“The Little Giant”
1 Samuel 17:32-51
David P. Nolte
There they stood, eyeball to kneecap, two opponents, two giants.
One young, ruddy, handsome; the other burly, brutish, and so ugly his mother had to close her eyes to kiss him goodnight. One was small, the other over 9 feet tall (wouldn’t the Blazers liked to have had him during the play-offs?).
This was better than “high noon!” or “showdown at the O.K. Corral!” The smaller was greater than the larger! David, the “Little Giant,” was the superior of the two! He was gigantic in various ways! He stood taller than Goliath and the entire Israelite army.
Let’s read the text: “David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ‘Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.’ And 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 may the Lord be with you.’ Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, ‘I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.’ And David took them off. He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine also said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.’ Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear, and 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 taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and 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 does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.’ Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 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.” 1 Samuel 17:32-51 (NASB).
The Boyer Bunch sang
In heavenly armor we’ll enter the land
The battle belongs to the Lord
No weapon that’s fashioned against us shall stand
The battle belongs to the Lord
When your enemy presses in hard do not fear
The battle belongs to the Lord
Take courage my friend, your redemption is near
The battle belongs to the Lord
Because David believed that, he confidently faced a physical giant – but Goliath overconfidently faced a Spiritual giant.
I. DAVID WAS A GIANT IN DARING:
A. David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and 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 taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.” That’s daring!
B. He was just a youth, a kid! But: he was daring (fearless, courageous, bold)!
1. He dared to face overwhelming odds: “David said to Saul, ‘let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.’”
a. He didn’t hide behind, “I’m too small, too poor, too insignificant!”
b. Others thought Goliath was too big to hit; David thought he was too big to miss!
2. He was daring in his speech: “David said to the Philistine, ‘....This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”
a. Goliath said, “You’re birdseed, brat!” David replied, “Oh, yeah? You’re buzzard bait, bozo!”
b. David minced no words! He stood up and spoke up and made the giant shut up!
C. His daring boldness is a foreshadow of the apostolic boldness:
1. To their opponents, Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” Acts 4:19.
2. “We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. .... Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” Acts 4:20 & 29.
3. Where do you need to be more bold? In what do you need to be more daring? What giants are you facing?
D. David was bold and hastened to meet the enemy: “as the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”
1. In his boldness he put to shame those older, more experienced, more highly trained.
2. He fought while they feared.
E. Let me illustrate daring and boldness. Methodist evangelist Peter Cartwright was known for his uncompromising preaching. However, one day when the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, “Old rough and ready,” came to Cartwright’s church, the elders warned the Pastor not to offend the President. When Cartwright got up to speak, the first words out of his mouth were, “I understand that President Andrew Jackson is here this morning. I have been requested to be very guarded in my remarks. Let me say this: Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent of his sin!” The entire congregation gasped with shock at Cartwright’s boldness. How could this young preacher dare to offend the tough old general in public, they wondered. After the service, everyone wondered how the President would respond to Cartwright. When Andrew Jackson met the preacher at the door he looked at him in the eye and said, “Sir, If I had a regiment of men like you, I could conquer the world!”
DAVID WAS A GIANT IN DARING!
II. DAVID WAS A GIANT IN DEPENDANCE:
A. He depended on the Lord! “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and 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 does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
1. He put his faith in God, not the world’s armaments! Saul’s suit wouldn’t suit David!
2. He used what he had and committed it to the Lord!
3. He remembered the Lord’s past help and counted on it for the present!
a. Lions and bears had fallen before him;
b. How many times has God delivered you? He will not fail nor forsake you now!
4. He had the same dependance on the Lord as Paul: we read in 2 Timothy 4:16-17: “at my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. may it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.”
B. We need dependance on the Lord for every trial, tribulation ad temptation that we face.
1. “The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” Psalms 27:1, 3.
2. “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalms 56:11.
3. “I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalms 121:1-2.
C. Therefore, with Paul we can say:“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.
D. When you don’t have answers, depend on God; when you can’t see the way, depend on God; when you are facing a giant, depend on God!
E. James Bryan Smith told a story about taking his six year old son to an amusement park and of how the boy depended on his dad. While at the park, he and his son got on a ride . A teenage boy buckled them into their seats and then started the ride. The entire time during the ride, James Bryan Smith felt a panic in his heart for fear that his son would fly out of the ride. With white knuckles and gritted teeth he prayed the entire ninety seconds for the ride to end. He looked over at Jacob, who was laughing and having a great time (The Good and Beautiful God, pg 55).”
After the ride was over, he and his son sat down on a nearby park bench, and Smith asked his son, “Weren’t you scared? That ride was pretty wild. Why did you get on a ride like that?” His son answered with childlike honesty, “Because you did, Dad.”
This is the kind of trusting dependance we should have in our Heavenly Father.
DAVID WAS A GIANT IN DEPENDANCE AND
III. DAVID WAS A GIANT IN DEEDS:
A. No mere talk with David! He confirmed his words with deed! “David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.” (Can’t you just hear Goliath as the rock struck and as he slumped to the ground, “OW! Nothin’ like that ever entered my head before!”??). The giant was defeated and David did what he set out to do.
B. Let us be wary of mere profession that falls short of performance:
1. Some folk make all sorts off rash statement: “When I have a million, when I’m out of debt, next week, I’ll tithe!” but we read in 2 Corinthians 8:12: “for if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”
2. “When I know more, I’ll witness for Christ!” Need to be out of the water and into the world!
3. “After I finish my project, I’ll take on a duty in the congregation!” James 4:14: “why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
C. David not only talked the talk but he walked the walk. He backed up in deed what he promised in words.
D. Let me contrast talkers and doers:
1. A fellow was bragging about how far he threw baseball at a family picnic. He was telling how none of the others could throw nearly as far as he did. He said, “I wish some of them were here to prove it.” Another fellow, tired of the bragging, said, “We don’t need anyone’s evidence – but let’s get a baseball; and you can just show us how you did it” Words without deeds!
2. In contrast, Audie Leon Murphy was a man of deeds! He was a highly decorated American soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor demonstrated at the age of 19 for single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, then leading a successful counterattack while wounded and out of ammunition.. Murphy was a man of courageous deeds!
E. It isn’t promises or profession it is performance that counts. Let our actions speak for us as we serve the Lord.
If we are going to prove dependable, faithful, useful to Jesus Christ , it demands daring, dependence, and doing deeds!
Serving Christ does not consist in lofty promises, but in daily deeds done for him! Serving him doesn’t depend on great wealth, intellect, talent, fame, power -- it depends on surrender of our will to his; it depends on a desire and a commitment to stand for Christ even if we stand alone! Who is willing to do that this morning?
PRAY / INVITE
Take a stand for Jesus this week; slay some giant in His name and power; give God the glory for His power in your life.
And remember that we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS IN JESUS. SHARE VICTORY IN AND WITH JESUS AS YOU YIELD YOUR LIFE TO HIM!
