1 Samuel 17:1-58

Nathan said earlier is going to be 1st Samuel chapter 17.

A very well-known text to us.

It's the story of David and Goliath.

We've heard this story taught in our own churches that we've been a part of throughout the years.

You know, we've all come from different places, walks of life,

and this is a text that is touched on a lot from a lot of different circles,

a lot of different people, in a lot of different ways.

We often hear expressions like conquer your Goliath or throw your stone of faith.

Those are references to this text, and it's a way for us to kind of conceptualize,

communicate this idea of overcoming trial, overcoming problems in our life.

I think it is almost always well-meaning when people say these things,

but the reality is I think there's so much more going on in this text than just that, as good as that is.

And so my hope and my prayer is that we'll be able to walk through that today

and see more of the true glory of this story, the truly good news that we have in Christ in 1st Samuel 17.

So we're going to walk through this text together and just kind of highlight that ultimate reality,

that redemptive historical reality that is meant to be displayed throughout this text.

So again, starting in 1st Samuel 17, verse 1.

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle,

and they were gathered at Soca, which belongs to Judah,

and encamped between Soca and Ezekiah and Ephesdamun.

So this is near Bethlehem, about 15 miles from the town.

In verse 2,

And Saul, he's currently king, right, King Saul,

and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah.

And they drew up in the line of battle against the Philistines.

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.

And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath,

whose height was six cubits and a span.

He had a helmet of bronze on his head,

and he was armed with a coat of mail.

The weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of bronze,

and he had bronze armor on his legs.

And a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders,

and the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam.

And his spear's head,

this is just the head of the spear, not the whole thing, the head,

weighed 600 shekels of iron.

And his shield-bearer went before him.

So a couple notes here so far.

This is the only passage in the Bible where the word champion is used.

It's used twice in this passage, and it's the only time it occurs.

It literally means the man between two,

referring to this big man, this Goliath of Gath.

He's between the two armies on the two mountains.

He was six cubits in a span.

Now, most scholars have agreed a cubit is about 18 inches,

which means Goliath rings in at 9 feet 9 inches.

This is a big boy, right?

Pretty big.

The coat that weighs 5,000 shekels of bronze is 125 pounds.

Now, I'm not a very big guy to begin with,

but that's just 15 pounds shy of me.

So he's essentially wearing me.

He's got like an adult, smaller male on his back.

Okay, so this is a real big guy.

And he wore it.

I mean, he's running around.

He's going in battle, wearing 125 pounds.

Now, most people in this room, even some of the bigger ones,

would have struggle just carrying 60-pound packs,

much less fighting with a 60-pound pack.

And yet, Goliath doubles that, 125 pounds.

And on top of that, he's carrying the spear that the head of which,

the end point, and anybody who's ever lifted anything,

you know a pole, if it's heavier at the end, it's harder to balance.

And his weight of his spear is at the end.

It's in the head of the spear.

And that spear is going to be roughly 15 pounds.

And so here's this guy running around, 125-pound armor,

15-pound spearhead, and he's thrusting it out to stab people.

Again, this is a big man, okay?

And to have the strength and endurance to fight in war with that armor,

that spear, I mean, this is insane.

You know, I like sports.

In the sporting world, college football, basketball,

they give athletes these rankings, you know, one through five-star,

five-star being the best.

If Goliath was a recruit today, they would create a six-star.

I mean, he's that big.

He's a difference maker, right?

We've never seen anything like this.

It's picking back up in verse 8.

So this man, this big man, this nine-foot, nine-inch man,

he stood, Goliath, and he shouted to the ranks of Israel,

Why have you come out to draw up for battle?

Or why have you not 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, right?

This is taunt.

This is, hey, you're best against me.

I'll kill him any day of the week, right?

And know the distinction Goliath makes right away between Philistine and Israelite.

This is a huge threat in this, and we're going to pick up on this in a bit.

Back to the text in verse 9.

If he is able to fight with me and kill me, meaning the Israelite,

if your best champion can fight me and kill me, then we will be your servants.

But if we prevail against him and kill him, then you should be our servants and serve us.

And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day.

Give me a man that we may fight together.

This is bull talk.

When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

I would be afraid, nine foot, nine inches.

Now David was the son of an Ephraite, of Bethlehem and Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons.

In the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years.

The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to battle.

And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eli, the firstborn,

and next to him, Eben-Nadab, and the third, Shammah.

But David was the youngest.

The three eldest followed Saul.

But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

Verse 16,

For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

So for forty days and forty nights, this nine foot nine man, this beast of a man,

he's taunting Israel, saying, send me your best, bring him out, I'll kill him right now.

For forty days, forty nights, evening and morning.

He's relentless.

And I want to say, this is a temptation the Israelites are facing, right?

It's a taunt, but it is a temptation, right?

What kind of temptation?

Temptation to fear, temptation to focus on the things of earth and not the things of God.

The men of Israel not only failed as they caved to their fear and worldly thinking,

but even Saul.

And mind you, Saul, contextually, this is supposed to be Israel's champion.

You know, he's a pretty big guy.

He stood head and shoulders above the men of Israel.

And yet, even he is cowering before Goliath.

He's scared out of his mind.

But he, too, had fallen away from God along with the rest of the house of Israel

by focusing on this Goliath, his armor, his spear, his size, the things of this earth, right?

Self-preservation is kicking in.

But in the midst of all these failing men who are not obeying God in faith,

who are not striking down this Philistine where he stands,

we see David highlighted as someone who is from Bethlehem, from the tribe of Judah.

Very important to note.

So verse 17.

And Jesse said to David his son,

Take for your brothers an ephaph of this parched grain and these ten loaves,

and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers.

Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand.

See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.

Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting the Philistines.

And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper,

and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded them.

And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.

And David left things in charge of the keeper of the baggage,

and ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers.

And 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.

All the men of Israel, when they saw the man,

they fled from him and were much afraid.

And the men of Israel said,

Have you seen this man who comes 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.

I'm going to pause here for a moment.

It is so significant, I think,

that the men of Israel are recorded first as seeing Goliath,

and then fleeing in fear.

This is a clear indication, as I already alluded to earlier,

that these men are thinking in worldly terms.

They're not thinking about God.

They're thinking about this nine-foot, nine-inch monster, right?

Their focus was out of place.

And Israel, like Goliath, like the Philistine,

they thought it was merely Israel being defied here, right?

Goliath said, I will defy Israel this day,

and now Israelite is confirming that and saying he's defying Israel,

the nation, the people.

And yet, no mention is made of this Philistine defying God by the men of Israel.

They had forgotten the lesson of Joshua,

where Israel feared many giants when they were about to enter the promised land, right?

Many giants, they came back, 12 spies, two said, let's do it.

The other 10 said, no, no, those are some big guys.

And we all know how that story goes.

Because of their sin, because of their lack of faith in God,

and trusting the promise to take the land,

they end up spending 40 years in the wilderness.

It's similar, right?

Goliath, for 40 days, morning and night, tempting Israel,

saying, come out, fight me.

This is similar to Eve, right?

The fruit was a delight to her eyes, we know from Genesis,

because she focused on the fruit.

She looked at the fruit.

She was considering the fruit in the words of the serpent,

and not the words of God, right?

Which was temptation that led to sin.

So just as in 1 Samuel 17,

the men of Israel set their eyes on Goliath,

a man, and it consumed them.

But he was just that, a man.

In fact, Samuel has set the stage for this in chapter 16, verse 7, right?

The prior chapter, where God says,

for the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, right?

The 9 foot 9 inch man.

But the Lord looks on the heart.

So this is a big theme.

But picking back up in verse 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?

And the people answered him in the same way,

So shall it be done to the man who kills him.

So again, we just saw how Israel reacted to Goliath,

but now we're seeing how David's reacting to Goliath.

And what does David do?

Well, he talks right back.

He says, this is an uncircumcised Philistine

who's defying the living God.

Right?

Now, this is not mere trash talk.

This is a serious reminder of the Abrahamic covenant for Israel.

Right?

The Israelites, along with the Philistines,

all believe this is a conflict merely between two countries.

Right?

They both said that this is a defilement of Israel.

But David says it's a defilement of God.

Right?

It's a worldly concern for both armies, Philistine and Israelite,

but a spiritual, God-centered concern for David.

And this is why he says uncircumcised Philistine relates to the Abrahamic covenant.

In other words, David is reminding the men of Israel that,

hey, we are the seed of Abraham.

We have promises from the God of Abraham, our father,

who carried us through the wilderness,

who carried us out of the house of Egypt, out of slavery.

He helped us cross the Jordan.

He helped us conquer this land that we're now trying to defend.

Right?

Rise up, men.

Do you not believe in the promises of God?

It essentially is what he's saying.

Right?

But more than that,

he's also recognizing that Goliath is outside of those promises.

He's uncircumcised.

Genesis 17, 8, where this covenant is made with Abraham.

Right?

God says to Abraham,

I will give to you and to your offspring after you

the land of your sojournings,

all the land of Canaan,

for an everlasting possession,

and I will be their God.

It's an everlasting possession.

They don't have to worry about losing it,

regardless of what giant Philistine comes at them or what.

Have you?

And yet the men are cowering,

but David remembers.

He remembers.

This is an uncircumcised Philistine.

He's outside of those promises.

Let's take hold of the promise.

Right?

So this promise,

this land,

it includes Soka,

it includes Azekah,

it includes Ephesim,

where the battle is taking place that we read about in verse 1.

Further on in the covenant, though,

with Abraham,

it's important to note,

God warns,

any uncircumcised male

who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin

shall be cut off from his people.

He has broken my covenant.

That's Genesis 17, verse 14.

Genesis 17:14

Now, of course,

Goliath was never in the covenant to begin with,

as I've already said,

but the warning stands nonetheless.

He's outside the covenant.

So all is to say,

David is the only one in the narrative,

not Saul,

not the men of Israel,

certainly not any of the Philistines.

David's the only one

who's recognizing this

and who's trusting in the promises of God.

He's clinging to the covenant.

Right?

Not himself,

nothing,

but God.

So he has every reason to obey this.

He has every reason to have this faith,

to have this confidence,

because, again,

God made the covenant with Abraham.

He made his promise.

And up to this point in redemptive history,

you know,

David has read the law.

He knows the stories of Moses

that he's written down.

He knows the story of Joshua,

the judges, right?

This is just shortly after the period of the judges.

So David's able to look at all this history

and see God keep his promises

time and time again.

He's got every reason

to have this sure faith.

Right?

God led the Israelites out of slavery.

Despite the delay of the conquering of the land,

they see that the world can provide

to overcome this man,

this Goliath.

Right?

And similar,

that's what he was looking at

when he looked at Goliath himself.

They're both placing trust in the armor,

the helmet,

the coat,

the sword.

Whereas David is placing his trust in God

and not these material things.

Hence,

he put them off.

And we'll see this contrast even more

in the next section.

But this is all part of a buildup

leading to the exaltation of David

and the lowering of Saul.

So verse 41.

And the Philistine moved forward

and came near to David

with his shield bearer in front of him.

And when the Philistine looked

and saw David,

there it is again,

he's looking,

he sees David,

he disdained him.

He was but a youth,

ruddy and handsome in appearance.

In other words,

he was small,

he was a runt.

He's young,

inexperienced.

Verse 43.

And the Philistine said to David,

am I a dog

that you would come to me with sticks?

Like,

who is this would-be poser?

Who's this challenger?

Right?

This pretender.

Right?

Verse 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.

Third time,

he's charging him with that.

You've defied God.

The author of 1 Samuel

further sets the stage

by referencing Goliath's gods.

Right?

He swears to strike down David

by his gods.

Right?

He cursed him in verse 43.

In verse 44,

he's saying,

I'm going to kill you

by my gods.

And David,

no, no.

I've come in the name of my God.

Right?

So this is very much

a spiritual battle.

Physical, indeed, yes.

But spiritual, nonetheless.

So the author's pushing

harder and harder

to draw our attention

to something greater

than this mere historical account.

Right?

There's something

more important going on

than poor little shepherd boy

beating nine foot nine Goliath.

Right?

There's something grander

going on.

But let's continue

our reading first.

So verse 46,

David's continuing,

and he says,

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 hosts

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,

and that all this assembly

may know

that the Lord saves

not with sword and spear.

God doesn't save

with sword and spear

the things of the world.

But the battle is the Lord's

and he will give you

into our hand.

Verse 48,

When the Philistine arose

and came

and drew near to meet David,

David ran quickly,

right,

without hesitation.

David ran quickly

toward the battle line

to meet the Philistine.

And David put his hand

in his bag,

took out a stone,

slung it,

and struck the Philistine

on his forehead.

The stone sank

into his forehead

and he fell on his face

to the ground.

So David prevailed

over the Philistine

with a sling

and with a stone.

And he,

excuse me,

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 Philistine

saw that their champion

was dead,

that's the second time

the champion word

occurred,

except this time

he's dead,

right,

their champion's dead.

They fled.

Philistines fled.

They were afraid.

Verse 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 Shirem

as far as Gath

and Ekron.

And the people of Israel

came back

from chasing the Philistines

and they plundered

their camp.

And David took

the head of the Philistine

and brought it

to Jerusalem,

but he put his armor

in his tent.

So David won.

So yes,

this is a rich story

of a man of faith

and we can certainly

learn from this,

right?

David as an individual,

we can learn

from his faith.

We can learn that

David was not consumed

with earthly things.

His mind was set

on the Lord.

In the section

we just read alone,

just that brief paragraph there,

I don't mean the whole chapter,

just that brief paragraph,

there are five direct

references to God

being the source

of David's strength

and victory

and so forth.

Second,

we can see

David's obedience,

right?

Multiple times.

Verse 48 says

he ran quickly,

but prior to that

we've already seen

he's running

all over the place.

There's no hesitation

with this guy.

He's moving,

right?

And if you're reading

the whole chapter closely,

you would notice

that Samuel mentions this.

He does it

in every phase

of the story.

David's running

all over the place.

No hesitation,

no doubt,

no pondering,

no second guessing.

But more than David,

this is a story

that is also about

the nation of Israel.

As we've already mentioned

the numerous stories

throughout the Old Testament

up to this point,

we have seen

in this point

in the Bible's history,

Israel act either faithfully

or faithlessly

and regardless,

God is faithful

throughout this entire thing.

He's always delivering them

always coming through,

always upholding

his promises.

And so this is very much

a call to the nation

of Israel.

Again, this book

was written for Israel

to hear it,

to read it,

to know it.

It's not merely

so they can know

who David was,

but it's a reminder

of God's commitment

to the covenant

that we mentioned

already with Abraham,

the covenant with Moses,

the covenant with David.

So any Israelite

reading this

would recognize,

hey, this isn't just

a story about

shepherd boy David.

This is a story

about us.

You know,

in a sense,

this is God's

salvific story

for the nation

of Israel.

You might ask,

how so?

So contextually,

as I alluded to earlier,

the events in 1 Samuel

occur at the end

of the Judges period,

right?

A time of great sin,

wickedness,

and judgment.

But now,

in 1 Samuel,

we see God

begin this work

of restoration,

redemption

for the nation

of Israel.

Right?

And how is he doing this?

Well,

Samuel the prophet

who anoints

King David,

right?

Soon to be King David,

not yet,

in this text.

But that process

is beginning now

through this battle

with Goliath.

He's raising up David

to be their king,

to be a means

of restoration.

In fact,

throughout all of

1 and 2 Samuel,

which largely

focused on David,

the reader will notice

that there is

this progression.

Now,

John MacArthur notes,

as 1 Samuel begins,

Israel was at a low

point spiritually,

right?

He's referring to

that end of the

judges period.

The priesthood was

corrupt,

1 Samuel 2,

17 through 12.

The Ark of the

Covenant was not

at the tabernacle.

We know that

from 1 Samuel 4,

3 through

chapter 7,

verse 2.

Idolatry was

practiced,

1 Samuel 7,

1 Samuel 7:3–4

verse 3 through 4.

And the judges

were dishonest,

1 Samuel 8,

1 Samuel 8:2–3

verses 2 through 3.

The 2 Samuel

concludes with

the anger of the

Lord being withdrawn

from Israel.

That's chapter 24,

verse 25.

So why was the

anger withdrawn?

What would cause

that anger to be

pulled back

in light of the sin?

I mean,

even in 1 Samuel,

we're still seeing

Israel's sin.

It's not as if

all of a sudden

they're a glowing nation.

Why is the anger

being withdrawn?

Ultimately,

for the same reason

that Goliath

is defeated.

Because the Lord

keeps his covenant

with Abraham,

with Moses,

and with David,

with his people,

his covenant people.

So this would have

stuck out to the

Israelites.

This is a national

redemptive story

for them.

But again,

there's so much more

that should pop off

of the page to us

with a story

as New Testament

readers.

So let's go ahead

and start reading

through the rest again.

Picking them up

in verse 55.

As soon as Saul,

Saul David,

go out against

the Philistine.

And I love this

because again,

it seems to me

like the author

is still trying

to hint at that

Saul is considering

David in a worldly

sense.

He 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.

And the king said,

inquires whose son

the boy is.

And as soon as

David turned

from the striking

down of the Philistine,

Abner took him

and brought him

before Saul

with the head

of the Philistine

in his hand.

And Saul said to him,

Whose son are you,

young man?

And David answered,

I am the son

of your servant Jesse,

the Bethlehemite.

So this means,

excuse me,

I got a little

ahead of myself.

We,

as readers of the

Old Testament,

that should just

pop out to us.

The son of the

Bethlehemite.

That's the last word

of this story,

right?

End of the chapter.

This is the son

of the Bethlehemite.

So we understand

that immediately

in connection

with Christ,

right?

From Bethlehem.

We know this

because the seed

of David

described in

2 Samuel 7,

2 Samuel 7:12–15

verses 12 through 15,

is Jesus Christ,

the son of God,

which is confirmed

by the author

of Hebrews

in the New Testament,

who quotes

2 Samuel 7,

14,

as well as

Psalm 2,

7,

in Hebrews 1,

5.

It says,

For to which

of the angels

did God ever say,

You are my son,

today I have

begotten you?

Or again,

I will be to him

a father,

and he shall be

to me a son.

So the seed

of David,

this seed,

this is the Christ,

he's the ultimate

seed,

Jesus.

Right?

And David is listed

in Jesus' genealogy

in Luke 3,

Luke 3:31

verse 31.

So this means

that the Holy Spirit

himself,

who inspired

the scriptures,

who inspired

1 Samuel,

that Holy Spirit,

right,

intended David

to be seen

as a type

of Christ.

Right?

Nathan talked

about typology

a couple weeks back.

It's a simpler word,

it could be symbolism,

right?

This is a specific

type of symbolism.

Right?

David is symbolic

of the Christ to come.

So David,

you might ask,

in what ways

does he symbolize,

what ways does he

foreshadow,

right,

in what ways

does he prefiguring

Christ from an

earthly standpoint?

Well,

one,

we see that David

is a shepherd.

1 Samuel 17,

15,

right?

He was tending

his father's flocks

in the midst

of this battle,

running back

to and fro.

Right?

So,

Jesus said,

I am the good shepherd.

John 10,

John 10:11

verse 11,

right?

David was from

the tribe of Judah

in the town

of Bethlehem.

So was Jesus.

Matthew chapter 2,

Matthew 2:1

verse 1,

Jesus was born

in Bethlehem

of Judea.

For 40 days

and for 40 nights,

David witnessed

the taunting

and temptation

of Goliath,

1 Samuel 17,

16.

Again,

this is similar

to Christ

who faced

the temptation

of Satan

in the wilderness

for 40 days

and 40 nights.

Matthew 4,

Matthew 4:1–2

verse 1 through 2.

So you might be

asking yourself,

does this mean

that Goliath

is a type

of Satan

in the way

that David

is a type

of Christ,

right?

Symbolizing.

And the answer

is yes.

In fact,

the parallel

is striking.

1 Samuel 17,

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.

It seems

really repetitive,

right?

It seems kind of,

why is he mentioning

this forehead,

the face,

I mean,

three times,

right,

in one sentence,

one breath.

But I think

it's intentional.

I think the author

is trying to draw

our mind back

to what many

theologians call

the proto-longelion.

That's the first gospel,

so to speak,

which is back

in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3,

Genesis 3:14–15

verse 14 through 15,

the Lord God

said to the serpent,

being Satan,

right,

God said to the serpent,

because you have

done this,

cursed are you

above all livestock

and above all

beasts of the field.

On your belly

you shall go

and dust you shall eat

all the days

of your life.

I will put enmity

between you

and the woman

and between your offspring

and her offspring.

He shall bruise

your head

and you shall

bruise his heel.

So you see,

it is the head

of Satan

that will be crushed

by the heel of Christ,

right?

We all understand

that.

That's what Genesis 3

is alluding to,

that ultimate

decisive moment

in which Christ

defeats Satan

and the power

of death

and hell

and all that,

right?

That's what that's

primarily about.

But at the same time,

David,

Goliath,

they are a type

of this.

They're showing this,

right?

David is a seed

of the woman,

right?

Goliath is a seed

of the serpent

and the author

goes out of his way

to mention that forehead,

right?

The serpent will be

on his belly,

right?

Well,

when you're on your forehead,

you're also on your belly,

right?

And the author goes

out of his way

to show this Goliath.

He's fallen down,

face down.

His head gets cut off

by David,

right?

And David,

David strikes him

with a stone,

right?

Small like a heel.

So this is imagery

that they're picking up on.

There's something

greater it's pointing to.

And the final parallel

that we have time to know

is that David

was an anointed king.

So 1 Samuel,

the prior chapter,

verse 16,

or chapter 16,

verse 13.

Samuel,

the prophet,

took the horn of oil

and anointed him,

referring to David,

anointed David

in the midst

of his brothers.

And the spirit

of the Lord

rushed upon David

from that day forward.

Now,

in the Greek Septuagint,

which is a Greek translation

of the Hebrew Old Testament,

the word for anointed

in this passage

is ekrisen,

right?

It's a verb,

which is the verbal form

of the noun

that many of us know,

Christos.

Now,

it sounds like the English.

Christos is Christ,

as in Jesus Christ,

Jesu Christu,

right?

And so Christos,

it means anointing.

David is an anointed king,

just as Jesus Christ himself,

an anointed king.

We see this in John 12,

John 12:1–8

verse 1 through 8,

in his triumphal entry

to the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus is anointed as king

just prior to his crucifixion,

just prior to crushing

the forehead of the serpent,

the head of the serpent,

and having his heel bruised

on the cross.

So this is partly

why it is so significant

that Matthew includes David

and Jesus' genealogy

in the Gospel account,

which is primarily focused

on proving Christ's kingship.

Right?

That's what Matthew's all about.

This is about

Jesus Christ is king and lord,

the son of God.

Right?

So this is all a buildup

to pointing to Christ.

This entire text

is not merely about David.

It's not merely about Goliath.

It's not merely about Israel.

It's not merely about

the things of this earth.

It's about Christ

and his plan to save

and his kingship,

his identity

as the son of God,

and his lordship

and him keeping his promises,

keeping his covenant.

So in closing,

I kind of want to draw this out more,

but we have noticed

the individual narrative of David.

We've noticed

the national narrative

for Israel.

And now we have seen

the narrative of David

and Goliath

is really much more than that.

It's a picture

of the overarching

redemptive plan of God

for all of mankind.

Right?

For all of his church.

For all of his faithful.

When we read this story,

we fail to really,

truly understand it

if our eyes do not turn

to the anointed King Jesus,

the Son of God.

Luke 24, 27,

Jesus is talking

to his disciples

and he tells them,

he says,

beginning with Moses

and all the prophets,

Jesus interpreted to them

in all the scriptures

the things concerning himself.

So if we read this text

without considering Christ,

we don't understand it

as Christ would have taught it.

Right?

For Christ,

this isn't a story about David.

And so it should not be

merely a story about David

for us either.

So let's not make it a story

where it's about David

and about us

being a hero

as so often is taught.

Right?

This is not merely a story

in which we learn

to just have faith

and overcome difficulties

as great as that is.

It's pointing to something

greater than that.

And we're so tempted

to do that by our flesh,

whether conscious

or unconscious.

But this would be

very bad news

because we as sinful

and dead men

cannot save ourselves.

Right?

David didn't save himself.

David's own trust

wasn't in himself.

Why are we constantly

trying to be like David

in that sense

when David himself

was relying on God?

That's how we should be

like David

by relying on God.

Right?

This would be bad news

if it's merely a story

of us

because it would put

salvation

and the redemptive narrative

in our hands.

But what can a dead hand grasp?

I mean,

this is bad news.

Right?

This is bad news

because this news

would not make

or announce Christ

as Savior and Lord.

And think about that.

Rather,

let the story

encourage us

to imitate the faith

of David

by trusting Christ

and his promises

to the point of obedience.

Right?

That is good news.

That is full grace,

real grace.

You know,

the other side

is what Bonhoeffer

would have called

cheap grace.

It saves you

from condemnation

but not your nature.

But this is a true grace,

a full grace.

It saves us

from the condemnation

and the nature.

We are able to obey Christ.

We are able to look to Christ,

follow Christ

and to do it rightly.

So in that,

we can cast off

all of our burdens

and anxieties

when we look to Christ.

We can face

the hardships

of this world

knowing that

our high priest,

Jesus,

has done the same

and that we will reign

with him in glory.

Just as he was raised,

we will be raised.

Jesus has defeated

the greatest Goliath

in our lives,

namely sin,

Satan,

and death.

And so we,

as Christians,

we can take heart

knowing the battle

was won.

And we,

by God's grace,

are victors

like David.

We didn't earn it.

We didn't accomplish it.

We merely

received it

by faith

in Christ.

So do not get

bogged down

like the men of Israel

like Saul

or even the Philistines.

Do not get bogged down

on the troubles

of this world

considering the things

of this world

but rather

listen to the author

of Hebrews

Hebrews 12:1

chapter 12

verse 1.

Therefore,

since we are surrounded

by so great

a cloud of witnesses,

let us also lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings so closely.

Every Goliath,

so to speak.

Every distraction

and of course

every sin.

And let us

run with endurance,

the author goes on.

Let us run with endurance

the race that is set

before us.

Verse 2.

Looking to Jesus.

Not looking to Goliath,

not looking to Saul.

Looking to Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith

who for the joy

that was set before him

endured the cross

despising the shame

and is seated

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Christ is the ultimate

seed of the woman

who has defeated Satan.

But we too

by faith alone

through grace alone

Christ alone

are the seed

of the woman.

No Cain,

no Goliath,

no Judas,

no nobody,

no nothing

from the seed

of the serpent

will be able

to overcome Christ.

O death,

where is your sting?

Where grave thy victory?

Let's pray.

Let's pray.