Good morning. Chris and I are at MPA cheering on our students as they perform in the MPA talent show this saturday night. Back when our kids were at MPA people came from our church to support our kids so we wanted to do the same. Thanks to Mark W. for filling in today.
Well today we get to start one of the most famous David stories of all time. David and Goliath. It is an epic tale that we all know very well.
Question of the day: What was your favorite game to play outside as a child?
READ: 1 Samuel 17:1-11
David and Goliath
17 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokohand Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[a] 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b]; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him.
8 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. 9 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.”10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
This passage starts with the opening scene, with the two armies on their respective hills. They were ready for battle but neither was ready to make the first move. Whoever went into the valley first would most likely have a disadvantage so there they sat. On the opposing hills.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were about to battle with someone and each of you took a hill. We like being up high, or high and mighty don't we?
When our kids were very young we lived in a little house with a tiny backyard. In that tiny backyard was a large transformer. This big metal box one day became the hill that our kids played on as they played king of the kill. The fought and battled to stay on top. At one point one of the kids was pushed or pulled and ended up with their head coming in contact with the metal and all of a sudden the injuries were real. We ended up taking one of the kids to the hospital for stitches. All because they wanted to be on top.
The kids were obviously banned from ever playing on it again. So they started using their jungle gym as their new mountain. Now before you start psychoanalyzing my kids or Chris and I as parents, I am sure you too like being king of the mountain.
Why is it when we have conflict or before the conflict even starts we position ourselves on top. Just last night I was working with a girl who was crushed because another girl had over heard her say something about a guy and went and told the guy. Why would she do that? Well, to be on top.
We know this story and for there to be a victory for God to be glorified someone had to be willing to get down off of their hill and let God do a mighty thing.
Why hills?
Why do people like SUV's or big tall trucks.
What security comes from being on top.
Then we hear about Goliath.
What do we know about him?
I find it interesting that the armor is talked about with such detail.
Why so much detail?
What does it tell us?
What were Goliath's strengths?
What were his weaknesses?
Isn't it interesting that often weakness is hidden behind a facade of strength.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the people who are the loudest and the most abrasive and forceful are really the weakest.
Is there areas of your life where you feel weak?
If you ever find yourself fighting something, stop take a breath, maybe there is something that you are afraid of.
READ: 1 Samuel 17: 12-24
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
Let's take just a moment to high light a couple things. First does this not sound like we need to be once again introduced to David. How interesting is that.
Seriously David is continually forgotten and even the way that once again we are being introduced to David is fascinating. We will touch more on that later...
Also it is important to note that David was at this time going back and forth between Saul and his father's sheep. So he is still helping the king on a regular basis. Just important to note.
Continue...
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[e] from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
So first we are also told here that they had been doing this for 40 days. That is a long time. This was not just once or twice. Can you imagine being help captive by this man who was saying terrible things about God for 40 days.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you."
Lets look for a moment at verse 25. So obviously the Israelites were frustrated. That had been listening to this challenge for 40 days. Can you imagine. So what did they do? What was there solution to the problem?
Throw money at the problem. Right?
How many times do we do that?
How many times when there is a problem, a challenge we think, we just need to have enough money and we will fix the problem. Can you imagine them talking to Saul and deciding together to make this sweet deal for anyone who was crazy enough to go fight this Philistine?
Too many times we think money will solve our problems instead of using the power of God. Imagine how different this story would have been had the leaders and the King gone to the Lord and believed in His power to deliver them?
Then in verse 26 David hears this offer and can't believe his ears. Seriously why isn't someone doing something about this guy? You can almost hear his decision to do something before he gets clarification of the offer. However the offer doesn't seem to hurt.
Then his brother says what?
I'm telling you I can hear this conversation between my children. Can you?
David's eldest brother accuses him of what?
Have you ever been accused of being conceited when you were on a mission?
Have you ever seen people with great faith and amazing courage step forward, and has that ever made you mad? Don't answer outloud!
There is no question it is difficult to see people stepping up and doing things we know we should be doing!
Many years ago Chris decided to lose weight. One day he just came home and said, "No thank you, I'm not eating that, I'm changing the way I eat." Let me just say it didn't go over well with me. I was upset with him. I disguised my displeasure by focusing on his lack of communication with me and not warning me, but the truth... I wasn't ready to do what I know I needed to do. I didn't have the courage to take the step that he was taking. I even felt like he was being selfish... Seriously... I was just like David's older brother.
If you ever find yourself annoyed at someone else doing something, stop a moment and reflect. Maybe there is something you need to be working on.
Chris's response to me was almost the same as David's response to his brother. Chris had a mission and my lack of readiness to join him wasn't going to stop him. David had the same focus. He just turned and got clarification.
In verse 32 we see the warrior coming out in David.
David made a stand.
David made a decision. He didn't consult with his older brother, he didn't talk it over with friends, he didn't consult with his wife....( Oh wait this isn't about me is it... David didn't have a wife..)
David knew what he was capable of when the power of God was with him.
This was not someone who wondered about the abilities God gifted him with.
It is important that we know that we tell our children, that we have the confidence to understand what we are capable of doing with the power of God.
It is not conceited to know your gift, it is in fact not giving God the glory when we deny it.
Have you ever wondered how many warriors were there in the Israelite army who were completely capable of defeating Goliath?
AN ENTIRE ARMY. So why didn't they fight him?
They didn't have the confidence in what God can do through them.
We need to know our talents!!!!!!!!!
We need to develop them!!!!!!!!
We can't develop them unless we acknowledge them!!!!!!!
We need to be CONFIDENT!!!!
Not in our strength or ability alone, but what we can do with HIM!!!!!
If you had to rewrite verses 37 to speak about what God has done in your life, and what you have done because of Him, what would it say?
I want to challenge you today, to take some time and work on rewriting this passage, put your life, your experiences in. What is God calling you to do? What has He been preparing you for and what does he need you to stand up and boldly state. What you are ready to do with God?
We have a choice. Are we going to stand on our hills, hide behind armor, or try to use money to fix all our problems, or are we going to acknowledge the strength God has created in us, the abilities he has blessed us with and are we going to make a decision to be a warrior for HIM?
What is your choice today?
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