David and Goliath

David and Goliath

1 Samuel 17

 

The year was approximately 900 B.C. and the Israelites had gotten their very first king, King Saul.  The Philistines were neighbors and enemies of the Israelites during King Saul’s reign.  And the ruthless Philistines were always trying to pick fights and conquer the Israelites in order to enslave them.  So, King Saul’s men, were constantly fighting the Philistines. Sometimes they lost their battles with the Philistines and sometimes they won.  But whenever the Israelites trusted God for their victories, they won. 

 

During this time David was just a shepherd boy and too young to be a soldier. But three of his older brothers were soldiers in King Saul’s army. During one of the battles with the Philistines, David’s father, Jesse, asked David to go to the battleground and check up on his older brothers and bring them food.

 

 So, the next morning David left his sheep with a servant and took off hiking across the fields to find King Saul’s army and his brothers.  Scripture tells us that the battle was being fought in a valley between two hills.   The Philistines were camped on one hill and across the valley the Israelites were camped on the opposite hill.   Just as David arrived at the battleground, Goliath, a huge Philistine giant about 9 ½ feet tall, came stomping out from the Philistine army camp and stormed over to the Israelite camp shouting out curses at the Israelite soldiers.

 

Goliath, a champion of war, was wearing a bronze helmet and a heavy coat of scale armor. He had bronze shields on his legs and a bronze javelin slung on his back.  His spear shaft was heavy and long, and his shield bearer marched ahead of him carrying a heavy shield to protect him.

 

Every morning and evening for forty days now Goliath had been strutting up and down the valley shouting insults at the Israelite soldiers and daring one of them to be a man and come out and fight him!  Goliath is making fun of the God of Israel and mocking the Jewish soldiers for having a God that wouldn’t be able to save them from him and his might fighting power.

 

All the Israelite soldiers would run away each time Goliath would come out and bully them.   When David saw this he became very angry and he argued with his older brothers. David felt that one of the Israelite soldiers should trust God enough to go fight this giant. Why should Goliath be allowed to insult God?  Why didn’t one of King Saul soldiers trust God enough to fight this giant Philistine?  Eliab, David’s oldest brother, flew into a rage and told David to shut up.  He fussed that David was a stupid boy and didn’t understand. That Goliath, the giant and mighty man of war, with all of his armor would certainly kill any man who tried to fight him.  But little David insisted that God was bigger than any giant and someone, maybe he, should go fight Goliath in God’s Name. 

 

What David said was overheard and reported to King Saul, and the king sent for David to come to him.  David bowed before his king and said: “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine: your servant will go and fight him.”  (1 Samuel 17:32) King Saul insisted that David was just a boy and surely the giant would kill him.  But David insisted that the God of Israel would deliver him.  King Saul prayed for David and then tried to put his armor on David, but it didn’t fit.  So, David got five little stones from the creek bed and said that he would fight Goliath with his little slingshot. 

 

When David came out to fight, Goliath looked David over and saw that he was only a boy.  Scripture says that Goliath hated David and he said: “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? “Goliath cursed David by his gods.  Then he roared at David: “Come here, I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”  (1 Samuel 17: 43-44)

 

And David replied: “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 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.”  (1 Samuel 17:45-47) 

 

Goliath in a fury ran to attack, and David ran to the battle line to meet him.  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, David slung it and struck Goliath on the forehead.  The stone sank into his forehead, and Goliath fell face down on the ground.  When the Philistine army saw that their hero was dead, they all turned and ran away.

 

David grew up and was chosen by God to be Israel’s next king. (2 Samuel) Scripture says that David was a man after God’s own heart. (Acts 13:22 and 1 Samuel 13:14)   Why is that?  Let’s look at David’s life and see if we can find out why God was so pleased with David.  Why he was a man after God’s own heart!

 Even though David committed many big sins in his life, he was always deeply sorry and always quickly repented of them. David sincerely wanted God’s will for himself as well as for his country, Israel. God meant everything to David.  David loved God with all his heart, and he loved God’s Word and said that it was a light for his path. It is believed that David wrote many of the Psalms through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  

 

David was a humble servant. (1 Samuel 16:14-23) And a faithful and obedient son. (1 Samuel 16:1-13)   David wanted God and Gods’ Word more than anything else and he always gave God praise and honor and glory.  David was a victorious warrior.  He saw only the size of his God and not the size of the giant.

 

 Scripture says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) David firmly believed and trusted in God and he believed that God would answer his prayers. His bold faith pleased God.  I believe that David’s love and faith in God are the reasons that he was a man after God’s own heart.  

 

How do we measure up?  Do we go after the “giants” in our lives trusting God to be with us and fight our battles?  Have we let the size of the giants in our lives overwhelm the size of our God?  Do we believe the scriptures that tell us that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him?  Do we love and trust God and want His will in our lives?  Are we willing to obey Him?  Oh that we could live our lives so that they would bring joy to God’s heart the way David did.