1 Samuel 17 THE BATTLE LINE SET UP
SLIDE 1Valley of Elah
King Saul and the Israelites pitched camp in the Valley of
Elah. As they each drew up battle lines
on either side of the valley, the
Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley
between them.
His shield bearer went ahead of him.
A man named Jesse from Bethlehem had
8 sons. Jesse's 3 oldest sons, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah had followed King Saul
to the war. His youngest son’s name was David who had previously gone to play
soothing music for Saul whenever he got depressed. Once the Israelites moved
for battle, little David stayed in Bethlehem and tended his father's sheep.
Jesse wanted to know how his
oldest sons were doing, so he told David, "Take
some roasted grain and bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp (20
miles away). Also, take a lot of cheese and give to
the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some
assurance from them. They are with Saul, fighting against the Philistines."
David left early the next morning
leaving his flock with a shepherd, loaded up the food 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. (David must have been excited that he was
going to witness his brothers and other great warriors going to battle against
the Philistines)
Israel and the
Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his
things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and
greeted his brothers. 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. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran
from him in great fear. (Think about this – Goliath had now been doing this
for 40 days, would they give a war cry while lining up and then run
every time Goliath gave his challenge? The Philistines must have always had a
great laugh and returned to their camp thinking what losers the Israelites are.
Although, I wonder why they kept it up for 40 days instead of just attacking
the Israelites. Hmmm)
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?"
The Israelites told him, "Do you see how this
man keeps coming 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 father's family from taxes in Israel. This is what will be done for the man
who kills Goliath."
Eliab, David's
oldest brother, heard this conversation, and in anger asked, "Why have you
come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I
know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to
watch the battle." "Now what have
I done? Can't I even speak?" He then turned away to someone else &
had the same conversation with them about what would be done for the one who
killed Goliath. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul
sent for him.
DAVID TALKS TO
SAUL
David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your
servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and
fight him, he has been a fighting man from his youth; and you
are just a musician, and only a boy at that."
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, 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. 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. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of
the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Who can argue with that resume - Saul
said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you."
Then Saul, the tallest man in Israel,
dressed David in his own tunic, a coat of armor and a bronze helmet on his
head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around,
because he was not used to them. "I can’t go
in these, I am not used to them." So he took them off. Then he took
his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in
the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the
Philistine. Note that David used only what was immediately accessible. He
didn’t need fancy weapons.
Goliath, with
his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. Goliath had
to be shocked that they finally were sending someone to fight. He looked David over and saw that he was only
a boy, and he despised him cursed David by his gods. He said to David, "Am I a dog,
that you come at me with sticks? Come here, and I'll give your flesh to the
birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" David said, "You
come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the
name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down
and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army
to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will
know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it
is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and
he will give all of you into our hands."
1 Samuel 17:48 As
the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle
line to meet him. KEY VERSE As the Giant grew larger and got closer,
David did not hide, did not maneuver into position, he ran right at the Giant!
49 As he is
running, David reaches into his bag and takes out one stone, puts it in his
sling and hurls it directly at Goliath’s vulnerable spot – his forehead. The
only place uncovered and not protected by the shield bearer in front of him. There
is not anywhere else David could have aimed for and caused any harm – not the
top of his head, not his chest or arms or feet or legs, only one place. Once he
knew that one place of vulnerability of the giant, he then had to be right on
target. he slung the stone and
struck Goliath on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell
facedown on the ground. Sank into his forehead? If David had not been
running right at him, he probably could not have hit him that hard.
THERE GO THE
PHILISTINES
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they took all the stuff from their camp.
DAVID’S TROPHY
David kept the Goliath’s
weapons and took his head to Jerusalem.
From David’s story we learn, not
when God is on your side, but when you are on God’s side, you can do amazing
things, even take down a literal giant.
Psalm 145
I will exalt you, my God, the
King; I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you and
extol your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most
worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation will commend
your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.
5 They will speak of the glorious
splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will tell of the power of
your awesome works and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They will celebrate your
abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and
compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all; he has
compassion on all he has made.
10 All you have made will praise
you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.
11 They will tell of the glory of
your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all men may know of
your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
13b The Lord is faithful to all
His promises and loving toward all he has made.
14 The Lord upholds all those who
fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand and satisfy
the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all
his ways and loving toward all he has made.
18 The Lord is near to all who
call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of
those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who
love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise
of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.
SONG: God of Angel Armies
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