What is your favorite underdog movie? The original Karate Kid? Remember the Titans? Cool Runnings? Rudy? Mine is probably the original Rocky. I like it because growing up I used to watch it all the time. My dad was big into boxing, especially the eras before the 1980s. He’d tell me stories of Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Jack Dempsey. So when I’d watch Rocky, I pictured those stories too. As a movie, the underdog part, is great and thematically his loss actually gives the story a twist at the end that makes it feel more real. And it leads into Rocky II, giving that final fight a greater weight to it.
This brings us back to our summer series in the books of Samuel, where we’ve finally come to the greatest underdog story ever told in Sunday School, David and Goliath. Which is found in First Samuel chapter 17, verse 1. As we open up to First Samuel 17:1, let’s look back on the last two weeks to refresh our memories.
Two weeks ago we began the third section of Samuel with the anointing of David. Here we zeroed in on the two main human players: The seasoned Samuel and the bright-eyed David. God taught Samuel the lesson of looking passed the outward appearance to the inner desire to either follow God or not. David had this God desire, that is why he was chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. We walked away with the understanding that God desires us to eagerly follow him no matter where we find ourselves in our walk with him.
Then last week we looked at how, when the Spirit of God left Saul to rest on David, what that did to Saul’s life. In fact we saw how God used a harmful spirit to send judgement against Saul and to bring David into his court. By accomplishing these two things, we see God’s justice and mercy upon Saul, as God is preparing for David to take over as king. God brought peace to Saul through David’s desire to follow the Lord. From this we talked about how God calls his people to be the bearers of his peace to the world. We do this in the power of the Holy Spirit, with the message of the Gospel on our lips and in our actions.
With the last two weeks refreshed in our minds, we can begin to move forward in the book of First Samuel. As we begin to look at the last fourteen chapters of First Samuel, we have to understand that this moment of David’s life initiates a series of events that carry all the way through the rest of the book. All the details of what happens in chapter 17 are not as important as the end result, which is David’s victory. It is David’s victory that begins to set Saul against him, which leads to Saul to focus less on running Israel and drives him to kill David, until his own death at the end of the book.
So even though we are going to break down this passage, we must understand that the victory of David is the catalyst to how the rest of the book plays out. So we are going to take this bigger picture and begin to break down parts of it as we make our way to the end.
Let’s jump into First Samuel 17:1-58, where we won’t be reading everything, so you will need to go back this week and re-read the whole chapter.
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
v. 1-11: The first eleven verses of chapter 17 set up the situation in which Saul and Israel find themselves. They meet the Philistines on the field of battle, but instead of two armies going out and battling, the Philistines present a champion to fight on their behalf. If the Philistine champion won, the Israelites would lay down their arms, and vice-versa. This was not unheard of in the ancient world, though usually it was more for moral, than anything else. To see your man win, boosted your resolve and lessened you opponents’.
The word champion literally means “the man between two.” Goliath was a man between two armies. His description would have struck fear into anyone who would have seen or read about him. Goliath was six six cubits and a span in height, which is roughly nine foot, nice inches. He wore a coat of bronze mail, and his legs were covered in booze armor, advance technology at the time. It weighed five thousand bronze shekels or about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. He had a javelin in addition to his sword, with the head of the spear weighing six hundred iron shekels, which was about fifteen pounds.
Goliath towers above everyone, and puts Saul’s height to shame. But not only is he tall, Goliath is strong enough to carry and fight in heavy armor. His imposing figure is why the Israelite soldiers stood in fear for forty days. But God was working behind the scenes.
v.12-40: In verses 12-19 were told that David is not out with Saul at the moment, because he went home to attend his duties at home. Bethlehem is about fifteen miles from the battle, and so David was able to perform both the duties required of him with his family, and his new duties with the king. But Jesses sends David back to check in with his sons because he hadn’t heard anything about the result of the battle. We know it’s because the battle hasn’t taken place yet, but Jesse doesn’t know that.
So David returns to the Israelite encampment early in the morning and it’s here that we pick the passage back in verse 20.
20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
So David hears the many curses and taunts of Goliath and he begins questioning why the men are afraid. This is when David’s oldest brother Eliab scolds David. Eliab accuses of David of being perverse in wanting to see the bloodshed of the battle. Now Eliab’s anger may stem from two places: First, he had chosen to follow Saul and thereby was moving away from his dedication to the Lord. So he could not see the real intention of David. David was wondering why the people would not trust that God would prevail against the Philistine, not that he wanted to see the battle. Secondly, Eliab might feel some jealously that his youngest brother received a special blessing and anointing from Samuel. So, as siblings often do, they don’t listen to each other, but rather correct one another out of misplaced authority.
Yet we know what David’s motivation is. He has complete trust in the ability of the Lord to win the day. He states this in verse 26 to the men and again in verse 37 to Saul. And David is willing to go out himself to battle Goliath.
It’s in verse 31 that David’s words have reached Saul and he is brought before the king. Starting in verse 32 we read, “32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “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.” 34 But David said to Saul, “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.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
David explains to Saul why he has confidence in his own skills and in God’s deliverance. God has done so in the past, and he will do so now. This is exactly what biblical faith is. The term used in the Bible for faith means to be persuaded by credibility.
David exercises that type of faith right here. He has seen God work through his life when he faced the lions and bears, and David expects that God can do the same thing with Goliath. David has been persuaded by God’s past work which gives God credibility to work in the future. Goliath is just another lion come for the sheep.
David is so resolved in his faith, that he is able to convince Saul who agrees to let him go, even though David is too young for war. It’s then in verses 38 and 39 that Saul tries to clothe David in his own armor. But David doesn’t go along with it because he hasn’t tested it. What he has tested is his staff and stones. He’s a shepherd and these are the weapons of one who protects the sheep. The staff is meant for stability, correction and close combat, while the stones and sling are meant for long rang attacks. David is comfortable with these because he has tested them in combat, and with them, he knows he will prevail.
v.41-54: It’s in verses 41-54 that we get the battle.
41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “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.”
48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
Goliath was not happy that the Israelite nation sent out a boy to fight him. David’s youth and ready for life attitude is again described as him being ruddy. Goliath then mocks David’s choice of weapons and curses David by his gods. Yet, God had already defeated the Philistine idol Dagon and so Goliath’s curses meant nothing.
David however, is coming against Goliath in the name and by the power of the true God. This God is the Lord of Hosts or the armies of heaven. Goliath is not fighting against a young boy, or even Israel as a nation, but against the Lord of All Things himself. It’s here that David recognizes that through him, God will bring about Goliath’s end.
David prepared his sling and lets go a single stone which strikes Goliath and he falls to the ground. I want to share with you the veracity of such an attack through a video clip. (play video of a sling)
We’re told that the stone hits with such force that it sinks into the forehead of Goliath. David then takes Goliath’s sword and decapitates him, ending the 40 days of curses against God and his people. It is at this moment that the Philistines flee and the Israelites chase them and afterward return to plunder their camp. David gets the spoils of Goliath’s armor for himself.
v.55-58: The ending of the passage sees Saul ask the question, who is David the son of? Saul had said he would give his daughter to the one who could defeat Goliath. His questioning of David’s lineage makes sense as he needs to know what kind of family his daughter is marrying into.
But this also gives us a little insight to Saul and David’s relationship. Even though David was there, and Saul loved to have him around, Saul never got to know David. David was just another person who served Saul as king.
It’s here that we can walk away with the central point of this passage. David had a steadfast resolve that God would win the day. This is something that Saul never had. Saul never trusted that God could do the things he said he could do. Even when God accomplished victories for Saul, the prince of Israel never trusted the true King to work. God is calling us to the same trust as David had. God has done great things and will continue to do great things. That needs to be the resolve of God’s people. That no matter the situation, no matter the trial or temptation, God can and will overcome. But we have a choice, are we going to be one of the scared Israelites, or are we going to be the one God utilizes in the victory? One doesn’t have the confidence in God, the other does.
This week I want to challenge you to be resolved in your trust of God. If you are struggling to believe that God can bring a victory or overcome a situation you’re in, take some time and re-read David’s story. Then ask God to show you where he has won victories in your own life, even though you might not have recognized it.
In my teen years, a teacher told my mom that she had seen teens just like me and they all ended up in juvie. Two summers later I was convicted of a major theft. Yet through it all, God was working. I was not sent to juvie as the county wanted. I was not given the harsher sentence as the prosecutor wanted. I was shown mercy, and through all of it God worked in the bad situation I created for myself to bring me to him. I have seen God work in the past and I know he can work now. So seek God this week to show you what he has done, so that you can trust him now.
If you are at that level of trust now, then I want to challenge you to encourage others who might not be there. Ask God to bring someone into your life so that you can share your story of what God has done, that they might trust the Lord.
God is calling each of us to be resolved in our faith so that no matter what giant is on the battlefield, we know that God has won the victory. Amen.