1 Samuel 17 verses 41 to 58: David and Goliath

 

Introduction

What is the greatest victory that has been won?

 

Some of us automatically think of Spurs’ win over Manchester United in the Europa League Final a few weeks ago. Some of us may think of sweeping election victories that brought not just a change of government, but a change of political atmosphere. And some of us will go straight to the victory of the Allied Forces over Nazi Germany 80 years ago.

 

Today we come to the final instalment of the great story of David and Goliath. Today we come, at last, to the moment of victory for David and God’s People- a great victory.

God’s People, in their weakness and sin, needed a deliverer, a saviour, to win a great victory for them. God provided their deliverer in the form of David- the man after His own heart.

As God’s People today we are no different. David’s great victory points to our need of a Saviour as we face the greater foes of sin and death. And so, David points us to the greatest Deliverer, Jesus Christ, and the greatest victory ever won.

So today we want to walk through the final, dramatic stage of this great story step by step. And as we do so we want to listen to the truths that God is teaching us as His People today. By the time we are finished today Goliath will be dead. But more importantly, I trust, our hearts will be lifted as we better appreciate what has been done for us in Christ.

So, let us turn to God’s Word and pick up the story as we see… The Enemy’s Contempt

Last time we left the story at a rather intense moment. David had declared that he would fight the ferocious Philistine- confident that the Lord would deliver him. David had refused Saul’s armour. Instead, he approached the nine-and-a-half-foot Philistine with his stick in one hand, five river stones in his pouch, and his sling in the other hand.

Now remember, this Philistine had been coming out twice a day for over a month, looking for a fight. So, we would think that he would have been glad to see someone finally answer his challenge. But seeing this youth, with only a staff and sling, infuriated Goliath; in verses 41 and 42 we read:

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.

He must have thought: These Israelites are not taking me seriously! How dare they send out such an unworthy opponent!

In verse 43 we see that David’s inadequate weaponry was a further insult to Goliath:

He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

Goliath was insulted by what he saw: his opponent clearly lacked both experience and equipment. Like Saul, Goliath looked only on the outward appearance

 

Notice how, in his anger, Goliath invoked the Philistine gods. Whether he knew it or not, Goliath had revealed the true dimensions of this conflict. This battle was ultimately between the non-gods of the Philistines and the living God, the God of Israel. More than David verses Goliath, or Philistines versus Israelites, this was the Living God going to war with His enemies.

In the absence of any response from David, Goliath made his final chilling challenge:

“Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

Here was an enemy who believed he wielded the power of death and destruction.

The giant cursed David by his gods, unaware that this humble shepherd was empowered by the True and Living God. That day, Israel’s true hope was found in God’s provision of an anointed and appointed deliverer.

It is important we remember that David engaged in a deeply spiritual battle as well as a physically demanding one. Indeed, all God’s People are engaged in spiritual warfare when they confess faith in Jesus as Saviour and follow Him as Lord. But we fight in the truth that the same God who granted David victory has also secured our victory in Christ- our true hope is found in God’s provision of an anointed and appointed deliverer.

And so, we turn next to witness… The Messiah’s Confidence

Imagine, for a moment, Goliath’s deep, bass voice echoing across the Valley of Elah. The sound striking fear into the heart of every Israelite soldier.

Then imagine the embarrassment of hearing David reply in a squeaky teenage voice, perhaps even with his voice cracking. The Philistines probably laughed when they heard David practically screeching.

But anyone who would have actually listened to David that day would have heard one of the classic speeches in all of God’s Word. David would not let this Philistine have the best lines. Instead, with he put the giant in his place for his mocking, expressed his confidence in God’s power to save, and made sure everyone knew the purpose behind this whole episode.

In verses 45 and 46 David sets this battle in it’s proper perspective:

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

In a sense David was pronouncing sentence on Goliath for the crime of blasphemy. David would be God’s instrument in Israel’s deliverance and Goliath’s just punishment.

In the Gospel there is a wonderful message of deliverance. But in the Gospel, there is also a warning for those who will oppose the Living God. All who chose to reject the Living God and His life-giving Law will experience His divine justice. But all who turn to the Lord and trust in Him will know His gracious deliverance.

And so, notice also how David expresses his profound confidence in God to deliver him; in verse 45:

…I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me…

By referring to God’s ‘name’, David spoke of God’s character and being. He knew his God and he trusted in His God. David remembered the stories of how the Lord had again and again delivered His People by defeating their enemies.

David did not trust in the things of this world to save. David was not intimidated by his fearsome foe. David knew his God and trusted in Him alone.

David knew, from God’s Word, that his God promised to protect those who trusted in Him. God’s promises were David’s protection. The God who had delivered His People from Pharoah, would overwhelm this Philistine giant with ease. So certain was David of victory that he vowed to behead Goliath with the very sword that Goliath wielded against Him.

As Believers, facing our spiritual enemies, we too are to rely on our God alone. We heed the calling of Philippians 3 verse 3 to ‘…put no confidence in the flesh…’. Instead, we trust in God’s character and provision.

As the Church we trust in who He is and what He has provided for us- a Saviour to rescue and the Spirit to guide and empower. As we live as God’s People, engaged in spiritual battles, we fight in God’s power, following God’s Way and seeking His glory.

Notice, then, how David concluded his speech with the principal purpose behind his anticipated victory. In verses 46 and 47 we read:

Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord ‘s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

David wanted bring glory to the Living God.

God’s victory, though David, would be a call to the nations (the Philistines in this case) to stop their foolish rejection of God and turn to see Him as He really is: the Living God and Ruler of All. And this victory was a call to God’s People to trust in the Lord- He would deliver His People in His Way for His Glory and their good. Israel would witness their God at work and respond in faith. David’s victory was all about God’s glory.

The Lord wanted His People to rely not on having the best of weaponry, but on having the best of Saviors. Likewise, He wants His Church to succeed today through humble, holy methods by which only He can be praised.

And so, David was calling the nations away from their foolish rejection of God and calling God’s People away from the foolishness of following worldly ways. As the battle unfolds, we see God’s People were delivered because God provided a specially anointed and spiritually equipped King to lead and deliver His People.

In the Valley of Elah David God revealed His power to deliver through David- His anointed and appointed deliverer. And so, we turn to… A Brief Battle

The time for action had come. In the narrative it has taken forty-seven verses to get to this point. But when the critical moment arrives, the action is described, in verses 48 and 49, with surprising brevity.

In a sense, the main action was David’s speech- 63 words in total in the original language. The felling of the giant was simply a necessary but predictable conclusion- just 36 words.

David had the calm hand and careful aim of someone who really trusted God. And David wielded a deceptively deadly weapon. He used his sling- a leather strap with a pouch in the middle- to hurl a cricket-ball-sized-stone at a speed of about 150 miles per hour. David’s weapon may not have inspired fear, but it brought a fatal end to his ferocious foe.

With the accuracy that came from hours of practice, and a hand calmed by faith, David’s stone sped toward Goliath and struck him in the forehead. Goliath was almost certainly dead before his great bulk smashed against the ground. But just in case, David sprang forward, drew the Philistine’s sword, and immediately hacked off the giant’s head (verse 50).

The way I have often heard the story of David and Goliath makes it sound as if David’s victory was unlikely- he was outmuscled and outgunned by his superior opponent. I wonder if we ought to see it differently. Perhaps it is better to see that David’s sling was better suited to this type of fight. Indeed, as long as David could make the shot, the bulky giant didn’t stand a chance.

It is the same for Believers in the spiritual battles of our day. The power of prayer and the preaching of God’s invincible Word are no match for anything the world would throw at the Church.

 

 

Like the weapon of David in his battle with Goliath, the weapons that God has given the Church are more potent than the weapons wielded by our spiritual enemies. Indeed, those who trust in the Lord have the power of God on their side: it was God’s hand that truly wielded David’s sling and gave it perfect accuracy.

Indeed, one commentator say: What matters is not whether you have the best weapons but whether you have the real God. David was God’s chosen deliverer, and God was David’s true confidence. David’s victory was certain because the battle belonged to the Living God.

And in David’s victory we are pointed to… A Great Saviour

In the Valley of Elah that day a great victory was won. With their champion lying dead on the ground, the Philistines fled (verse 51). And the men of Israel and Judah, energised by the victory of their champion, surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines (verse 52)- plundering their camp on their return (verse 53).

We need not delay on the peculiar details of verses 54 to 58 today. It is enough to say that the narrator wants us to know that David’s victory in Elah would eventually see him take the throne in Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful king- the King after God’s own heart.

For now, we focus on David’s victory. It is a famous victory. It is a great victory. But it is not the greatest victory- rather it points to the greatest victory.

At stake in this extraordinary victory, as we’ve said previously, is the future of Israel. In a very real sense, the future of God’s People hung on David’s shoulders. To put it another way, if Goliath had won then there would have been no Israel, no Jesus, no salvation.

But in David God provided the anointed, appointed one who would deliver God’s People. David, chosen by God and empowered by His Spirit, went into battle for God’s People and delivered them from their fearsome enemy.

And in that respect, David who was a great saviour, points us forward to Jesus- the Great Saviour- anointed and appointed and sent by God. Like David, Jesus waged war against the enemies of His People. But unlike David, Jesus defeated the most fearsome enemies of all: Satan, sin and death. And in His victory, we gain our salvation, received through faith alone.

In Christ we have the Great Saviour who has won the greatest victory ever. Without Christ we can only face this life, and the life to come, with fear because we cannot defeat sin and death and Satan in our own strength. But with Christ we are truly delivered from these enemies, and we face this life with humble confidence and eternal assurance.

Jesus’ victory at the Cross is the greatest news, the greatest victory the world has ever known. Because in Jesus the demands of the Law were met by His perfect life. The penalty of sin was dealt with in His death in our place. And the power of death was defeated when He rose victorious from the grave.

It is for this reason that Paul, when he writes of these things in his letter to the Corinthians, ends his great chapter on the resurrection with thanksgiving: Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, in Christ, we can join in that thanksgiving. Today we can echo the words of the Psalmist earlier:

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things…

…² The Lord has made his salvation known…

…³ He has remembered his love…

In Christ, our anointed and appointed Deliverer, no longer are we making our way through life facing the reality of death and the certainty of judgment without hope or assurance. Now, in Christ our Great Saviour, we go trusting in the One who has stepped forward to do for us what we couldn’t do, to keep for us what we haven’t kept, and to provide for us a victory that we could not achieve.

In the triumph of the Cross of Christ, we may look on our future and final salvation with certainty and joy. In our Great Saviour, we know ourselves to be ‘…more than conquerors through him who loved us…’.

So today, may every disheartened Believer know that even in our weakness the Lord is mighty to save. Let us fix our eyes on Him. And, secure in our eternal safety secured by Christ, let us seek to strengthen one another. Let us renew our confidence that God is mighty to convert the lost, build up the saints, and guide the Church. Let each of us, through the battles that God places before us, encourage one another with the good news that we have a Rescuer-King who is able and willing.

Conclusion

What is the greatest victory that has been won?

 

The Good News- the Gospel- about Jesus Christ is the news of the most extraordinary victory. Jesus Christ has marvellously overcome the enemy, and those of us who belong to Him rejoice in the victory He has won for us. Every Believer should rejoice as they join with Paul in declaring: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.