David And Goliath Series

November 12, 2022

*** DISCLAIMER ***

I did a sermon in 2016 entitled, "Giants", which has been uploaded to this website. Since the story of David and Goliath is so loved, it was requested when we began our "Bible Stories" series. So, here is the 2022 version.

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The story of David and Goliath has come to embody the struggle of the “every man” – the little guy – the underdog – the bullied who takes on the bully and knocks him off his pedestal - vanquishing the baddies from the land.

We cheer on our unlikely hero because he looks like us. He is not the “Capped Crusader” able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He’s unassuming and often overlooked, yet he’s tough as nails and is willing to stand – alone if necessary – until the job is done.

Before we get to our story, we must unpack 2 very important details:

• When David stood that day across from Goliath, he had already been anointed king of Israel.

• David was well known to Saul prior to the events in the Elah valley.

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Samuel still grieved for Saul, so finally, Yahweh had to tell him to stop grieving ---- it was time to move on – because the next king had been chosen from the family of Jesse in Bethlehem.

Samuel invited Jesse and the family to join him in sacrificing to Yahweh and after the sacrifice, Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab was presented to Samuel.

Eliab was tall and good looking, and Samuel immediately determined that he was the chosen of God. Yahweh had bad news for Samuel:

• 1 Samuel 16:7 - …. "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God does not see what man sees; for they look on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks on the heart."

Down the list Samuel went – Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem and “No Name” – but none of the 7 sons of Jesse was the chosen of God. Samuel looked around and wondered if he had misheard God…

Samuel: Do you have any more sons?

Jesse: Just David. But listen, he’s the youngest and he’s currently with the sheep.

David was not important enough within the family to be included in the sacrifice or meal.

Samuel: Go get him…. we can’t have lunch until I’ve seen all your sons.

• 1 Samuel 16:12-13 - Now David was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers.

That day the Spirit of God left Saul and came upon David. In the absence of the Spirit of God, Saul found his “house” empty and unprotected.

Soon an evil spirit took up residence and would torment him, off and on - without mercy - for the rest of his life.

Because of the severity of these attacks, Saul’s family decided that a skillful musician was needed to sooth him during these torments. A young man, at court, suggested David:

• 1 Samuel 16:18 - … "I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the LORD is with him."

David became an attendant to Saul and the Bible says that Saul loved David and David became his armor bearer. Every time the evil spirit tormented Saul, David would play his harp and the evil spirit would leave.

So, David, the anointed king of Israel played his harp for Saul, the rejected king of Israel. A very unusual situation indeed.

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The Philistines had gathered AGAIN against Israel – this time to the Elah Valley.

The Philistines stood on one side of the valley and Israel stood on the other side of the valley.

Something interesting occurs in this story that doesn’t happen in any other Bible story. Instead of a full-scale battle, which would have caused a great number of dead on both sides, the Philistines put forth one of their champions. They were proposing a mano-a-mano, winner-takes-all, event. Think WWE or MMA – Philistine style.

The loser’s country would serve the winner’s country. The Philistine’s chose Goliath of Gath - a giant of a man. I mean, literally, a GIANT.

The Bible tells us that he was 6 cubits in height. We don’t know exactly how long an ancient cubit was, but scholars believe it was between 18-21 inches. If we take the 18-inch measurement, Goliath was 9 feet tall. If we take the 21-inch measurement, he was 10 feet 5 inches tall.

By any mathematical calculation, Goliath was a tall dude. But height was not his only impressive stat - He was HUGE. He had to be considering his armor, alone, weighed in at a whopping 125 lbs. Listen to the following description: