Lessons from the life of David
King of Israel
Part 2 - David the Hero
The Story
1 Samuel 17 (New Century Version)
The Philistines gathered their armies for war... Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah and camped there and took their positions to fight the Philistines. The Philistines controlled one hill while the Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.
The Philistines had a champion fighter from Gath named Goliath. He was about nine feet, four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp with a bronze helmet on his head and a coat of bronze armor that weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. He wore bronze protectors on his legs, and he had a bronze spear on his back. The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod, and its blade weighed about fifteen pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.
Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants.” Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very scared.
Now David was the son of Jesse... from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war.... David the youngest.... took care of his father’s sheep.
For forty days the Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army.
Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain and ten loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp. Also take ten pieces of cheese to the commander and to your brothers. See how your brothers are and bring back some proof to show me that they are all right. Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was going out to their battle positions, shouting their war cry. The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.
David left the food with the man who kept the supplies and ran to the battle line to talk to his brothers. While he was talking with them, Goliath... came out. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard him. When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away...
David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is? Does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”...
When David’s oldest brother... heard David talking with the soldiers, he was angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud and wicked at heart. You came down here just to watch the battle.”
David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?”
...what David said was told to Saul, and he sent for David.
David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”
Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”
But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur and hit it and killed it. I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! This uncircumcised Philistine will be like them, because he has spoken against the armies of the living God. The LORD who saved me from a lion and a bear will save me from this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.” Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on his head and dressed him in armor. David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.
He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this, because I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd’s bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine.
At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust. He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”
But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the LORD All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him. Today the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll kill you and cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! Everyone gathered here will know the LORD does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him, and he will hand you over to us.”
As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead, and Goliath fell facedown on the ground.
So David defeated the Philistine with only a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. He did not even have a sword in his hand. Then David ran and stood beside him. He took Goliath’s sword out of its holder and killed him by cutting off his head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. The men of Israel and Judah shouted and chased the Philistines all the way to the entrance of the city of Gath and to the gates of Ekron...
God's Reputation
As David arrived at the battle grounds, and he heard Goliath's challenge, what upset him the most? It wasn't the size of the giant. It wasn't even the fear of the Israeli army. What irritated David most was that Goliath was insulting God.
Notice Goliath's challenge: "Today I stand and dare the army of Israel!" (verse 10)
And notice how David heard that challenge: "... Does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?" (verse 26)
Goliath thinks he is mocking Israel. David hears it as mocking God. After all, God had given this land to Israel, and God had promised to protect the nation as long as they would
As far as David was concerned, Goliath's challenge was not a military challenge, but a challenge to God's reputation. (Note that start of King Saul's demise came when became more concerned about his own reputation than he was God's.)
Throughout the Old Testament, Israeli kings the challenge of an enemy army much bigger than Israel's army. It was those kings who trusted the promises of God and understood the challenge in light of God's reputation. In their prayers for God's protection, they appealed to God to protect His reputation.
See for example:
But there is another side to the issue of God's reputation. God will also act to protect His name, when we, who should know better, do and say things that damage His reputation.
After David had been king a long time, he grew careless, and made decisions that reflected his own sinful desires, and not the character of God. As a result, David – and the nation – experienced God discipline. The issue for God was how David represented Him to Israel, and to the world. The issue was God's reputation. David's friend reminded him,"What you did caused the Lord's enemies to lose all respect for Him" (2 Samuel 12:14). Afterward David experience many serious family tragedies.
Even good kings Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah, who, like David, understood God's holiness, they made foolish decisions based on their own wisdom, forgetting to check with God. As a result, the nation of Israel suffered loss (2 Chronicles 19:1-2; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37; 2 Kings 20:12-19).
Back to the Goliath story...
God's Protection
In addition to David's concern for God's reputation, in the face of Goliath's challenge, David was aware of God's power against a strong enemy. He had already experienced God's protection in his work as a shepherd (verse 34). David never forgot this throughout his reign as King of Israel.
Shortly after becoming king, David found that the Philistines were still causing trouble for Israel. Before meeting the Philistines in battle, David prayed for God's guidance. David knew that without the Lord's protection, he could never win.
As David arrived at the battle grounds, and he heard Goliath's challenge, what upset him the most? It wasn't the size of the giant. It wasn't even the fear of the Israeli army. What irritated David most was that Goliath was insulting God.
Notice Goliath's challenge: "Today I stand and dare the army of Israel!" (verse 10)
And notice how David heard that challenge: "... Does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?" (verse 26)
Goliath thinks he is mocking Israel. David hears it as mocking God. After all, God had given this land to Israel, and God had promised to protect the nation as long as they would
- worship only Him,
- live with each other with honesty, justice and mercy,
- trust in Him for their national defense, and
- look to Him for good weather and agricultural productivity.
As far as David was concerned, Goliath's challenge was not a military challenge, but a challenge to God's reputation. (Note that start of King Saul's demise came when became more concerned about his own reputation than he was God's.)
Throughout the Old Testament, Israeli kings the challenge of an enemy army much bigger than Israel's army. It was those kings who trusted the promises of God and understood the challenge in light of God's reputation. In their prayers for God's protection, they appealed to God to protect His reputation.
See for example:
- King Jehoshaphat vs. the alliance of three nations (2 Chronicles 20)
- King Hezekiah vs. Assyria (2 Kings 19:10-19, 35)
But there is another side to the issue of God's reputation. God will also act to protect His name, when we, who should know better, do and say things that damage His reputation.
After David had been king a long time, he grew careless, and made decisions that reflected his own sinful desires, and not the character of God. As a result, David – and the nation – experienced God discipline. The issue for God was how David represented Him to Israel, and to the world. The issue was God's reputation. David's friend reminded him,"What you did caused the Lord's enemies to lose all respect for Him" (2 Samuel 12:14). Afterward David experience many serious family tragedies.
Even good kings Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah, who, like David, understood God's holiness, they made foolish decisions based on their own wisdom, forgetting to check with God. As a result, the nation of Israel suffered loss (2 Chronicles 19:1-2; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37; 2 Kings 20:12-19).
Back to the Goliath story...
God's Protection
In addition to David's concern for God's reputation, in the face of Goliath's challenge, David was aware of God's power against a strong enemy. He had already experienced God's protection in his work as a shepherd (verse 34). David never forgot this throughout his reign as King of Israel.
Shortly after becoming king, David found that the Philistines were still causing trouble for Israel. Before meeting the Philistines in battle, David prayed for God's guidance. David knew that without the Lord's protection, he could never win.
2 Samuel 5:17-19 (NCV)
When the Philistines heard that David had been made king over Israel, all the Philistines went to look for him. But when David heard the news, he went down to the stronghold. The Philistines came and camped in the Valley of Rephaim. David asked the Lord, "Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"
The Lord said to David, "Go! I will certainly hand them over to you."
The Bible says that sometimes after these battles, David wrote Psalms of praise.
In one of the Philistine battles, God showed David in a special way that it was God, not David, who was fighting the battle
In one of the Philistine battles, God showed David in a special way that it was God, not David, who was fighting the battle
2 Samuel 5:22-25
Once again the Philistines came and camped at the Valley of Rephaim. When David prayed to the Lord, he answered, "Don’t attack the Philistines from the front. Instead, go around and attack them in front of the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act quickly. I, the Lord, will have gone ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army." So David did what the Lord commanded. He defeated the Philistines and chased them all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.
Who was marching in the tops of the trees? Maybe angels? Consider the prophet Elisha's experience
2 Kings 6:14-17
Then the king [of Syrian] sent horses, chariots, and many troops to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city [to capture Elisha].
Elisha’s servant got up early, and when he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, "Oh, my master, what can we do?"
Elisha said, "Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us."
Then Elisha prayed, "Lord, open my servant’s eyes, and let him see."
The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
This story has a humorous ending, which you may read for yourself.
How can all this apply to us?
I have a friend named Fred. He had been a missionary - a good one. But I knew him as my boss. As the District mission executive, he supervised my work. He was a strong and gentle man. He was a hard worker and a good encourager. But someone in the District didn't like him. They made false accusations against him. My friend and supervisor was fired.
Fred was a good strong Christian man. He always was full of energy and a positive attitude. So I expected the he would see this situation as God's direction for him to serve Him in other ways. I was wrong.
My friend was so hurt by the politics, that he visibly changed. The strong, positive, cheerful man I knew became weak, broken, and bitter. He received Calls to serve as a pastor or missionary, but he turned them down. His only focus was to clear his name and get his job back. He came to pastors conferences with a huge stack of papers documenting his innocence and the injustice against him, trying to get the support of District and Synodical officials. His attention was not on God, but was on the past and the people who hurt him.
Within a few years, my friend died. Liver cancer.
I have another friend, whom I will call Dan (not his real name). Dan had a similar experience as Fred. Someone didn't like Dan and made false accusations against him, and Dan was fired. Even though the accuser later withdrew the charges, Dan has never been allowed to serve as a minister of the LCMS ever since. He wants to be a pastor, but the door has been slammed shut.
If you meet Dan, you could never guess the pain, disruption, the financial loss, and disappointment he and his family have experienced. Even though he may never fulfill what seems to be God's clear Call on his life, Dan's focus is not on the people who hurt him. His attention is not to the politics. His trust is in God. His focus is on Jesus. And no matter his situation in life, Dan's passion is to serve Him.
Dan's injustice was much worse than what Fred experienced. But Dan is full of the joy of the Lord, while Fred died a bitter, broken man.
Then... it was my turn. People in authority over me publicly said things about me that were not true. I, too, found myself on the losing end of political maneuvering, out of a job... but never out of an opportunity to serve... never out of the Lord's attention and protection.
My friend Fred had become more concerned about his own reputation, while Dan is concerned chiefly about the name of Jesus. Fred wanted justice. Dan wants to serve. Fred wanted his job back. Dan wants people to know the Savior. Which of these two should I copy?
There is a man in the Bible who had a similar experience. His name is Joseph... the boy who had ten older brothers who didn't like him. They sold him as a slave to Egypt. There he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. You know the story.
Joseph went from being kid brother, to slave, to prisoner, assistant to King of Egypt. When his brothers met him again after many years, they were afraid he would take revenge - it was within his power. They begged for forgiveness.
Fred was a good strong Christian man. He always was full of energy and a positive attitude. So I expected the he would see this situation as God's direction for him to serve Him in other ways. I was wrong.
My friend was so hurt by the politics, that he visibly changed. The strong, positive, cheerful man I knew became weak, broken, and bitter. He received Calls to serve as a pastor or missionary, but he turned them down. His only focus was to clear his name and get his job back. He came to pastors conferences with a huge stack of papers documenting his innocence and the injustice against him, trying to get the support of District and Synodical officials. His attention was not on God, but was on the past and the people who hurt him.
Within a few years, my friend died. Liver cancer.
I have another friend, whom I will call Dan (not his real name). Dan had a similar experience as Fred. Someone didn't like Dan and made false accusations against him, and Dan was fired. Even though the accuser later withdrew the charges, Dan has never been allowed to serve as a minister of the LCMS ever since. He wants to be a pastor, but the door has been slammed shut.
If you meet Dan, you could never guess the pain, disruption, the financial loss, and disappointment he and his family have experienced. Even though he may never fulfill what seems to be God's clear Call on his life, Dan's focus is not on the people who hurt him. His attention is not to the politics. His trust is in God. His focus is on Jesus. And no matter his situation in life, Dan's passion is to serve Him.
Dan's injustice was much worse than what Fred experienced. But Dan is full of the joy of the Lord, while Fred died a bitter, broken man.
Then... it was my turn. People in authority over me publicly said things about me that were not true. I, too, found myself on the losing end of political maneuvering, out of a job... but never out of an opportunity to serve... never out of the Lord's attention and protection.
My friend Fred had become more concerned about his own reputation, while Dan is concerned chiefly about the name of Jesus. Fred wanted justice. Dan wants to serve. Fred wanted his job back. Dan wants people to know the Savior. Which of these two should I copy?
There is a man in the Bible who had a similar experience. His name is Joseph... the boy who had ten older brothers who didn't like him. They sold him as a slave to Egypt. There he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. You know the story.
Joseph went from being kid brother, to slave, to prisoner, assistant to King of Egypt. When his brothers met him again after many years, they were afraid he would take revenge - it was within his power. They begged for forgiveness.
But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:19,20 NIV)
Throughout life we may face people who intend to harm us. But they are not our enemies. I learn from King Saul, Joseph's brothers, and my friend Fred, that my most dangerous enemy is myself. On the other hand...
We have around us many people whose lives tell us what faith means.
...people like David and Joseph, and friends like Dan...
So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But He accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now He is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NCV)