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| The entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE! |
The
Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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L
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ORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things;
Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish
us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Righteousness exalteth a
nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
(Proverbs 14:34)
1 Now the Philistines gathered together their
armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to
Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the
men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and
set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the
Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain
on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4 And there went
out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath,
whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head,
and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five
thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of
brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and
his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield
went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said
unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a
Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come
down to me. 9 If he be able to
fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail
against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the
Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we
may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the
Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
32 And David said to
Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight
with this Philistine.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five
smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had,
even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the
Philistine. 41 And the
Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield
went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he
disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the
Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And
the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come
to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts
of the field. 45 Then said David
to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee
into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I
will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls
of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that
the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he
will give you into our hands. ‘
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came
and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet
the Philistine. 49 And David put
his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the
Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell
upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and
with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in
the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and
took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut
off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead,
they fled. (1 Sam
17:1-11, 32, 40-51)
This passage is too lengthy to cover verse by verse as is our usual approach.
So we will summarize this great event of which every child has heard, and which
should move us to have greater faith and dependence upon God in our daily
battles and struggles.
The army of the Philistines was drawn up on Judean territory to do battle with
Israel. The two armies face each other from atop opposite mountains overlooking
a valley. Suddenly, Goliath, a giant of awesome size and power comes forth from
the Philistine side to challenge Israel. It may be important to point out that
life is full of giants that arise to challenge the Christian at every turn. If
the Christian is full of faith and courage, the giant will be challenging his
God and not the Christian himself.
Goliath
Goliath was 13 feet, 4 inches tall, wore a bass helmet of great weight, and a
coat of mail (metal armor) weighing itself 208 pounds. He wore sheaths of brass
protectors on the front of his legs that were exposed beneath the coat of mail.
If this were not enough, the giant had a shield that covered his entire body
(head to foot) and carried before him by a servant so that he could use both
hands in fighting. the staff of his spear was the size of a weaver’s beam, and
the head of the spear weighed more than 25 lbs. This Giant was better defended
than a Sherman tank. No one in history is found to have better protection in
battle. Apparently, even giants have a paranoia of being hurt in war.
It is interesting to note that Goliath had four sons of equal stature, one of
which had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. This is revealed
in 2 Sam 21:16-22 & 1 Chron 20:4-8) These four were later killed in battle
by Israel.
David
David was a mere Shepherd Boy. He was not full grown and, evident from the
description given in the passage, of a very young age. He was SMALL, and he
volunteered to go against the largest man Israel had ever seen. David chided
the men of Israel for their lack of faith and ACTION in dispensing with the
giant, being the armies of the God of Israel. His brethren, in turn, ridiculed
David for his brashness. When a Christian demonstrates uncommon faith, is he
not also ridiculed by his fellows for his 'foolishness?'
David was emboldened by his faith in God to go against the giant. When told
this to Saul, the King was incredulous!
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou
art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but
a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. (1
Sam 17:32-33)
Faith, and the courage it engenders, is persevering and not subject to
discouragement. David persisted in his determination to go against the giant.
Saul loaded David with his own armor, head to foot, and gave him his heavy
helmet, and his broad sword; but it was too much for David, so he took them off
and would go in his shepherds attire in which he had come. God expects our
battles to be without fanfare, but serious and full of faith. So the least
armed shepherd boy will go against the mighty giant, armed to the teeth, to do
battle. What is wrong with this picture? Everything in the eyes of the world,
but nothing but commendable character in the eyes of God.
We are to go against the enemies of God armed with faith and the natural
weapons of our daily lives. That is what David did.
Look at the attire David wore as he went forth to fight the giant, compared
with the mighty armor of Goliath:
1. His shepherd's staff or club
2. Five smooth stones out of the brook
3. His shepherd's bag to hold stones
4. His sling in his hand
5. Faith in God (1Sam. 17:36- 37)
A soldier of God is wise and considers contingencies that may develop - so did
David. Why do you suppose David took five smooth stones? First of all, a smooth
stone will sail with smoother trajectory through the air and is, therefore,
more accurate than a jagged stone. But why five? I believe it was because
Goliath had four giant sons that might come forth to battle if they saw their
father slain.
As a prelude to the account of David killing Goliath, we should note that two
separate characters of Israel are depicted in this account - that of King Saul,
and that of David the Shepherd boy.
Saul
Saul was out of favor with God. ". . . . the Spirit of the LORD
departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." (1
Sam 16:14) This happened before the confrontation with the giant, Goliath.
David
David was in the full favor and protection of God: "Then Samuel took
the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit
of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went
to Ramah." (1 Sam 16:13) The LORD, who knows the hearts before He
calls them, knew David to be His man even as a little shepherd boy. He knows
your heart and mine too even before we came into this world.
It defies reason and logic to believe that a mere boy, only slightly prepared
for battle could defeat a giant perhaps four times his size and well arrayed in
the most complete armor available for the day. But there was one implement of
armor which Goliath could not bear - the faith that empowered David (vs 36-37)
How hesitant was David to go against Goliath? Let us determine that from the
biblical account: And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came
and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to
meet the Philistine. (1 Sam 17:48)
Goliath was enraged that a mere boy was sent forth to do battle with a mighty
giant. His pride added to his vulnerability, and so with us when we are lifted
up in pride at the success of our service to God. Our pride diminishes our
favor with God. The giant ridiculed David as if he were coming to kill a giant
like he would kill a dog - with staves, or a shepherds staff. But David would
use something much smaller as a weapon - a small, smooth stone! When the LORD
directs the projectile, more than one is not necessary.
Allow me to quote the evidence before the bar of David's faith in responding to
the chiding of Goliath: Then
said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear,
and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver
thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and
I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls
of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the
LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he
will give you into our hands. (1 Sam 17:45-47)
David calmly drew from his pouch one of the smooth stones and sent it home to
its destiny in the exposed forehead (perhaps the only exposed part) of Goliath.
Wearing a helmet that covered most of his face, the stone found its way (guided
by the LORD) into the eye opening of the face armor to the forehead and proud
brain of Goliath. He pitched forward to the earth, and David drew the Giants
ten pound sword and beheaded him on the spot (leaving little doubt that the
giant, being headless, was most likely DEAD!).
Note David actually RAN to meet the giant. Do we eagerly run forth to face the
giant challenges of our labors for the LORD? What have we to fear if we act in
the favor and faith of God?
When a Christian acts with extraordinary faith and righteous cause, a curiosity
arises in the minds of those who witness our faith. And so was the curiosity of
King Saul aroused at David's feat of faith: And as David returned from the
slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with
the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son art
thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the
Bethlehemite. (1
Sam 17:57-58)
David was from Bethlehem and the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. He was not the last
good thing to come from Bethlehem of Judaea, was he? In his royal line will
another come forth who went to battle with the giant of the world, and won -
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
