Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 17. 1 Samuel 17, taking a few weeks off from our study in Matthew's Gospel, looking at the life of David specifically. Larger context of 1 Samuel 17 starts in 16.1 and carries on to the end of the book. It's the story of Saul and David. Of course, we all are familiar with the situation in 1 Samuel 17, David's battle in the Valley of Elah against the Philistine champion from Gath, a man named Goliath.
Last week we spent considerable time on the preparation. Remember I mentioned that we could have just gone to verses 48 to 51 and saw that David slayed Goliath and sent him into the arms of his idol, Dagon. That's not how the author does it. The author spends a lot of time in the background, the lead up, the things going into this particular battle.
We saw the threat posed by the Philistines in verses 1 to 11. We saw the nature of the threat. It was very strategic. It was very tactical.
What had happened is that the Philistines had moved into a place of land that belonged to Judah. Well, Judah must get into practice or Judah must go on the offense, Israel as a whole, to neutralize that threat and to deal with the Philistines. And then we saw by way of almost a sideline note, verses 12 to 22, God's plan, the orchestration of God's plan and how it focuses upon David, the shepherd, this man who comes from unimpressive backgrounds and an unimpressive life situation but nevertheless has the hand of God upon him and he is the one that is thrust forth into this battle against Goliath. We saw the contrast between the fear of Israel and the faith of David.
And so often we imitate Israel in this passage. We quaver and we quake and we fear and we are paralyzed through and through rather than manning up with David and say, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he would taunt the armies of the living God? And then we saw how Eliab tried to discourage David. And then we saw how Saul initially tried to discourage David.
And when we come out to the field of battle, we will see how Goliath responds to David. So David confronts not just Goliath in this chapter, but he confronts Eliab and he confronts Saul. Essentially, David is the man of faith and determination in the chapter. Everybody else isn't.
I want to begin our reading this morning in chapter 17 at verse 31, just to refresh us of David's appearance before Saul. Beginning in verse 31, Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul, and he sent for him. Then David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with his Philistine.
And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with them, for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 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 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 hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and a sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
So the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. And 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, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that Yahweh does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is Yahweh'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. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaarim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.
Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.
The king said, Inquire whose son this young man is. Then as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, whose son are you, young man? So David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our blessed God and our Father, we pray now for the ministry of your Holy Spirit. We confess our sin, our ignorance.
We confess, Lord God, that we are sluggish when it comes to the means of grace. So we pray for forgiveness. We pray you would wash us in the blood of the Lamb. And we pray that you would help us to receive, with thanksgiving, this wonderful declaration concerning the Godhood of God Most High.
May you give us grace and wisdom as we approach these Old Testament narratives to see that they are about you, that they are about your glory and about your honor and about your praise in the earth. We ask our father that your spirit would guide us and lead us and instruct us and that you would form us or conform us rather unto the image of David's greater son, even our Lord Jesus Christ who dealt the death blow to the devil himself by crushing his head. How we praise you and how we bless you for the gospel of free and sovereign grace. How we praise you and bless you that it's not because we're good that we are here this morning, but because you are good.
Because you predestinated us unto adoption as sons by Christ. Because you called us out of darkness into marvelous light. Because you put it in us to praise and to worship your great and glorious name. So certainly salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne.
And may you bless and encourage our hearts now as we study scripture. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: Goliath and David
Well, just to remind everybody of the dimensions of Goliath. Notice in verse 54 it says that David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem. but he put his armor in his tent. That was a big head. That was a jumbo melon that David had to cart around after hacking it off using the giant's own sword.
Remember, he was 9 foot 9 inches. He probably wore a suit of armor that was about 126 pounds. Some suggest that the giant's weight would have been in the 6 to 700 pound category. And remember that the javelin that he had, that he was armed with, just the point, just the tip itself, weighed about 15 to 16 pounds.
So this is one large man and he is full of taunts against the armies of the living God. Remember, in chapter 17, for each step of the way, they tell us something, or the author tells us something about David, but he never lets us forget Goliath, because Goliath continues to blather on. Goliath continues to blaspheme the God of heaven and earth. And remember, it's David who thinks theologically concerning this whole situation.
The first time in all of Scripture that it is recorded of David speaking, it is in verse 26. He says, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Why are we cowering? Why are we running?
Why are we hiding? This man does not serve the living God. Certainly, if we have a living God, it ought to empower us, it ought to enable us, we ought to go out to the field of battle, and we ought to cut off this man's head, and we ought to feed his carcasses, or his carcass, rather, to the birds of the air, and let them feast upon this traitor, upon this enemy of the God of heaven and earth. And then just by way of reminder, notice where David ascribes, or to whom David ascribes his strength.
I love that scene where he's before Saul, and Saul essentially says, you don't have any experience, David. You cannot fight Goliath, David. He's nine foot nine. Nine foot, nine inches, he's full of power, he's full of strength.
David, you don't have any experience. What does David say? When I was tending sheep, a lion or a bear would take one of the lambs in its mouth, and David would go after it. He would strike the lion or the bear, and he would take the lamb out of the lion or bear's mouth.
Remember, that's a pretty massive feat in and of itself. Are you going to run after a predator that feels the blood dripping down his throat? You don't want to reach in there and grab that. You don't want to lose your own hand.
David not only grabs the lamb out of the lion's mouth, but he then tears the lion apart. He's got experience, but it's with ferocious mammals rather than champions from Gath. But notice what David then says in verse 37. 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.
God's past faithfulness is the foundation for David's present usefulness. What the Lord has done in the past ought to empower the people of God for the present. When we reflect upon His goodness, when we reflect upon His faithfulness, His stability, His multi-faceted deliverances of us in every area of life, certainly in the present that ought to empower our faith so that we'll operate accordingly. And
Overview of the Five Points
that brings us then to the fourth observation, at least in this section where David's faith is manifested, to the battle with Goliath, 37B to 58. And there are five things that we're going to look at here as we unfold this particular battle. In the first place, the preparation for battle. Secondly, the meeting between the warriors.
Thirdly, the declaration of David. Fourthly, the victory of David over Goliath. And fifthly, the victory of Israel over the Philistines. Now, I submit that verses 45 to 47 is what this chapter is about. 45 to 47 is what the author wants you to learn.
Yes, he wants you to see how David had great faith. Yes, he wants you to see that David was a man of determination. Yes, he wants you to see the cowering Israelites who should have manned up and went to battle. Certainly all these lessons are appropriate.
But when we ask the question of our author in 1 Samuel 17, what's the point? What's the main idea? What is the focus? That comes from David's declaration in 45-47.
But let's look first at the battle with, I'm sorry, the
Preparation for Battle
preparation for battle in 37b-40. Saul, after hearing about God's victories over lions and bears via David, Saul then says, go and the Lord be with you. And so essentially what happens now is that Saul doesn't want to send David into the battle without armor. I mean, this is a logical understanding, isn't it?
We wouldn't want to send anybody into the military fray unless they're wearing armament. They've got a helmet. They've got a sword. They've got a shield.
They've got, in our modern parlance, guns and knives. and rockets and tanks and helicopters. There's just a whole bunch of ways to do battle today, isn't there? Imagine if they would have had such things in the Valley of Elah. David could have shown up with a rocket launcher and took Goliath out that way, though that's not the point of the story.
Of course, you see Saul's concern. I don't want you to go into battle without this armament. So David tries these things on. As I mentioned last week, I have it in my mind that he's almost like when you're a father and you let your child, your son rather, wear your suit.
It just doesn't fit. It's hanging off of him. It's not something that is natural to him. And David says as much.
David says, I have not tried these weapons. I have not proved these weapons. I cannot wade into the battle with this Goliath, this enemy of Israel, with these particular weapons. This is exactly what he says.
And then notice, he then selects these five smooth stones in verse 40. I once heard a sermon on the five points of Calvinism. from 1 Samuel 17, 40. I'm not going to go there. I certainly don't think that's what those five smooth stones represented.
So we have to appreciate something. If David would have lived on this side of Oliver Cromwell, he could have appreciated what that man had said. Pray and keep your powder dry. David can't wade into the battle with Saul's armament because it doesn't fit and because he hasn't tried and proven it.
That doesn't mean that David mindlessly wanders into combat without some armament. David has his sling, David has his shepherd's staff, David has his pouch, and he selects five smooth stones. He understands what will later be written in Proverbs 21, that the horse is prepared for battle, but deliverance is of Yahweh. You see, there's a fine interplay between providence and responsibility.
When we know that our sovereign God governs all His creatures and all His actions, that does not mean inactivity on our part. It does not mean lack of preparation on our part. It does not mean laziness on our part. But rather knowing that we have a sovereign God, knowing the doctrine of providence, We are emboldened, we are empowered, we do make preparations, we do those things that are necessary.
In something very similar to what 21.31 in Proverbs says, Paul takes up the same idea in 2nd Corinthians. He says, one plants into another waters, but it is God who gives the increase. You see, God gives increase. He is sovereign in His providence.
But that does not militate against the sowing, and the watering, and the praying, and the preaching, and the use of means that we must engage in. If your doctrine of providence ever reduces you to inactivity, or your doctrine of providence ever pushes you into hyper-Calvinism, then your doctrine of providence is inaccurate. It is false, and you need to pray to God to give you a proper understanding. David can't wear Saul's armor, but that doesn't mean David's going to wade in against a nine-foot, nine-inch monster without some arms at his side.
And that is precisely what he does. In terms of these stones, Davis tells us, such stones would range from two to three inches in diameter, and when flung by an accomplished warrior, could reach speeds of 100 to 150 miles per hour, all of which could make for a stunning victory, and which it most certainly made in this particular instance. This is beautiful, five smooth stones, but God blesses the one. Five smooth stones in preparation, but it's God who guides the one into that forehead of that menace from Gath who is taunting the armies of the living God.
Now notice,
Meeting of the Warriors
secondly, the meeting between the warriors, verses 41 to 44. Much of the chapter has been essentially, in this corner, we have the champion of Gath. He's this tall, he's this armed, he's this, this, that, and the other. And in the other corner we have the shepherd boy from Bethlehem, son of Jesse.
He has no experience as men would perceive it. He has no ability as men would perceive it. And now the warriors meet each other in verses 41 to 44. The uncircumcised man taunts David.
Does this surprise us? He's been taunting the armies of Israel the entire chapter. He's been blathering and yammering on the entire chapter. Now that Israel has sent their champion, what Goliath does is target him specifically.
Notice what he says. The Philistine came and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. Verse 42 now. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
Now, it occurred to me last week, when I mentioned what I'm about to quote, that it almost sounded like I had a beef against redheads or something. But this word, ruddy, means probably redhead. My granddaughter has red head and I love the life out of her. I was just making an observation.
If you happen to have red hair, do not be offended here. In fact, if you happen to have red hair, be thrilled that you can identify with the best king Israel ever had, other than the one who came from his line. Notice what he says. He disdained him for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
John Gill says he looked about for his antagonist to take a view of him, what sort of man he was, expecting to see one much like himself. But observing a puny young man, he despised him in his heart and perhaps looked upon it as an affront to him to send such a man to fight with him. You see the scene, don't you? You've got the power lifter at the gym.
He's got amazing numbers. He can do an 800 or 900 pound squat. On this bench, he's getting 500 pounds. I mean, he's just a strong man.
And now there's going to be a competition and somebody like me walks up. He's going to say, there's no way you can do those kinds of numbers. Or better yet, somebody that's a whole lot thinner than me walks up. They're going to say, there's no way they can make those kinds of numbers.
Is this an insult? Am I a dog? Are you treating me in this manner? He disdains him because he does not count him a worthy opponent.
When Goliath wins the battle, he wants all of Israel to fear and to shudder and to quake. He wants there to be a foe that is worthy of his appearance. Robert Alter describes
Goliath's Contempt for David
Goliath's words in these ways. He says, a mere boy and an egregiously red-headed pretty boy at that. This is precisely the order of the original syntax, arranged to mimic Goliath's perceptions, has been sent to do battle with the mightiest Philistine warrior. And then notice, what does Goliath say?
The very end, or in verse 43, 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. Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? This is really ironic because David does think he is a dog, doesn't he?
Of course you're a dog. You're a nine-foot, nine-inch man who has taken up as his cause the blasphemy of the God of Israel. Yes, I think you're a dog. Yes, I'm going to make you fall.
Yes, you are going to be defeated. John Gill says, truly David did not think him much better because of his impudence, impurity, and barking blasphemy against God. and the armies of Israel. And then notice something else very curious about this particular curse pronounced by Goliath upon Israel. He cursed him by his gods.
So what happens when that one smooth stone finds its way, because of the sovereignty of God, into the forehead of Goliath? What does this mean when Goliath falls to the ground and David takes Goliath's sword and cuts that big head off? It means that Dagon can't deliver. It means that Dagon is useless.
It means that Dagon is futile. It means that when Goliath leaves this earth, he will go to see Dagon, ultimately the devil. Because the devil is behind all of these idols. He curses him by his gods, but his gods have no power.
They have no strength. They have eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell.
And you see, to invoke the name of Dagon, to curse David, is absolutely futile, and it is useless. And he boasts, of course, of his coming victory in verse 44. This is Goliath. This is the way he rolls.
Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. Now that
The Declaration of David
brings us thirdly to the Declaration of David, verses 45 to 47. Note in the first place the statement concerning his strength. 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." Remember last week I said I doubt any Christian reads 1 Samuel 17 and says, wow, I want to be like Israel that is hiding from the Philistines. Man, I want to be an Eliab, because Eliab kind of reigned on David's parade and tried to dissuade him from joining in the fray.
I want to be a Saul that opposes... No, we read 1 Samuel 17. We see David is the kind of man that we want to be, even if we're women. Paul in 1 Corinthians tells the church, act like men.
There is a militant, vibrant, dynamic faith that is exhibited by David in this particular chapter. And every Christian reader, as he moves through 1 Samuel 17, he hopes secretly or she hopes secretly, I wish or I hope that one day I can be this kind of a believer. Well, certainly verse 45 is one of those declarations in the Bible that is thrilling, isn't it? It is amazing.
David understands the score. David understands the situation. You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
And now notice that David, Trash talks Goliath. It's not just a one-way street. Goliath's out there blustering and blathering and yammering on about how he's going to mop up the floor with David. Notice what David says.
Verse 46, 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. You see, it's a bit different. Again, David is giving praise, and glory, and honor, and deference to the God of heaven and earth.
And David doesn't even question whether victory is his. Do we have that kind of faith? Jesus tells us in Matthew 16, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And you know how many Christians are quavering, and quakering, and quivering, and eye-eating, sucking their thumbs, and letting their knees knock.
Oh, did you see the rise of Islam? Did you see the wretched things that are being done by the civil government and the civil magistrate? Do you see the sorts of things that are going on? You know what?
Jesus has promised to build his church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Brethren, we are called to believe the truth. We are called to live in light of the truth. We are called to march behind the one who has bid us follow him.
David doesn't even consider the thought that he might lose on the field of battle. As far as David is concerned, it's a done deal. You see this in David's greater son as well. On his side or on the other side of the cross, he always spoke of the accomplishment of redemption as having been accomplished.
He understood that what God had commanded was good. He understood that submission to His Father was everything. He understood that when He set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem, what that meant, what that entailed, and what that involved. And He didn't shrink back.
If you have one prayer for our church, pray that God would increase our faith. Our faith. What is it that brings people together to pray? It is because we're blood-bought and because we believe that God hears, right?
Him that cometh unto God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11. You see, if your prayer life is suffering, it's not necessarily the case that you need to read books on prayer. Perhaps you need to cry out to God, increase my faith. Because you see, when we believe God, we will ask God.
When we believe God, we will live in light of that reality, and that is precisely what we find in David. David is a glowing specimen of a human being in this particular chapter, isn't he? He just does what God says. Pray for Davids in the church today.
And God willing, next week and the following week, hopefully you'll pray that there'll be Jonathans in the church, because Jonathan, to use the words of my beloved brother, is a champion as well. Now notice, here are the lessons that we are to take away from this particular chapter. Davis says, if we don't listen to this text, the whole of 1 Samuel 17, then we'll end up bringing in all the junk about being courageous in the face of your Goliaths, whether the bully down the street for primary Sunday school kids, or everyone's preoccupation, one's poor self-image. We must protect ourselves from such deafness to the text.
One such protection is to note where a narrative talks about Yahweh. That is liable to be where the accent falls, and that is what 46 and 47 are all about. A key word in this chapter means to reproach, to defy, to mock, to deride. It appears six times.
Goliath mocks God and David honors God. This is the point of the narrative and especially verses 45 to 47. Now note the two lessons that are supposed to be learned when we come to 1 Samuel 17. Now, again, we don't want to psychoanalyze the chapter.
I've got bad self-esteem. I need to slay my Goliath with those stones that God has given me. Now, if you want to do that, do that, but don't miss 46 and 47. You ever heard sermons where a man preaches a glowing message, but he didn't explain the text?
He didn't give you the point? See, brethren, that is crucial in Bible study, in preaching, in whatever it is. We have to ask the author, what's the point of the passage? And everything has converged here to tell us the point of the passage.
All of this lead up, the threat of the Philistines, the plan orchestrated by God, the presence of David before Eliab and before Saul. This is it. The trash talk is done. Goliath has said his spiel.
David has returned in kind. And now David says what Israel and what the world needs to know from this particular venture. In the first place, the earth will learn that there is a God in Israel. Notice verse 46.
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." That, here it is, that, here's what David wants you to get. Here's what he wants you to know. Goliath and all Israel that are cowering in their boots, here's what God has for you today.
That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. You see, this was crucial in David's time. Who does Goliath worship and serve? He worships and serves Dagon.
When the nation is in Canaan, who do the Canaanites worship? There's Baal, there's Asherah, there's Molech. It's interesting today, planned parenthood out Molech's Molech. in their grisly and ghoulish behavior. You remember who Molech was.
He was an idol. He was a statue. And he had his arms outstretched and they would light a fire around him. And the worshippers would come with their little children and throw them into the arms of Molech.
Now the psalmist says that the idols have eyes and they cannot see. They have ears and they cannot hear. Guess what? They have hands and they cannot catch.
And when the worshipper threw their baby to the idol, it would bounce off and go into the fire. You see, the pagans and the Canaanites and the heathen, they worshipped idols. We, in our Christian sensitivity, come to the Old Testament, we say, horror of horrors. This is barbarism at its finest.
No, it isn't. It's Yahweh of Israel being jealous for his glory in the earth he created. God makes this world and all things in it. What does this creature do?
He raises his fist. He constructs a mullet. He throws his baby into the fire. He constructs his bale and he somehow thinks that praying to bale or rather copulating in front of bale is going to get bale to fertilize field.
You see, this is folly, and it's idolatry, and it's bad, and somehow in the church today, we don't really have that much of a problem with it. I mean, I know that John ends 1 John not on love, not on righteousness, not on good feelings, and not on experience, and not on mysticism. You know how John ends his first epistle? My little children, keep yourselves from idols.
You see, if you imbibe the doctrine of Antichrist, you become an idolater. I want to just qualify something. Our brother mentioned two particular men not being the Antichrist. But if we understand Antichrist as a denial of the person and work of the Lord Jesus, they could certainly be numbered among that unholy lot.
John ends his epistle not on experience, not on mysticism, not on finding yourself, but on watching your heart from the idols of the nations. You see, this is what would be published when Goliath fell to the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. You see, what has Goliath been doing? He's been taunting the armies of the living God.
He has been blaspheming the name of the living God. He has taken upon his lips that holy name, and he's used it as a curse word. So David says, when you fall to the earth, this message is going to be published, that there is a God over Israel. You think this is what David has in mind in Psalm 46, 10?
Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Now, we often take that verse as a very comforting verse, and it is.
You can put it on your fridge. You can put it on your bumper. Better yet, put it in your head and heart. Do you know why God says, be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth?
Because He's going to decimate, destroy, and bring to naught the enemies of God Most High. It's interesting, in Psalm 23, that blessed testimony concerning the shepherdness or the shepherd office of our Lord God. What does David say? When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Why? For thou art with me, and thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Now, it's not uncommon to consider the reality that God, as shepherd, uses that rod and staff to correct His erring sheep. You know, we start to stray away, and what does He do?
He takes the crook, and He puts it around our necks, and He pulls us back. Do you know what the shepherd is doing with that rod and staff? He's killing wolves. He's destroying enemies.
He's crushing heads. He's cutting off. He is protecting his particular people. He is with them in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death.
And while they are traversing that dark road, God the Lord is keeping at bay all of the enemies that would bring them to ruin. You see, this idea of God reigning victorious over all of his enemies, as offensive as it may be to the God-hater and to many who profess the name of Christ but have watered down the entire approach to biblical revelation, this is the blessed hope of the believer. This is what encourages us. God will decimate Planned Parenthood.
God will destroy Islam. God will cause Dagon to fall. God will shatter Molech. God will exclude all sinners from the New Jerusalem.
Again, you're probably saying, can he actually say this? Just wait. Wait until we get to application. I'm going to ask you an interesting question.
Have you noticed that many of the enemies of Israel suffered fatal head Keep that in your mind for later. Actually, get it out of your mind. Follow with me now. We'll return to that particular question.
Notice the
The Earth Will Know God
first lesson. The earth will learn that there is a God in Israel. But notice,
Israel Must Trust God Alone
secondly, Israel was supposed to learn as well. Those Israelites that are cowering. Those Israelites that are shriveled up. Those Israelites that are fearful.
Those Israelites that are hiding behind their mother's skirts. Those Israelites that are too afraid to enter into the fray. David says they need to learn something. Verse 47.
Then all this assembly shall know that Yahweh does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is Yahweh's and he will give you into our hands. Now, the nation was prone to trust the king who had military prowess. The nation was prone to trust the king who was a strong leader. The nation was prone to trust the king who had good abilities in the battlefield.
Remember when Saul is anointed, And one of the first things that happens in 1 Samuel chapter 11 is that he goes and he battles against the Ammonites. And Saul is killing Ammonites until the heat of the day. And certainly all Israel liked this. They liked and appreciated this because, after all, the Ammonites were their enemies.
But you see in 1 Samuel 17, when it comes to Philistines, Saul is right there with them, quavering or quaking in his boots. They were prone to follow Earthly leaders. And forget the God of heaven and earth. And this is what David says.
In Psalm, brethren, it's something that Paul affirms in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. God's grace is perfected through our weakness. Who would have thought that David would be victorious on that day? If the Philistine News Network were standing out there and they saw David walk up to Goliath, they would say, we don't know what Israel's doing.
They've sent this ruddy young man. He's kind of a pretty boy. We don't think he's going to be able to stand up to Goliath. Israel thought the same thing, at least embodied by Saul and Eliab and probably the rest of them.
Who is this shepherd from Bethlehem that will ever be able to deal a death blow to Goliath? You see, David says that you need to appreciate this reality, that it's not about swords, it's not about spears, it's not about your prowess or ability, but it's about God. It is about the Lord. Isn't this what God has shown in the institution of the church?
Did He give us guns? Are we strapped? Do we wander down the street making disciples with bandoliers across? No!
He chose 12 simple men in the first century, and He put a simple message in their hearts and in their mouths, and He sent them out to preach. Paul says, Jews seek after sign, Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ and Him crucified. This is the wisdom and power of God. You see, God doesn't need money.
God doesn't need resources. God doesn't need all the things that we think He needs. God is sovereign. God is powerful.
God is good and God will most certainly accomplish His purposes in the earth. Davis makes this observation concerning this theme of weakness. This theme of weakness has been building throughout the chapter. All the important people regard David as weak.
If we might colloquialize, Eliab tells him, you're a pain. Saul warns, you're green. And Goliath sneers, you're puny. But he is the one Yahweh uses to deliver.
Nor does David have the right equipment. He refuses to be a little Goliath and lays aside Saul's armor and sword. He insults Goliath with his staff, but he demonstrates that Yahweh brings deliverance without the symbols of man's strength. We hear this throughout the Bible.
One instance, Psalm 20, some trust in chariots, some trust in horses. Who are the people of God supposed to trust in, brethren? Who was that again? What was his name?
The Lord God of hosts. You see how the church trusts in horses and chariots? If we can only do this, if we can only do this, if we can only manipulate people, if we can only create an environment, if we can only usher in heaven on earth, at least in these four walls, then everybody will get saved. You know what's truly amazing is that God saves sinners between four walls like these, where it's riddled with imperfection, it's riddled with sin, it's riddled with shortcomings, and it's riddled with all kinds of problems.
That God saves in our midst is truly amazing. And I think this jives with what Paul says in 2 Corinthians elsewhere. Verse 4, he takes gospel treasure, he puts it in earthenware vessels, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of men. You are converted under a preacher of the gospel.
You never owe your allegiance to that preacher, but to the God of the gospel. You see, God works through weakness. Davis goes on to say, what matters not is whether you have the best weapons, but whether you have the real God. In fact, your inadequacy may be precisely your qualification for serving God, for His strength shines most brightly behind the foreground of your weakness." Beautiful.
Now
The Victory of David over Goliath
notice, the victory of David over Goliath. As I've said, 48 to 51, this is the actual battle. Now, I imagine that Goliath was pretty clunky. I used the word clunkiness in my notes and word underlined it in red.
I thought clunkiness was a word. Imagine if I was nine feet, nine pounds, weighing in about six or seven bills, carrying this sword, wearing 126 pounds of armor, I wouldn't be the fastest guy in the world. Would I? You get this picture that he's just this lumbering oaf marching in brainlessly to this battle.
What's David got? Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, victory is of Yahweh. Yes, deliverance comes of the Lord.
But it's interesting that Yahweh, who brings deliverance and victory, often times uses means. Well, always uses means in our experience. David was a lot quicker. David was more nimble.
The clunky ones marching over to him, what does David do? He takes out that one stone and he lets fly and God guides it right into the forehead of this giant. The text says that he died. He falls to the ground, and then he dies.
David doesn't have a sword, so David takes his sword and cuts off his head, and then the text says that he died. Wait a minute, isn't that a contradiction? Did he die when the rock hit his forehead, or did he die when he lost his head? Imagine if I shot someone at a particular scene.
Let's just say I was at a 7-Eleven, and I shot someone in the head. Probably the worst illustration I could give, but go with me. It's not me, it's someone else. Some bad guy shoots somebody at 7-Eleven.
He shot and he killed him, but he didn't die until he got to the hospital. He didn't die, perhaps, for a few days later. Does the criminal have the option to go before court and say, well, I didn't kill him. Of course you did.
It was the bullet that you put in his head that brought him to death. There's no contradiction. If we think for a moment that we see contradictions in the Bible, let us ask ourselves, don't we think the author would have seen it? Don't we think that the man who writes back-to-back verses wouldn't have said, wow, that sounds odd?
Are we somehow smarter than the inspired author of Holy Writ that we figured out that there's contradictions? There's no contradiction. He hit him in the head with a rock. He fell and he died.
He took his sword out. He died. No contradiction. It's reaffirming.
It's making the point twice, pun intended. Now notice what happens on the heels of that. The
Victory of Israel over the Philistines
victory of Israel over the Philistines in 51 to 54. You mean Goliath lied? You mean Goliath wasn't honest? He wasn't accurate?
No, we said he was trash talking. Remember what Goliath said. If your champion beats me, then the Philistines will be subservient to Israel. That's not what happens.
The Philistines don't bow down and say, hey, we're going to worship you now, we're going to serve you, we're going to do what you say. No, verse 51, therefore David ran and stood, I'm sorry, verse 51b, and when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted. Where were they before?
It's easy to get empowered, isn't it, when you have the victory in the bag. Brethren, don't be that kind of a fan, a fair weather fan. We're going to support our church insofar as everything's going well. But the moment that something doesn't go well, we're out of here.
Wait a minute, what's the deal, man? Either you're in or you're out. Or whatever the situation may be, I'm going to be in this cause and I'm going to serve the Lord. But as soon as it gets difficult, I'm going to run home and cry.
No. These guys are crying and whining and afraid. Now David kills Goliath and what do they do? Let's get them!
I'm not suggesting they shouldn't have said let's get them, but it should have happened a long time earlier. This was the military. This was the fighting wing of Israel. These were the soldiers.
These were the combat men. These were the ones who were supposed to take care of Philistines and Goliaths. But nevertheless, they do. They run, they shout, and they pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley into the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaarim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.
Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents, and David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put his armor in his tent." I mean, David's just so cool. I wouldn't even touch a severed head. I'd be like, that's icky. I think I mentioned that when I preached through judges with Samson.
I don't think I'd pick up the jawbone of a donkey. I really don't. Samson picks it up and kills a thousand Philistines with it. David means business.
David's not holding up his skirt here. David picks up the head and he walks back in victory. Now the last few verses, as I mentioned last week, some people see a bit of a problem. The end of chapter 16, Saul obviously meets David.
David is the harpist that soothes that man when the distressing spirit from Yahweh comes upon him. And yet we get to the end of chapter 17, it's almost as if Saul doesn't know who David is. No, Saul does know who David is. Remember the particulars.
It was promised by Saul that the victor over Goliath would be able to marry Saul's daughter and that his father would receive tax-exempt status in Israel. The question that Saul poses at the end of chapter 17 is not, who is David, but whose son is he? He needs to identify Jesse. You say, well, back in 16, he would have heard of Jesse.
He's a bureaucrat. There's a lot of things going on in the orchestration of a kingdom. He could forget the father of a servant in his court. The issue is not that he forgets David.
He's ascertaining who David's father is so that hopefully he can make good on his vow or promise to give tax-exempt status. Now,
Application
there's our exposition. We'll close with a couple of lessons And then we'll move on. In the
Advancement of God's Kingdom
first place, the advancement of God's kingdom is something we ought to appreciate here because that's what this is. It is the advancement of God's kingdom. Typological to be sure, the anti-type is the progress of the kingdom today. But certainly as we look in 1 Samuel 17 and the continual rise of David to the throne in Israel, what do we see under his rule and under his reign?
We see advance. We see progress. We see it going forward. And the way we do not see that progress go forward in 1 Samuel 17 is through experience, or through weaponry, or through a superior ability, but rather we see the manifest Grace and the strength of God, or the strength of God rather manifested in the weakness of David.
The same is true for the advancement of the kingdom today. What are the weapons that God has given to the church today? Not five smooth stones necessarily. He's given us prayer.
He's given us preaching. You say, well, we can read our Bibles. Of course that's what we should do. Absolutely.
But in terms of the Church, what is the Church supposed to do? She's supposed to pray. She's supposed to preach. It's interesting that the Reformers identified three marks of true churches.
One, preaching of the Word. Two, the administration of sacraments. And three, the exercise of discipline. That's what churches are supposed to do!
That's the measuring standard. That's the rule. That's the paradigm. That's what she's supposed to do, not everything else that she wants to do.
The Kingdom of God will advance insofar as the people of God do what they're called by God and do it faithfully. In the
Head Wounds and Genesis 3:15
second place, back to that statement I made earlier, have you ever noticed how many times in the Old Testament the enemies of God suffer fatal wounds to their heads? Maybe you haven't, so I will refresh your memory. I think what we have in 1 Samuel 17 is typological of what Genesis 3.15 promises is in the future. Genesis 3.15, where God says to the devil, Now the identity of the seed here probably has both a collective and an individual aspect.
Individually, it's a reference to Jesus Christ. Galatians 3.16 tells us he is the seed, singular, of Abraham. He is the seed that crushes the serpent. He is the seed that destroys the devil.
But Jesus as seed has a seed. So there is a collective reference. I think what the author is telling us, Moses, is that there will be an antithesis between the wicked and the righteous that will ultimately be ended by the righteous seed himself who brings victory to all of his seed. We need to understand this.
The nature of the seed as described in 315, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. We get from Genesis 3.15 that the conqueror, the victor to come, is going to be a man and he is going to be born of a woman. Beautiful. When we consider Galatians 4.4, in the fullness of the times, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law.
As well, the victory of the seed. He crushes the head of the serpent. Now notice, he shall bruise your head. That's a death blow, isn't it?
You get your head bruised or your head crushed, what happens? You do not continue on to sing another day, and you shall bruise his heel. Now, I've always understood this as a comparison. At the death of Christ on Calvary, when Jesus dies, he delivers a death blow to the head of the serpent.
But in his suffering, comparatively, he most certainly does suffer. Comparatively, it's as if his heel was bruised. But consider this. Michael Reitlnick points this out in his book on the messianic hope.
He says, what does a serpent do to deliver a death blow? It bites you, right? And where do serpents typically bite you? Remember, they don't have feet, and they don't stand up, and they don't go for the neck.
Everybody with me. Pay attention. Listen. Typically, a slithering serpent's going to bite you on the foot.
It's going to bite you on the heel. What we have at the end of verse 15 is probably not a comparative statement in terms of the fact that his head will be crushed but your heel will be bruised. But what we have is how the head of the serpent will be crushed. It is through the death of the seed himself. because he has been bit fatally by the serpent.
But lo and behold, he'll rise again the third day, and he'll enter into his glory, and he'll bring many sons to glory with him. But you need to understand Genesis 3.15 is very paradigmatic or programmatic for the rest of the Bible. And as I've said, if you look at the enemies of Israel, throughout redemptive history, many of them suffer fatal head injuries. How did Jael dispose of Sisera?
She took a tent peg and drove it through his head. How did Abimelech meet his end? Remember that rogue man who wanted to irrigate for himself a position of authority? He goes around the countryside wreaking havoc on Shechem.
He gets to Thebes. He knows there's people up in the tower. And it says a certain woman. We're not even given her name.
A certain woman takes a large millstone and throws it out of the tower. Guess where it hits? It crushes his head. You see, these are typological statements given to Israel in light of this garden promise to point them to the coming Redeemer.
You see this even in the law in Numbers 24. Most would take verse 17 as a reference to Messiah shattering the forehead of Moab. You see this in the prophets, in Isaiah, and in Jeremiah, and in Habakkuk. The enemies of the Lord meet with fatal head wounds.
You see this in the Psalter, in Psalm 68. You see this in Psalm 119. I pointed this out, I'm sorry, Psalm 110. I pointed this out last month at the Lord's Supper.
The skull-crushing seed of the woman is going to render the devil defeated. And we have these payments, these types. I think this understanding helps us to make heads or tails out of Psalm 137.9. I've often thought that preachers ought to preach the hardest texts in the Bible.
One of the hardest texts, I think, is Deuteronomy 13. Psalm 137.9 would have to take its place among the top three of hard Bible verses to preach. That's when the psalmist says, happy is he who dashes your little ones against the stones. The psalmist sees the wickedness of Babylon.
The psalmist witnesses the wickedness of Babylon inflicted upon Judah. And so the psalmist prays, the psalmist pronounces a beatitude on the ones who would rise up and take Babylonian children and dash them on stones. Again, that's a tough passage to get one's mind wrapped around. Perhaps if we were Judahites and we had witnessed Babylon do that to our children, we might sing a different song.
But consider the reality in light of this garden promise in Genesis 3. Could be a messianic statement. The fact that the Psalter is Davidic through and through certainly helps us to understand this reality. The psalmist could be saying, happy is the Christ who will take the collective seed of the serpent and will dash them against the rocks when he brings victory for his people.
You see, what we have in these typological statements of the enemies of Israel losing their lives through fatal head blows is probably a witness to the reality that Christ will come to crush the head of the devil. And then
The Point of the Passage
finally, brethren, we need to make sure that we understand the point of the passage. I encourage you to take verses 45 to 47 However you need to do it, put a little mark next to it, put a little bracket around it, that's the point of the passage. Whenever men preach, whenever men study, whenever men read, whenever men teach, please, get the point of the passage. The Bible has been made to say a whole lot of things it never said.
The Bible has been used to substantiate things that it never made claim to. Some of the obvious things we miss. Some of the clear things we miss. We take our experience, we take our desires, and we read it into the text of the Scripture.
Davis is right. Ask the question, what does the Bible assert about God in this passage? And learn that lesson. And the two lessons primarily that come to the fore in this chapter is that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And that all Israel may know that he doesn't save by sword or by spear or by military prowess, but he saves by his mighty right arm. And it is intriguing that David's greater son, his gospel teaches us the same things, doesn't it? Christ lived, He died, He was risen again on the third day. That cross testifies that there is a God in Israel.
That cross testifies that everything prophesied, everything written concerning of Him came to fruition. So all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. If you have not come to the cross, if you have not learned of God through His Son, the Lord Jesus, may I say, believe on Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
You say, but I thought this was a Calvinistic church. I thought you taught predestination. I thought you taught sovereign grace. We most certainly do.
We most certainly do. But we also teach that all men everywhere ought to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, we proclaim Christ and Him crucified. We tell men, believe on Him.
We leave the saving business up to God with whom there is power. Believe. Why will you die? Why will you turn your back?
In His providence, in His goodness, in His wisdom, and in His kindness, you are hearing the gospel today. Do you know how many persons in the history of the world have never had that privilege? They have never heard that Jesus lived, He died, and He rose again. Which, that's the gospel.
The gospel isn't my warm feelings. The gospel most certainly is not my life. The gospel is the good news concerning Christ and Him crucified and risen. There are a whole multitude in this world populated with 7 billion people that have not come into contact with that message of the gospel.
You have. Right here. Right now, today, you can continue to resist, you can continue to reject, you can continue to write it off, you can continue to make excuse, you can continue recoursing your sin, you can continue with your dagons, or your mollax, or your bales, or your money, or your possessions, or your whatever, or you can, by God's grace, believe. Why will ye Die.
To the saints of Christ, pray. Walk in faith. Trust in the means that God has ordained. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians 121, for since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Israel, brethren, you need to learn it's not horses and it's not chariots that ultimately bring deliverance. It is the name of our God. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you for 1 Samuel chapter 17, for what it teaches us about God. Help us to receive these lessons, help us to recognize that there is a God in Israel. And as those who by grace are believing, may we recognize that your strength is made perfect through our weakness. Grant us help, Father, to receive with thanksgiving these lessons and grant us grace to live in light of them.
And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.