Lesson 8 - 1 Sam. 17:32-40, 48-51 - DAVID AND GOLIATH
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in 1 Sam. 16:4-13, we saw God command Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to select and anoint one of his eight (or seven) sons as the future king of Israel. When God rejected the first seven candidates, Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and he replied that he had one more, a small shepherd boy. Samuel demanded that Jesse bring the boy to him, and when the boy, David, arrived, God confirmed him as His choice. When Samuel anointed David, "the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward" (v. 10). The main truth of the lesson: We should never evaluate others based upon their outward appearance and behavior but make every effort to access them based upon proven godly character, which requires you to go much deeper than the surface and ask hard questions.
This week, in 1 Sam. 17:32-37, 48-51, well cover one of the most famous stories in the OT: when against seemingly impossible odds, young David slays the Philistine Giant, Goliath, on the battlefield. Here's a synopsis of the events in vv. 1-31 leading up to the lesson: (1) The Israelite and Philistine armies are occupying opposite hills in the valley of Elah (approx. 15 mi. west of Bethlehem), where they are preparing for battle. (2) Goliath, the Philistine Giant (9-11 ft. tall?), for 40 days, has been issuing a challenge for Israelites to send a man to face him in single combat, and whoever lost the contest would be the servants of the winner; (3) Jesse's, with his three eldest sons in Saul's army, sends David to Saul's camp with food; (4) While there, David hears Goliath's challenge and also learns that King Saul has promised that the man who defeats Goliath will receive substantial riches, a family exemption from taxes, and the hand of his daughter in marriage. (5) Finally, we come into today's lesson as David goes to Saul and informs him he's willing to fight this giant.
Read 1 Samuel 17:32-37 - YOUR SERVANT WILL GO AND FIGHT THIS PHILISTINE
32 And David said to Saul, "May no one's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!" 33 But Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, 35 I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 And David said, "The LORD who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you."
v. 32: "And David said to Saul, '"May no one's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!'" - When David refers to "one's heart," he's not expressing confidence in his personal abilities but the power of the Living God whose honor has been insulted by "this Philistine."
v. 33: "But Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight him; for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior since his youth." - Saul only sees the obvious: a teen-aged boy standing before him. Even Israelite law required a male to be at least 20 before he could be allowed to serve in the Army (Num. 26:2). Saul also warns David that he's totally inexperienced in comparison to "this Philistine," whose known to be a professional "warrior."
v. 34-35: "But David said to Saul, 'Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after it and attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I grabbed it by its mane and struck it and killed it.'" - David answers Saul's reluctance with his track record as a shepherd, a position which has required him to defend his flock from both lions and bears. To drive his point home, David informs Saul that he didn't merely drive them off but attacked and killed them dead!
v. 36a: "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them," Thus, David argues that if he's competent enough to go up against dangerous animals like lions and bears, he's more than qualified to fight "this uncircumcised Philistine."
v. 36b: "since he has defied the armies of the living God." - With this statement, David moves the argument to the theological arena: This giant, who is seeks to disgrace Israel, is really just one of the unwashed who operates outside the circle of the "living God's" (YHWH) protection and power.
v. 37a: "And David said, "The LORD who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will save me from the hand of this Philistine." - Inferred in this statement is David's firm belief that a giant backed by a powerless idol (remember Dagon?) is really no match for a boy who is backed by the very same Living God who enabled him to kill lions and bears.
v. 37b: "So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." - So Saul, because he is unwilling to do this himself, and since nobody else in his army has stepped forward to accept the challenge, he grants approval to this boy shepherd-with the LORD's blessings.
Read 1 Sam. 17:38-40 - DAVID APPROACHED THE PHILISTINE
38 Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor. 39 And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them." And David took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd's pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.
v. 38: "Then Saul clothed David with his military attire and put a bronze helmet on his head, and outfitted him with armor." - Saul, obviously having some personal misgivings about allowing this boy to go into battle with this giant, loans him his own armor and helmet. But we see something out-of-order here: David has faced lions and bears armed only by his faith in the Living God, while his Philistine opponent is one who hides behind many layers of armor and shields (see, vv. 17:5-6).
v. 39: "And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them." - We get a picture here of a young man wearing battle armor that's so large on him he's barely able to walk in it, let alone wage a battle. After telling Saul that his armor would be a hindrance to him rather than a help, he takes it off and leaves it behind.
v. 40: "Then he took his staff in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, that is, in his shepherd's pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine." - Now we see David arm himself with the types of weapons with which he's familiar: A shepherd's staff, a sling, and five carefully chosen stones. We should notice that David isn't adverse to weapons but chooses weapons that match his physique and skills. While they aren't as impressive as Goliath's weapons, they are nevertheless deadly. i.e., designed not to intimidate but to kill. Now ready, David confidently walks up to face this Philistine.
Synopsis of vv. 41-47: Goliath walked onto the battlefield with his shield-bearer in front of him (to ward off any arrows or spears). When he spotted his challenger, an unarmored teenager, he immediately began hurling insults at him and cursed his God, saying that he would kill him and hand his body over to the birds and the wild animals. David replied, saying that while the giant had a sword and spear, that he was coming in the name of the Lord of Armies. then in vv. 46-47, David said: "This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you and remove your head from you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that this entire assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will hand you over to us!"
Read 1 Sam. 17:48-51 - DAVID PREVAILED WITH THE SLING AND THE STONE
48 Then it happened, when the Philistine came closer to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
v. 48: "Then it happened, when the Philistine came closer to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine." - The Philistine Giant, burdened by heavy armor, lumbers out, careful to remain behind his shield-bearer. David, unencumbered, runs nimbly and quickly to close the distance between them.
v. 49a: And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. - Here, David methodically prepares himself, removing one of the five stones from his bag and placing it in his sling, a weapon the giant hadn't even bothered to notice. While all the other spectators are focused on the giant's size, armor, and big sword, God had led David's eyes to the one place the giant was unprotected-his forehead. Taking careful aim, he swung and loosed his sling.
v. 49b: "And the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground." - The stone sinks into Goliath's forehead, and notice, he falls face down like his false god Dagon did before the captured Ark. And there's an irony in this: If a foreigner blasphemes God, Lev. 24:16 prescribed death by stoning.
v. 50: So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and the stone: he struck the Philistine and killed him, and there was no sword in David's hand." - So, David, seemingly young, small, and defenseless compared to the giant, had won with no "sword" in his hand.
v. 51: "Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and finished him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled." - While v. 50 implies the giant was already dead, David confirms it to those watching by drawing the giant's sword and using it to cut off his head. When the massed Philistines saw this, they ran like scalded cats. It also fulfills the prophecy David made in v. 46.
APPLICATION-Felling the Giants in our life:
1. To fell the 'giants' in our life, we need a spiritual perspective. From a purely human perspective, Goliath seemed to be an invincible enemy. That's the perspective from which Saul and his army viewed the giant's challenge. There was no human solution for it. David, on the other hand, sought a spiritual solution from the Living God, who had the power to deliver him from his enemies.
2. To fell the 'giants' in our life, we need practical faith in the Living God. In contrast to Saul and his soldiers, David's faith wasn't in human methods but wholly based on faith in the Living God. From his practical experience as a shepherd protecting his sheep from dangerous animals like lions and bears, David knew that he couldn't depend on human ability but only on faith in God for the outcome. Many Christian today face giants in their lives-sins that the Bible tell us how to deal with. If we seek God and His word with faith and trust in the power of His Word, He will show us how to deal with the giants we encounter in this life. We must deal with them through God's power, which includes Bible study and fervent prayer for godly wisdom and discernment. It's there for the asking.
