David and Goliath

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 five thousand shekels of bronze.  He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.  The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield bearer went before him.  He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you 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.  If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."  And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."  Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine and fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock,  I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me,  I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down and kill it.  Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God."  David said, "The Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of the Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go and may the Lord be with you."

Saul clothed David with his armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a cloak of mail.  David strapped Saul's sword over the armour, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them.  Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them."  So David removed them.  Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in the shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in the front of him.  When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in 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 said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to your birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field."  But David said to the Philistines, "You come to me with the sword, and the spear and the 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.  This very 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 Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may not that there is a God in Israel, and that all the assembly of the may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.  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 face down on the ground.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand.

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Last year I came across the story of a boy from Kenya named Richard Turere.  In Richard's Masai community boys between the ages of 6 and 9 are responsible for their father's cattle and looking after the animals is a serious responsibility and a significant challenge.  This is especially true for farmers who live along the edge of the wildlife reserve; the fencing and lack thereof means that zebras and lions leave the park and attack the herds of local farmers and the farmers themselves, making coexistence with the lions tenuous at best.  Perhaps Richard knows a little of what life was like for young David, who would have witnessed the devastation of these wild beasts and feared what they might do to him or his animals; he too would have known the importance and the pressure of protecting the family's animals.  This text and Richard Turere remind us that looking after animals in the wilderness is not for the faint of heart; it is the place where you face your fear, survive by your wits, where you find courage and learn about trust.  In the wilderness David learned courage and trust, not in himself alone, but in "the Lord who saved me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear and will save me from the hand of the Philistine." David knew the Lord to be his deliverer and he was confident God would save his people.

God had always saved his people.  He made a way for Abraham and Isaac. He was with Joseph in Egypt, he delivered him from the pit, from prison, and gave him a place of honour in Pharaoh's government.  He saved Jacob's family from starvation.  Moses floated on a basket in the Nile. The people walked across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, and finally across the Jordan into Canaan.  When they lost their way and turned from God, the Lord delivered his people through a series of Judges. God had always made a way for his people! David knew this in his history, through his experience in the wilderness and through God's Spirit which was working powerfully in him.  Remember, David did not just come out of field to fight Goliath.  David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, had been chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be King of Israel.

When the champion fighter Goliath showed up with the Philistine army behind him and dared one Israelite to fight him in a winner takes all battle, no one moved.  "Chickens!" Goliath bellowed.  God's people stood on one hill, the Philistines on another, a dry valley between them.  Goliath was full of bravado, "Chickens," he bellowed, "your God can't save you! I'll rip your heads off and have you on toast!" (Sally Lloyd Jones) David hated to hear those words spoken against God. Who did this this man, this giant, think he was taunting the armies of God alive? David came to down to where the army was camped to see what everyone was talking about, what everyone was so afraid of.  Word got around that David was hanging around, asking questions, and stirring people up; eventually Saul heard about this and called for David.  When David came before Saul he said, "Master, don't give up hope, I'm read to go and fight this Philistine."

Perhaps David did not take note of the expensive mail and helmet, the bronze covering Goliath's legs, his finely made javelin and intricately crafted spear - all making Goliath the most admired and feared man of his time.  Goliath's whole appearance was meant to intimidate: it said I am rich, I am powerful, I am strong, I will win.  Appearances can do this can't they; they can intimidate us, make us feel small and unimportant. Well, the appearance of Goliath made the Israelites melt in fear.  But David was not intimidated by what he saw, he saw beyond what everyone else saw. David believed that God would deliver his people that very day, not by might or power but, by faith in God.

Saul perceived that God was with the boy and he said to him, "Go and God help you."  And placed his own mail and helmet on the boy and gave his his sword.  But it all felt so awkward, David hardly knew how to walk with all of the heavy armour on.  "I won't need this," David said.  And he took his staff, he knelt down and picked up five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and grabbed his slingshot.  David had spent a lot of time practicing on targets, scaring off predators and amusing himself with that slingshot, it wasn't much but, it was enough.

Imagine what it looked like as the young Shepherd boy in a tunic and sandals, with a slingshot and a few rocks, walked toward Goliath, an experienced warrior standing seven feet tall, rich, famous, and powerful.  There was youth juxtaposed against age, weakness against strength, humility against bravado, economic weakness against economic strength, inexperience against experience, insignificance against fame.  It was almost laughable.  In fact, Goliath did laugh and he mocked David as he came towards him saying, "Am I dog that you have come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, Come on I'll make road kill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice." (the message)

David held his own and returned back to Goliath, "You come to me with the sword, and the spear and the 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.  This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down... so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all the assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."  And as these words left David's lips he began to run toward the Philistine with all that he had and as he was doing so he placed his hand in his pocket for a stone and he slung it, hitting the Philistine in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply.  The laughing and taunting was over, Goliath fell face down in the dirt. And the Philistine army fled in fear.

God had saved his people again, this time through the faith and the courage of the young boy, David.      This story points back to Hannah's prayer which frames the beginning of the book of Samuel:

My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in my God.
My mouth derides my enemies
because I rejoice in my victory.

There is no Holy One like the Lord,
no one besides you;
there is no rock like our God.
Talk  no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth...

The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength...

The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings to Sheol and raises up...

The Lord makes poor and exalts the rich;
he brings low, he also exalts...

He will guard the feet of his faithful
ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in
darkness;
not by might does one prevail.

This story also points forward to Jesus, who would not save the world through military might, economic or political power, not through fame or spectacle but, through his obedience to God. He would turn everything we thought about how the world worked on its head, just like David did when he ran towards the battle line, slung the stone and toppled Goliath, showing us that God's power is different and stronger than human power.  Jesus would subvert the wisdom and power of the world revealing the beauty and mystery and wisdom of his Kingdom. He would subvert the cross, the Roman instrument of torture, shame and death into the way of salvation, the way of life.

This Sunday we mark All Saints' Day.  We remember the Saints of the story of God; we give thanks for the faith of those who have been faithful.  Those who have instructed us, inspired us, challenged us and encouraged us in our own life of faith.

The Faith of Other Israelite Heroes

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.  By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.  By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, of Barak, Samson, Jepthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets -- who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight...

Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and protector of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

(From Hebrews 11& 12)

The Word of the Lord,
Thanks be to God.