“God’s Mighty Warrior”
1 Samuel 17 (esp. 38-50)
8-28-2022
In the name of Him who was victorious over sin, death, and the devil, dear friends in Christ. If you’re a lifelong Lutheran, then perhaps you’ve noticed something over the years. In our Scripture Readings from week to week and year to year, there are certain Bible stories that we don’t ever get to. For instance, you never hear what happened with Noah and his sons after leaving the ark, or about Judah and Tamar, or Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt, or Joseph and his coat of many colors. And that’s just the Book of Genesis! Now, I readily admit, some of those narratives are very long. Others have some disturbing information in them. And yet many of them you may recall learning about back in Sunday School.
Well, I like to fill that “void” by periodically choosing one of those “old favorites” and using it as the sermon text. Because you see, God didn’t inspire the writers of the Bible to include these accounts just to add some spice to boring, old history. Rather, Lutherans believe that the whole Bible is Christo-Centric. That’s a fancy way of saying that from cover to cover the central message is Jesus Christ and His mission to save us from sin. Quite often in the Old Testament, God gives us types and shadows of the reality that was coming in Jesus. They were meant to prepare the world for the Savior. A prime example of that can be found in the story of David and Goliath.
Both Christians and non-Christians alike know of it. Unfortunately, though, it’s often misunderstood. If you think that the moral of this story is to show that a determined little guy can sometimes beat the big, bad opposition, then you may as well stick to reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales. On the other hand, if you think it teaches us how a believer, who trusts in God, can conquer even overwhelming spiritual odds then you’re on the right track. But there's also the deeper message of how Christ is prefigured in this story. We don’t have time to read all of 1 Samuel 17. You can do that later on your own. But I suspect that most of you already know the story pretty well. So, I’d just like to give you a thumbnail sketch and add some pertinent information so we can make those important connections to the life of Christ and our own lives.
Even though the 12 tribes of Israel had conquered the land of Canaan and inhabited it, they still had some foreign enemies that were a constant threat. Their archenemy was the Philistines. Saul was king of Israel and he had to deal with these bad guys who regularly crossed the border and raided parts of the southwest region of Israel. To be quite blunt, Israel’s army wasn’t very organized or confident in their military skills. Anyway, in our text, these two armies were camped opposite of each other, poised for battle.
Back then they had a tactic they used sometimes in order to save lives. Each side would choose their best fighter to represent them. These two men would go out and have at it. That one man would represent the whole army. If your guy was victorious and killed his opponent then the other army was supposed to surrender to you without a battle. That’s the deal the Philistines were proposing. They sent out their guy, a giant named Goliath. The Bible says he was over 9 feet tall and he was a killing machine. Very intimidating! Daily he challenged Israel to send their best warrior to take him on. But Goliath scared the bejeebies out of the Israelites and no one was willing to fight him. Day after day he taunted them by mocking both them and their God.
Enter David. He was the youngest of 8 boys. When his brothers went off to fight in Israel’s army, he had the unglamorous duty of tending the family’s sheep. One day, his Dad sent David to check on his older brothers to see how they were doing and bring them food. He happened to arrive when Goliath was on his daily tirade. When David heard it, he was dumbfounded and asked, “Why doesn’t somebody go out there and defend God’s name by knocking his block off?” When David’s older brother heard it, he chewed him out. In his mind, David was a little snot-nosed kid who didn’t know what he was talking about. This wasn’t a child’s game of playing with toy soldiers, this was war. A life and death battle! Besides, David’s question made him and the rest of the army look like cowards, and quite frankly, they were.
Well, King Saul caught wind of David’s inquiry and asked to see him. Saul was desperate. He didn’t think David stood a chance but he had to do something to get his troops stirred up. So he gave David his own armor to wear, probably thinking that at least Goliath wouldn’t kill him with the first blow. David rejected the armor because it was too cumbersome. But his reason was based on his faith in God. You see, that armor was cumbersome spiritually. David was confident that God would be his shield to protect him. He had bravely fought against lions and bears with the Lord’s help, and this foul-mouthed giant would fall just like on of those dumb beasts.
So David took his staff and picked up 5 smooth stones from a nearby stream for his slingshot in order to do battle with this giant. From a human perspective, it was utterly foolish. Goliath was huge and heavily armed. He was a well-seasoned warrior. No one had ever fought him and lived to tell about it. How could little old David defeat him? In fact, when Goliath saw David, he was insulted. Did this little pip-squeak think he was going to run Goliath off with a slingshot and a stick? Goliath pledged to tear David apart, limb from limb. That’s when David’s faith really shined. He responded in verses 45-47 with, "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."
With that confidence of faith in God, David went out to fight Goliath. Not reluctant or fearful, but bravely. He was an expert with his slingshot since he had lots of practice with it as a shepherd protecting his sheep. With one well-placed shot, he zinged Goliath in the forehead and dropped him. Now maybe you’re wondering if that’s possible or if it’s an exaggeration. Well, I had a friend who was a sniper on the Omaha Police SWAT team and they were taught to aim for a spot on the forehead where the bullet will cause something called “flaccid paralysis.” In essence, it renders the person brain dead and paralyzed. Apparently David’s stone hit that sweet spot and dropped him like a ton of bricks. Using David’s skill, the Lord had turned the tables on these overwhelming odds. By faith, David was God’s mighty warrior and what seemed humanly impossible was accomplished by the Lord’s power.
Okay, so how does this event prefigure the coming Savior? Well, first off, it was no coincidence that David was a shepherd. Jesus identified Himself as the Good Shepherd of God’s people. In 1 Samuel 16, God sent His prophet to anoint David as the next king of Israel. Jesus was anointed by God the Father at His Baptism to be the True King of all His people. In a very real sense, there was a giant who was threatening to kill God’s people spiritually and mocking our God, like Goliath did. The “giant” was sin, death and the devil. The devil taunted Jesus in the wilderness temptations. Humanly speaking, it seemed that there was no way Christ could be victorious. Like Goliath, no human had ever done battle with this giant and lived to tell about it. Sin, death, and the devil had defeated every living being.
So how could this gentle, country Rabbi take on such a formidable foe? What weaponry would He use in the battle? David used a primitive slingshot and a stone. Jesus used the unlikely weapon of 3 nails and a cross. With it, He took on our “giant” and did what was impossible. Like the contest against Goliath, God sent forth His mighty warrior, Jesus Christ, to represent the whole human race. As we just sang in “A Mighty Fortress”, “With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected. But for us fights the valiant One, Whom God Himself elected.” One man, the God-man Jesus, would do battle on our behalf. His victory would be our victory. Because He trusted in God’s power, which is also His power, He marched resolutely and fearlessly into the battle that took place on the cross. And He won! Oh yes, He died in order to make payment for all of our sins. But when He rose from the dead, He declared victory over our enemies: sin, death, and the devil.
So what are the spiritual applications for us? Well, when David killed Goliath, the Philistine army scattered. But later they regrouped and over the years they continued to pester and plague the Israelites. When Israel exercised a sincere trust in God like David did, they were able to push the enemy back where it belonged. When they trusted in themselves, they essentially went into battle unarmed. Well, sin, death, and the devil still taunt and plague us even though Christ has defeated them. But God has placed a rather simple, but powerful weapon in your hand: His holy and precious Word. Martin Luther once said that God’s Word is like the stone in David’s slingshot. It can defeat the spiritual enemies that attack us and mock our God.
Let me ask you a question, though. What if David hadn’t picked up those 5 smooth stones and then went into battle? Goliath would have squashed him like a bug. Well then, what do you think will happen to a Christian who fails to pick up God’s Word? You will be unarmed for the spiritual battles you face each and every day, both internally and externally. Your giant enemy will squash you and you’ll lie there, defeated, wondering what happened. We need to recognize the battle that’s going on around us and in us and prepare for it.
But that leads us to another question. Did David pick up those 5 stones for the first time or just now and then? Of course not! He regularly practiced with that slingshot so that he could be effective. How then do we practice with the weapon God has given us? Well, here in regular worship we are honing our skill of wielding God’s Word. Likewise in Sunday School and Bible Class. Those aren’t offered just for an intellectual exercise. It’s so that we can be familiar and accurate with God’s Word. The same can be said for your private study of the Bible. If you’re neglecting these things, then you’re setting yourself up for defeat. By faith you can take this weapon in hand and march fearlessly into battle. Not relying on your own skills. No, like David, we can be God’s mighty warriors because we trust in Him to protect us. We can march into battle against “the giants” we face knowing that Christ has already won the victory for us. As we sang in verse 3 of the sermon hymn, “Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill, They shall not overpower us. This world’s prince may still, Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.” That “little word” is the Word of God’s victory through Jesus Christ found in the Bible. It’s like the little, smooth stone in David’s slingshot. It can stop and disable the giant enemies who are threatening to squash your faith. With trust in our ever-present God, we can confidently walk into life’s spiritual battles as God’s mighty warrior, knowing that He will protect and keep us safe until He calls us home to be with Him in heaven. May God grant it for the sake of His victorious Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Soli Deo Gloria!