this church. And the
gates of Hades itself would not prevail against it. Lord Jesus,
hold your enemies in contempt. Israel is quaking and quivering
and cowering. This is so often the church.
Oh, have you heard of the spread of Islam? Yes, but I've also
heard of the reality that Christ must reign till all of his enemies
are made his footstool. Have you seen the atrocities
in those Planned Parenthood videos? Yes, they're sickening and horrific,
but I'm reminded of the reality that Christ must reign till all
of his enemies are made his footstool. Planned Parenthood and anyone
that would butcher a child in its mother's womb. Christ will
lower that holy foot on the necks of each and every one of his
enemies. There is no reason, there is no cause, there is no
provocation in the world why the church should be quivering
and cowering and shaking and quaking. This is simply unacceptable
and the author wants us to see this. Now notice in the second
place. The plan orchestrated by God,
verses 12 to 22. This is an interesting aside,
isn't it? We find out this is a crucial
battle in the Valley of Elah. We find it's over a crucial piece
of property that belongs to Judah. We find that Gath, or rather
the Philistines, have promoted this man or produced this man
from Gath that is the formidable enemy. Now, we interrupt this
broadcast to take you to another part of God's world to show you
the life of David the servant, or the shepherd boy. It's interesting,
isn't it? I mean, why doesn't the author
just go right from this to the battle lines and let us watch
Goliath fall on his big fat head? Because he wants us to appreciate
God. He wants us to marvel at God.
He wants us to stand in wonderment of God. He wants us to revel
in our God. Now this section, verses 12 to
22, have given some people a cause for concern, because it's like
it's introducing David for the first time. But if you've read
chapter 16, David's already made an appearance. David is the harpist,
the sweet psalmist of Israel, that comes and plays while Saul
is in his frenzy. When Saul has this distressing
spirit from Yahweh, he goes a little bit nuts. And so what one of
the servants says is, I think a harpist would do you well.
And I happen to know a harpist. His name is David. See the providence
of God and the sovereignty of God bringing David and Saul together? And so when we come to this section,
we're scratching our noodles saying, wait a minute. Didn't
we already meet David? And at the end of chapter 17,
it's almost as if Saul doesn't know who David is. If you've
ever thought that in your Bible reading, you're not alone. The
great translation of the Hebrew Old Testament leaves out a big
chunk of chapter 17. probably for this very reason.
We already know David, and at the end it sounds as if Saul
doesn't know David. But we need to appreciate a couple
of things about the flow of the passage. In the first place,
not only was David a worker for Saul's court in chapter 16, but
in verse 15 of chapter 17, it says that he would go from the
court back to Bethlehem. He would go back to his father's
house. In the second place, we need
to appreciate the reality that the end of chapter 17, Saul is
not asking who David is. Saul is asking whose son is David's. Because Saul has made a promise
that the victor, his father's house, will receive tax-exempt
status. The end of chapter 17 does not
present us a confusion as if Saul is for the first time meeting
David. No, he knows who he is, but he's
promised his daughter to the victor, and he's promised tax
exemption. How's that for a great incentive,
men? You get the daughter of the king
and tax exemption in Israel. That would be a beautiful prize,
wouldn't it? Be glorious. Saul knows who David
is. Do you know what I think our
author is doing? It's kind of like a boxing match. You know,
when the two contenders go to battle. I'm not condoning boxing.
Don't go out, kids, and punch each other. I'm not saying that.
But there is something similar to that. What do we have? We
have a contest. We have a duel, if you will.
In this corner, we have, hailing from Gath, 9'9", about 6-700 pounds, wielding
the javelin with the 15-16 pound iron head, Goliath from Gath. In this corner, we have David.
Now, we all know David as a national hero. But by the time we get
here in chapter 17, if it's our first time reading, we're a bit
perplexed as to the reality that David would be the contender.
He's not the oldest son. He's not from a prestigious house.
He comes from obscurity. As we later learn from Goliath's
words, he's nothing really to look at. He's ruddy. One man
suggests that David had red hair. This is the nature of Goliath's
taunt. Now if you have red hair, I'm
not putting anyone down. I'm just saying what this ruddiness
looks like. It's almost as if this Goliath
was taunting David because of his physical appearance. Why
David? We interrupt this story to show
you who's in the other corner. And we want to tell you how he
got to that other corner, because once we tell you that, we think
you'll marvel and stand amazed at the glory and majesty of God.
Notice, he is indeed the son of Jesse, his brothers. We have
Eliab, we have Abinadab, and we have Shema. David was the
youngest. Verse 15 explains what David
is doing. David occasionally went and returned
from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. And the Philistine
grew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
He doesn't let us forget this. The blathering giant continues
to do his thing. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
The author doesn't want us to forget him. We're going to show
you what David's about. We're going to show you where
he hails from. And we're going to show you his particular background
and training and all that sort of thing. But never forget this
is a real life battle over crucial property belonging to Judah.
And one of the biggest threats that men have ever seen is standing
there with a big javelin in his hand, speaking out taunts to
both God and to the armies of the living God. He doesn't want
us to forget that either. Now notice the beauty of the
providence of God. Verses 17 to 19. It's a simple
mission, isn't it? This is one of the things I think
we ought to appreciate as we sort of work our way through
this passage. Sometimes people say, you know, I can't really
do anything for God because I do, you know, a menial business or
a menial job or, you know, I'm no one of notoriety. I don't
have any prestige. You don't need any. What could
be more mundane than a father telling his son to take wheels
of Gouda to his brothers and to find out how they're doing
and to bring back word to their father? You talk about mundane. You talk about something that
isn't exciting. You talk about something that
isn't thrilling. David, I want you to go and check
on your brothers. And I want you to take these
loaves and these cheeses so that they can be refreshed for the
battle that is to come. 1 Samuel is truly an amazing
book in the way that reveals to us God's providence. How was
Saul identified as the first king of Israel? Through lost
donkeys. I don't know that if I was God
I would use lost donkeys to find my king, but God does. Isn't
it amazing that God sends this distressing spirit from Yahweh
to Saul, Saul goes into this frenzy, and there happens to
be a servant there that happens to suggest that Saul get someone
that plays music so that it will soothe his beastly mode? And, oh, by the way, I happen
to know this man called David, and he's really good on the heart.
You see, I'm stressing this whole idea of happen, because we, as
Christians, as believers, as those who sing and testify with
the Psalter that our God is in the heavens, He does whatever
He pleases, we don't think there's happenstance. We believe in the
sovereignty of God. He governs all His creatures
and all their actions. And He does that for His holy
ends to bring glory to His name and to bring peace, safety, and
security to His people. God works behind the scenes to
bring persons together to accomplish His will. So you may be a cheese
deliverer, a loaf deliverer. You may be engaged in the mundane,
but God may use you. Because in the midst of your
delivery route, or in the midst of your interaction, or in the
midst of your dealings with others, you might speak the word of the
gospel to someone, and who knows what the Lord God may do. I love
what Spurgeon used to pray before he would go pass out tracts.
He would pray something to the effect, God, bless each of these
tracts. Make them like David's one stone
to bring down the unbelief of man. Isn't that beautiful? One
tract placed in the hands of a man. God can use that to bring
him to salvation. That's what happened to Oscar
Blois. We just prayed for him on Sunday night. He's been a
pastor, a long time pastor in Jamaica. You know how he came
to the Lord? Some girl handed him a gospel
track at a bus stop many, many, many, many, many, many years
ago and God saved him and used him. You see, this idea that,
well, I can't do anything unless I'm in full-time gospel ministry
is simply not accurate. It's been a bane to the church. I think that's the correct use
of the word. The opposite of the boon is a bane, right? A
bad thing. Well, you've really got to grow
up, junior, to be a missionary or a pastor so you can make an
impact on the kingdom of God. It's hogwash. You're faithful in your calling
where you are, and God the Lord who takes a shepherd boy from
Bethlehem and guides the stone into this giant's head is able
to do amazing things. See, it's all about God. It's
not about us. Doesn't Paul underscore this
point? That God takes gospel treasure. What does he do with
gospel treasure? He puts it in cracked pots. He puts it in earthenware
vessels. So that the excellence of the
power may be of God and not of men. God's ordained gospel ministry
for this very reason, that when sinners actually get converted,
they don't owe their life, soul, and everything to the man who
brought the message, but to the God who used that cracked pot
to get the message out. The providence of God is amazing
in this particular section. And notice, verse 20, David does
what he's told. There's a type of person out
there that wants to be used by God, and I like that. There's
a type of person out there that wants to be in service to God. I love that. I appreciate that. But they seem to be waiting incessantly
for something extraordinary to do. I want to be in service."
Well, then go be faithful at your job today. Oh, no, I've
got to go to China and be faithful at a job there. You know what? If you're not fit for faithfulness
in a job in your own neighborhood, you're probably not fit for it
in a neighborhood in China. David did what he was told. You
see, obedience and providence work hand in hand. How does God
guide? How does God direct? How does
God move? How does He get us to the destination
that He has purposed? It is through us doing what we
were just reminded from 1 John. Obey God's law. I'm waiting to
be used. Go out and be useful. I'm waiting
to serve. Go out and serve. I've got to read 15 books. No,
you just need to go be faithful. David got up, he took his loaves,
he took his cheeses, I like to think of wheels of Gouda, and
he put them in his bag and off he marched to the Valley of Elah
so that he could find out how his brothers were and bring refreshment
to them. He arrives at the camp, he executes
his mission, a seemingly ordinary event under God's providence,
is the occasion for victory. Now notice in 23 to 58, well
we won't go all the way to 58, but 23 to 37, the determination
manifested by David. Don't forget, Goliath is still
blathering on, verses 23 and 24. Don't forget that 9 foot
9 inch man that's holding the big spear. Don't forget him.
We've interrupted this particular segment to show you David and
how he got here, but we want to remind you once again, don't
forget that man standing there that is issuing taunts to the
armies of the God of Israel. So 23, 24, we hear more blathering
from Goliath. Now notice David's response,
first with him and the men of Israel. Verses 25 to 27. The men are musing among themselves. I do not believe David heard
them say this and then asked the very same thing. They're
muttering amongst themselves. Have you heard what the king
is going to do? Whoever beats this giant gets the king's daughter
and he gets tax exemption. Again, these are great boons,
great benefits, great helps to life in Israel, isn't it? Wouldn't that be wonderful? You're
probably thinking, it depends on what his daughter looked like.
Don't say that. In this society, this was a good
thing. Now notice, David asks a question
in verse 26. David spoke to the man 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? Now there's a couple of interesting
observations here. In the first place, this is the
first time David speaks in the Bible. Now certainly David spoke,
just hadn't been recorded up to this particular point. Chapter
16, he's called to play the harp before Saul. No record of what
David said. Throughout this section, Jesse
tells him, take the loaves, take the cheeses, go visit your brother.
No response recorded whatsoever. This is the first time in the
biblical narrative that David opens his mouth, at least that
is recorded for us. And notice the words, evidence
the concern of his heart. Notice that the words evidence
the concern of his heart. He asks in the first place, what
shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine? And then
in the second place he says, for who is this uncircumcised? I don't think I can make it sound
derisive enough. I don't think I can make it sound
more incredulous. Saul and the armies are cowering. Saul and the armies are fearful. Saul and the armies are quaking
in their boots. And David is incredulous. David
is shocked. David is blown away. David says,
for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy
the armies of the living God? What is evident in David's heart? Theology. Theology drives his
practice. Who God is, how God is known,
what God does affects the servant of God. Who is this man? Why are we standing here? Why
are we listening to this nine-foot, nine-inch man? Why are we quaking
because of the size of his javelin? Why are we shuddering because
of the amount of his armor? Why are we doing this? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
that he should defy the armies of the living God? Listen to
Ralph Davis. He says, David has never spoken
before in our story. Now the silence is broken. David
brings a whole new worldview. To this point, the narrative
has been godless, much like our own stewing over some insoluble
dilemma. But now David injects the godly
question into the episode. Doesn't having a living God make
a difference in all this? Do you ever reflect on this? I don't
want to psychologize, and I don't want to say, you're a giant sitting
in the corner, you have bad self-esteem, or your mother didn't hug you
enough, or there's a bully on the playground. I don't want
to psychologize that, but do we think like David? Is our concern
theological in nature? When we see the horrors of Planned
Parenthood, and we consider the horrors in Canada of the very
same sin and crime God, these are your image bearers. God,
this is ultimately about you. Whoever sheds man's blood, by
man his blood will be shed. Why? For in the image of God
he made man. This attack on the womb is an
attack on God. We are to think theologically.
We are to think theocentrically. We are to take every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ. This is what
David does. David says, doesn't having a
living God make a difference in all this? This fellow has
mocked the ranks of the living God. If God is so identified
with Israel, do you think He is indifferent towards such slurs
on His reputation? Do you expect the living God
to allow an uncircumcised Philistine to trample his name in military
and theological mud? Israel thought the Philistine
invulnerable. For David, he was only uncircumcised. A living God gives a whole new
view of things. I can't underscore that enough.
Except to say you should read David's commentaries on the former
prophets. You will be richly blessed. Verse
27, they answer. Now notice Eliab and David. Essentially
what we have here is the older brother picking on the younger
brother. David comes, perhaps he's handing
the wheel of Gouda, and Eliab says, what are you doing here?
I know your pride, I know your insolence, and David essentially
says, what's the matter now? One supposes this happened back
at Jesse's house from time to time. What's going on? Don't I have a right to be here?
Is it not okay for me to see what is happening in this particular
instance? The NIV renders verse 29 this
way. Now, what have I done, said David? Can't I even speak? Do you notice
a theme developing? Well, you haven't yet. When we
drop down to Saul and then we see it in Goliath, you'll notice
a theme. Goliath's not the only enemy of David on this day. Goliath
is the enemy. Goliath is the primary target. If it was only the enemies of
God that we had to contend with, that would be one thing. But
where do we get yammering and whining and sniveling and crying
more often than not? It's in the church. We raise
up opposition to this whole idea of homosexual marriage, and we
have Christians saying, but you shouldn't do that. You shouldn't
say that. You don't want them to think
you're unloving. You don't want them to think that you're insubordinate
to the governing authorities. I mean, you preach that, after
all. We must obey God rather than men. It's unfortunate that
the people of God, or the professing people of God, oftentimes get
in the way of those who are trying to take care of business. Eliab
is a threat, not to his physical life, but you have no business
being here. We drop down to the portion with
Saul. What does Saul say? You have no business being here.
You don't have experience. You're not properly equipped.
You can't do this. One hears them saying to the
apostles in the early church, you're only 12 men. You haven't
been to school. You've just hung around with
the Savior. You don't have the oratory. You don't have the gift.
You don't have the finesse. You don't have the polish. You
don't have the wherewithal. Oh, but we have a holy Christ
enthroned at the right hand of his Father. And that Holy Christ
has sent us to go therefore and to make disciples of all the
nations, to baptize them, to teach them, and to teach them
to observe all that He has commanded. And He has promised His presence
with us. You can have twelve men who do
not have extraordinary gifts, but serve an extraordinary Lord
that will go and turn the world upside down. Eliab says, go home! Saul will say, go home. Goliath
will say, go home. And what does God say? Just pick
up the stone, put it in your sling, and drop that man. That's it. David obeys. David isn't one who judges by
the externals. David has learned 16-7. God is
not a man. God does not look on the outward
and say, oh, I can use him because he's nine feet tall. I can use
him because he has a big javelin. I can use him because he's got
this training. No, I use who I purpose to use
is what Yahweh says to us. Now notice, we're coming to a
conclusion. Don't fret. I just read a little
quote by John Newton. Overlong sermons cause people
to stop thinking about the sermon and to think about the pudding
that's burning at home. Now, I'd like to think that's
not the case, but I'm convinced of what we learned this morning
as we studied the confession. But notice the appearance before
Saul, verses 31 to 37. He meets with Saul. Saul fetches
him. The willingness of David. Notice in verse 32. Let no man's
heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight
with this Philistine. Don't you love it? Elijah says,
go home. David is not deterred. David is not going away. David
sees an enemy that needs to be killed. David sees a threat to
the church and David wants to take care of business. He wants
to render the death blow. Let not your heart fail, Saul. The end of this day will see
victory in Israel. Now, notice Saul's response.
Verse 33, 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. Now, I love this, the response
of David in verses 34 to 37. In the first place, he does have
experience. Saul says, you have no experience
for this particular task. And David says, well, I do have
experience. It's just not with giants from
Gath, but ferocious mammals that want to destroy my sheep. You
see, God has his ways of preparing men, doesn't he? And look at
how David describes this. 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. Now I think
there's several interesting things about this statement. I suspect
that if I was a shepherd and I saw a bear or a lion with one
of my lambs in its mouth on its way out, I'd probably write off
the lamb. I would probably figure that
the bear won. David ran after it. David chased the bear and lion
down. And David says, when the bear
or lion had the lamb in its mouth, wouldn't this be the high point
of the bear or lion's ferocity? I mean, when a dog is running
for a piece of meat that falls off the table, if you can intercept
it, that's a good thing. Once it seizes upon that meat,
it becomes exponentially more difficult to extract that food
from the mouth of the dog. And my dog's this big. You got a bear or a lion that's
got the blood of the lamb dripping down its throat. It's eating. It's feasting. He's not gonna
let that go. David says, I ripped open its
mouth and I took the lamb out. David ain't to be messed with.
David's one of those manly men. As I was thinking about this
passage this morning, who in this place wants to be in a liab? Who in this place wants to be
a Saul? Who in this place wants to be
part of the armies of Israel? We want to be David. David's
cool. David's strong. David's the real
deal. Notice what David goes on to
say. Verse 36, 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, this is
beautiful, David doesn't say, oh, I lift weights, and I eat
protein, and I'm strong, and I'm able, and I've studied bears,
and I've studied lions, and I know how to open their throats. David's
a theologian in the first place. David says, moreover, the Lord,
Yahweh, 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. I have no fear. I am not concerned. I don't care how tall he is.
The past faithfulness of Yahweh provides the present foundation
for faith. Brethren, is that the way you
live? We get to a particular crisis
and we fall apart. What about his past faithfulness?
What about the fact that you killed a lion or a bear? You've
entered into the ranks with David and Samson. You don't think he's
going to give you victory over this big man from death? You see the principle? We operate
as practical atheists. We come to the crisis. and we
fall apart. Not so, David. I just know that
I chased these animals and I ripped their faces open and I took my
lambs back and I know that Yahweh, who delivered me from those beasts,
will deliver me from that beast." It's beautiful stuff. Truly glorious,
wondrous, amazing. The source of his strength was
not in his grit The source of his strength was not in his determination. I realize I called the point
that. But this is a God-wrought determination. This is a by grace through faith
determination. This is God having prepared his
servant to live in a manner that is consistent with who God is. Well, in conclusion, just a couple
of lessons and then we'll go. in the first place, and I'm sure
I've made this sufficiently clear throughout, the fear of Israel
and the faith of David. Verses 11 and 24 indicate for
us the fear of Israel. Verses 26, 32, 36 to 37, 45 to
47 indicates for us the faith of David. Now, I was thinking
about this in the last week as well. I reckon there's a fine
line between encouragement and nagging. There's a fine line
between encouragement and nagging. I oftentimes try to encourage
people to use the means of grace. Because you see, when we look
at this passage, and it wells up in us to be a David, I will
submit to you that you will not go battle Goliath in the Valley
of Elah until you imitate the sweet psalmist of Israel who
said, I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell
in the tents of wickedness. I seek to encourage, some of
you may take it as nagging, if we want the faith of a David,
we have to feed the faith like David. It's interesting. The body responds amazingly to
exercise, doesn't it? You lift heavy things and you
put them back down. And you repeat that over and
over again, and then you go home and you feed your face with protein.
What eventually happens? You develop muscles. You see
these young men, they want to get big muscles, that's good,
man. Lift heavy things, put them down again, do it many, many
times, and then eat. The soul responds like that too!
You see, pastors know that. Just like the trainer knows that
if you pick heavy things up and put heavy things down and repeat
that over and over and then feed your face with protein, you will
build muscle. The trainer knows that, so the
trainer encourages. The trainee might take it as
nagging. Pastors know that the soul operates
in the same manner. You feed it with scripture, you
feed it with prayer, you feed it with church attendance, and
guess what? You grow. You will never march
onto the valley of Elah. You will never take a sling and
drop Goliath until you get your act together. It's just that
simple. Again, here's where I'm probably
in the nagging mode. Oh, he's gonna say this again.
You may think, oh, Butler just wants the church filled. No. Butler wants you to be healthy
and happy in Jesus. If that doesn't happen here,
and you can't stand behind the ministry fully, then find a church
where it can happen. I will dissuade you if it's heretical,
but if it's evangelical, and the gospel is preached, and you
can find flourishing for your soul, then by all means, flourish! There has to come a point in
our Christian life where we realize this very basic and simple fact. We've got the religion we want. We've got the religion we want. I want to go into battle and
fight with Goliath. But you don't get out of bed
and show up at church. You've got the religion you want. Get up. Show up. Be faithful in the little things. And you will be faithful in the
big things. Brethren, it's not rocket science.
One of the things I've been encouraged about with reference to the internship
is that Mike has bought, not bought, but he has pursued or
he's understood what we try to do as Reformed Baptists. He came
from a broader evangelical community where the Lord's Day was not
taught. The Lord's Day is not an attempt to ruin your day.
The Lord's Day is an attempt to sanctify his day. There's churches out there. that
kowtow to persons that can't get out of bed early, so they'll
start an evening service. How about this for a zany, wacky
idea? Get out of bed early. And most
church services don't start till 10 or 11. We have the religion that we
want. By and large. Oh, pastor, I want to kill this
particular sin. Then stop looking at porn. Oh,
but it's so hard. I need therapy. I need treatment.
No, you need to stop looking at that computer. Oh, I need... No, you need to
just stop. What happened to that? Have we
become a generation of such Nancy boys that we need to be coddled
from cradle to grave? Or do we take some personal responsibility
and do we say, God has delivered me in the past and he will deliver
me now? Think about this today. Go home
today after you eat your pudding or whatever it is you eat. You
pray to God. You get alone in secret. You
ask yourself the question, do I have the religion I want? If
not, then make some changes. Pull your Bible out or off the
shelf. Show up for the Lord's Supper.
The householder feeds you and you neglect the meal. You reject
it. You don't come. This isn't Butler
wanting to pack the house. Whether the house is packed or
not, we're still going to do what we've always done. Because
this house hasn't ever been packed, but it's been a whole lot less
packed than it is now, and we still did what we were supposed
to do, whether you're here or not. It's about your soul. It's about health. It's about
growth and the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider the fact that you'll make time to do things you want
to do. Be a person that can't sit for an hour and a half to
hear a sermon. Not that it's going to be an
hour and a half, but to hear a whole service. Can do three in a hockey
match. Can do three in any sort of worldly
entertainment. Can sit incessantly on the internet. But we're going to grumble because
the pastor went over by a minute and my pudding's burning. It
feels like the days of Joel the prophet. Sound the alarm in Zion. There's some problems, man. We've
got the religion, I suspect, that we want. We want to be holy. We want to be godly. If we want
to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus,
we're going to pick heavy things up, we're going to put them down,
we're going to repeat, and we're going to feed our faces with
protein. We're going to take the Bible seriously. We're going
to read it. We're going to be where it's
preached. Because we know, like the Puritan said, it's as if
preaching breaks open the husk of the corn so that we get those
kernels out. Whereas the Second Helvetic Confession
of Faith testifies that the preaching of the Word of God is the Word
of God. I'm not talking Benny Hinn or
Joel Osteen, but a man who is faithfully expounding the Word
of the Living God that is, in that confession, testified unto
as the Word of God. Don't dare to be a David in the
Valley of Elah. If you're not going to read the
Bible, you're a kid. Don't say, oh, I want to do great
things for God and not do what you're supposed to be doing consistently
and faithfully and routinely. In the second place, I hope we've
developed it, but we ought to marvel at God's providence. Delivering cheeses and seeking
information was the task. The smashing of Goliath's head
was the goal. God gets to the goal in ways
we would have never conceived. Our God is thrilling. Don't you
love the biblical narrative? You ought to develop a love for
the reading of the Bible. It is beautifully written. It
is beautifully told. The narratives all have a purpose
for being where they're at. we ought to stand amazed at the
goodness and the graciousness of our God. In the third place,
we only got two more, pudding's not burned, the source of David's
strength. I must quote Davis again here.
Again, Dale Ralph Davis, he says, with reference to David's testimony,
when he says, moreover, Yahweh, 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. Dale Ralph Davis says, There
is the interpretation of David's experience. He does not ascribe
his escapes to luck or skill or audacity. Yahweh delivered
me. Looking back in faith enables
him to look forward in faith. He will deliver me from the hand
of this Philistine. What Yahweh has done in the wilderness
of Judah, he will do in the Valley of Elah. This is instructive
for the people of God. Faith is sustained in the present
and for the present as it remembers Yahweh's provision in the past. Another good argument for the
supper. Why should I come to the Lord's Supper? Because the
recollection, the remembrance of that past event at Calvary
provides the stuff for our present pursuit of Christ. It's beautiful. The householder feeds us bread
and wine to refresh our weary souls. Not to get us, not to
hurt us, not to ruin our day, You've got the wrong approach
to the means of grace, brethren. He says the rich history of God's
past goodness nurtures faith in its current dilemma. You must
keep verse 37. He will deliver me before you. If you don't, you will misconstrue
verses 34 to 36. David will be delivered, not
because he has true grit, but because he knows the true God.
Circumstances may vary, but Yahweh is the same, whether among the
sheep or in front of the Philistines." It's beautiful. And our final
observation is to note the similarities between David and his greater
son. David comes from obscurity, doesn't
he? He's a Bethlehemite. He is an
Ephraimite. He is from the son of Jesse.
There's no notoriety there. When we get to Goliath's statement
concerning David, we learn there is no physical appearance to
him. Nothing we should be awestruck
over. Nothing we would compose music
about. We notice as well what David
does is he achieves total victory. And he does it through the power
of God, not according to the conventional means of man. Saul
says, take my armor, take my shield, take my stuff. David
tries it on, it doesn't fit. I got the picture of, you know,
a father whose son puts on his suit. The father might have a
few more years and a few more pounds on him. And the suit's
sort of hanging off the son. And the son says, Dad, I can't
go to that place tonight because I'll look foolish. Well, David
says, I can't wear that armor. I haven't tried it. I haven't
proven it. I haven't tested it. He gains victory, total victory,
through an unconventional means. Now look at David's greater son,
born from obscurity. It's a Nazarene. Can anything
good come from Galilee? This was what was reported about
him. He has no physical appearance or comeliness that we should
desire him. Isaiah 53 too, isn't that what the prophet says? There's
nothing about him that makes us, you know, seek after him.
He's not walking around with a halo over his head. He's not
walking around like, you know, buff man with glistening abs
and the whole spiel. There's nothing in him that makes
us seek after him physically. But what does Christ do? He achieves
total victory. And he does it according to the
power of God, and not the conventional means. Because you see, Jews
seek after signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but Paul says,
we preach Christ crucified. We preach a dead, crucified,
but risen Savior. And all those who, by the grace
of God, believe in Him, they will be saved. Isn't that beautiful?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, leave your sin, come to the one
alone in whom there is righteousness. That's what we learn from this
passage. If David I was able to achieve
total victory through this unconventional means, David II, the greater
than David, is able to achieve total victory through an unconventional
means. Who would have thought that it
would be through the blood of his cross that he would make
peace? It just seems so oxymoronic, doesn't it? Colossians 1.20,
having made peace through the blood of his cross. That's God's
means. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a sinner here this
morning, you may not like to be called that. They call me
sinners there. We're all sinners. Every single one of us all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Somebody calls
me sinner, I am not able to dispute with them. Cannot debate with
them whatsoever. There's a difference between
a redeemed sinner and one who's not redeemed. If you are not
in Christ, believe and be saved. Well, let us pray. Father, we
thank you for the Word of God, and we thank you for this backdrop
to the battle that will occur at the Valley of Elah. We thank
you for David's greater son. We thank you for total victory
through an unconventional means, the means that you had purposed
before the world began. We praise you, Father, Son, and
Spirit, for so great a salvation. God, for those who are believers,
help us to pursue those things which are pleasing in your sight.
and help us, Lord God, to learn from a man like David, to use
those means that you have provided, to say with David, I'd rather
be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents
of wickedness. Go with us now, we pray, through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
