1 Samuel, chapter 17, the whole chapter, which is, it is a relatively long chapter, but it is also an exciting chapter. And it is God's Word, so let us give it our attention. As we come now to David, coming on to the public scene. David, who had been anointed by Samuel to be that future king of Israel. God having rejected Saul from being king due to his disobedience. heart, his disobedience. Now we come to David and the Philistines, particularly Goliath. So listen now, 1 Samuel 17, starting in verse 1. Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and they were gathering at Soka, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Soka and Azekah in Aphidammon. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath. whose height was six cubits in a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine? And are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together. When Saul and Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years. The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle, and the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab, the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. And Jesse said to David his son, take for your brothers an effa of this parched grain and these ten loaves and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also Take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well and bring some token from them. Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. And David rose early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were much afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. And David said to the man who stood by him, what shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? And for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him in the same way, so shall it be done to the man who kills him. Now Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. And David said, What have I done now? Was it not but a word? And he turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before. When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth. But David said to Saul, your servants used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. And David said, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you. Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. And David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And 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, the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and 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 down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the hosts of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth. that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand." When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and threw it out of its sheath and killed him and cut his head, cut off his head with it. When the Philistine saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Sha'arim as far as Gath and Ekron. And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem. But he put his armor in his tent. As soon as Saul saw David go 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. And the king said, inquire whose son the boy is. And as soon as David returned from the striking down 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? And David answered, I am the son of your servant, Jesse, the Bethlehemite. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let's pray for God's blessing upon his word. Oh, Lord, our God, we give thanks to you for your goodness in revealing yourself to us and the covenant that you have made with your people and your deeds of old. We pray that you would teach us this day through your word, through its reading and its being preached. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So this is the story, the account, the narrative, the historical record of David and Goliath. This is certainly one of the better known stories found in 1 Samuel. It is proverbial. But what are we to make of it? What are you to learn from this chapter? Well, it's not simply a story of the little guy prevailing over the big guy. Certainly that there is that theme to it, but that's not the main point. It's certainly not all of it. It is not simply a story of little guys prevailing over big guys. It is particularly about one mighty man who defied the armies of the living God. And it was not simply David, of course. The living God is a main character in this chapter. Now, I think in this passage we do have an example of godly zeal and courage demonstrated by David, which you should emulate. We have here an example of David as one who believed in God. David was a believer in God, a member of the covenant of grace like you and me. Now, he had been anointed for a particular role there as to be king of Israel, but he wasn't king yet. And even the king was to be a model for the rest of the Israelites. And so we have here a demonstration of zeal and courage and boldness that should be inspiring. This chapter is also shows us a type, a type of Christ, a type of what would come of Christ and his victory over the evil one. Here we have David. David pointing to the greater David, the son of David, who would indeed stand alone in front of his people against the evil one and crush his head and deliver his people from bondage. We rightly see here a foreshadowing of what God would do to deliver his people through the King, through King Jesus. And I think both of those themes really flow from the point that we find in the text that this event was a demonstration to the world and to the church that there is a God in our midst and he saves not by sword or shield. that there is a God in Israel, there is a God in the church, and he saves not by sword or shield. This is continuing to expound and to demonstrate the theme found back in the prayer of Hannah, that the proud, mighty ones of the earth should not be boasting in their arrogance, that it is not by might that man prevails, but rather the Lord shall thunder against his enemies, he will deliver his people, he exalts, he casts down, And here it is demonstrated to the Philistines and to the people of God that there was a God among them, the true and living God, and that He does not save by human power, natural means. Now, He can use means, but they're not limited by those means. It is a supernatural power that delivers the people of God. God is at work among His people to deliver His people. So while the church encounters its foes, it must remember that the battle is the Lord's, and therefore ought to take courage advancing in his name. It's a long chapter, and we don't have all evening, so let's get on with the chapter. But I want to walk through the chapter, since it is a good, well-crafted telling of this event. that builds up to its conclusion. First, though, we find, in the first 11 verses, the might of the enemy. Goliath of Gath appears on the scene as the Philistines are on one hill, the Israelites on the other hill, the valley in between, and out steps their champion, Goliath of Gath. This valley of Elah runs between Bethlehem to Gath. If you went all the way up the valley, you'd come into Israel. The Philistines had advanced into Israel. They were probably about 15 miles west of Bethlehem. And this man who steps out from among them is like the might of man personified. Right? If we say, not by might shall man prevail, here was the might of man. His height was about nine feet, nine inches. He was a giant. He was taller than even Saul. He was loomed over them all. And the weight of Goliath's armor and weapons matches his height. This was no ordinary armor. His helmet of bronze, his coat of mail, sometimes, more literally, armor of scales. Think of a armor that looks kind of like scales that weighed, depending on how you calculate it, at least 126 pounds, possibly 220 pounds. That was just his body armor, not including his helmet and his weapons and his shield. That is a lot of weight. The bronze armor also covered his legs, his greaves. He had a large shield carried by a shield bearer. He had several weapons. He had a javelin of bronze on his back. He had a spear. So the javelin you'd use to throw, the spear you'd use to thrust, and that was thick like a weaver's beam with an iron tip. Most of it was bronze, but people were starting to use iron. It was more expensive, and that weighed about 15 pounds at the end of the spear. But he was able to wield it well as a warrior, and he had a great sword. We know David later says, there was no sword like it. Right? This was a great sword that he wielded. So this is the might of man. This is, especially in that day, as strong as it gets. And really, as far as his size goes, about as strong as it gets. You know, there's a few other people in history that we'll know who have grown that high. And we know earlier in the days of Joshua, there were giants in the land that Israel defeated, perhaps giving David some encouragement. But this was the might of man. And it's obscured a little bit in the ESV translation, but like I said, Goliath's body armor, unlike Saul's body armor, is described as being scale armor. and that accurately describes the type of ancient armor, but there is probably more to this detail. All other uses of the word in the Old Testament literally refer to like fishes scales. By noting this detail, Goliath is kind of portrayed as a scaled creature, like a fish or a snake, kind of like a Leviathan coming against the people of God. What is obvious is that Goliath was tall, strong, equipped to kill, skilled at killing, well-protected from attack, here was human strength at its peak. And he challenged them, verses 8 through 11. The consequences at stake were slavery. He says, let's just have me and one other guy face off to decide this conflict. If I win, you will be our slaves. If your champion wins, we will be your slaves. The consequence was slavery. Would Israel be enslaved by this strong man? It was also a reproach for Israel to have no man able to stand against the champion of the Philistines. There was an aspect of shame here, of embarrassment. This is embarrassing. 40 days, no one can face him. Now today, you might not be standing with sword and spear against the Philistines. The church itself is not one particular nation with an army, but the church of God, the people of God continues to face enemies that are powerful and intimidating. And enemies continue to defy the people of the living God. The world scoffs and tempts. There are powerful men and women who use the might of this earth, their money, their influence, their various forms of authority and power to promote evil and falsehood and to seek to destroy the church, whether through violence or through false teaching or through other means. The passions of the fallen human nature are also strong and they wage war against the soul. And Satan continues to prowl around like a roaring lion, seeking to lead his forces against the church, seeking to devour. As Luther wrote, for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate on earth is not his equal. So we see the might of the enemy approach. Well then, in the second part of this chapter, we find the questions of David. David has a few questions. Now, the scene shifts to David, and David is very much different than Goliath, right? He is young. He's referred to as a young man, a boy, a youth. We don't know exactly how old he was, perhaps a teenager. He was certainly noted for being young here. He was the youngest of eight sons, so young in Jesse's family. He was also a shepherd, known for attending his few sheep in the wilderness. He was Saul's armor-bearer because of his musical skill, but that was a part-time gig, and he would go back and forth from the camp to his father's house and tending his father's sheep as well. But he did go to the camp one time with supplies for his brothers, and while the men of Israel fled and feared, David questioned that attitude. Now, the people told him what the king was going to give, the person who killed Goliath. But David kept asking about it. Why do you think David kept asking about it? Was he not good at understanding? No, he was questioning. He was... questioning the fear of the people. Why doesn't someone fight him? What shall be done for the man who kills the Philistine? Tell me again, what? The man who takes away the reproach from Israel? Can you tell me again, what will the king give? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Why doesn't anyone fight him? If he wins, he wins great rewards. He'll take away the reproach from Israel. And who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is? He is defying not just Israel, but he's defying the armies of the living God. That reframes the whole situation, right? We are God's people, God's army. Now David's eldest brother, who had looked so impressive to Samuel, does not find David to be very impressive. He had a different set of questions. Essentially, instead of saying, who do you think this Philistine thinks he is, he says, David, who do you think you are? Right? He says, why are you here? I know the evil of your heart. It's kind of ironic that he tries to read David's heart and doesn't do a good job of it. The whole discussion last chapter about God sees the heart. God sees the heart, actually. Man doesn't always get to do a good job of reading the heart. And here Eliab errs. But David is not discouraged. He continues asking other soldiers the same questions. So even if others fear the enemy, don't give way. Remember, it is not simply a matter of the strong man against the weak. Goliath did not simply defy Israel. He defied the armies of the living God. In that perspective, who is he to defy it? Remember the covenant. Notice he says uncircumcised. Why would he point out that Philistine was uncircumcised? That means he was not a member of the covenant with the living God. They were the people of the living God. They had a champion, a covenant Lord who would protect them. But Goliath didn't. Remember that covenant. and encourage one another. Seek to encourage one another to a godly courage, to question the fears that plague the armies of the living God. So first, David asks questions, but then we see the third point here, the boldness of David. And that comes out as he talks first with Saul and then with Goliath. First, he talks with King Saul. Word gets to King Saul, hey, there's this guy talking to all the people. He seems to want to fight Goliath. You better get an eye on him. I don't know exactly how it got brought up to him, but Saul gets to talk to David, and David offers to fight Goliath. And then he also answers Saul's objection. Saul's like, you can't fight him. You're a youth. This guy's been at this a long time. But David makes a few points. David had been a shepherd, and he had killed lions and bears who took lambs from his flock. He draws an analogy from his own experience. When these beasts tried to take the lamb, he would strike it, he would kill it, and he had done so. Now this uncircumcised Philistine would be one more beast to be struck down. That is how David saw Goliath. Now, why would he be just one more beast? Because he had defied the armies of the living God. Goliath had picked on God's flock, and God would give victory over this beast. David, I think, is in part talking about his experience, but I think it's more than simply the fact that he was experienced at killing lions and bears. He's also saying Goliath is like a lion or a bear. God would be the good shepherd, and David would be a good shepherd by God's power to deliver the flock of Israel from this lion, from this bear. So then the parallel extends to the weapons that he used. How did David go against Goliath? With a shepherd's tools, right? He had not tested Saul's armor. That is not his way, he wasn't used to that, but he goes out against Goliath with his shepherd's staff, and his shepherd's pouch, and the stones in the pouch, and his sling that he would have used while he was a shepherd. He would fight Goliath as a shepherd. And a stone and sling, they were an unlikely weapon. They were a humble weapon compared to Goliath's advanced weaponry. Goliath had the highest technology of the day. David goes out with a sling and a stick. But not only that, it's also the weapon of a shepherd against a beast attacking God's flock. Well, this confidence comes out even more as David then talks with Goliath. Goliath, for his part, despised David as a youth. He despised David's weapons, right? Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? Actually, yes, right? David did see him kind of like a dog, or at least a wild dog, a wolf, or a bear, or a lion, right? That this was a beast that God would take care of. I mean, David doesn't say that, but it's kind of ironic, Goliath's question. But yeah, he had a stick. He had his staff in his hand. And it was kind of fitting. But David contrasts Goliath's weapons with his strength. And he doesn't refer to his sling and stone. He says, you come with the spear and the javelin and the sword, and I come, he doesn't say, with my sling and stone, my staff. He says, I come in the name of the Lord. He says, if I find it in the text right here, I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. You have defied this army, and this army has a commander, the Lord, the Lord of hosts. And I come in his name against you, in the name of the champion of Israel. That would be the basis for David's boldness. What was David's confidence? His skill as a shepherd? Well, that was a means that God had used to prepare him for this, but that wasn't his confidence. No, it was in God to defend his cause and his people. The battle was the Lord's. This was his enmity with the evil one, his people that were at stake. And as David Lee confidently told Goliath what was about to happen, this is what's going to happen, and it did happen, he also told him and teaches us the point of the victory. Again, I said this at the beginning, but what's the point of feeding the bodies of the Philistines to the birds and the beasts and cutting off Goliath's head? that all the earth may know that there is a god in israel and that all this assembly may know that the lord saves not with sword and spear for the battle is the lord's and he will give you into our hand God would give victory to his people. God would act, and all people would know that there was a God among them. He would use this youthful boy, this weak instrument, this what was despised in the eyes of the world, to shame the strong, to show that there was God at work among them. And that should be the source of your courage and your confidence, this faith in the living God. No mere man has strength sufficient to stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil. But there is a God in our midst. He is bound by covenant to his people through Jesus Christ. He's by our side upon the plain. He does not save by sword or shield, that is not by human might. And so his ability should not be measured by human might. He blesses the efforts of his people, the means that he has given, and he gives his people victory. Notice he says, God will deliver. Goliath into our hands, the hands of Israel, right? Similar to how Paul says, God will soon crush Satan under your feet. That through God's work, we overcome the world. We overcome the evil one, but it is not through our own strength. God blesses our efforts, our faith, So therefore stand firm in the name of the Lord. Take bold action against the forces of evil where you find them in accordance with your calling as you come to them. take bold action, like David did, knowing that the battle is the Lord's. This is an ancient battle, going back to Genesis 3, when war was declared between the woman and the serpent, and the serpent's seed and the woman's seed. This is the Lord's battle, and he will see it through. The last thing we find in this chapter, of course, is the triumph, the victory. All this has been building up, and then it happens, and it happens rather quickly. David runs quickly to the battle line. In fact, if you notice in this chapter, David runs many times. He runs to the battle line when he first gets there. Then he runs to meet Goliath with his sling in his hand. And then once Goliath falls, he runs again to cut his head off. He is not hesitant. He is zealous. He is confident. And the stone hits Goliath's head and Goliath falls face forward on the ground. Verse 50 calls attention to the means. He did not have a sword in his hand. It was with a sling and a stone. God does not save by sword and shield. And after felling Goliath, David ran to him and cut off Goliath's head with his own sword. The very tool the enemy meant to use against David was used to cut off his own head. Can you think of another figure in 1 Samuel who fell on his face and lost his head? Can you think of Dagon? Is that who you're thinking of? Dagon, the false god of the Philistines? When the ark of God was set there, God vindicated his name by casting down that idol face down or on the ground with the head separated from the body. Well, now we have Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, meet the same fate. And can you think of an enemy of God's people whose head is crushed and who bites the dust? One who is an ancient enemy. Yes, that ancient serpent, right? Who would be made to, as it were, like that snake, be biting the dust, but whose head, the seed of the woman would crush the devil. that ancient serpent. And as with Goliath, the weapon the devil used, that of death, even used against Christ, was used by Christ to destroy the devil, to defeat him. So as a consequence of this triumph of David over Goliath, It was shown that there was a God in Israel that he did not save by sword and shield. The Philistines ran. They didn't stay to become slaves of the Israelites. They wanted to run back home. The Israelites didn't want them coming back. They ran after them. And the slaughter continued all the way until they got back to the Philistines' own hometown. And then they returned to plunder the camp of the Philistines. It's interesting, the head of Goliath was brought to Jerusalem. Jerusalem wasn't even an Israelite town at the time. That alludes to maybe what was going to happen later. But so as the Philistines were dispersed and the camp plundered, so our King Christ Jesus disperses our enemies. He sets them on the run. He is plundering the strongman's house. He delivers sinners from bondage. as David led the whole host of Israel to victory over the Philistines. So Christ leads his church to victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. There is a God in Israel, Emmanuel, God with us, the Good Shepherd, and our King. So as we come to an end of this chapter, remember what we can learn from it. First of all, this is an example of godly zeal and courage, of confidence based on faith in our covenant Lord. Be bold like David. David fought for the glory of God. He trusted God to vindicate God's own name and his covenant people. He credited God with the victory. He was bold in battle by faith in the Lord and for his cause. This is also a type of Christ and his victory over the evil one. While you and I were weak and sinful, Christ stepped onto the plane to crush the head of the devil through his death. And he delivers us from bondage and he scatters the enemy. This is also a demonstration to the world that there is a God in Israel, that is in the covenant people of God. Do not pick on the flock of God. It is a demonstration to the church that God saves not by sword or shield. Do not trust in man and let not your heart fail you when the might of man defies the church. Trust in the name of the Lord and be of good courage. Christ Jesus is God with us and he will defend his flock and give his people victory. So when the church encounters its foes, may you remember that the battle is the Lord's Take courage and run, advancing in his name. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your devotion and your faithfulness to your covenant, that you are zealous for your name and have placed your name upon us. We ask that you would deliver us from every evil, from the world, the flesh, and the devil, that you would scatter the enemy, that you would advance your kingdom, that you would grant victory to your church, that you would silence the scoffing and bring instead praise to you in its place. We ask that you would grant your people courage to do what is right, to not grow weary in doing good, to not fear, but rather to fear you with godly love and confidence. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.