Introduction
Most of us love an underdog story. That's why movies like Rudy and Remember the Titans strike a cord with us. American history is grounded on an underdog story. A group of untrained farmers and clergymen defeated the greatest professional army of the time in the American Revolution.
The account of David and Goliath is THE standard for the feel good story of the underdog overcoming all odds and conquering a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. That's how we usually think of it. That's how our culture thinks of it. And we couldn't be more mistaken about it. From the very moment that David stepped into that arena, Goliath didn't stand a chance, vv. 45-47.
"The battle is won miraculously by an underdog ho, by all expectations, should not have won at all. This is the way we have told one another the story over many centuries. It is how the phrase 'David and Goliath' has come to be embedded in our language – as a metaphor for improbable victory. And the problem with that version of the events is that almost everything about it is wrong." Malcolm Gladwell
I. Setting the Historical Context.
A. The Holy Spirit departed from Saul, the enemies of Israel were back in the land, and Israel is back in the wilderness.
1. The location of the battle was right in the middle of Israel: the valley of Elah. 1-2.
a. This valley is also famous in history because this is where Saladin faced off against the knights of the crusades and King Richard III in the 12thcentury.
b. The main thing to see here is that most of the gains under the original conquest had been lost under Saul.
2. It was like being back in the wilderness (reference to 40 days in v. 16).
B. In preparation for battle, both armies entrenched themselves on the hills surrounding the valley, 3-11
1. The style of battle chosen a less bloody one than just having frontal combat by all the soldiers in both armies.
2. The Philistines wanted to fight vicariously through a champion, 8-9.
a. The idea was that each side would pick a champion (literally the man between the two) and those two guys would fight.
b. Winning champion would give victory to his side and the battle would be over.
c. This would bring minimal destruction and loss of resources.
3. The Philistines had impressive champion: Goliath, 4-10.
a. He was 9'6", 4b.
1) Some people have issues with this because they think this height is impossible.
2) But it is not as impossible as you might think – the tallest man in recent history was Robert Wadlow (1918-1940) at 8'11" and still growing at the time of his death.
3) Two possibilities for Goliath's health.
a) He was part of genetic sub-group that is not around anymore – mentioned by spies when they went into Promised Land and felt like grasshoppers.
b) He suffered from Acromegaly, a problem with the pituitary gland that produces inordinate amounts of growth hormone and growth never stops.
b. He wore a complete body armor that weighed about 126 lbs. (an American soldier carries around 80lbs.).
c. His spear weighed 15lbs.
d. For all intents and purposes, he looked like more than anyone could handle, but we already learned in the previous chapters that he outward appearance is not as important as we make it to be.
C. There was no champion in Israel, at least not yet, 10-11.
D. Then a champion casually walks into the camp, 17-25.
II. Identifying Ourselves in the Story.
A. You probably have heard sermons in your life that encouraged you to be like David.
1. "Fight the Goliaths in your life."
2. "Stand up to the giants that are keeping you from being all you can be."
B. Though there some ways that we can identify with David, he is not the primary person we should identify ourselves with.
C. In this story, the player with whom we have the most in common is Israel, not David.
1. We cower in the face of our enemies.
2. We need a champion to fight on our behalf; otherwise we stand there unwilling to do anything.
3. We do not believe that the Lord is whom he says he is and we don't believe in what the Lord says he is going to do, 31-33.
4. Even when we try to go against our enemies, we want to use their weapons, not the weapons the Lord has given us, 38-39.
D. So, let's not kid ourselves into thinking that we are David, the giant slayer.
E. At the same time, this idea that we are not primarily David frees us to be what God has designed us to be.
1. Pushing to be like David makes us to want to try harder on our own.
a. WE have to stand tall.
b. WE have to fight the battles alone like David.
c. WE have to figure out a way to get through this on our own.
2. Trying to be like David leads to frustration, discouragement, and heartbreak.
3. Realizing that we are in need of a champion, and that we have a champion, and that he has won all battles for us, and that in him and through him we have victory frees us to do all that God calls us to do, 51b-53.
a. Notice that the battle had already won.
b. Their champion had defeated the Philistines.
c. What the Israelites were doing was collecting the spoils.
III. Seeing Jesus in David.
A. Instead of seeing us in David, we are much better served if we see Jesus in David.
B. Jesus is the greater David.
1. Jesus brings God into the picture when we are by nature godless.
a. Up to the point David shows up in the narrative of chpt. 17, it had been godless – David speaks for the first time in the Bible in v. 26, and he right off the bat reminds Israel that they serve the living God.
"Do you expect a living God to allow an uncircumcised Philistine to trample his name in military and theological mud? Israel thought the Philistine invulnerable; for David he was only uncircumcised. A living God gives a whole new view of things." Ralph Dale Davis
b. Jesus shows up in history to infuse God into it.
Mt. 11:27-30 – All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
2. Jesus conquers his and our enemies on his own.
a. All that Israel did was watch David as he defeated Goliath – at the most Saul gave him a pet on the backside as David walked out of the tent, 37b, 40, 48-50a.
b. When Jesus was accomplishing the plan of redemption, he did it by himself without any participation on our part.
Heb. 9:11-12 – But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
3. Jesus fought in the place of his people.
a. David willingly went to fight Goliath knowing that his victory or loss would be Israel's victory or law – that he was fighting in their place, 26, 31.
b. That is exactly what Jesus did for his Church.
Is. 53:2-11 – For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And wehid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried oursorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes weare healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of usall. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, andbe satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.
4. Jesus won the victory!
a. As unlike as it was in the minds of those Israelites (and Philistines) who were overlooking the Valley of Elah on that day, David beat Goliath, 50-51.
b. Our greater David had an even greater victory.
Col. 2:11-15 – In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Himthrough faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Rom. 8:37-39 – Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
IV. Seeing Us in David through Jesus.
A. When we are able to see our place in this story, then we are ready to also see that through Jesus we also have a place in David.
B. So we can learn from David, but not in a legalistic, life-sucking, discouraging way.
C. We can learn from David in the freedom that Christ has purchased for us.
D. There is one thing that I want us to take from David today: we have available to us today the same weapons that David had available to him 3,000 years ago, 45-47.
1. Goliath and everybody else including Saul expected David to fight on Goliath's term, 38-39.
2. But David fought according to the way he knew would bring him victory with weapons he knew would allow him to be successful.
"David fought Goliath not with inferior but (on the contrary) with superior weaponry; and his greatness consisted not in his being willing to go out into battle against someone far stronger than he was. But in his knowing how to exploit a weapon by which a feeble person could seize the advantage and become stronger." Moshe Dayan, Israeli defense minister during the Six-Day War in 1967
3. The Lord has also given us incredibly powerful weapons that are suited for the battles we face everyday.
2 Cor. 10:3-6 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
a. The only reason David won the fight was because he believed that God was whom had said he was and that God's weapons were better than anything else.
b. When the Church of Jesus Christ believes that Jesus Christ is exactly who he says he is and that the Bible is to be believed, lived, and followed.
c. God is our God, not alone on the Sabbath, but also through the week; not alone in our worship, but also in our work; not alone in our devotions, but also in our marriage and family; not alone as regards our church life, but also as regards our behavior to the State, to our employer, and to our neighbor.
Conclusion
Here we see David. But more than David, we see Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the cross for us.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2015/12/david-goliath-1-sam-17.html
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