The Victorious Champion of God’s People - 1 Samuel 17:31-58

1 Samuel 17 is the longest chapter in the entire book, which should make your ears perk up. It should tell all of us that it is incredibly important, and if you remember from last week, there is a tremendous amount of information in 1 Samuel 17. Goliath is described in excruciating detail. We’re told how tall he was (nine-feet six inches), that his armor weighed 126 pounds, and the head of his spear was fifteen pounds. And that was done intentionally, in order to reiterate the significance of this story.

But how could you ever forget it? Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. We tend to think of the battle between David and Goliath as the ultimate underdog story. The little guy triumphs despite what would appear to be insurmountable odds over the giant. But if you remember from last week, one of the points that I really tried to press home was that the story of David and Goliath is just as spiritual as it is physical. We tend to view the story as a battle – nothing more, nothing less.

Which makes the story so compelling – no one in Israel can see beyond the physical. All anyone can see is the imposing size of Goliath. In many ways, the story of David and Goliath is an extended metaphor of what the Lord says in 1 Samuel 16: “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” When you begin to view David and Goliath as a spiritual battle, the story opens up.

Because there’s only one man, David, who understands Goliath’s challenge as a challenge against the living God, which is why he took such great offense! Goliath wasn’t simply insulting the men of Israel, he was insulting God himself. And so David understood Goliath’s challenge not as a man-vs-man contest but a God-vs-man contest.

And so the story of David and Goliath should shape the way we think about spiritual warfare. It should shape the way we think about maintaining faithfulness in the midst of adversity. But more than anything, this story should shape the way we view, reflect, and understand the gospel itself. David’s victory over Goliath foreshadows Christ’s ultimate victory over sin, death, and Satan himself.

And so it’s with that in mind that we see three things in our passage: first, we see that there is an unexpected warrior (vv. 31-37), second, who achieves victory through unexpected means (vv. 38-49), and lastly, we’ll see that His triumph becomes our triumph (vv. 50-58).

An unexpected warrior (vv. 31-37)

David is really an unexpected warrior isn’t he?

I think that’s the reason why the classic misinterpretation of this passage puts you at the center of the story. We want to think of ourselves in a similar way. You’re David and like David, you have Goliaths in your life that need to be defeated. But if we remove ourselves from the center of the story and understand it as a foreshadowing of Christ’s final victory then it makes it impossible for you to be the hero.

In all seriousness, if David is best understood as the Christ-figure in this story then that means you and I are more like the fearful Israelites. Which is the better parallel, right? Because in the same way that the Israelites were desperate for a warrior, you and I need someone to fight for us. We need a warrior. We need a Savior!

David is the champion of our passage, but it’s actually the enemy, it’s Goliath and his description is what takes up the bulk of the first thirty verses of 1 Samuel 17. And the reason we get so much descriptive language of Goliath is because the writer of 1 Samuel wants us to understand just how intimidating Goliath actually was. Everyone in the story from David’s brothers to King Saul himself is fixated on the physicality of Goliath.

So it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise that when David asked,“who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” – that his oldest brother, Eliab, was offended.

Eliab treated David the same way Admiral Striker treated Maverick in the first Top Gun. Y’all remember that scene? Maverick and Goose are called into Admiral Striker’s office after pulling off a reckless aerial stunt. Admiral Striker reprimands Maverick for his arrogance and disregard for orders, and famously said, “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash!”

It’s a great line isn’t it?

I think that quote sums up pretty well how Eliab felt about David’s comments. To Eliab it sounded like arrogant, young man bravado. In Eliab’s mind, David’s ego was writing checks his body couldn’t cash!

There was absolutely no way David could stand a chance against Goliath! In fact, David shouldn’t even be out there on the battlefield! He needs to go home and take care of the sheep!

And that’s exactly where we ended last week - Eliab had chastised David for his comments, but his comments made their way all the way to King Saul. But unlike Eliab, Saul wasn’t angered David’s comments, rather, he was doubtful and very skeptical of David’s qualifications. He makes that very clear in verse 33: “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

In other words, you’re young and inexperienced. You don’t have the skills, abilities or even the qualifications to defeat a seasoned warrior like Goliath. David is getting pushback from everyone around him isn’t he?

It really is reflective of Jesus Christ isn’t it? So many people doubted Jesus. Remember when Jesus went to Nazareth and the people treated him with contempt and asked “Is this not the carpenter? Is this not Mary and Joseph's son?”

The commentator Dale Ralph Davis makes the point that David had to overcome not one, but three Goliaths. Before he faced Goliath’s disdain, he had to overcome Eliab’s disdain. Before he faced Goliath’s doubt, he had to overcome Saul’s doubts. And once he overcame both of those hurdles, then he had to face Goliath himself.

The truth is no one believed in him. No one thought that David stood a chance against Goliath.

Which is why David’s response to Saul in verse 34 is so powerful! Look at it with me.

“Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Have you ever spoken with someone and throughout the course of your conversation they always find a way to refer back to himself? They keep working themselves into the conversation? It’s incredibly revealing, isn’t it? It’s a window into their mind. It reminds me of that Toby Keith song, I Wanna Talk about Me. People who constantly refer to themselves seem to think that the world revolves around them.

But this really was David’s golden opportunity to tell Saul just how awesome he was. It’s interesting, because contrary to popular belief, David did have an impressive resume that really had been preparing him for this moment. He had killed lions and bears, which certainly speaks to his fighting abilities even though it didn’t take place on the battlefield.

But what makes David’s speech so impressive is that he shares his experience with Saul and then gives God the glory. It wasn’t his power or grit that helped him overcome the lion and the bear – it was the Lord. And that right there speaks to his incredible faith! He sees God’s hand at work in every aspect of his life.

“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” The great things he has done is not a reflection on himself, but upon God’s deliverance.

Which is the foundation for David’s God-logic. If God can deliver him from fierce animals, then God can deliver him from the hand of a Philistine. He has so much confidence in the Lord because he has already seen Him at work in his life.

And what the Lord has done for him has only bolstered and strengthened his faith. It’s what’s often referred to as an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God can work in the small things then God can work in the big things – that’s the idea. Which explains David’s thought process: if God can deliver me from fierce animals he can certainly deliver me from the hand of a man - no matter how big, intimidating, or scary he may seem.

There’s an important principle that I do not want us to miss: your faith and confidence in the Lord should be strengthened by his faithfulness. God’s past faithfulness should give you confidence in the present and the future.

I’m reminded of Matthew 6 where Jesus said, “do not be anxious.” He provides for the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, “[and] if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Jesus is exactly right isn’t he? We so often take for granted the ways in which God provides for us, particularly through the small things. We take the mundane provisions for granted. Have any of us ever wondered where our next meal was going to come from?

If God is faithful in the small things, then we can trust Him in the big things like, the fact that Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient to atone for your sins. And if you receive and rest in his sin atoning sacrifice then a glorious heavenly home awaits you.

That’s the sort of God-logic Christians are called to embrace, and you see this is precisely the logic that David used! David had seen God’s faithfulness in his life. God had delivered him from lions and bears, which meant that God is more than capable of delivering him from Goliath.

The funny thing about 1 Samuel 17 is you get this sense that everyone is waiting for someone else to step up. Everyone is waiting for someone to take on Goliath, and only one person is willing to accept the challenge: David.

David becomes this unexpected warrior. And remember so much of David’s story is a foreshadowing of Christ.

Jesus is certainly an unexpected warrior. He was born in humility and didn’t seem to fit everyone’s expectations for what the Messiah would look like, because he waged war not through violence but with grace and truth.

He may not be the warrior anyone expected, but he is certainly the warrior we all need.

Victory Through Unconventional Means (vv. 38-49)

And of course, David’s faith is contrasted with Saul’s self-reliance. It’s so interesting isn’t it that Saul tells David at the end of verse 37, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” but first, why don’t you try on my armor?

It highlights the difference between David and Saul doesn’t it? Saul’s confidence is man’s ability to prepare, while David’s confidence is in the Lord. Which of course, tells us everything about the two of them doesn’t it?

And to be fair to Saul, that’s exactly the way you’d expect it to happen! You’d expect a man to put on his armor and then grab his sword and shield before heading into battle.

But David famously refused Saul’s armor. In fact, David refused every conventional weapon of war. He goes into battle with just his staff and sling, which would be the modern equivalent of heading off into war without an M-16 or an M-4! How can you possibly win without any of the conventional weapons of war?

To make matters worse, just a few short verses earlier, David was the bread and cheese man. And now, he’s stepping onto the battlefield without any armor, without a sword or shield for a one-on-one battle to the death with the Philistine champion. Instead he walks onto the battlefield with just a staff and sling.

In the ancient world, war was understood to be a theological contest just as much as it was a physical contest. If your nation was victorious in war that was evidence that your gods were more powerful than the gods of your enemy.

So think about what’s going on here: Goliath was the physical embodiment of intimidation, which would communicate something about the Philistine gods, and David was the bread and cheese kid, which would certainly communicate something about God. If Israel was sending out a weak warrior to fight Goliath, well then, they must serve a weak God.

And all of this helps us to better understand Goliath’s trash talking. He mocks David for stepping onto the battlefield with a staff and asks in verse 43, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”

Then what does Goliath do? He “cursed David by his gods.”

Goliath was convinced he had victory in the bag before the battle ever began! After all, he was bigger, stronger, and more experienced in battle, which, by his logic meant that his gods were bigger, stronger, and more powerful than the one the true God.

But of course, God uses the weak to shame the strong. He uses weak vessels to deliver his people in order to prove his absolute sovereignty. You see, David understood this fact. He knew the Lord. Which is why in his response to Goliath he refers to the Lord six different times in his speech in verses 45-47.

“You come to me with a sword and 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. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

Swords and spears are powerless against the Lord. The battle is the Lord’s.

The weakness of David was the point! God doesn’t need a person of the right physical stature or capabilities in order to accomplish his will.

It’s so counterintuitive to what we think. We assume that success is dependent upon talent, effort, and charisma. The more talented and charismatic a person is, the more likely they are to succeed. We even do this in the church. When churches are looking for a new pastor they tend to gravitate toward those who look the part. The men with the credentials and charisma often seem more important than spiritual disciplines.

We rarely think of dependence on God as the recipe for success, and yet, it’s precisely what the Scriptures teach us over and over again. If it was true for David and true for Jesus, how much more is it true for each of us?

The bow and the sling were not supposed to defeat the giant with the sword and spear. And yet, over and over again, God’s strength and power is displayed through unlikely, unconventional means.

The Triumph That Becomes Ours (vv. 50-58)

Because not only was David weak in appearance, but the staff and sling made him look weak too.

It’s one of the things that Goliath mocks about David, right? “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?”

But the irony of the battle between David and Goliath is that it is relatively anticlimactic. He famously used his sling to throw a rock at Goliath that hit him, he fell to the ground, and then David used his sword to decapitate him. For all the build up, the battle didn’t last that long at all.

It reminds me of that famous scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, where an intimidating swordsman jumps out in front of Indiana Jones, and intricately waves his sword around, seemingly preparing for a duel. Without hesitation, a frustrated looking Indiana Jones, pulls out his gun and shoots the swordsman dead with a single shot.

That pretty much sums up the fight between David and Goliath. It was over almost as soon as it began!

But what I think is really important is what happened after the battle in verses 51-53.

“When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.”

David’s triumph became his people’s triumph. They shared in his victory!

Confidence in Christ’s Victory

Hopefully you can see how this points us to Christ. Christ was an unexpected warrior. His victory over sin, death, and Satan himself didn’t come through a violent display of power but by humbly laying down his life on the cross.

If you’ve studied the book of Romans then you probably know that the first half of the book is laying a theological foundation. But then he transitions from his theological foundation to Christian living.

Romans 8 is where he transitions. Many of you know Romans 8:1 – “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

That’s the victory and his victory is our victory.

Christians don’t fight for victory, Christians fight from victory. The battle has already been won, which means you and I have nothing to lose.

Amen. Let’s pray together.