The Gospel in a Slingshot
The Gospel in a Slingshot
My Dad was an amazing man. Born in 1918, he spent his
childhood in the days before most people had electricity. Running water was
brought into the house using a hand pump on the kitchen sink. His parents and
grandparents were dairy farmers. He, like his father before him, was born in
the family home. The firstborn son of the firstborn son, he was thrust into the
family business at an early age. School was one room about a mile from the
house. For lunch, he’d often walk home, do a few chores and down a quart of
milk. By the time he entered high school he was a strapping young man. The day
he turned 16 he dropped out of ninth grade to work the farm full time. From the
outset, the family called upon him in difficult times. Over the years he
supported more than one family member when they needed help. Living through the
depression left an indelible mark upon his psyche. A naturally gifted maker, he
would forever find creative ways to use what he had to get what he needed. He
was frugal to a fault. Dad wasn’t the kind of man who ever needed help. He was
the guy to whom everyone else came when they needed help. For better, and often
for worse, that independent spirit was instilled into me. It has taken many
years for me to come to a place where I can ask anyone to help me with anything
and, even today, it isn’t easy for me to do it. At worst, I tend to see it as a
sign of weakness, an admission of incompetence. At the least, I feel it’s an
imposition upon whoever I might ask.
Over the years, this certainly had repercussions in my
career and for projects around the house. Its most important ramifications
however, were in the realm of my faith. For many years, I tried to act like a
Christian—to behave properly, obey God’s laws (and thereby demonstrate my
victory over the enemy) well enough that God would accept me. I worked hard to
overcome temptation and do right so that I would avoid punishment in this life,
and hell in the hereafter. I lived in fear of the Lord and of the enemy. I was
depending on my own efforts to defeat the enemy and make me acceptable to God
rather than depending on what Jesus did on my behalf.
This morning I want to look at the familiar story of David
and Goliath from First Samuel 17 and see another way God has provided for us to
understand the Gospel of King Jesus. In this account, we can find exactly what Father
says about how the enemy of our souls is defeated.
1 Samuel 17
1 Now the Philistines
gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs
to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
2 Saul and the men of
Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle
array to encounter the Philistines.
3 The Philistines
stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the
other side, with the valley between them.
4 Then a champion
came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose
height was six cubits and a span. (About nine feet nine inches)
5 He had a bronze
helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five
thousand shekels of bronze. (At least 125 pounds)
6 He also had bronze
greaves on his legs (shin guards) and a bronze javelin slung between his
shoulders.
7 The shaft of his
spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred
shekels of iron (fifteen or sixteen pounds); his shield-carrier also walked
before him.
Goliath is clearly a pretty fearsome enemy. Our enemy, that
old serpent, the father of lies, is fearsome looking too, isn’t he? It’s hard
to see how he can be defeated. He is larger than life. He isn’t human. We read
in Job of him going to God and getting permission to test that righteous man.
Scripture has things like this to say about him:
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the
devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter
5:8 (NASB))
Any of you who, after having promised “never again” and
“I’ll do better from now on”, have ever found yourself sinning again in an old
familiar way can understand.
8 He stood and
shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to
draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
Goliath calls himself “the Philistine” and refers to the
Hebrews as servants of the king. The enemy tempts us in exactly this way,
doesn’t he? He tells us that he is too powerful for us and we are merely servants of the King. Our enemy uses big
lies wrapped in a little truth to confuse us and make us doubt what the Spirit
within us tells us is true. It’s important for another reason that Goliath here
calls himself “the Philistine.” Goliath is the representative for all
Philistines, as we’ll see next.
9 "If he is able
to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I
prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve
us."
The stakes are high. The question is who will rule and who
will serve.
God made mankind the rulers over the earth, Genesis 1:27-28
(NASB)
27 God created man in
His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them.
28 God blessed them;
and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and
subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and
over every living thing that moves on the earth."
But mankind gave control to the enemy. Genesis chapter three
tells us that the serpent was more crafty than any other beast God had made.
The serpent questions God’s command and plants the seed of doubt. The first
people want to be like God (a good thing) and know good from evil, and so they
eat from the wrong tree. We have all suffered the consequences of that action
ever since. It put the enemy in control of the earth. This is why Scripture
refers to him as the god of this world. He is “the Philistine.”
10 Again the Philistine said, "I defy the
ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together."
He says the same thing to each of us today. “Try again,
maybe this time you’ll beat me.” He goads us into fighting a battle that has
already been won and we quickly forget that, per First John 5:18, the evil one
cannot lay hold of us.
11 When Saul and all
Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly
afraid.
12 Now David was the
son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had
eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men.
David’s father Jesse is referred to as “the Ephrathite.”
This calls to mind Goliath being called “the Philistine.” Both David and Jesus
are descendants of Jesse. Isaiah foretold that Jesus would come from Jesse’s
line in verse one of chapter eleven:
1 Then a shoot will
spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear
fruit. (NASB)
Bethlehem is also called Ephratha. Genesis 35:19 (NASB)
19 So Rachel died and
was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
It is central in the Good News of our lovely Lord Jesus.
Micah 5:2 (NASB)
2 "But as for
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you
One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long
ago, From the days of eternity."
Luke 2:10-11 (NASB)
10 But the angel said
to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
which will be for all the people;
11 for today in the
city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
13 The three older
sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three
sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him
Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
14 David was the
youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul,
15 but David went
back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem.
16 The Philistine
came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand.
17 Then Jesse said to
David his son, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain
and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers.
18 "Bring also
these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the
welfare of your brothers, and bring back news of them.
19 "For Saul and
they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the
Philistines."
20 So David arose
early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and
went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while
the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry.
21 Israel and the
Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army.
22 Then David left
his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper, and ran to the battle line and
entered in order to greet his brothers.
23 As he was talking
with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was
coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and
David heard them.
24 When all the men
of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid.
This is what it’s like for us when we face the same issue
time after time. After a certain point we often get fearful in anticipation of
our impending failure.
25 The men of Israel
said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to
defy Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him
with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house
free in Israel."
26 Then David spoke
to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the
man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who
is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living
God?"
Young David has faith in the power of God. It’s as if he
doesn’t even see the size of the enemy.
27 The people
answered him in accord with this word, saying, "Thus it will be done for
the man who kills him."
28 Now Eliab his
oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger burned against
David and he said, "Why have you come down? And with whom have you left
those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of
your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle."
29 But David said,
"What have I done now? Was it not just a question?"
30 Then he turned
away from him to another and said the same thing; and the people answered the
same thing as before.
31 When the words
which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him.
32 David said to
Saul, "Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and
fight with this Philistine."
David’s faith is about to come into full view. He doesn’t
tell Saul that he’ll try really hard to defeat the enemy. He simply tells the
king that he will go and fight.
33 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."
I can really identify with this. I was raised to see others
as more important than myself; to see myself as smaller, less significant, and
less important. It was easy for the enemy to tell me that I didn’t have enough
faith, that I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t holy enough, that I was but a
youth. In my flesh, I was preconditioned to believe that the enemy had been a
warrior since the beginning, he had defeated Adam and Eve, and I had no chance
of winning.
34 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,
35 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.
36 "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."
David’s faith is strong because he remembers what the Lord
has done for him in the past. He has placed Ebenezers, marker stones, at
various events in his life. Now he recalled those events and as a consequence
he knew that God would be faithful in this challenge in the same way He always
had.
37 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."
38 Then Saul clothed
David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him
with armor.
39 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.
While we are instructed to put on the full armor of God so
we can stand against the enemy, David was being asked to wear human armor. This
is symbolic. Nothing created by us, nothing we do on our own power, no amount
of will power or determination or good intentions, will help in this battle.
God’s armor is very different from human armor. Human armor protects our
physical bodies. God’s armor is different because our struggle is not against
physical bodies. It’s very important that we keep this in mind in our
interactions with people, by the way. Other people are not our enemies. We are
called to love. Let’s see what the Spirit has to say in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:10-17 (NASB)
10 Finally, be strong
in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full
armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the
devil.
12 For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers,
against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up
the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and
having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm
therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15 and having shod
YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
16 in addition to
all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take THE
HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
This is what David did. All his faith was in the Lord.
40 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.
He reached into the stream of water and pulled out five
stones, smoothed by the stream itself.
41 Then the
Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of
him.
42 When the
Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and
ruddy, with a handsome appearance.
43 The Philistine
said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 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."
45 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.
46 "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,
47 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."
David doesn’t come to fight in his own strength. He carries
no usual weapons. Instead he has the weapon of a boy. Just a slingshot against
an enemy so great that the entire Hebrew army is afraid to fight him. Instead
of a sword, spear, and shield, David comes in the name of the Lord. He comes
with a confidence born of having seen God work in the past and he makes it
clear that the Lord does not use weapons like humans.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NASB)
3 For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of
fortresses.
48 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.
49 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.
50 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.
51 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.
I see two pictures here:
First, the Philistine is like the enemy of our souls. David
is like the savior of them. When Jesus went to the cross, He did it by faith in
God the Father. By His death and resurrection, the Rock from the River of Life
defeated the enemy, and cut off his head.
Second, the Philistine was the federal head of the
philistine nation, just as Adam is the federal head of the unsaved. David stood
for Israel as their federal head in the same way that Jesus is the federal head
of all who by faith receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith.
52 The men of Israel
and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley,
and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to
Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron.
53 The sons of Israel
returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps.
54 Then David took
the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in
his tent.
55 Now when Saul saw
David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the
army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" And Abner said, "By
your life, O king, I do not know."
56 The king said,
"You inquire whose son the youth is."
57 So when David
returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before
Saul with the Philistine's head in his hand.
58 Saul said to him,
"Whose son are you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the
son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."
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