1 Samuel 17:1-11
Now
the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah.
They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the
Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle
line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the
Israelites another, with the valley between them.
A
champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He
was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of
scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore
bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was
like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield
bearer went ahead of him.
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. 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.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of
Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s
words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. –1 Samuel
17:1-11
One of the best things to do in trying to understand
the Bible better is to ask good observational questions. We could ask: Who is in this story...where is
the location...what did the author say...what did the author not say? So, if we use this tool then we can have a
more accurate understanding of this story.
For example, how many times does the author mention David in 1 Samuel
17:1-11? Zero. How many times does the author mention the
name Israel? Five. Saul is mentioned three times. Up to this point, the hero hasn’t entered the
picture. It’s about Israel, the
Philistines, Saul and Goliath.
I’ve heard many sermons talk about this story from
David’s perspective. This morning I want
to address this story from the perspective of the Israelites. And instead of seeing Goliath as a trial like
timidness, or relationship problems, or financial setbacks or a difficult boss,
etc, I want to picture him as something else.
Let me try to explain.
Saul and the Israelites didn’t have to do what Goliath
said. Goliath told them to “Choose a man
and have him come down to me…” (1 Samuel 17:8)
Saul could have rallied the Israelite army to face the entire Philistine
army. Apparently, Goliath knew that they
had the upper hand and that Saul wasn’t going to do that. They were stalling. The Philistines either had more power, more
people, more weapons, better weapons, more courage, or all the above. They were calling the shots. They were making the rules.
I’ve had my fair share of Goliaths over the
years. When I was a little boy, I
watched professional “wrastling” with my friends. After a show was over we would immediately go
outside to wrestle in the backyard. One
of my friends, Jonathan, was tall and skinny like me. My other friend was taller than us and
weighed as much as my friend and I combined.
My Goliath’s name was Donnie. He
was a nice guy. But once we started wrestling
he transformed into a beast. It was always
Jonathan and I versus Donnie. The first
one would take one for the team and just dive into Donnie as hard as he
could. The other one would jump on
Donnie’s back, give a choke hold with all his might while the first one
recovered from his concussion.
I liked Donnie even though he gave me many
bruises. But one thing I disdained was
that he would change the rules while we wrestled. Instead of the goal being to pin your opponent’s
back to the ground for three seconds, he would change the rule. The goal would be to get your opponent in a
Figure Four Leg Lock and make your opponent submit by saying “You’re the
master!”
Jonathan and I knew that there was no way to get
Donnie in a Figure Four Leg-Lock. To
this day, it bothers me when people change the rules. Growing up, some of you may not have been
blessed to have watched such culture-rich television programming as
professional “wrastling.” So, you may
not know what a Figure Four Leg-Lock is.
Just know one thing. It was
painful. Donnie knew that we could
possibly work together to pin him to the ground but it was highly unlikely to
submit him. What were Jonathan and I
going to do? Even if we pinned him to
the ground he could still get up and put the leg-lock on us anyway and say that
he won. We were doomed.
Inevitably, I would get hurt. I would bang my knee on a rock. (By the way, rocks were harder back in my
day.) Or I would hit my head on his
knee. (Knees were harder back in my day
too.) It would take me a few moments to
recover. I was vulnerable in those
moments. But my friend would always come
to my rescue and fight for me when I was down.
He would give me enough time to recover and jump back into the
match. The times that Donnie was on top
of me, squeezing the very life out of me, I was dependent upon someone else to
fight for me.
When Donnie would do the Belly Flop of Death on me,
Jonathan would jump on Donnie’s back with both knees, while at the same time
sticking his fingers’ into Donnie’s nose and pulling back as hard as he
could. That would usually do the trick,
even though it was slightly illegal. We
called it something like The Nostril Surprise.
When it got to that point then the match was over. Donnie was so incredibly mad that he couldn’t
see straight. The two Skinny Samurais
would use their elusive capabilities to stay away from the angry giant. We were too afraid to be Figure Four
Leg-Lock(ed) so we both ran to our homes and locked the doors.
The Israelites knew they were in for a beat down of a
lifetime as they faced the Philistines.
What one man could face this giant?
Maybe multiple men could face him and stand a chance. But only one?
Could you imagine what you would have felt if you were in the
Israelite’s shoes? Hopelessness and fear
would easily take over. The people of
Israel were in no position to make demands or change the rules. They were at the mercy of someone else.
It’s amazing how similar their situation is to
mankind’s situation throughout the history of the world. I think the “Goliaths” each of us face could
be challenges like timidness, relationship problems, financial setbacks, or a
difficult boss, among many other things.
But, today, I’m referring to “Goliath” as sin. It’s a big, ugly giant that won’t go
away. It calls you out from across the
valley, unfazed by your puny flesh you want to fight it with. You feel hopeless realizing that you’re as
good as beaten. Your first inclination is to ignore it or just to stall for a
while hoping it will leave. But when you
get out of your tent in the morning you hear the sound of the “Goliath”
taunting you. This is not an army of
people fighting an army of sin. It’s
one-on-one.
But you hear a rumbling in the multitude. As you get closer you hear people say that
someone is coming. A man is coming. Someone who would “play by the rules”
so-to-speak. This is just like the
promise of the messiah. There would be a
man coming, a descendant of David, who would be called God. He is the only one who could defeat sin. He had no sin, he didn’t create the problem,
and yet he took our place on the cross taking the judgment and death we
deserve.
Think of the similarities of Israel’s battle and our
battle with sin. First, one man would
have to step in to fight the battle.
Jesus, being fully God, became a man.
Just as sin came through one man, Adam, so freedom came through one man,
Jesus Christ. Israel’s freedom would
have to come through one man as well.
Second, the people would have to trust one man to do the fighting. They couldn’t do the fighting
themselves. You feel vulnerable when
you’re in a situation like this. When we
put our trust in Jesus Christ, then we’re putting our whole lives into His
hands. I felt vulnerable when Donnie had
my frail body pinned down. I was dependent
upon Jonathan to fly in to rescue me.
Jesus fought our battle for us.
This is what communion is about. In a few moments we’ll drink juice and eat
bread. This act is for Christians who
need a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made.
The juice represents the blood that He shed for us and the broken bread
is a reminder of His broken body. So,
what does it look like for a person to trust in God? Psalm 9 shows an example of someone’s prayer
life as they were trusting God while they faced their own “Goliaths”:
I
will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your
wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in
you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. My enemies turn back; they
stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause; you
have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted
out their name for ever and ever. Endless
ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory
of them has perished. The Lord reigns
forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in
righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a
stronghold in times of trouble. Those
who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those
who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord, enthroned
in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. For he who avenges blood remembers; he does
not ignore the cry of the afflicted. O Lord, see how my enemies persecute
me! Have mercy and lift me up from the
gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of
Zion and there rejoice in your salvation. The nations have fallen into the pit they have
dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. The Lord is known by his justice; the wicked
are ensnared by the work of their hands.
The wicked return to the grave, all the nations that forget God. But the needy will not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish.
Arise, O Lord, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your
presence. Strike them with terror, O
Lord; let the nations know they are but men.—Psalm 9
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