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[0:00] You can take your Bibles tonight and open them to 1 Samuel.

[0:18] ! 1 Samuel, chapter 17. We started this last time. We'll finish it up tonight. Tonight, this very familiar story, I really doubt that there's a soul in the place that does not know of this story and every detail of the story.

[0:40] And probably most of us, not all of us, could picture the story in our minds. You know, there have been a few movies that have come out that portray the story.

[0:51] As I mentioned, I think last time, even VeggieTales has taken this story. And of course, Goliath is a big bumpy pickle. And anyway, so the story of David and Goliath.

[1:05] Again, our subject, or I guess what I've entitled the message from this chapter is, A Great Faith in an Even Greater God. Because even though David, of course, is the one who twirled that sling and threw that rock and hit its mark, it was, of course, God who won the battle.

[1:28] David gives all the glory to God. So it's a great faith. Don't take anything away from David's faith. He had a great faith, strong faith, great courage, and many other things, other adjectives we could use to describe David.

[1:42] But he gave all the credit to God. And so this is what we want to look at tonight. Now last week, I read the entire chapter at the beginning. And it's a rather lengthy chapter, some 50, some odd verses.

[1:55] I can't even remember now. 58 verses. I'm not going to do that. Although we are going to read, I'm going to read, when we get to it here, the portion of the chapter that we're going to be focusing on tonight.

[2:09] And I'll read it kind of step by step as we go through the outline that I am using tonight. So let's get to it. We have already seen two things.

[2:22] If you were here last week, you might remember these. We started with Goliath described. The Bible does describe Goliath more than just some of those features that we're familiar with, some other features about Goliath in the first place.

[2:37] Goliath, of course, was a Philistine. He's described as a Philistine. That's not hard to see in the passage. He is the captain, their champion, so to speak, for the Philistine army that had formed in battle, battle lines on one side of a small little valley.

[2:57] And Israel, of course, the armies of Israel formed on the other side. And Goliath is their champion. And he's a Philistine. He is from Gath, principal city in Philistia.

[3:11] And so we talked about that last time. Second, Goliath is described, and this is just by way of review, just in case you missed it last time. And Goliath is described, of course, as a pagan idol worshiper.

[3:25] Just the fact that he's a Philistine would be enough to peg him as an idol worshiper. A little bit later in the story, Goliath even curses David by his gods, that is, Goliath's gods.

[3:38] So Goliath is a pagan. He is an idol worshiper, primarily their chief god, Dagon. So that's how Goliath is described. Also, third, if you remember, and this is the part that we know about Goliath, he's described as a really big man.

[3:56] I mean a really big man. And when I say big man, I mean a big man. And, of course, we want to ask how big was he. But we already know, because we know the story.

[4:08] He was a giant. I mean, by all definitions of giant. He is a giant. Verse 4 says his height was six cubits and a span.

[4:20] Now, who can tell me how tall that is according to our measurement? Who can tell me? Nine foot nine inches. That's right. Exactly. Now, you know, maybe an eighth of an inch more or less.

[4:32] It doesn't really matter. But he was really tall. Nine foot nine inches. Really, really big man. And I'm sure the stockiness of his body, the breadth of his body, was commensurate with his height.

[4:45] So he was a very, very big man. A giant. Fourth, he is described, Goliath is described as very well armed and armored.

[4:57] I said he was kind of like a walking tank. And he really was. He was armed, sheathed in armor from head to foot. From a bronze helmet on his head to a coat of mail on his body that weighed 126 pounds to the bronze armor on his legs that would protect his legs.

[5:18] And he had weaponry. Most versions use the word javelin. But very likely it was a scimitar that would be sheathed in his back, you know, curved blade.

[5:32] And he could pull that out and fight with it. And he had a spear, the Bible says, like a weaver's beam, which probably means it had a little ring on the end of it that would be where a rope would be affixed.

[5:46] So that when he threw it, he could retrieve the spear and throw it again. You know, I've often thought about that. You know, spears pretty much once and done. I mean, you throw the thing and that's it. You know, you can't retrieve it.

[5:57] So what an ingenious idea to connect a rope to it so that you could pull it back. And he, of course, had a pretty heavy spearhead on it. I think it was like 15, 16 pounds heavy.

[6:11] And then a shield bearer that would go before him. And the shield, of course, would have to be somewhat the size of Goliath. So I can imagine that the shield itself may have been eight foot tall or so.

[6:23] Just, you know, that's usually where it would come to protect the body. And the head could be maybe above it or just behind it. And so the shield bearer itself, I got to thinking about that. The shield bearer must have been a pretty good sized guy himself.

[6:36] I mean, to carry a shield for a nine foot nine inch guy would really be something to do. So, all right. So that's Goliath.

[6:47] You know, the Bible describes him as not only a really big man, a giant, but also very well armed and armored. And finally, and this would, I guess, really go without saying, because he is an idol worshiper, a pagan.

[7:03] The Bible describes him as a blasphemer. He was the blasphemer. And David even said in verse 26, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

[7:18] And that very phrase that David used there concerning Goliath pegged him as a blasphemer. He wasn't just berating the armies of Israel.

[7:29] But by doing so, he was actually blaspheming Israel's God and defying him. All right. So Goliath described. And again, just by way of review.

[7:40] Then we have Goliath. Talked about Goliath defined. Defined is a little different than described. Described is the outward features and some of the characteristics of the man.

[7:52] But defined is something different. That is his very persona. How did they define Goliath? Well, some define Goliath as an obstacle. Just merely as an obstacle.

[8:05] That he's in the way. And really, I guess we could say that David viewed him as an obstacle. The armies of Israel viewed him as an obstacle.

[8:19] Keeping them from going the way they need to go and doing the things they need to do. The Philistine army stood in their way. And this champion of theirs is there as an obstacle.

[8:30] Only Israel saw Goliath standing between them and what they wanted to do. But David saw Goliath standing there between him and what God wanted.

[8:41] And so you can see the difference of perspective. Even though to both perspectives, this giant is an obstacle to them. Some defined him really purely out of fear.

[8:52] And that is as an opponent. Simply an opponent. They said, the men said, surely he has come up to defy Israel. He is an opponent.

[9:04] And so that really is defining Goliath from a position of fear. And yet David also defined him as an opponent. As an opponent to God. As an enemy of God.

[9:15] And then finally, some define Goliath as an opportunity. An opportunity. And primarily David's perspective, I think, was that Goliath was an opportunity for God to receive glory.

[9:29] And to, as he would say a little bit later when he's in the heat of the battle, he said so that the whole world would know that there's a God in Israel.

[9:40] And so it was an opportunity to bring glory to God. And we could make an application there for our lives. It's really every giant we face. We should view it this way anyway.

[9:52] Define them this way. That every giant in our lives is an opportunity for God to get the glory. Glory. Alright, so Goliath is described. He is defined.

[10:03] And now we're finally to it. He is defeated. Defeated. Goliath is defeated. Alright, so we're getting to that part of the story that we like.

[10:14] You know, the part that we know the best. And actually, this part of the story, that is where Goliath is actually defeated, represents a very small part of this rather lengthy chapter.

[10:30] Really a small part of the overall story. And so when I talk about Goliath being defeated, I'm going to start a little bit further back than just the battle itself. Let me just point out several things about David's defeat of Goliath.

[10:47] We need to really begin with why David is there in the first place. Or really, maybe to put it this way, what brought David there?

[10:59] What was it, or who was it, that made sure that David was there at that time? And so here's the first point I want you to see, a really sub-point under Goliath is defeated.

[11:10] And that is David's calling. David's calling from the Lord. Because, you see, what happened here in this story was divine destiny for David.

[11:23] And we need to see that. I mean, certainly, when we think of the story of David and Goliath, we think of certain applications in our lives, for our lives, in regard to giants that we face and the battles that we fight and hopefully win.

[11:42] And that's certainly a big part of the application. But we also need to see here God's calling upon David's life. That this whole battle took place between David and Goliath because God had chosen him.

[11:57] God had uniquely chosen David to be king over Israel. Now, he wasn't king yet. And still, it's going to be some time before he is actually crowned king of Israel.

[12:11] But God had chosen David before this battle, before this day. And you remember, the anointing of David as king took place, had already taken place.

[12:24] Now, somewhat in private, there within the confines of Jesse's household as Jesse paraded his tall, strapping, good-looking sons, kingly-looking sons.

[12:37] And with each one, God said, No, he's not the one. No, he's not the one. No, he's not the one. And went through all seven before they got to David. And David, of course, was out there in the fields tending the flocks.

[12:50] And so they brought David in and God said, He's the one. He's the one. So this has already taken place. David has been anointed as king over Israel, very much like Saul had been anointed sometime prior to him actually becoming the official king.

[13:09] And also Saul was anointed king in private. And so David's already been anointed as king. And so David was already partway to the throne of Israel in some respect respect because he had been brought into Saul's household, remember, back there in chapter 16.

[13:28] Because Saul was now being tormented by an evil spirit that God had sent. Really, I think we should understand that it's God tormented him. And every time he would be in torment, music would kind of soothe him.

[13:41] And so David was a great musician, as we know, don't we? So he brought David into his household. So every time he was in torment, David would play his harp and it would soothe him and so forth.

[13:54] And the Bible goes on to say that he made David his armor bearer. All right, so David is already partway into the household of Saul or the palace or the throne room of Israel.

[14:08] He's certainly not thought of as a prospective king. And certainly Saul did not think of him that way. But he's on his way to the throne. And soon, very soon, really David will be king of Israel, a king after God's own heart because God had chosen him.

[14:26] I'm going to select a king for myself who is a man after my own heart. And that person, of course, is David. But this is not going to happen overnight.

[14:39] And the victory, and this is what we need to understand, the victory over Goliath will become a huge step toward David fulfilling God's calling upon his life.

[14:52] I think David knew that to some extent. And I mentioned this last week. David was interested partly because he knew what God had called him to be. And here's an opportunity to reveal that God's hand is upon him.

[15:07] And so he's on his way to the throne. And that is what this story is all about. That's what it's brought this story about in the first place. God's calling upon David, moving him step by step to become king over Israel.

[15:23] So I want to begin reading, and I'll kind of do this for each one of the points of the message tonight, to kind of define this particular section of the story and then read it.

[15:35] So look at verse 12. Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse.

[15:47] Ephrathite probably means that he was of the family of actually the... His mother was not Ephrathah. She was kind of the matriarch of this family.

[16:00] Ephrathah, the wife of Caleb, mother of her. Her is another person we might remember in biblical history and eventually to the family of Jesse.

[16:11] So it's just kind of giving maybe a little word of the pedigree there. And he had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years in the days of Saul.

[16:23] So at this time, Jesse is an old man. That's why he's not out on the battlefield, very likely, because he's not able to fight. And why also, Jesse sent David to the battlefield rather than going himself.

[16:38] The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab, the firstborn, next to him, Abinadab, and the third, Shammah.

[16:53] Just a point of reference here. He had eight sons, but apparently the three oldest were of an age where they would be not only just allowed to be a part of the army or to fight for Israel, but would be required.

[17:12] And so possibly the sons under them were too young, including David, David being the youngest. Or it may have been that there was a law that if you had eight sons, they could only take three of them, you know, just to preserve the family.

[17:25] But anyway, we have three of the oldest sons, the three oldest sons, fighting with the armies of Israel. David was the youngest and the three oldest followed Saul.

[17:36] But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. And that's just a quick little reference to remind you of what took place in chapter 16 when David had been brought into the household of Saul and not only served as his armor bearer, but to play the harp when he needed soothing.

[17:57] And part of the time he would be there in the household of Saul and part of the time he would go home periodically take care of the family sheep. And the Philistine drew near and presented himself.

[18:12] And this is just a reference to what we've already learned that the champion of Israel would come out in between the two assembled armies and make his challenge.

[18:23] And so this is a reference to that, kind of helps us prepare us for what's going to happen next. So he presented himself 40 days morning and evening. So for 40 days, 80 times, if you add it up, morning, evening, Goliath would make his appearance and he would challenge if I, the armies of Israel, choose you a champion, remember, to come out and fight with me.

[18:50] And if you win the battle, we will be your servants. And if I win the battle, you will be our servants. And so this challenge went on. And really, it's kind of amazing when you think about it.

[19:01] For 40 days, Israel did not attack the Philistines and the Philistines did not attack Israel. For 40 days, the people of Israel saw their king put up with this challenge every day, morning and evening.

[19:17] So there's just a reference to this kind of ongoing challenge. And again, it will prepare the reader for what's going to happen here. Then Jesse said to his son David, take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves and run to your brothers at the camp.

[19:41] And why? Well, we do this kind of thing today. We've got a, you know, a son or someone in our family who's in the army someplace, stationed someplace, maybe they're in Iraq or, you know, with our son Matthew.

[19:59] I remember both times when he was in Iraq and then second time in Afghanistan we would send some things from time to time and people in our church would send things and we'd do that. But also, you need to understand that 40 days out on the battlefield, your provisions start to run pretty low.

[20:17] And so this was a way, not just something Jesse did because he was extraordinary, but all the families would do this. And they would support their armies.

[20:28] They would send food to them. And so this is what he's having David do. And run, he said, run to your brothers at the camp and carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousands.

[20:40] So a little extra for their commanding officer. And see how your brothers fare and bring back news of them. Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.

[20:59] So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. Now that's why, by the way, Jesse told him to run.

[21:11] You notice he got up early in the morning and he got there in the morning. Fifteen miles. So he had to really run fast. All right, so, and he came to the camp as the army was going out to fight and shouting for the battle for Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array army against army.

[21:38] They'd done that every day for forty some odd days. All right, so we read through that passage and we might have a tendency to think, well, all right, this is, you know, just kind of some background material and not anything really interesting about this unless you're hungry and maybe you like cheese, you know, it'd be kind of neat or just interested in some of the historical facts, some of which I've mentioned here tonight, but there's more to this than that.

[22:04] This is God making sure that David is at the right place at the right time so that he can witness this challenge made by the champion of the Philistines, this uncircumcised Philistine, as David is going to call him, to be at the right place at the right time to witness this so that God would then move in his heart to take a courageous step to be that one who would challenge or really respond to the challenge of the Philistine so that he could prove that God is with him as God is on, his hand is upon him.

[22:50] This is God revealing to us that he had called David to this very moment, this very time. And he's moving all the pieces into place, God's timing is impeccable, we know that, don't we?

[23:06] And he makes sure that David is right there and God is calling his man to the throne of Israel and that's what this kind of introduction to this epic, well, not epic, this very famous battle between two people, it sets us up for that.

[23:25] That is why this is taking place. Alright, so David, David's calling from the Lord. Second, then, I want you to notice David's cause for the Lord.

[23:39] His calling, David's calling from the Lord has led him to his cause for the Lord, in behalf of the Lord, as he witnesses not only this challenge made by the Philistine, but also listens to the words that he says and his, really, his blasphemy against God.

[24:03] His cause is for the honor of God. His cause is to stand up for the glory of his God.

[24:14] I mean, really, you know, something began to stir inside of his heart and he became, we could even say he became angry that anyone would defy and blaspheme his God as this Philistine was doing.

[24:31] So, look at verse 22. Verse 22, and David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, that is kind of the battle line, and came and greeted his brothers.

[24:45] So, this is what his father told him to do, to greet his brothers and get news from them and so forth so that he could then report back to his father Jesse.

[24:57] But then, as he talked with them, there was the champion. Alright, so just at that moment, perfect timing, there's the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines and he spoke according to the same words so David heard them.

[25:21] Same thing. I don't, you know, I don't know if this is the 40th, well, it has to be the 40th day because we know what's going to happen here pretty shortly. So, for 40 days he's been saying the same thing, same thing, but David hadn't heard it yet.

[25:36] So, he is there talking to his brothers and how things are going, your dad really misses you, here's some food from him, all is well at home, you know, your pet dog, he's doing okay, I'm taking care of him, all those little things and friends send you greeting, your wife and family, I'm sure that we're married by then.

[25:54] And while he's talking to them, suddenly here's this big giant walking out and making his challenge like he had been doing morning and evening for 40 days and he hears the whole thing.

[26:10] So, look at it. And so, he spoke the same words. So, David heard them. Verse 24, And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

[26:23] David saw all that too. So, he saw the giant. He heard his blasphemies against the Lord of Israel, Yahweh God and his armies.

[26:40] And he saw the reaction from his fellow Israelites and perhaps even his own brothers. brothers. So, the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up?

[26:55] Surely he has come up to defy Israel and it shall be that the man who kills him, the king, will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel.

[27:10] So, those three promises. You know, Saul has made this promise for anyone who would stand against and defeat this guy. And then we see the two causes that David suddenly owned.

[27:26] From what he observed, what he heard, suddenly two causes in his life. Then David spoke to the men who stood by him saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?

[27:43] Now, I mentioned last week, you might think, well, David, all he cares about is the reward. Lord. But you can't see it that way. David knows he's been anointed as king. Now, he's not going to just stand up and claim the throne, because he'll probably have his head chopped off.

[28:01] He's going to follow the Lord and bide his time, and he sees this as an opportunity to take another step toward the throne.

[28:14] Perhaps that one element. Marrying the king's daughter would be top on the list. I don't know.

[28:25] David has been in the palace. That would be my first question. Was she pretty or not? He already knows her. He's seen her. Of course, he doesn't make any remarks about that.

[28:38] This is first cause. The cause is, I'm here. God has led me here. I've heard this guy. I'm the man to take this man out.

[28:48] This is what God has called me to because he has called me to be the king of Israel. In fact, we might even read between the lines and wonder why Saul is not going out there and facing this giant.

[29:03] I mentioned this last week. Saul, remember, he was a pretty tall guy himself. In fact, remember, the Bible describes him as a head and shoulder above every other man.

[29:14] So, we're talking about a pretty big man himself. Very formidable. Now, he's not nine foot nine inches. But if anybody should be going out there, it should be Saul.

[29:25] And here is David eventually going to say, I shall take care of this guy. He's going to be very kingly. He has a cause, and that is to follow the Lord's leadership, take advantage of opportunities that he lays before him, knowing what he's been called to.

[29:42] And so, his cause is to put himself forward as the one God has called. But there's another cause. For who is, and it's in the same verse, for who is this uncircumcised Philistine?

[29:59] Now, why would he call him an uncircumcised Philistine? Well, because he was uncircumcised. Now, you have to understand how important that is, the significance of that, to Israel.

[30:10] That means he's outside of the covenant of God. He's an unbeliever. He's lost. He's a pagan. He's separated from God, and separated from his blessing.

[30:24] And so, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should deny the armies of the living God? That's one of my favorite phrases in the entire story. In fact, Sherry, I'm trying to remember, we had a book, just storybook, with this story in it, that I read and Sherry read many times to our first three when they were real little.

[30:45] Matthew, above all of them, love this story. You don't know much about Matthew, but he's just got a certain kind of brain that he doesn't just simply remember concepts and things.

[30:56] He remembers verbatim words. And so, we're driving somewhere, where, and Matthew is in the back seat with our other two boys, then, when we had just three, and he's telling the story.

[31:12] But he is telling it, because I'd read it so many times, I knew it, he's telling the story just exactly as it reads in the book, word for word. And remember that particular line in particular.

[31:25] This uncircumcised Philistine defies the armies of the living God. Really amazing. And so, I've always loved that phrase, but I love it for another reason.

[31:36] I mean, how bold. And David, you can sense just immediately that man, the zeal for the Lord has welled up inside of him. And now he's a man with a cause, not only to take a step toward the throne as God had called him to, but also there's another cause here, that is to silence this blasphemer, this one who's blaspheming my Lord, my God, how dare he do such a thing?

[32:08] And so, the people answered, verse 27, answered him in this manner, saying, so shall it be done for the man who kills him. So they just rehearse again, recite again, the promises that Saul made.

[32:22] Then when we get to verse 28, now Eliab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, why did you come down here, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?

[32:39] I mean, how demeaning. I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. You're just wanting to come see things.

[32:52] You know, it kind of reminds me of how Joseph was treated by his brothers, too. When Joseph had the dream, and then he made the mistake of telling the meaning of the dream to his brothers, you know, I'm going to be the ruler over all of you.

[33:09] They respond, who do you think you are? Be ruler over us, you prideful, haughty person. That's not how the Bible reads, but that's pretty much the gist of it.

[33:19] So the same kind of thing here. And David says, what have I done now? Now, the next part reads a little different in some versions. In the New King James, it's rendered this way, is there not a cause?

[33:36] Really, when you, and it is a difficult phrase to translate, I understand, as I've looked at several commentaries, wording is awkward, and so we're not real sure exactly what he means, or what he said, literally, but the meaning really is, have I not come here for no reason?

[33:58] You know, we could even look behind that and sense David's heart in that he's saying, has not God brought me here for a reason, for cause?

[34:12] And so David's cause for the Lord. courage and then third, David's courage because of the Lord.

[34:27] His courage. And this, all these kind of build upon one another. It's kind of a progression of the story. His calling, God leading him and moving him and moving everything else around him to bring him ultimately to the throne.

[34:44] And David's calling leads him to understand that he has a cause here. And this cause is going to take great courage. Great courage.

[34:55] Although we don't really sense in the story that David has to somehow muster up that courage. He just comes with it. You know, you don't see in the story any hesitation in his life.

[35:09] Do we? I mean, we really don't. Watch. What are you guys waiting for? I'll take care of this guy. I mean, it's great courage.

[35:20] So look, starting with verse 30. Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing. And these people answered him as the first one did.

[35:33] That is about what will be done for the man who kills him. Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul. And he sent for him.

[35:45] I explained this last week. Saul already knows David, of course. A little bit later he's going to inquire about David's father. He does not know David's father. And the reason why he asks about his father is because, and this is after David has destroyed the giant, because of the promise.

[36:03] Your family won't have to pay any taxes. And so he kind of needs to know him. But he knows David, so he sends for him. Then David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him.

[36:21] Just oozes with courage. Not just courage, but I mean, he's offended. Offended by this Goliath and his blasphemies against God, dishonoring God.

[36:35] Let no man's heart fail because of him. your servant, and he was Saul's servant at this point, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

[36:46] I'll take care of this guy. I mean, that's courage, is it not? Tremendous courage. I mean, I don't really think that David, by the way, was some little runt of a kid.

[37:02] You know, the Bible says he was ruddy and good looking, and, you know, a little later, they're going to put Saul's armor on the guy, so he had to be pretty buff fella, I think. And yet, compared to Goliath, he's just a little kid, just a little runt.

[37:20] And yet, no hesitation whatsoever. Think about it, put this in comparison to the balance of the Israelite army, because every time Goliath would come out and make his challenge, they'd be running for cover, and hiding out.

[37:36] They were struck with fear, but not David. He said, don't let anybody's heart fail here. I've seen enough of that.

[37:47] I watched as everybody was scurrying for a place to hide. Your servant will go out and defeat this man. I'll go out and fight with this Philistine.

[37:59] Now, Saul had his doubts, didn't he? And Saul said to David, you're not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth.

[38:10] Probably a very young teenager, according to age. And he, a man of war from his youth. So he's not a youth, he is a mature man, and he's been a warrior all of his life.

[38:24] So, you know, just logically speaking, David, I admire your courage here, but this won't work. And Saul said to David, you're not able to go.

[38:35] In verse 34, but David said to Saul, your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb from the mouth.

[38:52] And when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and struck and killed it. By the way, all my kids love that part of the story too. Just to imagine that.

[39:04] What's David doing here? He's saying, this isn't just talk. All right, Saul's basically saying, you're just an immature kid.

[39:16] I mean, you boast well, but you haven't got it in you. And David says, contrary. Let me just tell you about some personal experiences of mine with a lion and with a bear.

[39:27] And he said, you're servant has killed both lion and bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

[39:41] Again, same. Not boast, but zeal and courage of King David.

[39:51] Moreover, David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

[40:04] And Saul said to David, go and the Lord be with you. The courage of David. Tremendous courage.

[40:15] Just read on. Saul clothed David with his armor and he put a bronze helmet upon his head and also clothed him with a coat of mail.

[40:33] Now we're going to move from the courage of David to the confidence of David. David's confidence in the Lord. Let's put all these together.

[40:45] David's calling from the Lord. Moving him to the very throne of Israel. David's cause for the Lord. Not only step as God leads him, but also to stand up and fight for his honor.

[41:02] The Lord's honor. David's courage because of the Lord. It's the Lord that gave him this courage and David's confidence in the Lord because David is going to go out to battle.

[41:13] And he knows that the battle will be won by God, by his Lord. And so that's what we see here starting in verse 38. So Saul puts on his armor.

[41:27] I mean, it specifically says his armor. I mean, David, if you're going to go out there, you need some armor, at least something comparable to what Goliath is wearing. And so he gives him his bronze helmet and his armor and his sword and all these things, coat of mail and such.

[41:44] And David fastens his sword to his armor and tried to walk for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.

[41:59] So David took them off. That reminds me of that very familiar passage in Zechariah, where the Bible says not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.

[42:17] David's confidence is not going to be in any earthly armor. Now, nothing wrong with armor. And, you know, it's not a lack of faith to take a weapon into battle.

[42:30] But on this occasion, David knows that he's not going to need this armor because God is going to give him the battle, give him the win, the victory.

[42:41] And so he can't take this armor. He takes that off, and then he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook.

[42:57] Now, he's only going to need one of them, right? So, here's a trick question. Why five? Well, let me give you a few theories.

[43:12] How about this one? He doubted his markmanship. Don't really like that one, do you? How about this one?

[43:24] And this could be a viable reason, just to be prepared for counterattack by the Felicity. So he's going to kill Goliath, but for all he knew, there would be others who would come out to challenge him, even though the deal was, if you defeat me, we will be your servants.

[43:45] And yet, maybe David is thinking, well, you know, I can't really count on someone stepping out and trying to take me out. and so he took four additional stones just to be prepared.

[43:57] How about this one? Because Goliath had four brothers. I heard that one back there. You like that one? And he did. In 2 Samuel 21, 15-22, descendants of the giant from Gath, probably his brothers, could be his offspring.

[44:15] There are four of them. And one of them even has five fingers and six toes. It's weird. By David's hand, they are defeated. Not with a rock.

[44:25] I mean, the Bible doesn't say anything about that, but maybe the additional four stones is prophetic of David also taking out Goliath's four brothers.

[44:37] Maybe. All right. There are some other off-the-wall kind of theories. One has said that the five stones are symbolic of the five cardinal doctrines of the faith.

[44:50] The Trinity, the person of Christ, salvation, the scripture, the second coming of Christ. How about that one? Well, you know what? I think it's just simply that David was wise.

[45:06] All right. If you want to hold to the idea that it's prophetic of Goliath's four brothers getting theirs eventually by David's hand, then that's all right. I don't have a problem with that.

[45:18] But one thing we can say for sure, David thought a lot about preparation, to be prepared. Anything wrong with that? Is there a lack of faith?

[45:30] If David had selected five stones, is that because he doubted or didn't have enough faith? I don't think so. Now he hit the mark the first time with one stone.

[45:41] At least that day, he didn't need five. but he was prepared. There's a lesson, I think, here for us. God, of course, is the one who brings the victory.

[45:55] God is the one that we put our faith in and trust him. But God also blesses preparation. I've had this discussion over the years concerning revival.

[46:08] We're going to be participating in one this year in November. and we're going to do a lot of preparation for that. Preparation doesn't bring revival. But God blesses preparation.

[46:22] And David was prepared for anything. Even though he knew with all confidence, because he said so, that the Lord is going to give, just like he did the lion and the bear, he's going to give this giant into my hands.

[46:36] No doubt about it. So David's confidence, his confidence of course, is in the Lord. But let me go ahead and read the rest of this section of it.

[46:48] And so I got to the five stones and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch, which he had, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

[47:03] So we're talking about his confidence in the Lord. So the Philistine came and began drawing near to David, David, and we could read between the lines, well it says the man who bore the shield went before him, but when the Philistine looked about, so we can understand that this is the first time that Goliath has really been able to get a good look at David, his challenger.

[47:29] I mean there's probably some distance between the two armies, I don't think they were just within a few hundred feet of one another. And so the challenger is coming and he's off in a distance and pretty soon he gets close enough and so Goliath can see him for who he is.

[47:46] And so he looks at him and when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, despised him for he was only a youth, ruddy and good looking, certainly not the challenger Goliath was expecting.

[48:05] So the Philistine said to David, here's another favorite line of mine, because it was Matthew's favorite line, am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?

[48:20] And David had a stead, didn't he? A staff. To Goliath is something you beat dogs with. And this was insulting to him.

[48:32] Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

[48:50] Then David said to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a 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.

[49:08] Really, translation, you've sealed your doom. Now, David didn't mention anything about the stone, did he? You expect, you know, you come with me with a spear and sword and all that, and I come to you with just a stick and a few stones.

[49:24] Now, his weapon was not the stones. It was the living God. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the armies of God, literally, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

[49:45] This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you, and this day I will give the carcass of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

[50:05] It just oozes with confidence, not in himself, and his ability to throw rocks with a sling, a shepherd's sling, not even really confidence in his ability in the past to defeat the lion and the bear.

[50:19] He used that to assure Saul that he could take care of himself. But his confidence was in the Lord. He will deliver you into my hand this very day and I'm going to cut your head off and the carcass of the Philistine army, the whole army is going to be defeated.

[50:38] They will be prey, they will be food for the birds of the air. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's.

[50:55] He will give you into our hands. Reminds me when we were studying through Joshua, you recall, just before the battle of Jericho.

[51:08] And Joshua was kind of on the outskirts of the camp and he's all alone, praying about I'm sure, wondering about the next day and how the battle will go and he knows what God has told him and what he has told him to do.

[51:22] And he's walking kind of in that twilight time and there he sees what looks like a soldier, but it's an angel with a drawn sword.

[51:35] One of my favorite parts of that story. And of course, Joshua's question is the most natural question of all, the question that you and I would ask, are you here for us or for them?

[51:48] We could paraphrase and say that the angel said neither one. I'm here as the captain of the Lord's host. That is, I'm, the battle is mine.

[52:01] The battle is mine. And this is exactly what David says here to Goliath. The battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands.

[52:14] So David's confidence in the Lord. And then we get to the final part of the story, the finale.

[52:25] And that is David's conquest by the Lord. Because it's the Lord who's going to win the battle. Starting with verse 48. So it was when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

[52:45] then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead so that the stone sank into his forehead and he fell on his face to the earth.

[53:04] Bullseye. Of course, he probably had a pretty big head. He was nine foot nine inch, but still. By the way, these rocks, archaeologists tell us that they're probably about the size of a tennis ball.

[53:17] That's a pretty good size rock. You may have always wondered, how could a little bitty pebble or rock penetrate a man's skull in the forehead? That's pretty tough there and hard.

[53:31] That's a good size stone and it not only crushed and penetrated the bone of the forehead but went into his brain. That's the idea here. Sunk into his head.

[53:43] Killed him instantly. He fell flat, kind of like cutting down a tree, flat on his face. The conquest, incredible.

[53:55] And by the way, according to the law, the Mosaic law, this is exactly what happens to those who blaspheme God.

[54:09] They'll be stoned. You can look it up. Leviticus chapter 24 verse 16. David without a sword in his hand. David didn't have a sword or spear or anything like that.

[54:20] Here's this blasphemer who blasphemed the living God and his execution was stoning. One stone, but that's enough. And it killed him dead.

[54:32] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David because he stoned him.

[54:44] He didn't cut him up. But now he's got a sword. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.

[54:57] And when the Philistine saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now why cut off his head? That was the custom for the victor.

[55:09] He cut off the head. By the way, same thing happened to Saul after he killed himself. You know, he wasn't completely dead.

[55:22] Actually, he had his armor bearer kill him, run the sword through him. And the Bible says that after the battle was over, the Philistines were walking the battlefield and there was Saul dead.

[55:34] They cut off his head. That was the way they did it. I know this is not the part that we usually see in the children's Bible storybooks, but this is part of the story.

[55:46] And he cut off his head and the Philistines fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron.

[55:59] And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Sharaim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and they plundered their tents and David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem.

[56:19] By the way, Jerusalem was at this time was not even held by the Israels. It was owned by the Jebusites. Why did he take it to Jerusalem?

[56:30] One day is going to be his capital city, the city of God. And maybe it's just a show to the Jebusites, don't mess with us.

[56:41] I'm going to be king one day, this is going to be my capital city. And just to prove that the Lord's with me, I've got the head of Goliath. So he took it to Jerusalem, but what did he do with the armor and sword?

[56:56] He put it in his tent. It's trophies, of course, of war, of the battle. Amazing story. And of course, I've chosen as we've studied through the story tonight, to focus, I guess, out front I'm focusing on David.

[57:19] You know, David's calling his cause, his courage, his confidence, and his conquest. But don't miss the fact that at every step of the way, I've mentioned, because it's clear in scripture, behind all of that is God.

[57:37] God, the power of God, the spirit of God upon David, the plan and purposes of God, David's life, and what a story it is.

[57:49] Amen? Amen. Amen. Thank you.