David’s Confidence: The Lord Will Deliver Me (vv. 31-39)
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then 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 a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 "Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" 38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off.
I have experience defending lambs.
When David entered Israel’s camp carrying bread and cheese, faith entered the camp. David continued to ask about the reward for killing Goliath, and encouraging someone to take up Saul’s offer, so that Israel’s reproach would be removed and God’s honored upheld. None came forward, but someone reported David’s words to Saul. Saul sent for David. He immediately tried to calm Saul. His confidence is like the bright sun coming out after a storm. “I will fight Goliath.” This was stunning, but this is faith. Faith is not a mystic, inner light that tells you all will be well, that you will succeed in a cherished ambition even if the whole world laughs and tries to stop you. These are worldly counterfeits of faith. Faith is taking God at his word and acting upon what he has said. David’s faith was not a whim but based upon experience of God’s faithfulness. While defending the flock, he had to fight lions and bears. Faith is not a leap into the unknown. Faith grows in a walk of obedience to the Lord, in doing one’s duty and trusting the Lord’s help to do it. Faith is an active principle, for God’s word is living, and it works its life into all who believe and obey it. God’s faithfulness had become David’s settled principle of action. Do what the Lord has commanded, what duty demands, and trust that the Lord will be with you.
The Lord has delivered me many other times.
After recounting his shepherd’s courage in defending the flock, David credits the Lord for delivering him. “The Lord delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, and he will deliver me from this Philistine.” David was not presumptuous but believing. He believed the Lord was with him and would bless him in the path of duty. He was not challenging Goliath because he was a member of the Israeli Slingshot Team or particularly adept at killing men with their own swords! He trusted the Lord. He had learned that the Lord would be with him, no matter what, if David was doing his duty. If David acted presumptuously and sinfully, such courage would be arrogant presumption. One piece of wisdom we should draw from this is to do as the Holy Spirit says and gain experience by enduring God’s tests patiently (Rom. 5:3-4). When we find a hard obstacle in the path of duty, especially if that obstacle is our fear, pride, complaining, or man’s threats and accusations, we must meet that obstacle by faith and do our duty despite the obstacle. Do not wait for your feelings to change, for they will cement your feet to the rocks of fear. Obey the Lord and commit your ways to him. Let him be the faithful Lord he is, sustain us through our trials, and be our strength to do our duty. Then, we gain the same kind of experience and hope that emboldened David to face Goliath. The Lord has been with me every other time I have had to risk my life to do my duty. He will be with me now. He is always true to himself. This is the way faith is joyful while carrying burdens, bold when fear strikes, and thankful in adversity – the Lord is true to himself. He cannot deny himself. His promises must come to pass.
Goliath has defied the armies of the living God.
But there was another issue that demanded to be addressed. Goliath was not simply a bear or lion. He was a pagan idolater who had challenged the “armies of the living God.” This is a startling remark, for Israel’s army was paralyzed by fear and hindered by Saul’s godlessness. Nevertheless, David saw Israel for what they were by covenant, not what they were at the moment because of unbelief and fear. By challenging Israel, whatever Goliath meant by the challenge, he was in fact challenging the Lord and his armies. And this must not be allowed to continue, for the Lord lives. This is the consideration that only faith can see. God is the living God. His word is living. Jesus Christ, his crucified-in-weakness Son, is now living and reigning. Whereas unbelief, even in the church, sees only this world’s power and its threats, faith sees the world as dead – dead in sin, empty in its threats, ridiculous in its pretensions, and doomed in its unbelief. There is only one living one: the living God. All that tries to live outside of his authority and communion is dead already, even while it clings to unbelief’s meager existence.
Thus, like David, whenever we are confronted with the world’s persecutions, even when it means personal suffering and loss, we can have the greatest assurance of victory and grace to endure – we serve the living God and walk in Christ’s triumphal procession. The children of disobedience serve the devil. He and all who follow him will be burned up in the lake of fire. They have no future. They are loud in the present, appear invincible, but they are dead men clothed in the devil’s livery of lies and pride. It cannot stop a single dart of faith. Learn this first at home, as David did, fighting his own fears. David’s first encounter with a bear or lion brought the usual apprehension. Fighting our own sins, or the ridicule of those closest to you, or obeying in hard matters can make us sweat bullets. Will the Lord help me? How will this turn out? When we look out at the world, though there are hundreds of millions of real Christians (Phil. 3:3), the Lord has wisely scattered us throughout the world. We are not pretentious or claim to be world-beaters in our own strength. We do not promote our own intelligence. We promote a crucified and risen Savior, who now marches with his heavenly armies clothed in white. When the world defies the church, it is nothing but dead men howling. We are not to be afraid. We have the living God, who has taken us by his grace to be his children. He is our Father. He cannot forsake or fail us. He will not, for he is faithful. This is the reason David was confident. God was alive in David’s life.
David’s Declaration: You are about to die, Goliath (vv. 40-47)
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So 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 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, 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 and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands."
I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.
David rejected Saul’s armor – politely, not proudly, for he made an attempt to wear it, but decisively. He would not need Saul’s armor. This was not a contest between strength and strength, armor and armor, but faith against unbelief, humility against boasting, trust in the Lord against trust in human strength, Yahweh against the idols. David chose five stones because he did not know if it would take more than one to knock down the giant – or because Goliath has four brothers (2 Sam. 21:19-22). With stones in his shepherd’s bag and his sling ready, David went forward to face Goliath. The brute laughed and cursed. A boy! Probably not a shaver, and certainly not a warrior! Goliath was insulted and hurled threats and abuse at David – come on, boy! I am about to feed you to the birds. How dreadful Goliath’s last words before standing before God and sent to hell – defiant boasting! David spoke different words. I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts. You have defied him, but I am his servant. You come with human weapons, but I come to you armed with the name of the living God. Prepare to meet your doom, Behemoth. The birds will have quite a feast on you. I am going to cut off your head – apparently, with your sword, for I am not carrying one. And then, I will give your army as the main course in a buffet for birds and wild animals. How bold faith can be when it has experience of the Lord’s deliverance and trusts his faithfulness! How bold faith is when it speaks for God and his word!
All the earth will know there is a God in Israel.
This was a local battle, but David was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. When he said to Goliath that “all the earth will know there is a God in Israel,” he speaks as the Messiah, of the Messiah’s universal kingdom. All the local victories – from the sinner rescued from sexual uncleanness to a generation standing firmly for God’s truth – are telling the same tale. There is a God in Israel. All the world will come to worship him and know that he is present with his people. Do they know he is present with us? Are our lives changed, joyful, and testifying to the King’s grace and love and power in our midst? The world’s god gives only blindness, deceit, counterfeit pleasure, and death. The true God gives life and victory to his people. He delivers them from sin and evil. David’s victory over Goliath will be and now is a testimony not to David’s expertise with a slingshot but to the presence of God with his people.
And we should aspire to give the same testimony, especially since the Son of God our Savior has now come and died for our sins and risen so that we might walk in newness of life. All our opposition to the reigning madness of blasphemy and perversity – a testimony to God’s presence, even when it means we must love Christ more than our children, more than our own lives, more than our personal comfort. Why do we refuse to yield to the devil’s onslaught against Genesis 1-3? Against sexual perversion, transvestism, and child sacrifice and mutilation? The Lord is with us. There is a God in Israel, in the church of Jesus Christ, which is God’s true Israel. Why do Christian men fight against their lusts rather than celebrate them, Christian women fight for meek and tamed hearts rather than claim independence? Why do Christian young people fight for purity when the world has already declared that the fight is lost and that the losers to temptation are the winners for pleasure? It is always upside down for the children of disobedience, for there is only light, wisdom, strength, and hope where God is. Without him, we have no life, no hope in the world, no covenant, no foundation (Eph. 2:12).
All this assembly will know the battle is the Lord’s.
Here is a moving instance of the majesty of Scripture and a reproof for cold, fearful hearts. 3,000 years ago David declared to Goliath an eternal truth that has been constantly proven. Strength and numbers do not decide the day – the Lord does. Swords and armor do not gain the victory, for the battle is the Lord’s. Such confidence is the inevitable fruit of faith in God who lives with his people. Only by his covenant of grace can we have this conviction – and this confidence. The Lord is with us. He may or may not give victory in a particular way or at a particular time. There is an element of the immediate prophetic in David’s words. And yet, there is also a timeless truth that the Lord gives victory to whom he will, when he will, and in the way he wills. Long and deeply, we must meditate upon this truth. “There is no king saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety, neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him” (Ps. 33:16-18). The Lord uses kings and their armies, soldiers and their horses, but he is the commander of every battlefield. His eye is upon those who fear him. He decides the battle according to his wise purposes, usually hidden from us, and his covenant mercies, made visible in the person and work of Jesus Christ and sealed to us by his precious blood. Thus, we must be strong in the Lord and use his armor (Eph. 6:10-18). Fear and unbelief paralyze; trust and hope energize. Trust and hope are not a fool’s hope but are based upon God’s faithfulness to his promises. He is for us, not for those who hate him.
David’s Victory: By Faith, David Killed Goliath (vv. 48-58)
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. 55 When Saul saw David going 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 So the king said, "Inquire whose son this young man is." 57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter 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?" So David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
David’s Faith Overcame the World
Incensed, Goliath went forward to meet David. Undoubtedly, he surged with malice and confidence. He would soon crush David and pull him apart. David ran toward Goliath, shortening the distance, measuring it with each stride. He took a stone from his bag, slung it precisely, as he had done so many other times, and hit Goliath on his forehead. Stones slung from a skillful hand can travel nearly 100 MPH. It hit Goliath in his one unprotected region. Knocked unconscious, for the stone sank into his forehead, he fell to the ground. David had no sword, but there was no sword like Goliath’s (1 Sam. 21:9). David seized Goliath’s sword, stood over him, and cut off his head. The Philistines fled. Israel’s reproach was removed. The Lord’s army arose and pursued the Philistines all the way to the gates of their leading cities, Gath and Ekron.
Faith prevailed over the giant. As Hebrews 11:32 says of David, it was by faith that he prevailed. He was good with a slingshot, and he was agile on the field of battle. It is good for godly men to be adept in all legitimate manly sports, arts, and skills. There were undoubtedly many good soldiers in Israel’s armies, good swordsmen, and perhaps great slingers. There was only one who believed God’s promises and was inspired to use his past experiences and skills to face the giant. Personal skills and strength are useless without faith. Faith makes use of means, even the humblest. David did not waive a wand and kill Goliath. His faith laid hold of God’s promises and ventured all – comfort, gifts, even life – on the Lord’s faithfulness. It was faith that inspired David, faith that killed Goliath, and faith that removed Israel’s reproach.
One Last Question: Who is David’s father?
David apparently did not join in the chase and plunder. He took Goliath’s head to nearby Jerusalem, perhaps to hang up there as a warning to the Jebusites, who still held Jerusalem. Saul turned to Abner and asked the name of David’s father. He surely knew who David was, but now the king had a promise to keep. He must give his daughter to be David’s wife. Would the union bring any credit to Saul’s family? Any wealth? What an odd, condemning question for Saul to ask at such a time! Where is praise to the Lord for deliverance from an enemy? Saul should have been embarrassed and on his face pleading with the Lord to forgive him for not defending the Lord’s people and honor. Instead, he is thinking about his own honor by a marital connection with David’s family. Abner did not know, so he brought David to Saul. David told him his father’s name. As the two stood together, the contrast could not be stronger. Saul absorbed with himself; David was consumed with a zeal for God’s honor. The Lord would soon rid himself of Saul, but he was preparing David to be king, a man after his own heart.
By God’s gracious Spirit, let us learn these valuable truths from this most famous contest:
Trust God’s faithfulness ~ defeat doubt by looking at Jesus Christ, our Mighty Captain: Heb. 2:10; 12:1-2.
Never forget the Lord’s past deliverances in your life ~ they are his pledges of present help: 1 Cor. 10:11.
Face fear and fearful things confidently ~ as the way we learn to trust our Savior: Matt. 14:27.
Use God’s weapons ~ for the world’s weapons are puny and powerless: 2 Cor. 10:4-5; Eph. 6:10-18.
Boasting is deadly ~ it will kill you: Prov. 27:1-2; James 4:13-16.
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