Life of David – Post 2 – Scripture Supply

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“David: Soldier”

1 Samuel 17:1-39

Vs. 1-21, “Tale of the tape”

Vs. 1-3 Condition

Vs. 4-7 Champion
Vs. 8-11 Challenge
Vs. 12-21 Competitor

Intro.

We come now to one of the most familiar stories in the entire Bible: the battle between David and Goliath. Though this story involves a real incident, it also serves to illustrate spiritual truth relative to our lives today. You see, we too face giants in our lives—those areas where the obstacles to our victory cause us to cower at their mere presence. We muster up the courage to stand upon the hill with the champion of our past victories, only to become dismayed and greatly afraid by the challenge of our giant’s shouts. “Where is our champion, our David?”

Are there some truths that we can glean as we face our giants? Are there some pitfalls we can avoid as well as not succumb to his taunts? Mark this Christian, our champion is not to be found in a technique; no, it is to be found in a person who, like David, had the “Spirit of the Lord come upon Him” on our behalf. And by His wondrous grace, His victory is our victory. All we do is stand upon His hill and shout the praises of His prowess and then chase the slain enemy back to whence they came! Paul wrote of our champion in Romans 7:24-25 when he said, “Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Vs. 1-3 Condition:

There are four points that are to be found in the location of the battle that give us insight into the giants that we often face:

“Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle”: The Philistines were mortal enemies of the children of God and had great success against them until the time of Samuel. God spoke to the nation through the prophet and promised them that if they “return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

Then we are told that “the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” My point is that a defeated army makes for a large giant!

Often in our lives, it is the very areas where we have had great success at defeating those things that war against us that come back to taunt us by their sheer size and power. And at what time did the Philistines dare gather an army against those that had defeated them? Well, Christian, it was at a time when Saul chose to disobey the Lord and rely upon his own resources.

**Many a giant could be avoided in our lives by simply remembering these truths; “*Return to the Lord and put away our foreign gods***”!

“Were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah”: The narrative is very specific, isn’t it? The Philistine army was gathered together on land that did not belong to them. Furthermore, they did so in a very interesting place, “Sochoh.” The name means “booths,” for it was here that Jacob built a booth as he separated from his worldly brother Esau. All this speaks to me that a defeated enemy seems to always want to gather and take up residence in an area that does not belong to them! An area where we separated from the world and Christ has made His home. The most common areas where giants appear are on our home turf, seeking to attack areas of security where, at one time, Jesus reigned. Again, I suggest to you that the best way to keep giants out of your land is to make sure that Jesus remains in your booth!

“They encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.” Again, the narrative is exact, as is the enemy encampment; between Sochoh “booths” and Azekah “tilled,” it was here that Joshua defeated the united Amorite kings by God’s miraculous shower of hailstones. Ephes Dammim means the “boundary of blood.” Do you get the picture?

The army of the Philistines encamped in the land that was not theirs between the place where Jacob rested in the Lord, separate from the world, a miraculous place where the ground is tilled right in the boundary of blood! Now, Christian, where do you suppose this area of encampment is in our lives? Why does it tell us that it is in the area won in the blood of our Savior? The enemy can not ever advance beyond the “boundary of blood,” and if you and I would only allow our hearts to be tilled by this miraculous truth, our enemy is defeated before he steps forth to shout one lie!

Vs. 2-3 “Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah and drew up a battle array against the Philistines.” The name “Elah” is a word that means a large tree like an oak or a pine tree. So the army of God gathered in the valley of the large tree and drew up their battle array. I love this picture, don’t you? I mean, here they are under the cross on a hill before them, the boundary of blood.

On the other side of the valley is the enemy, who has been defeated already and is on land. God has already said that all the army needed to do was return to Him with all their hearts and make sure nothing is on the throne of their hearts but Him. Sounds like victory to me! Does this not give us a great view of the giant’s strategy? If you and I would simply recall the truths contained in God’s word, all we would need to do is stand on a hill under the tree by the boundary of blood with our hearts tilled, abiding in the Lord!

Vs. 4-7 Champion:

We now move on to look at the enemy’s champion in his entire splendor.

“And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines.” The word champion is a word that means “a man between two, the idea being a person who fought as a representative. Based upon his challenge in verses 8-10, what was being suggested was a duel between two champions, the worlds and the Lord’s. Turn with me to Joshua 23:10 and hear the final words of the man who led the nation into the promised land.

Yes, it was Joshua who was one of the spies that told the nation in response to these same giants not to “fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” But was it a word only for Caleb and Joshua? No, as he told the nation, “One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.”

Based upon this, I suggest to you that any one of those men could have defeated Goliath had they simply trusted in God as David did. Israel did not need a “superman” man to fight the giant; they only needed to realize that they had a “super God”!

“Named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” Goliath is most likely a descendent of Anak, known as the people of Ammon. Though he is the Philippine champion, he was not one by nationality. Apparently they settled in Gath near the sea after their defeat. His size is approximately 9’2’’, which is based upon the measurement listed here.

You see, a “cubit” was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the index finger (around 18”), and the “span” was the distance on an open hand from the thumb to the index finger (mine is 7 ½ inches). For years, this measurement was disputed until they found human skeletons that were of this size in the region. Here then is what the enemy’s champion had on his side: reputation and size. In other words, his best weapon was the weapon of fear and intimidation.

Vs. 5-7 Goliath’s armor, though impressive, also made him very vulnerable. Combining the bronze helmet with a coat of mail that weighed around 150 pounds, bronze armor on his legs, and a bronze javelin on his shoulders, this fellow was carrying 250 to 300 pounds of weight. The weight of the head of his spear was 15 pounds, and the beam that held the spear had to be around the same to balance it; thus, the combined weight was over 30 pounds.

All of this suggests to me that Goliath was not designed to fight but rather to intimidate. Apparently he was good at it, as no one wanted any part of him for 40 days. All of this reminds me of Peter’s words in 1 Peter 5:8–9. “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” There would be no way Goliath could avoid the rock slung in faith he was a sitting duck. Christian, there is no way our giants can survive when we stand on the word of God!

Vs. 8-11 Challenge:

Based upon verse 16, where we are told that what is recorded here was repeated for “forty days, morning and evening.”Goliath’s words were to demoralize the army of God to cause them to fight from fright instead of confidence. “Winner, take all!” was Goliath’s challenge. Now go back to the 14th chapter of 1 Samuel in the 52nd verse, and we are told concerning Saul that “when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.”

Yet now we are told in the 11th verse that “When Saul… heard these words of the Philistine, he was dismayed and greatly afraid.” Saul had gone from a man who, upon “seeing” the strongest bravest man, took him on to a man who, just hearing the words of Goliath, was already whipped. Goliath sought a man who would fight him in his own strength, and Saul and the army of God could not see to fight any other way.

Ah, but look at young David in the 45th verse where he proclaims, “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.” Yet another lesson learned at the expense of Saul and the giant. It is not me against the giant; it’s the poor giant who has to take on the God I serve! Don’t give the giants you face a mere man to fight; give them the God they mock!

Competitor:

We finally move to look at the challenger, David.

Vs. 12-14 By human standards, David was both young and inexperienced. He was the youngest of eight sons; furthermore, his brothers were already off in battle and dad was too old to train him to fight. His brothers were big strapping fellows named “Eliab = “God is father,” Abinadab = “father is noble,” and Shimea = “a” = “fame.” He is the “least of these,” and therein lies his strength, for we are told, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).

Vs. 15-17 David was humble and a servant. You see, by now he was already the worship leader in Israel and splitting his time between the palace and the pasture. And yet you don’t hear any words of David to his father, “Hey dad, I don’t watch sheep any more; I’m a worship leader!” No, instead we see David content to split his time and only come to the palace when needed; in fact, it is not until after Goliath is defeated that David is given a place to stay in the palace.

We also note that the giant is relentless; many a time we think we can just wait out the giant, but the giants in our life will still be there if they are not slain! Further, our opportunity to slay the giants in our lives will come about, as we are faithful in the small things. It is Jesse who sends David with supplies, hoping for news about his three sons. Jesse hopes to present the captain with the food, perhaps getting his boys an advancement.

We know that Goliath taunted the army and Saul twice a day, morning and evening, and that means that David must have caught the morning show as the Giant was dead by nightfall. My point is this: David must have gotten up very early to start on his 8-mile journey to the front with the supplies. But yet before he left, he made sure that those sheep had a keeper to tend them. David had a shepherd’s heart, and anything left in his care would be well taken care of.

Vs. 19-21 There is one last thing to note, and that is the difference between shouting at the enemy and fighting against him. You see, we are told that Saul and all the men of Israel were fighting against the Philistines when in reality all they were doing was going to outshout and argue with the enemy. This brings up the last truth about giants: you can’t merely outshout them and insult them; they must be slain. You can’t outpace them and threaten them; they have to die!

“David, Soldier”

1 Samuel 17:1-39

Vs. 22-27 The motivation

Vs. 28-30 Criticism

Vs. 28-39 The training

Vs. 31-37 Discouragement

Vs. 38-39 Bad counsel

Intro.

Last week we started our look at David’s epic battle against Goliath. Looking at the location of the fight along with the combatants revealed some very interesting conclusions:

Goliath and his army were not on their home field. In fact, we can glean the same truth for ourselves: we too stand on ground won by our champion.
As impressive as Goliath was, it was his overestimation of that size that put him at a disadvantage: This truth also serves us well, as we are prone to overestimating our giant’s at the expense of God’s promises and truths!
Finally we saw David, who lacked size, maturity, and experience. But these only increased the inevitable reality of victory, as he would have to trust only in God’s ability to defeat his foe and not his own strength. We also took notice that David had the trifecta of character traits: humility, faithfulness, and servanthood!

Now we take a look at what led David to grow in these traits?

Vs. 22-39 Let’s get ready to rumble.

Vs. 22-27 The motivation:

Much of the victories against the giants we face are determined by what motivates us to face them in the first place. How do you ask? Well, if what motivates us are the temporary benefits of the things of this world, then the cost will far outweigh the prize! This is the time of year that many will make “New Year Resolutions,” but most will quit after only a few days. Every year at this time I see those folks who have decided to shed a few pounds by joining the gem. Nothing wrong with that; in fact, it’s a great idea, but most will fail because of the wrong motivation.

You see, they started out this Monday busting their tails only to find out that by Friday they had not shed 20 pounds and dropped three sizes, so the gem will be a lot less crowded on the following Monday. Their motivation was not to get in better physical shape; it was to look better, and as such, the pain of getting in shape was not worth the lack of results!

As we look at these verses, I believe we can discover why we are not motivated to rid our land of the giants that inhabit it!

Vs. 22-24 These verses set up David’s response to Israel’s army and reveal what motivated him to go out against Goliath. When he came to the camp, David did not see fighting—only two armies shouting insults at each other. They were dressed for battle and were talking as if they were in a fight, but yet they had not stepped off the hill. Now mark the difference with David as he approaches the battle, as we are told that he did three things:

“Left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper”: We have already committed to David’s faithfulness, but again we see how David completed the tasks given him before he moved on. His father, Jesse, had sent him supplies, and David was not flaky; he presented the supplies to the supply keeper. To slay giants, we need to be faithful in the little things! Consistency is a powerful weapon against giants I have found in my own life. David did not leave a small task for a larger one; no, he first completed the small one. A life lived in obedience, one task at a time, makes the large giants not so overwhelming when we come across them. How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time!
“Ran to the army”: Secondly, we see no hesitation for the battle. David didn’t meander around and waste time; he ran to the army. The best way to defeat a giant is to run right at him (a fact that we shall see again in the 48th verse as we see him again running to meet Goliath on the battlefield). Just as “consistency is a powerful weapon,” procrastination is a weapon that our giant will use to his advantage. All too often we live by the words, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow!”
“And came and greeted his brothers”: This is an interesting verse in light of the fact that the army was most likely several thousand in number. What this shows is that David knew where to find his three older brothers’, as Judah was to always be at the head of the army. Further, David came to encourage his brothers even though he himself was not yet in the battle. Simply put, David was engaged in battle by supporting those who were! Far too often, giants overtake us because we are not supporting those who are facing giants. I suggest to you we can learn a lot by helping others slay the giants they face before we take on our own Goliath’s!

So we can see three things prepared David for battle as well as us:

Consistency in small things
No procrastination in large things
Encourage those who were facing the enemy.

Vs. 23-24 Yet with that said, the response of the army of Israel when Goliath came on his twice-daily challenge must have surprised David. What a contrast between the army of Israel and this young shepherd boy who was a worshiper of the living God! There are a great many pretenders, and when the giant comes to challenge the truth of what they profess, they leave their post. I suggest to you that we will see what we believe only when the giant comes, calling the rest just a mere intellectual exercise!

Vs. 25-27 Ah, but what motivated young David? Well, we will find out both what motivated him as well as that which did not motivate him!

Vs. 25 “Have you seen this man who has come up?” One can only deduce that those who fled from the sight of Goliath noticed that David hadn’t moved. David ran to the battle and even ran at the giant, but he never ran from the fight. The fact that David exuded such courage in the sight of such great opposition caused those who were afraid to wonder if he even saw Goliath. Furthermore, their statement of the three rewards offered to the man willing to take up the challenge only emphasizes their reluctance to take on the challenge. There was not a man, including David’s brothers, who wanted to take on Goliath at any price; in fact, they hid even when he came into sight. Clearly, these two differed in their perspectives as to what they saw and heard:

The army of Israel declared, “Have you seen this man?”.
David declared in verse 26, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?”

Saul had made a threefold offer to motivate someone to do what he at one time would have done. “And it shall be that the man who kills him,”

“The king will enrich with great riches”: The first worldly motivation Saul used was money. It seems as though “Fear Factor” as a show has been around a lot longer than we thought! I personally have not watched the show, but I’m amazed that people can be motivated to do and eat some of the things they do for money. I suggest to you that wealth may be a motivator, but it is not a reliable one, as it will often get us to prostitute ourselves for the sake of things! (Balam) Now in this case obviously the amount of money was not worth it as every soldier offered the prize still did not want to take on Goliath. Apparently they reasoned that a dead soldier can’t spend any money.

“Will give him his daughter”: One wonders if these three rewards were added one after the other, as each was not enough to tip the scales to overcome their fear. Now I have read ahead, and personally, I’m not so sure that this was a prize. Michal, Saul’s daughter, was a handful, to say the least, and perhaps Saul was thinking that it would take a man who could slay Goliath to tame Michal. Be that as it may, the offer here is that of personal prestige, as it would make the person “royalty”! What Saul suggests to sweeten the pot is, “Hey, I’ll make you wealthy and famous if you go out there and kill the giant!”
“And give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel”: The first two worldly motivations are good but clearly only a motivator if the winner was in good enough shape after the battle to enjoy the rewards. It appears that the army of Israel was thinking in negative terms, as the final reward is given not so much to them but to their survivors (kind of a life insurance policy).

So now we have moved from “Fear Factor” to “Survivor,” and the promise here speaks of longevity. As long as the soldier killed Goliath, it didn’t matter if they lived (so a tie was good enough), as their family would be free from all tributes, taxes, levies, and service to the King. Why, they would be nobility and ensure popularity for generations to come? And yet still, there were no takers to fight Goliath.

The army of Israel had only two things in focus:

The most certain death if they took on Goliath.
The rewards offered to anyone willing to take on the challenge.

All of these rewards speak to the character of the army, as they should have wanted to slay the giant not for any personal acclaim but rather because this giant defied their God and spoke against Him.

Vs. 26 What Israel was not motivated to do, David, is for two entirely different reasons. One can hear the disgust in the words of David both at Goliath’s words and that, which was being offered to motivate them to fight. “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine”? It is as though David throws this back at them and says, “Who cares?” “Money, personal prestige, popularity for my surviving family.” The amazing thing to me is that David will receive all of the above because he was motivated by the right things:

“Takes away the reproach from Israel”: The reputation of God’s people! Saul had tried to motivate the army by elevating their reputation. David did not care about his reputation, but he did care about the reputation of others.
“He should defy the armies of the living God”: The honor of God! Saul had offered the soldiers personal honor and family honor, but David only cared about the honor of the living God!

Vs. 27 Yet still those soldiers around David only repeat Saul’s offer of the three worldly rewards as if to say, “Yeh, sure, the honor of God’s people and God, but most importantly, money, personal prestige, and popularity for my surviving family.” I am convinced that the Goliaths that we face remain in our land for far too long because we are motivated to get them out of our lives for entirely the wrong reasons. What ought to motivate us to slay our giant’s is to grow closer to the Lord and to know Him more!

Vs. 28-39 The training:

What is given to us now in the following 12 verses are three giants David had to defeat before he would face Goliath. I’m of the opinion that these giants represent a greater danger than the Goliaths in our lives; in fact, if these giants are not slain first, we will often never enter the battlefield.

Vs. 28-30 Criticism:

The first is “criticism,” and the 28th verse records it for us, then the following two verses reveal how David handled it. There are three things necessary for this type of giant to be effective:

Person: First off, notice that this giant came from David’s own family, his older brother Eliab. Apparently Eliab was next to David when David said his words, and this prompts the older brother to criticize David. For “criticism” to be effective, it must come from someone that you respect and even look up to; otherwise, it would be easily dismissed.
Public: The 2nd thing I notice about Eliab’s criticism is that he did not take his younger brother aside to question his motive; he did so in public, and it is that aspect that caused us to shrink away in embarrassment.
Personal: Lastly, the criticism was personal in as much that it challenged David’s motives as well as character. In fact, Eliab’s criticism attacked three things specifically.
Intelligence: “Why did you come down here?” The best way to understand this criticism is to think of it in terms of a person trying to tell you how to do something that you have experience in and they don’t. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” Eliab and his two brothers had been serving in Saul’s army; they were veterans by now. So this criticism is against David’s lack of experience and suggests that he has no basis on which to make a comment.

Immature: “And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” This putdown attacked David’s faithfulness as well as credibility. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching dad’s sheep? I mean, if you are such a good fighter, why aren’t you doing something more than watching a few worthless sheep?” To Eliab, David was so worthless that he could not even be counted on to guard a few sheep, and he was giving advice on how to kill a giant!
Arrogant: “I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” The final criticism is aimed at David’s motive of just being a little punk and wanting to see a fight. Perhaps Eliab was most afraid of this, seeing that David was his brother and that he may get roped into having to fight Goliath.

So how did David handle the criticism of his brother? Well, there is little doubt that Eliab’s words hurt, but David would not allow them to hinder him. And he does two things that handled the criticism:

Vs. 29: “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” David handled it by recognizing two things:
- Its source: “What have I done now?” Man, over the years, I’m sure David had heard it all from his brothers, and so he just realized that this was just designed to get him in the flesh.
- The cause: “Is there not a cause?” Secondly, David was more concerned with the cause than his own feelings. He was not going to allow this attack to move his feelings of hurt to himself and away from the reason for his comments in the first place.
Vs. 30 “Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing.” Finally, David just turned his back upon his brother and addressed others so as to not give the criticism by his brother validity.

Vs. 31-37 Discouragement

In verses 31-33, we have Saul’s discouraging words, then in verses 34-37, David’s answer. Saul is the expert and former champion, and he bases his evaluation upon a human perspective. There are three things Saul does to discourage David in verse 33:

Size “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him.” The tale of the tape indicated a mismatch, said Saul. Physically, Saul saw David’s size as a handicap, and David saw Goliath’s as one.
Age “For you are a youth”: You’re too young, David, and everyone knows God can’t use young people! Perhaps Saul thought that David’s enthusiasm was marred by immaturity.
Experience: “And he is a man of war from his youth.” Saul said, “Goliath has been a soldier longer than you have been alive!”

Ah, but David handled the battle of discouragement, reminding Saul of three things:

Vs. 34-35 God has been preparing him for this fight his whole life. David says, “Hey, God has been training me to fight this giant from the day I was born!” Now think of this, folks: if you have a lion or bear in one hand by the beard, what do you have in the other?
Vs. 36 David just saw Goliath as just another dumb beast trying to rip off and destroy one of his father’s sheep. David had proven that the Lord had been faithful to use him, and therefore he could be confident that he would use him now.
Vs. 37 David recognized that this was not a fair fight because it was not him fighting against Goliath but rather Goliath fighting against God! Notice that David gives credit for his victory over the lion and the bear to the Lord. The truth is, you can’t give glory to God by denying the Spirit!

Most of us fail to see today’s trials as preparation for tomorrow’s victories! Do we believe these words, “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?”

Vs. 38-39 Bad counsel

The final battle David won was the battle to heed bad advice. You see, Saul could not see God doing anything apart from him, and David could not see himself doing anything apart from God! Saul wanted David to put on his armor and fight the way it has always been done, but David recognized that only through God was the victory going to be won! The truth be told, we never fight giants well in other men’s armor, and we must set aside man’s armor for God’s. The best way to defeat the Goliath’s of life is not to use their methods of fighting but rather God’s. Samson years earlier tried to make friends with the Philistines and even married one, and all it did was leave him blind. Christian God’s giants are weak men with a great God!

“The battle is the Lord’s.”

Vs. 40-47 The beloved verses the beast

Vs. 48-58 The route was on.

Intro.

It is an unfortunate consequence of the familiarity of this story that has reduced its importance to that only of a children’s story. On the other extreme, the truths only become a metaphor for the gigantic trials we face apart from the real-life experiences recorded here. I’m convinced that there was a real giant named Goliath and that there was a real anointed shepherd boy named David that went out to meet him on an open field that day. Furthermore, David didn’t have this chapter printed and scripted out before him as we do. David could not lean over to those cowardly soldiers that day and say, “Watch what happens now; this is one of the favorite parts of my life!”

The outcome contained here was from a human standpoint as much of a question mark as anything that may come our way. To me, that makes this story all the more encouraging, as we can look at a young man like ourselves and see what he saw and trust in whom he trusted.

Last week our focus was upon the preparation God placed this young man in:

First of great interest was what motivated David—not the lure of the things of the world (money, popularity, nor the promise of a life of ease for his family). No, those things would not move David, but the reputation of God’s people and the honor of His God moved him! We can always see what work God has done in a human heart by first seeing what motivates him or does not motivate him. Paul’s testimony to the elders of the Church in Ephesus reminds us of such a work of the Holy Spirit as Paul told them: “I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
The second preparation was the mental battle, as David needed to defeat criticism, discouragement, and bad council. All of this before David stepped out against the giant named Goliath.

Vs. 40-47 The beloved versus the beast

Vs. 39 Looking again at the verse before this, I marvel at David’s taking off the tried and true method of fighting for two very important reasons:

“I cannot walk with these”: We can see this young man trying to walk around in Saul’s armor and not being able to do so. When Nicole was around two years old, she used to like to put on my boots and try to walk around, and all that would happen was she would shuffle her feet inside the boots and fall. It was the cutest thing to watch but not effective for movement. Much of the focus of the comments on this passage has been from the perspective of David recognizing that he could not put on another man’s armor to do what God wanted him to do. Now I do not disagree with this view, but I find it interesting to look at this verse from the perspective of Saul, who wanted to send out David in his armor without risking anything himself.

Here’s my point: there are a great many times in my life where I would be very content with sending out God’s provisions for warfare on someone else and staying on the hill and watching them work! I’m not always that eager to be stretched in my faith, even though I’ll talk about God’s provisions and even help others put them on. Ah, but God will have none of that, as security is not in the provisions but rather in the Lord who has provided them in the first place!

“I have not tested them”: David’s second comment is also penetrating, as twice we are told in this verse that David had no experience in Saul’s (or, for that matter, any other man’s) armor. I’m not suggesting that we cannot learn from watching how others do battle, but what I am suggesting is that the greatest asset we have is our own learning to trust the Holy Spirit as He moves in and through our lives. Every battle we have gone through tests us and strengthens us. It is a glorious thing to see the natural way in which the Holy Spirit possesses a human, but it is not something that we can duplicate. No, we must allow Him to have all of us then, and only then will we experience the victory that He has accomplished through others.

Vs. 40 I wonder what David’s three brothers must have been thinking at this very moment. “Man, how are we going to be able to explain this to mom and dad?” Yet there seems to be no attempt to stop their youngest brother, nor do they step up and say, “You touch my brother, and you are going to have to take on all the sons of Jesse.”.

There are two very important details here that speak to the work of God in the heart of David:

First David left the safety of the hill and walked down into the valley where Goliath was without having any stones for his sling. I’ve been to this site in Israel, and it is a good walk to this brook. Here is my point. David took a walk of faith before he was equipped with the provisions to defeat the giant. Do you see that? David was unarmed when he went into that valley to face the giant. We often want the Lord to give us everything we need before we leave the comfort and security of our hill, and what David recognized is that he had everything he needed when he left the hill because the Lord was with him!
Second David picked up “five smooth stones”; ah ha, David was not so great a young man of faith as you say, pastor! There was only one giant, and David picked up four more stones than he needed. I thought that as well, and even thought well, there is nothing wrong with giving yourself some backup. Yet when we go to 2 Samuel 21:15–22, we are told that Goliath had four other brothers! Well, that little detail changes the story, doesn’t it? I mean, here is David, and he walks out without any stones in his leather pouch, and he bends down and selects five smooth ones, one for Goliath and one each for his brothers, whom he must have felt were going to want a piece of him after he killed their brother! And just as David picked up only one stone for Goliath, he also only picked one stone for each of his brothers.

We are also told that he “drew near the Philistine.” David did not see a giant; he saw a mere man who dared to speak against the living God. Furthermore, it is one thing to talk about facing giants; it is another thing to walk out there and do so. David’s walk went before his talk, didn’t it?

Vs. 41 David is armed with the same things that he had as a shepherd and moves out, as did the giant. Not only did Goliath have a size and experience advantage, he also outnumbered David as he brought with him an armor bearer. In the eyes of those watching, this was not a contest; it was an outright murder.

Vs. 42 At some point Goliath’s vision picked up David and perhaps first thought that some young lad had accidentally walked onto the battlefield or the armor bearer had forgotten the armor as well as the champion. But when he realized that David was the champion, his mere presence not only did not strike terror into Goliath’s heart, it was seen as an insult. “Give me a man, so that we may fight together.” Goliath had barked twice a day for 40 days, and instead before him was this young, good-looking red head.

Vs. 43-44 Here we have Goliath’s thoughts put into words:

Vs. 43a First, Goliath’s best weapon were his words, and this is not an exception: “Am I a dog?” The word here for dog is interesting as it not only refers to the animal; it is also a word of great contempt. To teat someone as a dog was to treat them as worthless, but more than that, the Philistines used this word to describe a male homosexual prostitute (Deut. 23:18 uses it as the wages of such). Either way, it is obvious that Goliath saw David’s presence as a great putdown.
Vs. 43b Goliath made his biggest mistake, and that was cursing David by his gods. They worshiped many gods, including Dagon, with the hands and face of a man and the tail of a fish (it was this god that fell face down twice when they captured the ark in 1 Sam 5). Ashtaroth, the Assyrian goddess of
propagation and Baal-zebub, “lord of habitation,” whom the Israelites called the “ruler of demons.”.
Vs. 44 Final Goliath says, “Bring it on, boy!” and promises to feed what little flesh there was on David to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

Vs. 45-47 Here we are given David’s reply to Goliath’s words, and by these words we can tell what was in David’s heart as well:

Vs. 45 David realized that God was not limited to conventional weapons of the sword and the spear and that all the Lord needed was somebody, anybody who simply trusted in God’s word. The phrase “the name of the Lord of Hosts” is not some mere declaration or label attached to his clothes; no, this was a revelation of the truth that enshrined his heart. “Goliath, you don’t know who you are messing with. You aren’t coming against me; you’re going against my champion!” David realized that all the elements of eternity are at God’s command; that poor giant had bit off more than he could chew.
Vs. 46 David did not enter the battle with hopes he might have victory; instead, he entered the battle from victory. You see, David did not carry the Lord out into battle; instead, God carried David in the victory already won, and all he had to do was move in that dimension. What a great truth this is for us as we see that we are not called to work for the Lord but rather to let Him work through us! It was not David’s anything that was the assurance of victory, and David predicts not only victory but names the round as well. Further, David declares that all of the army of the Philistines was going to be bird food. It is true that this fight would make David famous, but all that mattered to him was that God’s fame would be known throughout the earth.
Vs. 47 More important to David than the world knowing God was God’s people being reminded of this. That is often the problem with me and you, isn’t it? We think of times that God needs us, but the truth is we need a few giants to cause us to realize that we need God. The battle is with the Lord, but the victory belongs to us all! What a great truth David teaches us here! We may not be able to get off the hill of fear ourselves, but all that is needed is one who is! Oh yes, “His skill to direct us, His might to empower us, and His hand to deliver us—yes, the battle belongs to the Lord”!

Vs. 48-58 The route was on.

Vs. 48 David did not stop to ask, “What do I do now?” Instead, he ran toward the enemy army to meet the giant. Can you imagine what must have been going on in Goliath’s mind? I mean, I bet no one had ever run at him to take him on.

Vs. 49-51 The two weapons used to slay Goliath are interesting to me:

Vs. 49 “Put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and he slung it.” First off, a smooth stone taken from the brook. How symbolic that stone had tumbled through the grit of the earth tossed about by the water to tell the rough edges had been made smooth. Why this reminds me of what life does to you and me, taking us through trials, breaking off pieces of our lives that are not fit for the master sling! Then you have the aim, the armies. If Israel saw Goliath as so large that they could not possibly defeat him, David saw him so large he could not possibly miss him.
The stone hit Goliath in the area where he was most vulnerable, his forehead, his pride and arrogance, and it did not merely strike him; it sank deep into that area. I’m sure David had a pretty good sling and no doubt spent time practicing over the years of being a shepherd, but I think it would not have mattered. He could have turned his back and fired in the opposite direction or bounced one off the ground, and it would have hit Goliath right between the eyes.
Vs. 50-51 The second weapon was Goliath’s own sword, as David didn’t have one. Can you imagine again what the two armies must have thought as Goliath hit the ground face first? Perhaps the Philistine army thought, “That Goliath, what a practical joker; he playing a little rope, a dope!” On the other side, the army of Israel was probably thinking, “David, don’t be fooled by this; get out of there!” I can see David grabbing Goliath’s sword from its sheath, climbing up on him, and whacking off his head.

The Philistines had not learned too much as they were again trusting in a big dumb idol to deliver them. David made sure that Goliath was not just wounded, as a wounded giant is far more dangerous than one without a head. Again, I find it interesting that David drew the enemy’s sword and used it to kill him. You see, I think of Satan and his instrument to kill Jesus the cross, and it was this very thing that defeated him!

Vs. 52-54 The Philistines had agreed to the “winner take all prize” but obviously changed their minds as the enemy never will deliver on what they promise. It is here the army joins in the battle, and they chase the Philistines all the way back to Goliath’s hometown, killing them along the way. Then they went in and took all that they had left behind.

David takes the head, and eventually it will end up in Jerusalem, but at this time the Israelites had not taken the city and lived in a suburb (2 Sam. 5:6-7). The armor starts out in David’s tent, but the sword ends up being dedicated to the Lord (1 Sam 21:9). Why save the head and armor? Well, to serve as a reminder that neither the plans (head) nor the power of the enemy (armor) can prevail against God!

Vs. 55-58 A lot has been made in the verse before us as to why Saul didn’t recognize David, but that is not what it says. Saul just asks concerning whose David’s father was part of the promise was tax exemption for David’s family. Also, perhaps Saul wanted to know if there were any more like him at home. You can just see David come into the tent of Saul with that big old head in his hand, can’t you?

As we close, David’s fame will grow, and it would seem that his time to become king is at hand, but it will be 15 years before this will happen. And during those 15 years he will be hunted like an animal, a man without a home. He will have everything stripped away and be left as that young shepherd boy alone in the field worshiping the Lord. “Why Lord,” you and I cry out, don’t we? “Because God is far more interested in you and molding you into a person of God in the Potter’s hand than he is in using you.”. A.W. Towzer once said, “I doubt that God can use a man greatly until He hurts him deeply!” And such is the mystery of our lives!

“Let’s Get Ready To Rumble”

Intro.

Last week we started our look at David’s epic battle against Goliath. Looking at the location of the fight along with the combatants revealed some very interesting conclusions:

Goliath and his army were not on their home field. In fact, we can glean the same truth for ourselves: we too stand on ground won by our champion.
As impressive as Goliath was, it was his overestimation of that size that put him at a disadvantage: This truth also serves us well, as we are prone to overestimating our giant’s at the expense of God’s promises and truths!
Finally we saw David, who lacked size, maturity, and experience. But these only increased the inevitable reality of victory, as he would have to trust only in God’s ability to defeat his foe and not his own strength. We also took notice that David had the trifecta of character traits: humility, faithfulness, and servanthood!

Now we take a look at what led David to grow in these traits?

Vs. 22-39 Let’s get ready to rumble.

Vs. 22-27 The motivation:

As we look at these verses, I believe we can discover why we are not motivated to rid our land of the giants that inhabit it!

“Left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper”: We have already committed to David’s faithfulness, but again we see how David completed the tasks given him before he moved on. His father, Jesse, had sent him supplies, and David was not flaky; he presented the supplies to the supply keeper. To slay giants, we need to be faithful in the little things! Consistency is a powerful weapon against giants I have found in my own life. David did not leave a small task for a larger one; no, he first completed the small one. A life lived in obedience, one task at a time, makes the large giants not so overwhelming when we come across them. How do you swallow an elephant? One bite at a time!
“Ran to the army”: Secondly, we see no hesitation for the battle. David didn’t meander around and waste time; he ran to the army. The best way to defeat a giant is to run right at him (a fact that we shall see again in the 48th verse as we see him again running to meet Goliath on the battlefield). Just as “consistency is a powerful weapon,” procrastination is a weapon that our giant will use to his advantage. All too often we live by the words, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow!”
“And came and greeted his brothers”: This is an interesting verse in light of the fact that the army was most likely several thousand in number. What this shows is that David knew where to find his three older brothers’, as Judah was to always be at the head of the army. Further, David came to encourage his brothers even though he himself was not yet in the battle. Simply put, David was engaged in battle by supporting those who were! Far too often, giants overtake us because we are not supporting those who are facing giants. I suggest to you we can learn a lot by helping others slay the giants they face before we take on our own Goliath’s!

So we can see three things prepared David for battle as well as us:

Consistency in small things
No procrastination in large things
Encourage those who were facing the enemy.

Vs. 23-24 Yet with that said, the response of the army of Israel when Goliath came on his twice-daily challenge must have surprised David. What a contrast between the army of Israel and this young shepherd boy who was a worshiper of the living God! There are a great many pretenders, and when the giant comes to challenge the truth of what they profess, they leave their post. I suggest to you that we will see what we believe only when the giant comes, calling the rest just a mere intellectual exercise!

Vs. 25-27 Ah, but what motivated young David? Well, we will find out both what motivated him as well as that which did not motivate him!

Vs. 25 “Have you seen this man who has come up?” One can only deduce that those who fled from the sight of Goliath noticed that David hadn’t moved. David ran to the battle and even ran at the giant, but he never ran from the fight. The fact that David exuded such courage in the sight of such great opposition caused those who were afraid to wonder if he even saw Goliath. Furthermore, their statement of the three rewards offered to the man willing to take up the challenge only emphasizes their reluctance to take on the challenge. There was not a man, including David’s brothers, who wanted to take on Goliath at any price; in fact, they hid even when he came into sight. Clearly, these two differed in their perspectives as to what they saw and heard:

The army of Israel declared, “Have you seen this man?”.
David declared in verse 26, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?”

Saul had made a threefold offer to motivate someone to do what he at one time would have done. “And it shall be that the man who kills him,”

“Will give him his daughter”: One wonders if these three rewards were added one after the other, as each was not enough to tip the scales to overcome their fear. Now I have read ahead, and personally, I’m not so sure that this was a prize. Michal, Saul’s daughter, was a handful, to say the least, and perhaps Saul was thinking that it would take a man who could slay Goliath to tame Michal. Be that as it may, the offer here is that of personal prestige, as it would make the person “royalty”! What Saul suggests to sweeten the pot is, “Hey, I’ll make you wealthy and famous if you go out there and kill the giant!”
“And give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel”: The first two worldly motivations are good but clearly only a motivator if the winner was in good enough shape after the battle to enjoy the rewards. It appears that the army of Israel was thinking in negative terms, as the final reward is given not so much to them but to their survivors (kind of a life insurance policy).

The army of Israel had only two things in focus:

The most certain death if they took on Goliath.
The rewards offered to anyone willing to take on the challenge.

“Takes away the reproach from Israel”: The reputation of God’s people! Saul had tried to motivate the army by elevating their reputation. David did not care about his reputation, but he did care about the reputation of others.
“He should defy the armies of the living God”: The honor of God! Saul had offered the soldiers personal honor and family honor, but David only cared about the honor of the living God!

Vs. 28-39 The training:

Vs. 28-30 Criticism:

The first is “criticism,” and the 28th verse records it for us, then the following two verses reveal how David handled it. There are three things necessary for this type of giant to be effective:

Person: First off, notice that this giant came from David’s own family, his older brother Eliab. Apparently Eliab was next to David when David said his words, and this prompts the older brother to criticize David. For “criticism” to be effective, it must come from someone that you respect and even look up to; otherwise, it would be easily dismissed.
Public: The 2nd thing I notice about Eliab’s criticism is that he did not take his younger brother aside to question his motive; he did so in public, and it is that aspect that caused us to shrink away in embarrassment.
Personal: Lastly, the criticism was personal in as much that it challenged David’s motives as well as character. In fact, Eliab’s criticism attacked three things specifically.
Intelligence: “Why did you come down here?” The best way to understand this criticism is to think of it in terms of a person trying to tell you how to do something that you have experience in and they don’t. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” Eliab and his two brothers had been serving in Saul’s army; they were veterans by now. So this criticism is against David’s lack of experience and suggests that he has no basis on which to make a comment.

Immature: “And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” This putdown attacked David’s faithfulness as well as credibility. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching dad’s sheep? I mean, if you are such a good fighter, why aren’t you doing something more than watching a few worthless sheep?” To Eliab, David was so worthless that he could not even be counted on to guard a few sheep, and he was giving advice on how to kill a giant!
Arrogant: “I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” The final criticism is aimed at David’s motive of just being a little punk and wanting to see a fight. Perhaps Eliab was most afraid of this, seeing that David was his brother and that he may get roped into having to fight Goliath.

So how did David handle the criticism of his brother? Well, there is little doubt that Eliab’s words hurt, but David would not allow them to hinder him. And he does two things that handled the criticism:

Vs. 29: “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” David handled it by recognizing two things:
- Its source: “What have I done now?” Man, over the years, I’m sure David had heard it all from his brothers, and so he just realized that this was just designed to get him in the flesh.
- The cause: “Is there not a cause?” Secondly, David was more concerned with the cause than his own feelings. He was not going to allow this attack to move his feelings of hurt to himself and away from the reason for his comments in the first place.
Vs. 30 “Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing.” Finally, David just turned his back upon his brother and addressed others so as to not give the criticism by his brother validity.

Vs. 31-37 Discouragement

Size “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him.” The tale of the tape indicated a mismatch, said Saul. Physically, Saul saw David’s size as a handicap, and David saw Goliath’s as one.
Age “For you are a youth”: You’re too young, David, and everyone knows God can’t use young people! Perhaps Saul thought that David’s enthusiasm was marred by immaturity.
Experience: “And he is a man of war from his youth.” Saul said, “Goliath has been a soldier longer than you have been alive!”

Ah, but David handled the battle of discouragement, reminding Saul of three things:

Vs. 34-35 God has been preparing him for this fight his whole life. David says, “Hey, God has been training me to fight this giant from the day I was born!” Now think of this, folks: if you have a lion or bear in one hand by the beard, what do you have in the other?
Vs. 36 David just saw Goliath as just another dumb beast trying to rip off and destroy one of his father’s sheep. David had proven that the Lord had been faithful to use him, and therefore he could be confident that he would use him now.
Vs. 37 David recognized that this was not a fair fight because it was not him fighting against Goliath but rather Goliath fighting against God! Notice that David gives credit for his victory over the lion and the bear to the Lord. The truth is, you can’t give glory to God by denying the Spirit!

Vs. 38-39 Bad counsel

“The Battle is The Lord’s”

Vs. 40-47 The beloved verses the beast

Vs. 48-58 The route was on.

Intro.

Last week our focus was upon the preparation God placed this young man in:

First of great interest was what motivated David—not the lure of the things of the world (money, popularity, nor the promise of a life of ease for his family). No, those things would not move David, but the reputation of God’s people and the honor of His God moved him! We can always see what work God has done in a human heart by first seeing what motivates him or does not motivate him. Paul’s testimony to the elders of the Church in Ephesus reminds us of such a work of the Holy Spirit as Paul told them: “I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
The second preparation was the mental battle, as David needed to defeat criticism, discouragement, and bad council. All of this before David stepped out against the giant named Goliath.

Vs. 40-47 The beloved versus the beast

Vs. 39 Looking again at the verse before this, I marvel at David’s taking off the tried and true method of fighting for two very important reasons:

“I cannot walk with these”: We can see this young man trying to walk around in Saul’s armor and not being able to do so. When Nicole was around two years old, she used to like to put on my boots and try to walk around, and all that would happen was she would shuffle her feet inside the boots and fall. It was the cutest thing to watch but not effective for movement. Much of the focus of the comments on this passage has been from the perspective of David recognizing that he could not put on another man’s armor to do what God wanted him to do. Now I do not disagree with this view, but I find it interesting to look at this verse from the perspective of Saul, who wanted to send out David in his armor without risking anything himself.

“I have not tested them”: David’s second comment is also penetrating, as twice we are told in this verse that David had no experience in Saul’s (or, for that matter, any other man’s) armor. I’m not suggesting that we cannot learn from watching how others do battle, but what I am suggesting is that the greatest asset we have is our own learning to trust the Holy Spirit as He moves in and through our lives. Every battle we have gone through tests us and strengthens us. It is a glorious thing to see the natural way in which the Holy Spirit possesses a human, but it is not something that we can duplicate. No, we must allow Him to have all of us then, and only then will we experience the victory that He has accomplished through others.

There are two very important details here that speak to the work of God in the heart of David:

First David left the safety of the hill and walked down into the valley where Goliath was without having any stones for his sling. I’ve been to this site in Israel, and it is a good walk to this brook. Here is my point. David took a walk of faith before he was equipped with the provisions to defeat the giant. Do you see that? David was unarmed when he went into that valley to face the giant. We often want the Lord to give us everything we need before we leave the comfort and security of our hill, and what David recognized is that he had everything he needed when he left the hill because the Lord was with him!
Second David picked up “five smooth stones”; ah ha, David was not so great a young man of faith as you say, pastor! There was only one giant, and David picked up four more stones than he needed. I thought that as well, and even thought well, there is nothing wrong with giving yourself some backup. Yet when we go to 2 Samuel 21:15–22, we are told that Goliath had four other brothers! Well, that little detail changes the story, doesn’t it? I mean, here is David, and he walks out without any stones in his leather pouch, and he bends down and selects five smooth ones, one for Goliath and one each for his brothers, whom he must have felt were going to want a piece of him after he killed their brother! And just as David picked up only one stone for Goliath, he also only picked one stone for each of his brothers.

Vs. 43-44 Here we have Goliath’s thoughts put into words:

Vs. 43a First, Goliath’s best weapon were his words, and this is not an exception: “Am I a dog?” The word here for dog is interesting as it not only refers to the animal; it is also a word of great contempt. To treat someone as a dog was to treat them as worthless, but more than that, the Philistines used this word to describe a male homosexual prostitute (Deut. 23:18 uses it as the wages of such). Either way, it is obvious that Goliath saw David’s presence as a great putdown.
Vs. 43b Goliath made his biggest mistake, and that was cursing David by his gods. They worshiped many gods, including Dagon, with the hands and face of a man and the tail of a fish (it was this god that fell face down twice when they captured the ark in 1 Sam 5). Ashtaroth, the Assyrian goddess of
propagation and Baal-zebub, “lord of habitation,” whom the Israelites called the “ruler of demons.”.
Vs. 44 Final Goliath says, “Bring it on, boy!” and promises to feed what little flesh there was on David to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

Vs. 45-47 Here we are given David’s reply to Goliath’s words, and by these words we can tell what was in David’s heart as well:

Vs. 45 David realized that God was not limited to conventional weapons of the sword and the spear and that all the Lord needed was somebody, anybody who simply trusted in God’s word. The phrase “the name of the Lord of Hosts” is not some mere declaration or label attached to his clothes; no, this was a revelation of the truth that enshrined his heart. “Goliath, you don’t know who you are messing with. You aren’t coming against me; you’re going against my champion!” David realized that all the elements of eternity are at God’s command; that poor giant had bit off more than he could chew.
Vs. 46 David did not enter the battle with hopes he might have victory; instead, he entered the battle from victory. You see, David did not carry the Lord out into battle; instead, God carried David in the victory already won, and all he had to do was move in that dimension. What a great truth this is for us as we see that we are not called to work for the Lord but rather to let Him work through us! It was not David’s anything that was the assurance of victory, and David predicts not only victory but names the round as well. Further, David declares that all of the army of the Philistines was going to be bird food. It is true that this fight would make David famous, but all that mattered to him was that God’s fame would be known throughout the earth.
Vs. 47 More important to David than the world knowing God was God’s people being reminded of this. That is often the problem with me and you, isn’t it? We think of times that God needs us, but the truth is we need a few giants to cause us to realize that we need God. The battle is with the Lord, but the victory belongs to us all! What a great truth David teaches us here! We may not be able to get off the hill of fear ourselves, but all that is needed is one who is! Oh yes, “His skill to direct us, His might to empower us, and His hand to deliver us—yes, the battle belongs to the Lord”!

Vs. 48-58 The route was on.

Vs. 49-51 The two weapons used to slay Goliath are interesting to me:

Vs. 49 “Put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and he slung it.” First off, a smooth stone taken from the brook. How symbolic that stone had tumbled through the grit of the earth tossed about by the water to tell the rough edges had been made smooth. Why this reminds me of what life does to you and me, taking us through trials, breaking off pieces of our lives that are not fit for the master sling! Then you have the aim, the armies. If Israel saw Goliath as so large that they could not possibly defeat him, David saw him so large he could not possibly miss him.
The stone hit Goliath in the area where he was most vulnerable, his forehead, his pride and arrogance, and it did not merely strike him; it sank deep into that area. I’m sure David had a pretty good sling and no doubt spent time practicing over the years of being a shepherd, but I think it would not have mattered. He could have turned his back and fired in the opposite direction or bounced one off the ground, and it would have hit Goliath right between the eyes.
Vs. 50-51 The second weapon was Goliath’s own sword, as David didn’t have one. Can you imagine again what the two armies must have thought as Goliath hit the ground face first? Perhaps the Philistine army thought, “That Goliath, what a practical joker; he’s playing a little rope, a dope!” On the other side, the army of Israel was probably thinking, “David, don’t be fooled by this; get out of there!” I can see David grabbing Goliath’s sword from its sheath, climbing up on him, and whacking off his head. The Philistines had not learned too much as they were again trusting in a big dumb idol to deliver them. David made sure that Goliath was not just wounded, as a wounded giant is far more dangerous than one without a head. Again, I find it interesting that David drew the enemy’s sword and used it to kill him. You see, I think of Satan and his instrument to kill Jesus the cross, and it was this very thing that defeated him!

There are four points that are to be found in the location of the battle that give us insight into the giants that we often face:

Then we are told that “the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” My point is that a defeated army makes for a large giant!

Many a giant could be avoided in our lives by simply remembering these truths; “Return to the Lord and put away our foreign gods”!

Vs. 28-39 The training:

Vs. 28-30 Criticism:

So how did David handle the criticism of his brother? Well, there is little doubt that Eliab’s words hurt, but David would not allow them to hinder him. And he does two things that handled the criticism:

Vs. 31-37 Discouragement

Vs. 38-39 Bad counsel

Vs. 28-39 The training:

Vs. 28-30 Criticism:

So how did David handle the criticism of his brother? Well, there is little doubt that Eliab’s words hurt, but David would not allow them to hinder him. And he does two things that handled the criticism:

Vs. 31-37 Discouragement

Vs. 38-39 Bad counsel

**Many a giant could be avoided in our lives by simply remembering these truths; “*Return to the Lord and put away our foreign gods***”!