Facing Your Giants
1 Samuel 17
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy
Faith Fellowship – January 5-6, 2019
The most famous battle in the Bible is between David and Goliath.
• Goliath is just one of the giants that David will face.
• This encounter sets the groundwork for facing the many Giants ahead.
1 Samuel 17:1-58 (NIV)
[1] Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. [2] Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. [3] The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. [4] A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. [5] He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; [6] on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. [7] His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. [8] Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. [9] If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” [10] Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” [11] On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. [12] Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was old and well advanced in years. [13] Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. [14] David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, [15] but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. [16] For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. [17] Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. [18] Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. [19] They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” [20] Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. [21] Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. [22] David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. [23] As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. [24] When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. [25] Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.” [26] David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” [27] They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” [28] When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” [29] “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” [30] He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. [31] What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. [32] David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” [33] Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” [34] But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, [35] I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. [36] Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. [37] The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.” [38] Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. [39] David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. [40] Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. [41] Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. [42] He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. [43] He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. [44] “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” [45] 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. [46] 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. [47] 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.” [48] As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. [49] Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. [50] So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. [51] David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. [52] Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. [53] When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. [54] David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent. [55] As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.” [56] The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.” [57] As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head. [58] “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
The great
•
is one of the best known in the Bible.
• David has been serving on and off as a musician in the court of Saul.
• A couple of years may have gone by.
• We see the famous battle between David and Goliath.
• We see the geographical standoff on two sides of the Valley of Elah.
• Before we hear a word, we get a picture of the enemy.
Goliath is the quintessential
• His extreme size and dimensions seem almost cartoonish, but they are real.
• The description of Goliath is one of the most detailed in all of scripture.
• He was about nine feet-nine inches tall.
• About two feet taller than the tallest ever WWF wrestler, Jorge Gonzalez of Argentina.
The
• The bronze helmet and coat of scale made of bronze plates weighed 125lbs. and looked like fish scales.
• Greaves protected the legs below the knee.
• The bronze javelin could be used to fend off attackers.
• The spear tip was made of iron weighing about 15lbs.
• The sword is not mentioned until later but would have been iron.
• He came with a shield bearer as well.
The
• “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” [10]
• Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. [11]
• Goliath was the picture of intimidation.
• For forty days Goliath came out to taunt.
• Apparently the Philistines were not eager to see many of their men die.
The
• He had been send by his father with a care package to his brothers and also to the commander of their unit.
• The commander decides who will run first into a cloud of arrows.
• A little favor could go a long way.
David heard the
• He also learned that the king would reward the man who kills Goliath.
• The king would give his daughter in marriage and make the victor’s family exempt from taxes. [25]
• Sweet deal but that isn’t what gets David’s attention.
• “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” [26]
The first giant we see David face is
• He was immediately opposed by his big brother, Eliab.
• The jealousy and opposition come out.
• “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” [28]
• Don’t expect unanimous family support when you go to face your Giant.
• Eliab had been a little giant for years, the big brother who belittled.
• David could have turned away and headed home at this point.
David
• “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else… [29,30]
• There is an important strategy here.
• TURN AWAY.
• The LORD will always have us deal with smaller giants on the road to the big one.
David offered to fight the Philistine.
• Another little giant to face, the SKEPTICISM of the king.
• “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” [33]
This is not my
• I am a shepherd.
• When a lion or bear came after my sheep, I go after them.
• I rescued the sheep from its mouth.
• When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
I have killed a
• Each is a different predator—
• The lion has STEALTH and speed.
• The bear has FORCE and fury.
• This is not the source of David’s confidence.
I have the
• “This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.” [36]
• “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” [37]
• The giant is big, but my God is much bigger.
• Facing the little giants built up his God-confidence, not his self-confidence.
• This is not the same as human swagger.
The giant of Saul’s
• Saul tries to dress David for battle.
• He gives him his own tunic, armor, bronze helmet, and sword.
• This is another giant, the temptation to wear the armor of another.
• “I cannot go in these because I’m not used to them.” [39b]
• You can’t go into battle wearing someone else’s armor.
• It’s not about the armor anyway.
David’s
• A shepherd had a staff for rescue and guidance.
• A shepherd had rod, a short club, and a sling as weapons.
• David will later write, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Thy rod (protection) and Thy staff (correction) they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
• Given the opponent, the sling was the weapon of choice but he also brought the rod. [43]
• He chose his ammo, five smooth stones from the stream.
Goliath taunts with immense
• “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” [43]
• And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
• “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” [44]
Everyone around saw a
David saw the armies of the
“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. 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.” [45-47]
The Philistine
• This may have gotten his attention.
• The one thing the Philistines had feared was the God of the Israelites.
David
• He loaded up his sling with a single stone and sank it into the forehead of the giant.
• He fell facedown. The stone did not kill Goliath.
• He ran over and killed Goliath with his own sword.
• He cut off his head.
The Philistines
• This was the last thing they expected.
• Israel pursued the enemy leaving their dead strewn and plundering their camp.
• He brought Goliath’s head to Jerusalem but kept his weapons.
Saul is as
• “Abner, whose son is that young man?”
• How much are going to lose in taxes?
• “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”
“Whose son are you, young man?”
• David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
• David may not have been around Saul much the last year or two.
What are your
David faced at least
• The giant of
• The giant of a
• The giant of a
• The giant of
• The giant of someone else’s
• The giant named
Each little giant builds
• We usually have more than one out in front of us.
• But we also have a few behind us.
• The key to facing each giant in your life is knowing that the Lord who delivered you in the past will deliver you in the present.
Three parts of David’s Victory are critical to the way we face our own giants.
A
“You come against me with the weapons of this world, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
A
“This day the LORD will hand you over to me.”
A
“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.”
What giants are you facing in 2019?
• Not simply goals for self-improvement.
• It may be a health issue that is closing in.
• It may be a family situation that is not getting better.
• It may be a habit that has slowly become an addiction.
• It may be a relationship with conflict that is looming.
• It may be a legal issue that is taunting.
• It may be a financial burden that is coming due.
It may be some of the little giants that you struggling with but need to move past.
• Disapproval of family.
• Skepticism from friends or leaders.
• Stealthy attacks or forceful criticism.
• The burden of wearing someone else’s armor.
Get the view of reality, a vision of the victory, and a picture of the purpose in your mind and heart.