1 Samuel 17:1-4
1. The Champion & the Challenge
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[a] cubits[b] and a span.
Here we are introduced to the scene. Can you picture it?
The Israelites encamped on one mountain and the Philistines on the other
And the Valley of Elah between the two mountains is where the showdown will take place
V4 introduces us to the Philistine “champion” called Goliath (descendent of the Anakim)
What is a champion in this context? Literally: “man of the space between armies”
A champion from one army would engage in hand-to-hand combat against the champion of the enemy army—each champion would serve as the representative of his army
V4 also tells us Goliath was six cubits & a span in height (9’9”)
Recall how tall stature in 1 Samuel is generally paired with pride and lack of trust in the Lord
The next verses tell us how formidable of an opponent the champion, Goliath, was. Look at v5-7.
v5-7
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[c] 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.
Why does the author of 1 Samuel go into so much detail about Goliath’s armor and weaponry?
He wants us to see Goliath as a detailed portrait of impressive self-sufficiency, strength, and impenetrable defense
Goliath represents the best the world has to offer, the peak of human performance, the best of the best, the strongest of the strong, the manliest of men, the most skillful of the skilled, an expert warrior.
But remember our main point today:
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
Now let’s look at Goliath’s challenge in v8-11.
V8-11
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.
The stakes could not be higher for the Israelites
Can you feel the terrifying tension rattling thru the Hebrew camp?
As I said earlier, the champion represents the people. If the Israelite champion wins, then all of Israel wins. If the champion loses, then all of the people would become slaves to the Philistines for the rest of their lives. Talk about a lot of pressure on the champion to bring home the victory for the people!
If we were going to put ourselves into this historical account, we better put ourselves among the people shaking in their sandals, dismayed and greatly afraid in v11. Remember, you and I are not David. We are powerless in the face of our greatest enemies.
When Saul and Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid (v11) –sound familiar?
Numbers 13 and the report from the spies
This leads us to our 2nd section as the camera pans away from Goliath and the terrified Israelites to zoom in on David, the choice of the Lord.
2. The Choice of the Lord
V12-23
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.[d] 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah[e] of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”
19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 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.
V12 begins with the phrase “Now David” –this phrase serves as a transition point. We are now moving from Goliath to David. The contrast between these two champions could not be starker.
Let us take note of the person of David in these verses
What are the characteristics of the person whom the Lord has chosen?
Notice in v12, David is called an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah…
What do we know about Bethlehem in Judah?
Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
This messianic prophecy tells us about the town David is from
David is from the little town of Bethlehem (too little to be among the clans of Judah)
David was brought up with humble beginnings in a nowhere town, of little to no significance
Back to 1 Samuel 17. Look at v14. What does it tell us about where David is in the birth order? He’s the youngest. He’s the smallest. He’s the most insignificant of all his brothers. And yet, David is the one God has chosen. God loves to use the nobodies to accomplish His purposes.
V15-20 show us that David is not only a lowly shepherd boy, but he’s also an errand and delivery boy for his older brothers. He’s a servant. This is the one God has chosen to be His anointed one. This is the one who foreshadows Christ to us.
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
And so, David hears Goliath’s challenge in v23. Now let’s see how the chosen one of the Lord will respond to Goliath’s defiance of God and His army.
V24-27
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.”
David’s response to Goliath is startling. Remember from chapter 16, David is filled with the Spirit. He’s filled with courage. His courage contrasts starkly to the people’s fear: they “fled from him [Goliath] and were much afraid” (v24)
But what does David say in v26? “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
What is David doing here in v26? He’s boasting in the Lord. Notice how he calls the Lord “the living God.”
Application: do you see the God you worship and pray to as “the living God.” If we have a “living God” that means…He’s present, He’s listening, He’s active, He works, He saves, and He’s alive! Let us boast in the Lord our living God.
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
Great leaders will certainly face opposition. Even from their own family. Let’s look at v28-30.
V28-30
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.
Why is Eliab, David’s eldest brother, so angry with him?
Eliab despises David. He does not recognize the anointing the Lord has placed on David. Potentially, Eliab could be jealous of David and his anointing. And so, Eliab wants David to be relegated to the lowest place as shepherd and delivery boy.
Eliab’s despising of David foreshadows how Jesus’s own brothers did not even believe in Him
John 7:3-5
3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.
Back to 1 Samuel 17…Saul catches wind of David’s courageous words from v26. Now look at v31-37.
V31-37
31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 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.”
Notice in v33 Saul’s response to David’s offer to go and fight Goliath
Saul only sees David’s outward appearance (“you are but a youth”)
This is exactly what God told Samuel not to do in chapter 16:
1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him [referring to Eliab]. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
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.”
Again, here in v36, David references the Lord as being “the living God”
At every turn, David displays rock solid trust in His God who is alive.
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!”
What is David doing once again in v37?
He’s boasting in the Lord.
Notice how he highlights this fact: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the bear will deliver me…”
38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
V38-39 are important details in this chapter.
V39 is the polar opposite…the photo negative, if you will, of the super specific and highly detailed description of Goliath’s armor and weaponry in v5-7 of our text.
V5-7 tell us Goliath is armed to the teeth and v39 tells us David goes into the battle against Goliath with no armor at all.
On the one hand, Goliath is a picture of absolute worldly self-sufficiency.
And on the other hand, David is a picture of absolute reliance on the living God.
This contrast highlights the main argument of the text:
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
Instead of a sword and spear, David only comes to the fight of his life with a slingshot and five stones.
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.
Goliath “looked and saw David” (v41)
Just like Saul, Goliath, does exactly what God instructs Samuel not to do in 16:7: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature…”
And Goliath disdains David in v42 (God uses the despised and disdained)
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.”
This leads us to our third section that foreshadows a true and better Champion who is to come.
3. The True and Better Champion
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.
The contrast of self-reliance vs. reliance on the Lord of hosts could not be sharper here in v45
Application: how much of your life is lived in self-reliance and self-sufficiency? On the other hand, how much of your life is lived and done “in the name of the Lord of hosts”?
Philippians 3 (put no confidence in the flesh, Paul’s resume, count all things as loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus)
How can we do this? By the Holy Spirit, train your heart to rest in the finished work of Christ, our True and Better Champion.
For our salvation in Christ is totally His finished work. Our salvation comes to us by the sheer grace of Jesus. We have only but to receive it by simple faith in Him and Him alone. Lay your sword and spear down before the Lord and rest in His salvation.
As the old hymn says…
Lay your deadly doing downDown at Jesus' feetStand in Him and Him aloneGloriously complete
Back to 1 Samuel 17, David continues his reply to Goliath. Look at v46.
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,
V46-47 give us two reasons for God granting victory to David
The 1st reason is given to us in v46: God is going to give David the victory over his enemies…so “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (v46).
Notice God’s heart for the nations here in v46.
The God of the Bible is the only one true God, and God’s heart overflows with desire for all the nations to come to know Him. And we must have the same heart.
The 2nd reason for David’s victory is given to us in v47:
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.”
God is going to give David the victory…for the believing assembly of God’s people to know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s…” (v47)
What are the gospel implications of v47?
God is not conventional in the way He saves us. His salvation is not by sword and spear. God accomplishes salvation for us by His own Son dying for our sins. Jesus wins by losing. Jesus triumphs by being defeated. Jesus sets us free by being nailed down on a cross. Jesus accomplishes our acquittal by letting Himself be condemned. The gospel is upside down! Who would ever devise such a means to save lost people? Only God!
Application: For those of us who trust in Jesus for salvation, we need to know that we already have victory over sin, Satan, and death…all because of Jesus. We can now live as citizens of heaven. And this should impact the choices we make: the way we parent, the way we work, the entertainment we consume, the values we hold, the way we share our faith, the battles we choose to fight. Remember from v26, David was motivated by zeal for God’s great name (he said, “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”). All of our activity in this life is for the glory of God’s great Name. And all of our activity in this life is from a place of victory in Christ.
Now let’s see how God empowers David to bring deliverance to the people. Look at v48-50 in our text.
V48-50
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.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David.
Again, notice the absence of sword or spear in David’s hand
The author is driving his point home to us:
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.
V52 shows us that the men of Israel join the fight against the Philistines after David defeats Goliath (his victory over the giant freed them from their fear)
God calls His people to receive salvation by grace, and then He calls them to join His anointed One in advancing His kingdom. Being saved by the grace of Jesus leads us to participate in the good works God has prepared beforehand for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Why is this last set of verses included?
V55-58 highlight the fact that David was a nobody. At this point, King Saul and Abner the commander of the army (the two most powerful men in Israel) have no idea of David’s background or who his father is.
David’s lineage was important to Saul, as the victor over Goliath was promised to marry into Saul’s family.
We can see that David grew up in obscurity. He was raised in a no name family. In a no name town. And he was the youngest and most overlooked in a family of 8 boys.
Aside from birth order, do these details sound familiar?
Now, what conclusion can we draw from the historical account of David and Goliath. The answer lies at the end of 1 Corinthians chapter 1:
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
That we may know that the Lord and the Lord alone saves. Therefore, we boast in the Lord.
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