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SERMON FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, NOVEMBER 2, 2008
CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA
Reggie A. Braziel, Minister
HOW TO SLAY YOUR GIANT
Message 11 of 17: Ancient Paths Sermon Series
I SAMUEL 17:117:1-58
Scripture: I Samuel 17:117:1-3
Introduction
Tonight we are looking at one of the most endearing true stories in all
the Bible, the account of DAVID vs. GOLIATH.
There is something in our human nature that causes us to ROOT FOR
THE UNDERDOG.
……In sports, we love it when A DECIDED UNDERDOG defeats an
OVERWHELMING FAVORITE.
FAVORITE.
…….In the corporate world, we love it when A SMALL BUSINESS
takes on a CORPORATE GIANT and wins!
As we
we are going to see in this message, DAVID VS. GOLIATH is much
more than a true story of an UNDERDOG defeating an OVERWHELMING
FAVORITE.
FAVORITE. It is lesson to all of us about HOW TO SLAY OUR OWN
GIANTS.
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INTRODUCTION
In the opening verses of I SAMUEL 17 we find the battle lines have
been drawn between
between the ISRAELITE ARMY and their old nemesis, THE
PHILISTINES. They are prepared to do battle in the Valley of Elah, which
was approximately
approximately 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Now if you have ever seen any of the EPIC WAR MOVIES like
Braveheart or
or TROY,
TROY, you sort of get the picture of what this scene
must have looked like.
Armies in those days were largely composed of the common citizenry,
such as farmers, herdsmen and shepherds. Many of the weapons used
in those ancient battles were agricultural
agricultural tools. And often the
difference between victory and defeat was determined by sheer
numbers.
But it wasn’t the SIZE of the PHILISTINE ARMY that concerned King
Saul and his Israelite Army.
Let’s consider…………
I. Israel’s BIG Problem
vs. 4a
4a A champion named Goliath who was from Gath, came out of
the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.
1. Israel’s big problem had a name, GOLIATH.
2. You notice verse 4 refers to Goliath as “the CHAMPION.”
CHAMPION.”
The word “champion” in the Hebrew meant, “man between two”
or “the man who stood between two.” Now what does that mean?
Rather than risk the lives of tens of thousands of men
in hand to hand combat, the battle would be decided
by one man, one “champion” from
from each army fighting each
other. GOLIATH was the “champion” for the Philistine army.
2. Now this posed a BIG PROBLEM for the ISRAELITES because
verse 4 tells us GOLIATH WAS A BIG MAN. In fact he was more
than a big man, he was a GIANT!
GIANT
The NIV tells us “he was over nine feet tall.”
The King James, the New King James and the New American
Standard all give a more specific height of 6 cubits
cubits and
a span.
span.
A standard Hebrew cubit was 18 inches.
A span was the length between the tip of the thumb
and little finger when the fingers are spread. The
average span was 9 inches.
So let’s do some math. One cubit or 18 inches x 6
There
re are 12 inches in a foot, so
equals 108”. The
divide 108 by 12 and you get 9 FEET. Add the span,
which is 9 inches and that means Goliath was
9’ 9” tall.
tall.
So doing the math, this means Goliath was about
9’ 9” tall. (USE PVC PIPES to illustrate)
(Shaquille O’Neal is 7’ ½” and weighs
weighs 325 pounds.
And just say his body was of average build. This means
he would have weighed between 750 to 1,000 pounds.
Now that’s a BIG BOY no matter how you slice it! Its
obvious why GOLIATH was such a BIG PROBLEM to the
Israelites,
Israelites, isn’t it? They didn’t have a “champion.” They
didn’t have one man in their army who could even come
close to matching Goliath in size and strength.
But the size of his BODY wasn’t the problem.
(A) Goliath also had BIG PROTECTION verses 5,6
The Philistine people were
were experts in metallurgy. In other
words they were highly skilled craftsman in making things
things
out of metal. The Philistine people put this expertise to
good use by making their ARMY one of the finest equipped
armies in the world at that time.
vs. 5 The Helmet worn by Goliath would have been heavy
and highly protective. But there was a design flaw
in those helmets that would prove very costly later.
And that was the helmet left the forehead exposed.
vs. 5 The Coat of Scale Armor as the name implies
consisted of small, overlapping metal scales attached
to a heavy leather vest underneath.
Goliath’s scale armor weighed 5,000 shekels
which is the equivalent of 125 pounds by our
standards.
vs. 6 Bronze greaves As far as the bronze greaves on
Goliath’s legs, think of a baseball catcher’s shin
guards. Except instead of hard plastic, the greaves
were made of heavy duty bronze, protecting Goliath’s
legs from his knee caps down to the tops of his feet.
vs. 6
Bronze javelin Was a smaller spear. Often Philistine
soldiers would carry more than one bronze javelin
in a sheath slung over their back. These javelin’s
were fairly light weight and could be thrown several
hundred feet.
vs.6
The Spear The spear was different than the javelin.
For one thing it was much bigger. And it was used for
thrusting not throwing. The shaft is described as
being like a weaver’s rod or a weaver’s beam, which
means it was about 2 ½ inches in diameter. And the
head of the spear weighed 600 shekels, which is
the equivalent of 15 pounds by our standards.
Goliath was a BIG PROBLEM because he was a
BIG MAN with BIG PROTECTION, but wait there’s more.
(C) Goliath also had a BIG MOUTH verses
verses 8,9, 16
Remember that BIG BULLY with the BIG MOUTH in your school when
you
you were growing up? I’m talking about that guy who loved to
intimidating
ing words.
taunt the other students with his intimidat
GOLIATH was a BIG BULLY with a BIG MOUTH!
For 40 straight
straight days, GOLIATH would approach the Israelite
and taunted them to send someone out to fight with
him.
verse 11 Tells us how King Saul and his Israelite army
army
reacted to Goliath’s taunts:
On hearing the Philistines words, Saul and all the
Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
terrified.
Or as we might say, “It took the WIND right out of their SAILS.”
Goliath was a BIG PROBLEM because he was a BIG MAN
with BIG PROTECTION and a BIG MOUTH, but there’s one
more thing.
(D) Goliath also had a BIG EGO verse 10
Goliath had never
never been defeated. As a mattermatter-ofof-fact,
there is a good possibility he had never even been
challenged before. This had caused Goliath to become
obnoxiously
obnoxiously egotistical and arrogant.
He believed he was invincible! But remember “pride goes
before a fall.”
3. What you have here is a complete stand off! King Saul and his
army are totally paralyzed with fear.
________________________
Transitional Information
________________________
One day during this 40 day stand off, a young shepherd boy named
David, is sent
sent by his father to deliver a “care package” to his three
oldest brothers who are soldiers in the Israelite army.
Now
Now what happens next is somewhat comical. Just as David
reaches the Israelite camp the army was going to its daily
battle position, shouting out their battle cry as they went.
Young David is all excited. He thinks he is about
about to witness
his courageous brothers go into battle. So he leaves the care
package with the keeper of supplies,
supplies, and runs out to meet his
brothers on the battle line. Now what was comical is that
the Israelites had absolutely no intentions of fighting. Their war
cry was nothing more than a means to get psyched up to go
spend another day in a “stare off contest” with GOLIATH.
Sure enough GOLIATH shows up and starts his DAILY TAUNTING of the
Israelites. And as soon as he does, the ISRAELITE army runs away in
great fear.
Imagine the impression this made on young David.
David. He had pictured his
brothers and the Israelite army as being brave, courageous, fighting
men. But in reality they are just
just a bunch of cowards.
Now I love the question DAVID asked a few soldiers who were
standing near him.
VERSE 26
David saw this situation for what it really was. IT WAS AN
ABSOLUTE DISGRACE TO ISRAEL. By their cowardice, they
had turned Israel into a laughing stock and dishonored
dishonored
Jehovah God.
Well DAVID is “all fired up” now!
He wants to eliminate ISRAEL’S BIG
PROBLEM.
David is about to become……..
become……..
II. Israel’s BIG Hero
1. You know they say, “Sometimes good things come in small
packages.” That
That was certainly true in the case of DAVID.
2. David didn’t have a BIG BODY, in fact he was probably less
than
than half the size of Goliath. And he didn’t have BIG
PROTECTION, although King Saul did try to get him to wear
his armor, but that didn’t work. And David didn’t have any
BIG WEAPONS. And he certainly didn’t have
have a BIG MOUTH
and a BIG EGO.
3. So what did DAVID have?
(A) David had a BIG COURAGE verse
verse 32
For 40 days not a single man in Saul’s army had the
courage to step forward and volunteer
volunteer to fight Goliath.
Now all the sudden this teenage boy shows up out of
nowhere and courageously volunteers to do it.
Some might consider what David did the “foolishness
of youth”……..but in reality it was real, genuine, courage.
This is one of the characteristics of true godliness.
godliness. Godly
people are courageous people.
(B) Secondly, David had a BIG FAITH verses 3333-37
Herein lies the source of David’s courage. He was
courageous because he had FAITH in Almighty God.
You see David was already “battle“battle-tested.” Being
and
d bears who tried
a shepherd, he had killed lions an
to attack his flocks. He had literally rescued sheep
from the mouths of these predators.
David had enough FAITH that if GOD could deliver him from
LIONS, TIGERS and BEARS
BEARS OH MY, that God would deliver
him from this BIG MOUTH BULLY named GOLIATH.
************
DAVID had a BIG COURAGE……..DAVID had a BIG FAITH…..
(C) Thirdly and most importantly, David had a BIG GOD.
GOD.
verses 4141-47
Have you ever seen a TV show or a movie where a
big bully is picking on a kid and
and all the kid that is
being picked gets this big smile on his face, because
he can see his DAD
DAD who is much bigger standing behind
the bully.
DAVID wasn’t afraid of GOLIATH because David
David could
see HIS HEAVENLY FATHER standing behind the big
bully. DAVID’S GOD was much
much bigger than the GIANT
he was facing!
DAVID KNEW HE WASN’T SINGLESINGLE-HANDEDLY GOING TO
TO DEFEAT GOLIATH. HE KNEW THIS BATTLE BELONGED
TO THE LORD.
JUST AS THE BATTLE BELONGED TO THE
THE
LORD WHEN THE ISRAELITES OVERTHREW JERICHO.
JUST AS THE BATTLE BELONGED TO THE LORD WHEN GIDEON
AND HIS BAND OF 300 MEN DEFEATED THE POWERFUL
MIDIANITE ARMY.
This brings us to…….
III. Israel’s Victory verses 4848-53
1. David went into battle armed with the simple tools of a
shepherd.
*He had a STAFF (verse
(verse 43 Goliath said to David, “Am I
a dog that you come at me with sticks?”
sticks?” )
*And of course, David had 5 smoothe stones and a
slingshot.
2. Robe
Robert
rt Roe gives this interesting insight as to just how proficient
shepherds were with a slingshot.
The stones a shepherd used were usually 2”2”-3” in diameter and
smoothe to reduce air friction. The shepherd would place the stone
into a leather cup on the end of two long leather cords. They would
whirl this cup over their heds until momentum built up. Then running
toward their target they would release one of the leather cords,
projecting the stone inside the cup at a speed of 200 feet per second,
striking the object with a force of about 5,000 pounds of energy. It
was designed to KILL or crush bones
bones in such a way it would render
the target incapacitated.
3. Remember earlier I told you there was a design flaw with the
Philistine helmets. And that was they left the forehead exposed.
(Look at VERSE 49
49 again)
4. Now what was the significance of cutting off Goliath’s head?
First of all, it was to fulfill a promise. Remember David had
said to Goliath earlier, “This day the Lord will hand you over
to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.”
Secondly, cutting
cutting off the head was “proof” of victory.
If the soldiers went back to their homes and started
telling
telling stories like, “You should have seen this young
shepherd boy! He killed the Philistine giant with a sling
shot.” Well the first question the homefolk are going
“Where’s
e’s your proof”
to ask is “Where’s Goliath’s head?” “Wher
that what you are saying is the truth.
READ: VERSE 54
5. Once God gave David the victory over GOLIATH, the Israelite
Army found renewed courage and pursued the rest of the
Philistine army and left their dead strewn all along the
SHAARAIM (SHY(SHY-RAYRAY-EEM) ROAD that went from Gath to
Ekron.
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APPLICATION and CONCLUSION
What does your giant look like?
*SOMETIMES WE CAN ACTUALLY PUT A FACE ON OUR GIANT.
Let’s face it, some people just “push our buttons.”
…….Maybe it’s a meddling relative who is always sticking their
nose in your business and telling you how to run your life.
……..Maybe its somebody you work with whose personality
just grates on your nerves and gets under your skin.
……….Maybe it is someone who betrayed you or hurt you badly
years ago and to this day you still can’t forgive
forgive them.
*BUT A LOT OF THE TIME OUR BIGGEST GIANTS ARE THOSE
THAT DON’T HAVE FACES. GIANTS WE FIGHT FROM WITHIN.
Hatred……..Prejudice…..Lust…..Pride……Jealousy……
Bitterness…….Loneliness…….Depression………
Bitterness…….Loneliness…….Depression………
SelfSelf-righteousness……..Selfrighteousness……..Self-Centeredness…….
An alcohol addiction……..A
addiction……..A drug addiction……
A food addiction………A pornography addiction……
These are just some
some of the FACELESS GIANTS many
Christians battle.
There are TWO VALUABLE TRUTHS you and I need to learn
learn from this
ANCIENT TEXT about SLAYING OUR GIANTS!
(1) First, Slaying Your GIANT requires A BIG COURAGE
You will never defeat your GIANT as long as you are afraid
to confront it. Remember the Israelites were paralyzed
with FEAR for 40 days. They were emotionally frozen!
The Israelites thought if they IGNORED their BIG
PROBLEM long enough HE would eventually just
go away. BIG PROBLEMS never GO AWAY! They
just get BIGGER and BIGGER until we muster
muster the
courage to deal with them.
CHRISTIAN, IF YOU WANT TO SLAY YOUR GIANT YOU HAVE
TO HAVE A BIG COURAGE!
(2) Secondly, Slaying Your GIANT requires A BIG FAITH in a
BIG GOD
David’s FAITH was not in his own human ability or
his prowess
prowess with a slingshot. His FAITH was in GOD!
Too many times we put all our FAITH in ourselves
to FIGHT LIFE’S BIGGEST BATTLES. We put our
FAITH in our experience. We put our FAITH in our
our own intuition and gut instincts. We put our
FAITH in our friends and family to help
help us through.
In other words we put our FAITH in everyone and
everything but GOD!
If you are still battling the same GIANT you have been battling
for years, that should
should tell you TWO things: One, it should tell you
your way hasn’t worked, other wise you wouldn’t still be fighting
the same GIANT. And two, it should tell you YOUR GOD IS TOO
SMALL. GOD is only limited by YOUR LACK OF FAITH IN HIM.
The Bigger Your God is, the smaller your giant becomes.
It is BY FAITH IN A BIG GOD
GOD you can SLAY that GIANT!