David the Spiritual Giant
David, Part 5
By Pastor Matt Black
12
March 2008
Midweek Prayer Meeting
1 Samuel 17:1-39
Scripture and Theme: I want to talk to you tonight about a giant. There’s a giant in this passage, but the one I want to tell you about is not named Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17 there are two giants. There’s a physical giant who measures out at nine feet, six inches tall, but spiritually Goliath was a midget. The giant I want to talk to you about is a young, scrawny spiritual giant named David. He’s the real giant in our text. So the title of our message this evening is: “David the Spiritual Giant”.
Now, what is it that allowed David to conquer Goliath, and what is it that allows us to conquer that which we fear? In order to conquer that which controls you, you must be enveloped in something or someone greater than what you fear. And the only Entity that will allow you to conquer all is the same One that David trusted in: the Lord his God. David was as big as God on the battle field that day. God was his general.
What is it that makes a spiritual giant? A spiritual giant can always defeat a physical giant. There are many giants that stand against us, but none of them is greater than God. Tonight we are going to look at three marks that make a person a spiritual giant, and they all come from our union and walk with the Lord: courage, character, and commitment.
David could stand against that great earthly giant because he had courage.
I. So the first thing that makes a spiritual giant is: Courage. David’s courage did not come from himself, but from his understanding of the great almighty power of God. His faith was in God’s divine omnipotence. I want you to see how David’s courage stood out far above all those that surrounded him—his courage was greater than his father, his brothers, the men of Israel, King Saul, and certainly greater than even Goliath, the giant from Gath.
A. The first character we see is Jesse, the father of David.
We find out in verse 17 that it has been over a month since Jesse has seen his sons who were on the front lines of the battle against the Philistines. Jesse tells David in verse 17 to “run to the camp” of his brothers and bring them some “parched [or ROASTED] corn” and “ten loaves” of bread. That sounds good doesn’t it? Especially if you’ve been fighting for a while! Now the commander was to get the very best: ten rinds of cheese for their battle commander! So David went on his way at the bidding of his father to bring these food gifts to his brothers and to their commander. These were very modest gifts that showed David’s family was not very well to do. This was a lower-middle class family on the outskirts of Bethlehem. But they gave the best they had.
The sentiment in Israel is that there had been a fierce battle going on for the last forty days. As any good father, Jesse was concerned for the well-being of his sons. He instructs David in verse 18, “look how thy brethren fare,” to see how they were doing and to “take their pledge”—or ‘bring back news of them’.
Little does Jesse know that nothing has happened in the Valley of Elah during this whole time because the men of Israel are scared stiff! Though Jesse’s sons are on the front line, they don’t have a scratch on them. Cowards keep themselves safe and clean, and so it was with David’s brothers.
Now let me say that Jesse was indeed a man of great courage. Any man that will send his sons to battle is a hero in my estimation. The Scripture implies in verse 12 that Jesse would have been on the battle field except that he was too old to fight. Jesse “went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.” Even so, I believe God as Israel’s general sent the most courageous man out to fight Goliath that day. And as courageous as Jesse may have been, his youngest son’s courage was even greater.
B. Now we turn our attention to the giant, Goliath, the Philistine warrior of Gath. He sure sounded like he had courage. He most certainly looked like he had courage. We read about him in verses 4-7.[1]
Understand that Goliath was the most impressive killing machine of that time. Goliath is nearly ten feet tall. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. He seemed invincible. He was covered head to toe in 126 pounds of brass armor!
You see, the Philistines had invaded the land of Judah. The Valley of Elah (or Oak Trees) is just 17 miles west of Jerusalem. Each of the armies was lined up row by row on the side of each mountain. Which ever army charged first would have the disadvantage. If someone dared to cross the valley, gravity was on the side of the other army’s arrows and spears. The armies stared at each other for forty days while a giant of the Philistines made his daily challenge.
But Goliath’s courage was about to be unraveled on this day. Certainly he had courage, there is no disputing that. And yet, here was a man who was almost ten feet tall covered in 126 pounds of armor and armed to the hilt with a spear the size of a small tree.[2] If you shrink Goliath to David’s height, unarm him, and strip him of his brass armor, I don’t think Goliath would have been out front as he was. Clearly, Goliath was not the most courageous man on the battlefield that day!
C. Now we look to a vast group without any courage: Men of Israel. This group which included David’s brothers were all cowards. Goliath seemed unbeatable, and the soldiers of Israel certainly thought so too, because for 40 days, Goliath insulted the entire army and not one Israelite warrior stepped forward.
The spirits of the men of Israel were low—they wanted to pretend they were soldiers, but no one actually wanted to do what soldiers do—none would fight Goliath to the death. All the army of Israel did was “set the battle in array” (verse 2), that is, they stayed in battle formation—well most of the time. Every once in a while, the giant would approach the lines of Jewish soldiers, and they were all shown to be cowards. We read in verse 24, “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man [the giant Goliath], fled from him, and were sore afraid”. What an embarrassment!
D. And where is King Saul in all this? He’s just as cowardly. He was busy being “kingly” in his comfortable tent. He’s basically using bribery to stay out of the battle. Verse 25, we hear a soldier telling of Saul’s bribery to the man who kills Goliath, “the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel”. The man that defeats Goliath would win:
o Wealth
o Saul’s daughter in marriage
o and his entire family will live tax free in Israel
But Kings Saul got NO volunteers—no one to take him up on his offer! Each soldier hoped that someone else would stand in the gap and take the challenge.
And Saul—he was the giant for Israel. He was “head and shoulders” above the rest of the soldiers. He should have been out there in front with Goliath. He had been chosen king for the express purpose of getting rid of threats like Goliath. Saul’s size had been a major factor in Saul’s high public approval ratings when he first became king (1 Samuel 8:20). Saul might have been king, but he is revealed to have no more courage than the cowardly men of Israel.
E. Finally we come to our main character: the great spiritual giant: David! In David, we get a glimpse of genuine God-centered courage. David was a man of courageous faith! As I said, David’s courage did not come from himself, but from his understanding of the great almighty power of God. His faith was in God’s divine omnipotence.
As David approached the hillside, verse 22 tells us he left his gifts in “his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren”. The armies were lined up facing each other on opposite sides of the valley. David’s brothers were with a group that ventured into the “no-man’s land” in the center of the valley where they stayed just out of the reach of the arrows, and especially Goliath. But here David and his brother’s had a front row view of this “giant”.
It is in this front row that we see who are the men and who are the boys! Out of the entire cast that surrounded David, every one there were all spiritual midgets, and David was the giant. David was just a very young man, but he had more courage than anyone on the battlefield, including Goliath.
II. The second thing that makes a spiritual giant is: Character. I want you to see how David’s character stood out above his oldest brother. Look at David’s character compared with Eliab. David was STUNNED at what he witnessed. He saw his brothers’ platoon go just out of reach of the giant, and his brothers and all the soldiers on the front line began “shouting for the battle”—giving the war cry. But look at what we see in verse 23: as all the soldiers give this war cry, David starts getting his brothers attention and starts talking with them. Verse 23: “And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines”. And just as he began to threaten them, they began running back up their side of the mountain! Verse 24, “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.” His brothers hadn’t been fighting for forty days. They had been scared stiff!
A. Look at David’s godly Attitude. He is on fire for God and cannot believe a whole army is shuttering in the presence of this giant. You see, David did not see Goliath as a giant, because he saw with the spectacles of God’s awesome and mighty power, and in the presence of the Almighty God, Goliath was a little tiny spiritual midget of a man! David is the giant in this scene!!
And so David is incensed! Verse 26, “David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
This is the godly conviction that ought to well up in every one of us as we serve God and “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 3).
David’s question was most definitely heard by David’s oldest brother, Eliab. He is ashamed that he had been found out! I believe Eliab in family gatherings had probably been one who would focus the spotlight on himself with stories of bravery. David waited for someone to step forward and fight the giant, but none of his brothers stepped forward! Eliab didn’t say a word! To cover his own spinelessness, Eliab began to insult and belittle the only one on the field who was showing any courage—his little brother David.
B. Look at Eliab’s shameful Accusations. Eliab’s great pride was wounded by the courage of his youngest brother David, and what seeps out of wounded pride is seething anger.
We read in verse 28, “Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle”.
Look at Eliab’s anger. Eliab is making a smoke screen, so he hurls false accusations against David. Now we are going to see real character in David. But let me ask you before we look at David—how do you respond to false accusations? How do you respond to innuendoes against your character, when you are looked at in a bad light and you know it is totally false?
Well let’s look at David and see the anatomy of a spiritual giant. Eliab accused his brother of four things. David defends himself on NONE of them. He submits himself righteously to God.
1. Number one, Eliab accused David of being Irresponsible. He said, “with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?” Of course David had left them with the keeper (verse 22). He was very responsible.
2. He also accused him of being Unimportant, “few sheep”… Essentially, Eliab was saying, ‘You’re nothing but a little shepherd boy. You’re not even a great shepherd. You have just a “few sheep” to watch over!’
3. And then he says that David’s Proud, “I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart”.
It seems that these accusations are more reflective of Eliab’s character than David’s. And isn’t it true that liars like to accuse people of lying? And thieves like to accuse people of stealing? Many times people who bring false accusations are guilty of the very same thing.
4. A Curiosity Seeker, “for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle”. He was saying that David would find it curiously fun to watch men die. He thought he was at the battle scene just so that he could go back and see the battle. Now we’ve already proved that Eliab was a curiosity seeker. He was at the front of the battle lines when David showed up. Eliab and his brothers had stayed around long enough to get a good glimpse of Goliath, and then what did he do? They turned around and ran (verse 24).
The truth is Eliab was found out. He was much less of a fighter than he had pretended to be. And now, in his wounded pride, I believe he was covering up for it by putting David down. How does David respond?
How should David respond? Does David defend himself on each charge? Certainly not. One who is truly walking with God and knows his own integrity before God need not defend himself. That trait in the Bible is called meekness. Moses, with all the complaining and accusing Israelites was said to have it. And of course our Lord demonstrated it continually. As a sheep before her shearers is silent, so our Lord “opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).
C. Now look at David’s soft Answer. Proverbs 15:1 tells us that “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” David hardly said a word—he simply replied with the famous words of verse 29, “What have I now done? Is there not a cause?” In other words, ‘Am I not just stating the obvious?—This question needs to be asked!’ He was asking Eliab to put on spiritual eyes and see that this giant through God’s eyes. David’s question needed an answer! Verse 26, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Isn’t this the greatest cause?! Isn’t this the question of the hour?! Who is this man thinking he can defy the living God?
We hear no answer from Eliab. Raw truth will leave false accusers silent. You cannot battle with the truth. It is what it is. David didn’t need to say any more than what he said.
By the way, Eliab’s diagnosis of David’s heart was completely wrong! David was not guilty of any of the things he was accused of. A thousand years later, the Holy Spirit diagnosed David’s heart attitude, and it was the exact opposite of Eliab’s assessment. We read in Acts 13:22 that David is characterized by the Holy Spirit of God as “a man after [God’s] own heart, which shall fulfil all [His] will.”
Application: It does not matter what any one says or does to you if you know you are right with God. This was one of the foundations of David’s godliness. He feared God more than man. David would later write in Psalm 56:11, “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” If you are a child of God, you need to depend on God for the kind of godly character that will make you a spiritual giant. And you will not improve your character by impressing men like Eliab. You will be gain godly character by trusting and reflecting the God that you serve no matter what the pressures are.
It takes character to give the right response when you are falsely accused!
III. Finally, the last thing that makes a spiritual giant is: Committment. We see this in David’s preparations with King Saul to fight the giant. I want to show you how committed David is—he commits himself completely into the hands of God, even if it means death. He’s willing to give his life to defend God’s honor and reputation as seen in His people.
Notice what he calls these cowardly men: “the armies of the living God”. They were professing to be followers of the Lord. David was insisting that someone step up and start acting like a totally committed follower of the Lord.
He had asked in verse 26, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He took his question to Saul. We read in verse 31, “And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for [David].”
As I’ve already mentioned, it was a shame that Saul was in his tent and not on the battle lines. He was basically abusing his position, promising his daughter, wealth, and even tax exemption to anyone who would do what he should have been doing in the first place.
Saul heard about David’s challenge, and (verse 31), “Saul sent for [David]”. And this is where we see the qualities of true commitment.
A. David makes an open Declaration of his absolute, unwavering commitment. verse 32—“And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” This statement coming from a very young man is astounding!
I want you to see David’s commitment. He was not ashamed to speak for his God. He was not afraid to use words that would put his very life in danger. In other words, David’s walk and his talk matched. He made a public declaration of commitment to His Lord.
Application: And that is exactly what we do as Christians isn’t it? We not only believe in our heart, but we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9-10)! We make a declaration of commitment to serve God—to be the slave of Jesus Christ. If you know the Lord, this is your declaration every where you go. When you see unrighteousness, young people, what is your declaration? Do you say “Who is this person with an uncircumcised heart?” Do you contend spiritually with those who defy the Lord? If you see unrighteousness and you say nothing, you are as cowardly as Eliab and all the men of Israel. Speak up! That’s commitment. When you speak up, you’re going to lose your friends. David wasn’t afraid of losing his friends. In fact he wasn’t even afraid of losing his own life!
How about you? Where is your commitment? Every true child of God speaks up. I remember as a new believer I went to one of the most ungodly places a person can go to—a “Christian” school. The school I went to was filled with hypocrites and false believers—false professors. A lot of churches are that way to. If you are a false believer today, your children will be seven times the devil that you are. I’ve seen this first hand so many times. I would much rather be in a raw field of unbelievers in the world than to hang out at the seat of the scornful in some of our churches and Christian schools. There are many who know the Scriptures, but know nothing of the POWER of God.
What is your declaration? If you are a Christian you will declare yourself. There is no such thing as an undeclared Christian. You declare what side you’re on.
David declared himself in verse 32. He said, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And every true believer contends for the faith. You are the Body of Christ, and Christ contends with unrighteousness. What did the Lord do in the Temple among the sleaze of hypocrisy? The zeal of the Lord ate Him up! He was angry, and He turned the tables over. When you see false professors claiming the Lord and loving the world, you ought to have a zeal burning inside! You ought to have an anger for the blatant unrighteousness of those who claim to know the Holy Lord of Heaven. And if you join in with their laughter, you can be sure of this. You are a hypocrite. You don’t know Christ. You are going to a deeper hell than those who have never heard the Name of Christ. Because you’ve heard it, and you’ve trampled the blood of the Son of God under your feet. You’ve counted the blood of God’s covenant as worthless.
B. But then we see Saul’s Doubt: verse 33, “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” Doubt comes from every angle once you made your declaration for the Lord. Once you commit yourself, people are constantly going to second guess you. When I came to know Christ my parents told me it was a phase. They said, “You went from wild mad man to religious freak!—from one side of morality to the other. Hopefully in a couple of years he’ll calm down and end up somewhere in the middle—you know go to church on Easter and Christmas.” The vast amount of professing Christians are like this—they are nominal Christians. They are Christians in name only. They have the profession without the POWER. You may be here tonight, and you are a nominal Christian. You say with your mouth you are a Christian, but in your heart, you are a heathen, and you love heathen things.
So Saul showed doubt to David, because he knew not the power of God. He warned David that Goliath was a “man of war from his youth”. Saul saw things only from a human perspective. And if you don’t know God you always deal with things from the human perspective. It is certain that Saul was not praying in his tent. He had been planning the battle on a human level, just like Egypt and the Philistines. Saul was fighting with the same carnal weapons as all the other pagan nations around him. He was bribing his own men with riches and pleasure if they would just take this “Goliath” problem away! He had forgotten what David knew all along in his heart. Saul would listen David tell the giant and all the men of Israel a very important truth in verse 47, “all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands”. David knew that there was only one General that mattered, and it wasn’t Saul or any of his commanders. It was the Lord his God. Saul doubted, but David was determined.
C. Then we see David’s Determination (verses 34-37[3]). David waited for this moment behind closed doors to share his victories over the lion and the bear with King Saul. He didn’t need the spotlight like Eliab. He didn’t boast about his victories to anybody. In fact the very first time that these victories were ever disclosed were very likely in private once he got an audience with the king. David meant business, even if it meant his life. And he was determined to convince the king that he was up to the fight against Goliath. He told the king with great earnestness that he was a lion slayer and a bear slayer! God had delivered him in these things—indeed with his bare hands he killed these wild animals. He would have no problem defeating Goliath.
Now to be sure, Saul was in a desperate circumstance. He probably would have let one of his daughters go and fight Goliath if given the chance!
D. Finally we see David’s Dependence on God! David was committed to fighting with dependence on God, not in the armaments of men. Saul doesn’t’ see this and gives David his armor. Verses 38-39, “And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”
I want you to see that David had the commitment to be the man that God created him to be. He depended not on carnal weapons of human warfare. He didn’t fit into Saul’s armor—he didn’t need Saul’s armor to fight with the giant across the valley. He didn’t need to impress men with the armor. That armor would only get in his way. David was to be the man that God created him to be, and his commitment was to lift up the reputation of God, not his own! David knew that trying to be like someone else would only get in the way of doing the will of God.
Now I’m sure David’s reputation would have come out there armed with the king’s armor and his sword! What a great privilege—a great thing to boast of for a little shepherd boy. But David sought not the praise of men. David went out there essentially unarmed and fought in the power and strength and dependence on the Lord. That’s commitment!!
Application: You need to learn this lesson. You must get to know God yourself. You can go to counseling and preaching until you are a Bible scholar, but that does not make you a Christ follower! You must learn of Christ personally! You cannot live in someone else’s footsteps. God has a unique journey that only you can travel. He has special testings and trials that only you are equipped to take on. But you cannot lean on another. You must learn to lean on the power of God.
Are you leaning on some human guru? Are you depending on the sage advice of some amazing man that has all the answers? You are in a very dangerous position! You fight in the armor the Lord has prepared for you, not in any human armament.
Conclusion: Now God has something for you to do, and you are not going to get it from a text book, and neither are you going to get it completely just from someone you look up to like a mentor.
You must learn to walk with God and let God be your mentor. You need to be the person God created you to be. Saul’s armor did not fit David, neither will it fit you. You ought not go into battle with Saul’s armor if God’s given you a sling and a stone.
Who was the giant on this day? Was it Saul? Was it Goliath? The only giant I see in the Valley of Elah is David!! Are you preparing to be a spiritual giant? You need the Character, Courage, and Commitment that comes from walking in the Presence and Power of God! If you are not training to be a giant in God’s army then all you will be left with is a debilitating disease of crushing fear in your spirit. How can we fear with the great Almighty God of David nearby?!
[1] Verses 4-7, “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him”
[2] Verse 14, “the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass” or 126 pounds.
[3] Verses 34-37, “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”