Facing Giants
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
I Sam. 17
July 17, 2011
David C. Wright

         Like many boys, the story of David and Goliath was one of my favorite Bible stories as a child.  It had a mean, taunting giant, a tremendous young underdog in David (who had a great name by the way), and that really cool rock-launching sling.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only kid to go home and try to make one of those slings after hearing the story!  Unfortunately, I could never refine my sense of aim with the thing, so I ended up hitting quite a few things that I didn’t aim at and finally gave it up, much to the relief of our neighbors!  I’m sure many of you heard this story as children, too.  But has your understanding of the story moved from a child-like one to a more mature understanding?  This story has something to say about the giant challenges we face as adults:  a difficult marriage, financial problems, health issues, or problems at work. So, let’s look at it again and see what we can learn, particularly about confronting the challenges that face us today.
         2  Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines.
         3  The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
         4  And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
         5  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.
         6  He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
         7  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.
         8  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.
         9  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."
         10  And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together."
         11  When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. (I Sam. 17:2-11)
          Well, yeah!  This was their perennial enemy’s new weapon- a giant of a man, a hardened warrior named Goliath.  Our translation puts him at 6 cubits and a span, which would make him nine and a half feet tall!  Other manuscripts put him at 4 cubits and a span- a more likely 6’ 9”- still a giant of a man in a time when people were shorter than they are today.  He appeared to be such a deadly warrior that Saul and all Israel were afraid and paralyzed into inaction.
Fear can paralyze us into inaction, too, whether it’s a fear of heights or spiders, or the fear in whatever challenging situation we find ourselves in today.  Fear can keep us from doing what we need to do to be faithful to God’s call on our lives.  And it can keep us from doing what we need to do to experience joy in our lives!  Writer Max Lucado puts it like this, “Fear doesn’t want you to make the journey to the mountain.  If it can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands.”
          Back to the story.  David walked into a fear-paralyzed situation with Israel and Goliath.  He’s only there because his father has sent him to bring some provisions to his three older brothers who are serving in the Israelite army.  He witnesses Goliath’s daily taunting of the Israelites and is dismayed that no one is willing to take him on, that they are all too afraid to act.  He speaks boldly and a little rashly about the situation.  King Saul hears about David’s words and calls him in for a little talk.
         31  When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him.
         32  David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
         33  Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth."
         34  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,
         35  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.
         36  Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God."
         37  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 this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you!"
          David, young and untrained in warfare, volunteers to take on Goliath!  Saul, understandably, is skeptical.  Goliath is a seasoned warrior, not to mention probably twice the size of David!  David has two responses to Saul’s objections.  First, although he doesn’t have experience or training in warfare, he has had success in going up against powerful adversaries- lions and bears!  More importantly, David points out that the same Lord who delivered him from the lion and the bear will deliver him from Goliath!  This is crucial:  Saul and Israel are acting as though the Lord has nothing to do with what is going on in their battle with the Philistines.  David can see that the Lord has everything to do with protecting and sustaining his own people against their enemies.  Saul gives in.  “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” he says.
          The scene that follows lends a little humor to the story. 
         38  Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.
         39  David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, 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.
         40  Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. (I Sam. 17:38-40)
Saul, trying to be helpful, gives David the conventional armor for battle.  But it doesn’t work.  You can almost picture David clanking around trying to maintain his balance!  David isn’t a conventional warrior, and the armor doesn’t work for him.  So he sets it aside and instead uses the weapons with which he is most comfortable and skilled- a shepherd’s staff, and a sling. 
God has uniquely prepared each of us to face the challenges that we confront.  God has given us specific experiences, like David’s experience defending the sheep from wild animals.  God can use your experiences to help you in your present challenges.  You won’t bring the same approach to dealing with challenges that others bring, and that’s OK.  David needed to use his own skills and equipment, not those of someone else.
          I don’t know about you, but that speaks to me.  I have to remind myself sometimes that I will never be Bob MacAskill or Dan Hans (successful former pastors here at GPC).  Those guys had gifts, abilities, experiences, and passions that I will never have.  But that’s OK.  God expects me to use the abilities that I do have as we face today’s challenges here at GPC.  And God expects you to use your gifts and experiences to face the challenges that confront you.  Let’s continue with the story.
         41  The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
         42  When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in 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 said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field."
         45  But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and 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.
         46  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 know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this 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." (I Sam. 17:41-47)
         Goliath does a little trash-talking to start this confrontation- a little psychological warfare as he taunts David.  David replies with a little trash-talking of his own, but ultimately he places his confidence, not in his own prowess, but in the God of Israel.  And ultimately that’s where we place our own trust and confidence in the midst of the challenges we face.
         48  When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.
         49  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.
         50  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.
         51  Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. (I Sam. 17:48-51)
          God was with David and enabled him to defeat the giant against all odds.  So, take courage, because God is with you, too, regardless of the kind of challenge you are currently facing.  And God goes with you as you confront that challenge.
          The country of Honduras, one of the poorest in our hemisphere, is facing a huge challenge regarding health care.  Most of its 8 million people have no health care at all!  20 years ago, Dr. Brad Hoch and his wife, Kay, saw a presentation here at GPC about the Christian Medical Society and decided that they wanted to do a mission trip to a Latin American country where they could use their medical skills.  So they linked up with an organization and traveled to Honduras for their first mission trip.  They saw some patients, but the clinic was very rudimentary, lacking in basic supplies, and medications quickly ran out.  Daniel Castro, a missionary in Honduras, invited Brad and Kay to return and take over the clinic and make it into something really good.  Brad wasn’t even sure he wanted to return for a second year!  But he did.  And it went much the same way.  So Brad agreed to head up the project, serving the poorest of the poor.  Over time he recruited donations of money, prescription medication, medical equipment, and medical personnel.  Individuals like Tom Soliday and Lee Flinner joined, upgrading oral surgery and dental care.  Another doctor came and founded the only pediatric orthopedic hospital in the country.  All together, they have seen over 100,000 patients on these mission trips!

Return to the Sermons Menu