I Samuel 17 – David, Saul and the little giant
Are you facing a Goliath in your life? The question you must ask yourself when faced with a Goliath is how are you are going to respond – with the heart of Saul (fear) or the heart of David (faith). Try to visualize the battle scene; both armies were on two opposite hills with a valley in between. Every day, twice a day, Goliath would go down into the valley and bellow out an intimidating taunt. This guy was over 9 feet tall with heavy armor – anyone would be intimidated at the sight of him. Goliath would say, “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.” I Samuel 17:8-10 This giant enemy of God’s people for 40 days struck fear into the heart of the men of Israel, including King Saul. What the Philistines were doing was an incredible military tactic to defeat their enemy with fear and intimidation, all the while only risking one man to do it. Verse 11 even tells us that the Israelites were terrified.
Now let’s take a moment and consider this from a leadership perspective – Saul was the leader of the nation – he has his army armed and ready to attack the Philistines, yet every day for 40 days they listen to Goliath defy Israel and God. And after 80 intimidating speeches by Goliath, how does the leader of Israel respond… crickets. Saul did not do anything, no planned strategy, no response whatsoever. His entire army was plagued with fear. And yet, Saul himself did nothing, being in dread fear himself.
Often when the enemy attempts to intimidate, we can actually allow our fearful thoughts to run rampant and become full-grown. We become hopeless and helpless in fear, which can make us powerless. We often will resign ourselves to defeat. But in reality, the battle is in our mind – we have allowed the enemy to dictate to us how we are going to respond instead of taking those thoughts captive and putting them under Christ. I certainly do not think this is an easy battle, but we can train our mind to cast out fear and live in faith.
Now, let’s transition to David – how does he respond? David enters the battlefield where fear is rampant and the king continues to do nothing. But I want you to notice, David is simply on an errand for his father, bringing food to his brothers. Yet, in verse 23 we see something wonderful. The army and the king had been listening to a little giant for 40 days and because of a total failure in leadership, they had done nothing but be paralyzed by fear and intimidation. But in verse 23, something is different. When Goliath comes out into the valley to strike fear into the Israelite army once again, we see three very important and striking words… “David heard him”. This time it was different because the shepherd boy heard little Goliath’s words. The 80 times before when Goliath made his military war cry David had not been there. But this time David heard the taunt and insult of the Philistines. In verse 26, David asks, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?” You see the stark contrast already, David want to know what can be done, and he continues, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Do you see the striking difference in attitude? David does not respond in fear, but with faith in the living God.
As we continue to read the text, we notice David does not go directly to Saul. He just asks some questions. But his words get repeated to Saul. So king Saul sends for David and what does David say, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” You know Saul has to be thinking, who does this little shepherd think he is? The entire nation is shaking in fear, yet David tells the king he can deliver the army? Where does he get this boldness and confidence? How is he so sure he can defeat a giant? Well, let’s remember that David has spent a lot of time keeping his father’s sheep.
But David said to Saul, “Your servant 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!” I Samuel 17:34-37
What we find here is a lot of wisdom on David’s part. And in David’s view (which is aligned with God) this giant is no different than an animal after his father’s flock. But David also knows something the Israelites and king don’t seem to. He knows the Philistine has defied the armies of the living God and by this singular act, they can and will be defeated. Okay, wait a minute, stop the press! David’s theology seems to be completely different that the rest of Israel! David assumes victory because the Philistine has insulted and defied the armies of God? You see, David sees the insult and believes God will give him victory because he is defending God’s name. And in that pasture with the sheep, Yahweh was training David to depend on him for victory. It was not about how big the lion, bear or giant are because God is the one who delivers the victory. You see the stark contrast between Saul and David – fear and faith.
In addition to this we also find another important principle. I think whenever we are faced with a great obstacle or challenge, we should reflect on God’s faithfulness in past circumstances. When David tells Saul how he has defeated the lion and bear whiling watching over his father’s flock, he is applying a principle of God’s past faithfulness. This is incredibly important, David is looking at God’s past faithfulness and deliverance and applying it to defeating the giant. He sees the Philistines in exactly the same way and knows God will deliver him. So, what do you think about that? How do we face our own giants, how do we get victory? Is our thinking aligned with God and his faithfulness? Do we really believe God will deliver yet again? Can’t we trust God as David did to deliver us from our giants. Consider for a moment, Saul was king – wasn’t it his responsibility to defeat Goliath. In fact hadn’t Saul won many battles, confronted enemies and seen God act on his behalf.
Consider I Samuel 11:6-11:
And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
So Saul had experienced great victories at God’s hand, yet now before the Philistines and Goliath he did not seem to act like a king nor do anything to resolve the conflict. What happened? God had been faithful, but now Saul did not remember God’s faithfulness and did not act and defeat Goliath.
We have this same choice – it does not matter our position or social standing – David wasn’t even allowed to go to the battlefield except to carry food for his brothers. He was a musician who watched his father’s sheep. This alone should speak volumes to us about character over position. God does not care a hoot about worldly position – whether you are a king or servant. He cares about faithfulness and character. And really there was a stark contrast here between David and Saul. Saul would be the favorite choice nine times out of ten based on external qualities. But David was a man after God’s heart. And he is one that saved the nation and defeated the giant standing in the way. A lesson for all of us is we do not necessarily need to follow leaders who cannot or do not remember God faithfulness, and will not act. God can use anyone at anytime to save a nation – it is not about position or authority, but about a willing and faithful heart. When kings are faithless and compromised, we need to be prepared to act – remembering Yahweh’s great faithful acts of deliverance. Boldness is required, faithfulness and character are required – and certainly action is required. Faith fuels action, while fear produces inaction and paralysis.
The story of David and Goliath shows us that God does not see things as man does. The king had everything at his disposal – David was just a shepherd boy on an errand. Yet, David was equipped with the right faith, boldness and theology to defeat a giant and save a nation. Why? Often having everything is not what we need – we need character, humility and a heart aligned with God.
Let’s consider an example from history – around 771, a man who has been called the “Moses of the Middle Ages,” ruled France. His name was Charlemagne and he was one of the greatest leaders in history, and is distinguished as a great influence for Christian culture and learning. There is a story about how this emperor asked the monks to organize schools and monasteries. One of these schools was started at the palace where boys from both wealthy and poor homes were able to study. Shortly after the school started, Charlemagne was gone for a long time at war. When he returned, Charlemagne reviewed the school work of the boys. The result was excellent work from the poorer students, but the wealthy students who were from the noblest families produced poor academic work. The king called the excellent students to his right and applauded their hard work with gracious words of gratitude and told the boys if they continued to study hard they would be rewarded and honored.
Then Charlemagne turned to his left and scolded the lazy, wealthy students. He told them they had not listened to his command to work hard and learn all they could. These boys had neglected their studies and indulged in folly and idleness. Charlemagne continued to say that he thought nothing of their noble birth and if they did not correct their habits and study diligently, they would never receive anything from him!
In God’s kingdom, it is never about how much money you have, your position or social standing. Yahweh does not use those things as a measurement at all! He looks at the heart, hard work, diligence, character and humility. How could David stare down and defeat a giant - because he had been with the King of kings. He had diligently sought the Lord and his faith in God was more powerful than an enemy. How can we emulate this kind of character and faith – how can we defeat the giants of our culture today. Many are paralyzed with fear and have been intimidated. The answer is the same today as it was back during the time of David.
What must we do –
1) Believe God is bigger than any giant we face.
2) Believe God gives victory for acts of righteousness and justice.
3) Pick up the weapon God has given you to use.
4) Trust him for the battle is the Lord’s.
What decisions is God laying at your door right now that could make or break your future? How can you best deal with it in faith and righteousness? Spend time in prayer with the Holy Spirit so you are prepared for the critical moments in your life when your decisions to do the right thing could bring monumental change. You don’t ever know how God will use you. He took a shepherd boy who spent time with him to defeat a giant and save a nation. David was close to God and this faith enabled him to boldly do what no one else could do. Take heart, with faith in your heart, God’s weapon in your hand, while trusting God for the battle will produce results. It could change your life, it could many others or think of it, it could even change a nation!
Add comment
Comments