Text: I Samuel 17
Theme: The enemy of the Christian will only be defeated by the Spirit filled Christian.
Intro:
- In chapter 16, we saw the anointing of David as the king who would replace Saul as God’s chosen man to rule the nation of Israel.
a. We noted that, when David was anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit left Saul and an evil spirit troubled him.
b. We also observed that, without the power of the Holy Spirit in Saul’s life, Saul was subject to the full power of the sin nature which was now being stirred up by the evil spirit, and these two would now drive Saul down a self-destructive path that would end in his own death, along with his sons. - In chapter 17, we see the impotence of self-effort to overcome the enemies of the Christian.
a. For the sake of time, and so we can get to the practical challenges this evening, we will move quite quickly through the first 2/3rds of the chapter.
I. Saul Prepares for Battle (Vs 1-11)
- The armies camp locations (Vs 1-3)
a. The Philistines camped at Ephes-dammim.
– The Philistine’s had been defeated by Israel at Michmash, and now they were looking for an opportunity to regain their honour and their dominance in the region.
– Effectively, the Philistines weren’t just looking to take more land for themselves, but they were looking for revenge on Israel because of the defeat the Philistines had suffered at Michmash.
– This was a battle to regain their honour, which may help to explain why Goliath was so vocal in his mockery of Israel, and calling them out as cowards.
b. The Israelites camped on the hill beside the brook Elah.
– Israel pitched their camp on a mountain on the other side of the valley of Elah, with the valley stretching out between the two armies.
– “‘A close examination of the locality would show, what, indeed, a closer inspection of the text suggests, that the ravine between the two armies was the glen into which the valley contracted in its descent towards the plain of Philistia’”[1]Robert Jamieson, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Joshua–Esther, vol. II (London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.), 177.
c. Saul gathered the army at Elah and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
– To set in array means, “to set in a row, that is, arrange in order; to prepare.” In other words, the Israeli army assembled in their battle lines over against the Philistines. - The Philistine champion described (Vs 4-11)
a. The description the Bible gives us of Goliath reveals him to be a very intimidating man.
– Standing roughly 10ft tall, wearing a helmet of brass, a chest plate weighing in over 100kg, and a spear with a weight of around 17kg, he had a shield hung on his back and a shield bearer went before him to the battle.
b. Goliath challenged the Israelites to send out their champion and settle their dispute through one-on-one combat.
– There are other historical accounts which describe this happening and, in some cultures, this was considered the best way to determine the will of the gods.
– Even more than that, it is clear from the passage that Goliath intended to make this battle a contest between the gods of the Philistines and the God of Israel. If Israel won, then the God of Israel must be the true God, but if Goliath won, then the Philistine gods must be the true gods.
c. Saul was probably the most likely candidate to fight Goliath, since Saul stood head and shoulders above the rest of Israel.
– While we may be inclined to judge Saul harshly, we need to remember that, at this point in time, Saul no longer had the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him, and he knew that God was not pleased with him.
– Saul probably guessed that, if he went out against Goliath, God would allow him to die so that he could be replaced with a better man.
– Saul’s inability to overcome Goliath is a reminder of the impotence of the natural in the spiritual battles of our age.
II. David Arrives at the Battle (Vs 12-31)
- Although David was made one of Saul’s armour-bearers (I Sam 16:21), when it came time for the battle, Saul sent David home to his family.
a. Jesse sent David with food for his brothers and their commander.
– Jesse sent food, by the hand of David, to make sure his sons were getting the provisions that they needed.
– An ephah is roughly equivalent to 22 liters, or 16 kilograms. This was a substantial amount of food.
b. David hears Goliaths challenge. (Vs 19-31)
– When David arrived on the scene, it was right at the time when the two armies would line themselves up in preparation for the potential conflict.
– As David entered the field, Goliath issued his challenge to Israel.
c. The men of Israel told David that there was a reward for anyone who could kill Goliath.
– Goliath was a heathen man who was mocking the God of Israel because of the cowardice of the people of God.
– I wouldn’t be surprised if the Devil is doing the same thing today. Mocking God because of the cowardice of God’s people in the local church. People who ought to be boldly standing for the truth but, who are instead, afraid to speak up for God and to stand for the truth. Too often we have been intimidated into silence. - Notice that David’s own brothers opposed his courageous stand. David stood up for God and his brothers accused him of being a negligent little attention seeker.
a. The first accusation was that David was neglecting his other duties in order to come to the battle. The Devil would love to convince us that there are more important things to do than “wasting our time” standing up for the King James Bible or standing up for the doctrine of repentance and faith for Salvation.
b. The second thing they accused him of was being prideful. They said that he had only come to the battle because he was a proud attention seeker.
III. David Wins the Battle (Vs 32-58)
- David knew God’s faithfulness (Vs 32-40)
a. The carnal Christian, typified by Saul, opposes the walk of faith.
– The carnal Christian will say it is no use to stand up against our enemies, because our enemy is too strong for us.
– Instead of possessing the eyes of faith and seeing the victory is ours, in Christ, the carnal Christian say, “It doesn’t matter if we give in to the flesh, we’re in the age of grace anyway and it’s all under the blood.”
b. Paul instructed Timothy to be a godly example of faith to other believers, and not to be belittled because of his youth.
– I Timothy 4:12 “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” - Past experiences of God’s faithfulness can build confidence for future battles and trials.
a.“God’s demonstrated faithfulness in one’s life should encourage greater steps of faith, as David’s courage stemmed from the Lord already enabling him to kill a lion and a bear.”[1] Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey, ed. Walter A. Elwell and Eugene H. Merrill, Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2024), 176–177.
b. Saul tried to arm David with Saul’s own armour.
– The carnal Christian doesn’t understand the life of faith and so they will advise you to equip yourself with the weapons they are most familiar with, but weapons that should be unfamiliar to the Christian, just as Saul’s armour was unfamiliar to David.
– They say, you’d better take some worldly wisdom with you.
– You need some pop psychology to deal with the trial of faith.
– What you need is to make sure you have plenty of stable investments to fund your “walk of faith” just in case God doesn’t come through; then you’ll have something to fall back on.
c. Like David, we ought to be able to say, “Those carnal weapons I have not proved or tested, but the weapon of faith I have put to the test many times and have always found God to be faithful. - David knew God’s power (Vs 41-58)
a. David, who was now anointed with the Spirit, is our example of the Spirit led Christian’s victory over the spiritual enemy, and over indwelling sin.
– In verses 43-45, Goliath asks the question, “Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?” Goliath saw the impotence of earthly weapons to overcome the enemy.
– David rightly identified the means for the Christians victory over the enemy saying, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
– David recognized that it was his identification with the God of Israel that ensured the victory and, for the Christian, it is out identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection that has provided us with victory over indwelling sin, and over our three-fold enemy, the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
Romans 6:5-7 “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
b. It is through my identification with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection that I possess the graces of the Holy Spirit, in whom I am called to walk.
– Galatians 5:24-25 “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
– Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
– Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
c. Because of David’s faith, Israel prevailed over the Philistines that day, and David took Goliaths head and presented it to Saul as a trophy of the victory that God had given.
– Hebrews 11:9-10 “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is”
– Revelation 3:21 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
Conclusion:
- The Christian is a Pilgrim in this world. While we are here there are battles for us to face and there are many traps, pitfalls, and distractions that would keep us off the Pilgrim Way, but if we walk by faith and not by sight, God is faithful who will with the temptations also make a way to escape that we may be able to bear them and so be found faithful and watching when the Lord comes to receive us unto himself that where He is, we may be also.
- Our enemy, the flesh, the world, and the Devil, is a serious threat to the Christian, but if we take the armour God has provided to the Christian and we employ the spiritual weapons of the Word and Prayer, God we see us safely through.