Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.35 – September 2007

 

From Shepherd To Giant Killer

By Rev. Paul Archbald

Text: 1 Samuel 17:1-53

 

Introduction:

The story of “David & Goliath” is one of the best-loved in the OT. Young people like it because of the action – boy kills fearsome giant. Older folk like to be reminded that it is possible, after all, for the underdog to overcome apparently insurmountable odds. It is obviously important to the writer of 1 Samuel – and therefore the Holy Spirit who inspired it – for it is an especially long chapter, full of quotations and detail about Goliath’s armour, David’s food-basket, and so on. The writer is lingering over this story, relishing almost every detail about David and his great victory.

Christian writers and preachers also love the story of David & Goliath. The interpretation often goes something like this: David was a young man of great faith. God rewarded him for his faith, giving him victory over almost impossible odds. If we have faith like David, God will enable us to triumph over our big problems, our “Goliaths,” too.

This interpretation has an element of truth in it. Problem is, it ignores what is actually the most important point of all in the text: that David’s story is put there to tell us first and foremost about the Lord Jesus Christ. We consider how David points to Him under 3 headings:

The Good Shepherd

The Offended Son

The Great Deliverer

First Point: The Good Shepherd

It is important to note, firstly, that David is presented here as a good shepherd. At the start of this story, he is spending part of his time looking after his father’s sheep, and part running supplies to the front line of the army. He is also checking up on his brothers, bringing fresh news home to his father. Later, when Saul tries to dissuade David from fighting Goliath, arguing that the lad is too inexperienced to fight the giant warrior, David tells Saul about his experiences as a shepherd. David was actually very experienced – at defending the flock from lions and bears. He was a good and caring shepherd, very brave in his defense against wild beasts. When David goes out to fight Goliath we also see him decked out as shepherd, armed with the simple weapons with which he was familiar – a stick and a sling. And very brave and competent in his use of these weapons.

This is set in contrast to King Saul. Remember, there’s been a big question mark over Saul’s head from the start. Saul was sometimes used by God to defeat Israel’s enemies, but he was not very competent as a king, even early on. In chapter 9, Saul is introduced with a story about his failure to track down his father’s missing donkeys. Not very good at caring for herd or flock. The implication is that Saul will not be very good as a Shepherd-King of God’s people. David, on the other hand, will make an excellent Shepherd-King of Israel.

Our text contains more examples of Saul’s incompetence for this calling. Of course, by this stage, he has had the Holy Spirit withdrawn from him, and is plagued – possessed – instead by an evil spirit. Saul is now completely ineffective at protecting his people from the beast, Goliath, or the Philistine army. There is a 40-day stand-off – even though Saul’s specific mandate, when God made him king, was to deal with the Philistines. When David tries to do something about it, note that he, not Saul, initiates the conversation. David must persuade Saul to let him fight. And David, not Saul, has the final word on the matter.

Moreover, at the end of the chapter, Saul can’t seem to remember who David is. He has to ask Abner to find out about his parentage. Despite the fact that in the previous chapter the king was given all that information, and even made quite a fuss over David. In 2 Samuel 14:20, the wise woman of Tekoa says David is “wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know all that is in the earth.” A good Shepherd-King must know his people and his land intimately. David does know these things, Saul does not.

David, therefore makes the better “type” (foreshadowing) of the Lord Jesus Christ. David, the good shepherd who knows his sheep and protects them with his life, in dependence on God, provides us with a picture of what the Lord Jesus would be like. John 10 says of the Lord Jesus that as Good Shepherd He knows all His sheep by name; He leads and they follow; He provides pasture, life and protection – even at the cost of His own life. The Lord Jesus is the Good, the Best Shepherd. He has infinite competence as Shepherd-King.

His kind of kingship – the “shepherding” kind – teaches us about the kind of life we should be leading as “kings” in Him. It is a life of giving our lives for the care of others, especially God’s flock, in dependence on Him. Living this kind of life will not necessarily make us competent in every respect, in every task we do – as builders, bakers, office-workers and so on. Unbelievers may be more technically competent. But ultimately, everything they do will crumble to dust. Whereas if we seek to struggle against sin and pursue holiness, in dependence upon the Great Shepherd King, it should affect everything we do – as builders, bakers, and so on. And put us in a position where we can really take a lead in helping others around us, show them care, and protect them from harm.

Second Point: The Offended Son

In the second place, I’d like us to note how offended David was at Goliath’s behaviour – the Offended Son. Goliath certainly made sure everyone knew what he thought of Israel, and Israel’s God. He taunted the people of God, as he challenged them to decide the battle by single-combat. He did so every day for 40 days, during the stand-off between the 2 sides. The taunting of Goliath is very much emphasized in the text (vss. 10, 16, 25, 26, 36, and 45).

Again we are reminded of Saul’s ineffectiveness as a leader of the army of the Lord. His only reaction is the offer of the traditional reward – daughter’s hand in marriage, untold wealth, and tax-free status for the victor’s parents. The sad thing is, leaders like this often drag their people down with them. And so we find that no one in Israel is willing to go up against Goliath. Not even Jonathan, who used to be so courageous in the Lord. The only one who will fight is the shepherd boy, David – probably under 20 at this time. But when he offers to fight, the reaction is either disinterest or active discouragement – Saul – or downright anger – Eliab, David’s oldest brother.

David, however, is filled with righteous anger and indignation at the sound of Goliath’s taunts. Who is this “uncircumcised Philistine” that he should taunt the armies of the living God? How dare he! (vss. 26, 36). David realizes that to taunt God’s people is to taunt the living God Himself (v. 45). Moreover, when Goliath sees that a mere, fresh-faced youth has been sent out to do battle, he is offended, and curses David in the name of his Philistine gods. This is blasphemy, and blasphemy deserves death by stoning. Besides, had God not said, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse”? David knows that Goliath is the one who must die, and he is happy to oblige, with his 5 smooth river stones. He is confident that God will supply the victory, to defend His own Name.

Here, too, as we see David filled with zeal for the Name & the people of the Lord, we see something of how the Lord Jesus will be. Remember how He was with the money-changers desecrating the Temple of God in Jn. 2? John quotes Ps. 69:9 – a Psalm of David – “For zeal for Thy house has consumed me… .” The Christ is even more consumed by zeal than David!

But no one who loves God should be unaffected by the blasphemy, the reproaches, the taunts and defiance we hear all around us, from those who hate God – on TV and on the streets, in the work-place, and so on. Lord’s Day 36, Q/A 99, of the Heidelberg Catechism, argues that we shouldn’t even share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. The writer could have been thinking of Saul the silent bystander… or perhaps us. At least with us I hope there’s an inward reaction. We should loathe hearing such words spoken.

David loathed it so much he was willing to risk his life against Goliath, so as not to be a silent bystander. He lived to punish Goliath. The difference with the Lord Jesus is that He died to cover our failure to speak out or take action. Yet we must also remember that He is coming soon, and when He does, woe to all blasphemers who have not sought forgiveness through Him!

Third Point: The Great Deliverer

David testifies to these things to the ineffectual king Saul, tells him not to fear because David, his servant, will go and fight with this Philistine. He will deliver Israel from Goliath and the Philistines. In fact, this is the start of David’s reputation as one of the great Deliverers or Saviours of the OT – our third & final point, The Great Deliverer.

Note, firstly, David’s confidence in this role. It is not that he is sure of himself. He is sure of the Lord. His credentials for going up against Goliath, off-setting his youthfulness and inexperience, are that the Lord has always delivered him in the past, from wild beasts (v. 37). It is not merely his own prowess with a sling-shot. It is the Lord of Hosts/armies who is with him (v. 45). And “battle is the Lord’s” )v. 47) – He uses it to save and secure His people.

David is so sure of this, that he rejects Saul’s offer of armour and weapons, then goes up against a 3 meter-plus giant, a champion built and armed like a tank. There can be no doubt that all glory must go to God with this victory!

As we think about the odds that David faced, it is worth noting that Goliath was even taller than Saul. And it is no accident that the text draws attention to Goliath’s height and armour. For this is part of a running theme of height & stature, that we find throughout this part of 1 Samuel. Israel should have learned by now not to pay too much attention to a man’s physical stature. This was the wrong basis on which they chose Saul as king in the first place (10:23). Even Samuel is admonished by the Lord for falling into this worldly way of evaluating leaders (16:7). Saul, and Israel, are still looking at Goliath – and David – on the basis of the wrong criteria. David is the only one stressing that God is far greater than the tallest giant. That God delights to use the weak and small and young to accomplish His great purpose of deliverance. In light of the New Testament, we now know that it is precisely for that reason that He sent His Son in the weakness of human flesh, and chose the shame of the cross as the way of salvation, as Paul points out in 1 Cor. 1:27-28.

The outcome of the battle between David & Goliath reflects these truths. It shows where the true power lies. It is over so quickly. Goliath hardly has time to move before he’s dead and beheaded. Goliath’s strength is as nothing before the lad – because the Lord is using David’s weakness to show His might.

The outcome of this battle works not only to show God’s power to those who watch. It also helps accomplish the salvation, the preservation of Israel. The Philistines flee in terror after Goliath is slain. The OT Church is, for the time, secure.

But this is also a key event in the establishing of David’s name, his marriage, and Saul’s jealousy – all important ingredients in the unfolding story of David’s rise to the throne. And having David as king of Israel is extremely important. For he not only demonstrates to God’s people what it is like to defeat the enemy in Christ’s grace and power and Spirit – over against the incompetent, unspiritual, possessed Saul. More than that, he is a “type,” a foreshadowing of the Messiah. David’s victory over Goliath points to Christ’s victory over Satan, sin and death. The Lord Jesus trusted God even more than David did. He went out in the power of the Holy Spirit more completely than David did, and defeated far more deadly enemies. This is the part of David’s battle against Goliath that many miss, when they make it into a story simply about courage against great odds.

Once we have seen the Great Deliverer in the story, however, we can then talk about our faith, our courage against the odds. When we are convinced that Christ gave David his victory and his confidence, that Christ has defeated the great enemies of David’s time and ours, then we can begin to take up our calling as kings in Him. Without undue fear. Isn’t fear the reason why we are often silent bystanders – fear for our safety, for our reputation? But we can speak up – not only against blasphemy and such things, but for the Gospel of Jesus Christ – knowing that whatever men may do to us (“let no man’s heart fail on account of them”!), the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of armies, is with us. The Living God is with us through the ascended, victorious Christ. We can testify to that before unbelievers and before weak-kneed believers – ourselves – calling for the courage of faith, in His Name. Not because David, a man of faith, defeated Goliath. But because Jesus Christ, a man of faith and very God, defeated Goliath through David; and Satan, sin, and death through His own, direct action for our sakes.

Amen.