David and Goliath

1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49

Intro: 

The story of David and Goliath is a story we know well, but it still repays looking in detail – so we’re going to look at it section by section. 

We are used to this as story of the little, under-rated David beating the mighty Goliath.

But today you might want to listen out for the people in the story who are trusting human strength and plans, and those who are trusting God’s strength and plans. 

In the battle between David and Goliath, David is short on human skills but strong on divine trust whereas Goliath is huge, and full of human strength, but he doesn’t understand that he fails to have God on his side.

First an introduction. This is not the first we’ve heard of the Philistines in the first book of Samuel. They are long-standing enemies of the Israelites, and King Saul and his son Jonathan have each been victorious over them in various battles. At one point in their difficult history, the Philistines have taken all the blacksmiths out of Israel and so swords and spears and armour are in short supply for the Israelites, and you might hear in the story a certain amount of gloating from the Philistines about how well-equipped they are, and a certain longing in the Israelite account,  that they wish they had such equipment for battle. But such equipment is no match for the power of God…

1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 

[The Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was over nine feet. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze 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, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

The scene is set for a one-to-one, hand-to-hand combat of champions to decide this battle. Instead of the possibility of mass slaughter, Goliath demands a single contest. 

If Saul’s champion kills Goliath, the Philistines will be made slaves of the Israelites; but if the Israelites can’t find someone to defeat a 9 foot man with massive armour, and Goliath wins, the Israelites will be made slaves of the Philistines. You can see why the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Into this scene comes David, son of Jesse. We are told that David’s usual task is to mind his father’s sheep. His three eldest brothers are in the Israelite army, and we are also told that the stand-off with Goliath has been going on for 40 days at this point. Their father, Jesse, sends David with provisions and to see how his brothers are getting on. 

 

19-23

Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, 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.

 

So David, sent with supplies from his father to his brothers, leaves the packages of food with the ‘keeper of the baggage’ and runs to find out what’s happening to his brothers. What happens next is that David is told by some of the soldiers that Saul has offered a reward for the man who faces up to and kills Goliath – in fact David asks about this more than once. Then his elder brother catches up with him and asks David why he’s left his sheep to come and watch the battle. 

Then David asks again about the reward, and someone reports to Saul that David is showing an interest in the search for a champion, and Saul summons David to him.

32-40

David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

 

Remember the question about whether people are trusting God or trusting human strength? We see this really sharply here. Saul looks at David and sees just a boy, but David explains that the Lord God has saved him from lion and bear when he has been caring for the sheep, and God will care for him now.

David also sees that Goliath, who says he is ‘defying the ranks of the armies of Israel’ is actually defying the ‘armies of the living God’. David is seeing this as a battle between Goliath and God’s strength.

But Saul still looks for human protection and tries to dress David up in his armour, and helmet and gives David his sword. David, untrained as a soldier, can’t walk in all that equipment and takes it all off. He faces the challenge like a shepherd, not a soldier – with his staff and his sling in his hand and five smooth stones from the river bed.

41-49

The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and 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 very 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 Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s & he will give you into our hand.”

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

Goliath taunts David – he sees only a small opponent, and he threatens to feed his body to the birds and wild animals. David states ‘you come with sword and spear and 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.’ He states that it is the armies of the Philistines whose bodies will be fed to the birds and wild animals. He will fight Goliath so ‘that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear’.

 

And as we have known all along, David is victorious. A single, well-aimed stone leave his sling at high speed and strikes Goliath, the Philistine, in the forehead, felling him instantly.

 

We hear the term ‘David & Goliath battle’ used quite a lot. Here’s two news stories from just this week:

“Homeowner wins David v Goliath battle with broadband firm who installed 40ft high pole next to his house while he popped out to the shops.”

“A Herefordshire boxer is preparing to take on a ‘David versus Goliath’ battle against a boxer three weights above his normal fighting weight.”

 

In both cases the story is focussing on the much smaller cause beating the much larger one.

 

We may never have been in a literal fight of this kind, but I’m sure we know how it feels to face something huge and frightening. The fear for a member of our family whose life feels to be falling apart; the health diagnosis we have been dreading; the situation of change that we want to run away from…

 

Perhaps our first reaction is to look for human solutions.

Like Goliath we might think the answer lies in training and strength and bluster.

Like Saul, we might want to find some armour to protect us.

Like the army of Israel we might just be frozen by fear.

 

But David teaches us to step out with what we have, with what we know, with what we can trust – and most of all to trust that God is with us. 

Greater than any human strength, a stronger protection than any armour, an antidote and a balm to all fears, God and God’s grace is what sees David through and it’s there when we need it, too.

 

In the difficulties of our lives, just as in conflict between David & Goliath, the grace of God is ever-present.

 

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.

 

And yet we might wonder ‘who am I, that God would care enough to strengthen and protect and heal me?’. It’s all very well for David the great biblical hero; but is God really concerned about ordinary people?

 

At this table of communion we remember that God came to us, in a very difficult time and to a very ordinary people, in Jesus Christ. Jesus drew all kinds of people to him – he was criticised for eating and drinking with outcasts and sinners. He told stories of seeking the lost, welcoming the rejected, embracing the lonely -  and he healed the broken, forgave the sinner and brought the gift of new life for all.

God’s love and grace and protection is for all and for each.

 

But even in the story of David, we see this longing of God to reach out and touch the lives of ordinary, broken people. David is no saint.

His brother tells him off for abandoning his sheep to run off to join the battle.

We heard how instead of delivering the supplies to his brothers he left them with the keeper of baggage and ran to where the action was.

David shows a keen interest in the reward offered for fighting Goliath – asking about the money several times.

He tells King Saul that he is used to wresting wolves and bears, rather sneakily giving the impression that he is going to engage Goliath in hand-to-hand combat – he even carries his staff…when his true weapon is his sling-shot and stones.

 

David’s character flaws will be revealed again as his story unfolds: and yet God is with him; God uses him to point to the importance of God’s help, and through him God defeats the enemies of the Israelite army.

 

We learn something even better in this story than just that the little one in a fight can sometimes win.

We learn that God is with David, despite his flaws. 

We learn that the same God, who came to us in Jesus, is with us.. in this bread and wine…and always. Amen.