1 Samuel 17:40-51

Wrestling Goliath

Lent 1 Invocabit

February 18, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Was there ever in the Old Testament, maybe in the whole Bible such a hero as David. And is there anywhere else where this is so exemplified than in his battle against Goliath.  This is one of those historical events that almost everyone knows about, even if they are not Christian.  A little context is helpful in understanding this great victory and what it means for us.

The year was 1019 BC, the place was Elah, a valley in Judah.  The Israelite army, led by King Saul, and the Philistine army were at a stalemate.  The armies were facing each other on each side of the valley. Into the stalemate came a soldier from the Philistine camp, a champion, Goliath of Gath. His most impressive feature was his height. An average Israelite man at the time stood only between 5’ and 5’3”. There’s debate on Goliath’s height, whether he stood close to 9 feet tall or about 6 and a half.  Either way, to the normal Israelite soldier, Goliath was indeed a giant. His armor and his weapons would have made him seem even that much larger and more dangerous. And then there’s the taunts, the challenges, the defiance.  To the Israelite army, Goliath was a large, intimidating warrior and must have appeared nearly invincible. He struck fear in the hearts of every Israelite soldier.

The stark contrast thus far is not between David and Goliath, but David and Saul. Saul, the first king of Israel, a man who himself stood head and shoulders over most Israelite men, a man chosen as king in part because of his stature to specifically fight Israel’s battles (8:20), is a disappointment here.  Saul should have fought the Philistine. She should have led his people in courage and bravery and faith. The reaction of King Saul was typical. Never does Scripture depict Saul as bold in the face of a Philistine threat. As the king reacted in cowardice, so did his troops.

And so enters the shepherd, David.  God had already informed the prophet Samuel that David would be king, but nobody really paid much attention to this.  This young man went to speak to his brothers who were soldiers in the Israelite army.  He heard of Goliath’s taunts, and that Saul was offering a bounty to death the giant, and he wanted to know more. For David, Israel’s fleeing in panic at someone who mocked the army of the living God was an unacceptable lack of trust in God as Israel’s savior and protector. And so he volunteered to fight the Philistine. He offers his ability in fending off the lions and bears, implying that Goliath was simply an animal, an uncircumcised brute, not worthy of respect, and even more so, one who was excluded from God’s covenant and a man left in a state of unrighteousness.  Against such an enemy, David asserts that just as it was God who rescued him from the lions and bears and not his own skill, so too it would be God who would rescue him again.  Remembrance of God’s deliverance in the past fills David with confidence that God will not let him down.

Shunning Saul’s armor, David showed a deep faith which valued God’s presence with him in battle more than anything else.  Goliath was not armed with the Lord, and Saul trusted only in himself. And so David takes only his shepherd’s staff, and his sling along with carefully chosen stones.

The actual battle is almost disappointing given the build up. With one stone sunk into the head of Goliath, David fells him right on his face. The insults and disdain of Goliath, the great armor and spear amounted to nothing in the presence of the Lord of hosts who was with David. David took Goliath’s sword, killed him and cut off his head, and the Philistines fled the scene. David’s victory over Goliath demonstrates to the world the existence and the power of Israel’s God, the living God. David takes no glory over the victory, but the glory belongs to God. 

This stuff is better than superhero movies, and it actually happened! And more so, it still matter to us here and now beyond being a good hero story.  Warfare still continues and you have been conscripted to God’s army.  Circumcised in the heart, by virtue of your baptism, you are part of God’s people, a dear possession to God.  Goliath, the devil, your sin are standing before you. Temptation and resistance against sin are the nature of this battle. The devil throws his fiery darts with the intention of piercing your faith. His taunts are much worse than that of Goliath, though not that different. He curses the living God, and you for following Him.

So, do you pick up the stone?  Do you stand toe to toe with the evil giant? The answer to that is no!  You’re not David.  You are not the hero. You are one of the Israelites shaking in your boots, scared silly, thinking that all is lost. There is no way that you can defeat Goliath. He is too big, too strong, too dangerous. If you go up against the devil by yourself, you will lose, every time.

Verse 2 of A Mighty Fortress summarizes it extremely well, “With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected; but for us fights the valiant One, whom God Himself elected. Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, of Sabbaoth Lord, and there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.”

This is why Jesus goes out into the desert, to continue the fight against the devil, against the temptations you feel leading you to sin, against the sting of death. Jesus is fighting the devil, He believes that God is good, and He will have victory. He doesn’t fight with armor and a sword in His hand. He doesn’t throw punches. The form of this battle is temptation and resistance. The devil wants Jesus to pick up His divine powers, to go be God. The devil tempts Jesus with thinking that there is no reason for Jesus to do this, no reason for suffering, sorrow, pain.  Though the world may look at this Jesus and see no one special with nothing special, the victory is His. He doesn’t defeat the devil by might.  He beats the devil by dying. And His victory also belongs to you. He doesn’t use a stone to fell the giant, but by His blood we are saved, and by the power of His resurrection He stands victorious.

Christ holds the field for you.  Jesus is the greater David who defeats the greater Goliath, the devil, for the glory of God and the safety and security of His people. And through faith in Christ, we stand with Him not just on the battlefield of this life, but on the Day of Resurrection.  Until that great and mighty day of the Lord, for the believer in Jesus, no physical weapon of any sort benefits him. Instead, God provides the full armor needed to withstand the assaults and flaming arrows of the devil: as St. Paul outlines in Ephesians 6, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which the Word of God.  We have a champion, a hero in Jesus. His victory is our victory. And He brings us to stand with Him.