The war zone

The events of 1 Samuel 17 would fit comfortably today into a TV news report.

It would be 'Live, from our correspondent on the front line with the Israeli troops some 13 miles west of Bethlehem.' Kate Adie would be telling us how Goliath emerges in the distance from the Philistine army lines to shout his daily challenge: Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us ... This day I defy the ranks of Israel (1 Samuel 17.8-10).

'What about morale?', the studio anchor-man would ask. The reply would come back: 'Morale here is very low.' It certainly was. Goliath had completely shattered the confidence of the Israelite army. He stood before them some three metres tall. His strength was such that he could wear armour weighing as much as a young adult. No-one would accept his challenge. Whenever they heard the words of Goliath they were terrified (v.11) and whenever he came near, they ran away (v.24).

Morale in the church

Morale can be equally low among the Lord's people today, especially when we think of the Goliath-sized challenge which our culture presents to us. Many people still blindly accept the notion of evolution, where we appear to have started as primeval soup, somehow managed to get ourselves up into the trees only to realise that we would be better off walking on the ground, so we came down from the trees. In spite of the totally unanswered questions that evolution raises, it still holds considerable sway.

Behaviour which the Lord has clearly and unequivocally condemned is now taken for granted and promoted by many people, not least in public life. Our understanding of the sanctity of marriage and the immorality of same-sex relationships is now completely foreign to many people.

Family breakdown means that increasing numbers of people are facing adulthood without ever having known the secure love of a father and mother. Further, because of the absence of biblical wisdom in their homes in their growing years, they will have known either the abuse of no correction, including, where necessary, physical punishment, or, at the other end of the scale, they may have known appalling physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Abortion is still considered a good and liberal thing by many apparently intelligent people, and euthanasia seems to be gaining greater acceptability. Many people without children think they have the absolute right to be parents. So in their quest to have children, some would-be parents and their doctors have together taken us down a road that now presents us with moral choices that can be extraordinarily difficult. The blind often lead the blind in this matter.

We have nationalised the love of money and made it respectable. We have a government (and opposition) committed to raising large sums of money through encouraging people to gamble. Which politician has the moral courage to close the lottery down?

People are now prepared to believe in almost anything, the stranger the better, witness the popularity of the TV series The X files. The 'near-death' or 'out of the body' experience has become the new gospel. The real gospel is dismissed as a fairy story.

To cap it all, we are not even hated very much. Just ignored, tolerated, even complimented on our 'nice' sermons, our 'enjoyable' harvest festivals and 'lovely' carol services.

The giant seems impregnable. What should we do? What should the Israelites have done?

We are told, in Deuteronomy 20.1-4 that they should have put their trust in the Lord. But there is no sign of that. The best they can muster in 1 Samuel 17 is to shout some kind of war cry.

Ways to run away

We, too, tend to run away. And when we do, we will always find ourselves entangled in the wrong things:

If people are indifferent to the gospel, we may well be drawn to engage instead in the alleviation of purely social problems. We know that there are plenty of them and that it is important for Christians to be working in these areas. But we must remember that Jesus himself established priorities in his ministry. He did not come just to feed the hungry and heal the sick, did he? As soon as we ask that question we know the answer. By all means let us commend the gospel by showing practical care to those around us. But let us remember that such work is not the totality, or the first priority, of the gospel.

It is very easy to hide behind the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. 'Times are hard, it's a day of small things, so we just wait until things change.' But we are to work in season and out of season, regardless of the conditions.

Discussions about versions of the Bible, what to sing, how to define our theological stance, will take over. They may well need to be discussed. But if we can get more concerned about these issues than about getting the gospel out to the dying world around us, we are wasting time.

'The ancient paths' may seem attractive. The Scripture certainly mentions them. They are the ways of righteousness and holy living before the Lord. But we must make sure that we do not equate them with our old traditions and habits. After all, the Lord Jesus said, (quoting Isaiah):

These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men (Mark 7.6-8).

The man who made the difference

What changed the situation for the Israelite army? It was the arrival and exploits of David.

We notice a number of features about him.

He is not afraid. The kind of questions he asks suggest that he actually seems to be considering the possibility that something could be done about Goliath. No-one else thinks like that.

He sees the real issue. In fact, he states three times (verses 26, 36, 45) what the real issue is: Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?' (v.26). How dare Goliath, however tall, however well-armed, defy the very God who made him? Is he really stronger than God? That is what he seems to think, but it is not what David thinks.

He has real authority. It is clear that he knows he has the Lord's protection (v.37) and the Lord's power (v.46).

He knows that the Lord is with him. He has real authority.

He has a wider vision. All that the Israelites can see is Goliath; what David sees is quite different.

Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands (vv.46-47).

David wants the world to know that there is a God in Israel, and he wants Israel to know that the Lord saves by his own power, for the battle belongs to him. That is not something the army can see at all, but David can see it.

And, yes, he kills the giant. I think we all know that! David triumphs, and then so does the army. They 'surge forward with a shout' (v.52) - see how their confidence has returned now that the giant is dead! And they gain a famous victory.

So, who is this David?

The army did not really know, initially. It was this event which drew David to their attention. But we know that David is the anointed king! He brings victory to Israel and, once the giant is defeated, the Lord's army can move forward.

The Lord Jesus said that the Old Testament is all about him. So when we see the army of Israel finding its courage again because of the intervention of the anointed king, we must think of how David's greater son - the Lord Jesus Christ - has also defeated the giant!

Isn't the Lord Jesus Christ utterly fearless in his confrontations with the forces of Satan - in the gospels, does he run from them, or do they run from him? Does He himself not have real authority? The winds and waves obeyed him, the demons obeyed him, illness and death obeyed him! Did he not have a concern not only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but for the world? Was that not why he had come to die?

And did he not defeat the giant? So when he is slandered, he replies: But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. (Matthew 12.28,29).

When betrayed, he says: Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. (John 12.31).

So if the giant is threatening you, or your congregation, and the work of the gospel seems impossibly hard, look once again at what the anointed king has done! In the light of his victory, take courage, and with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, surge forward with a shout! There are people to be reached, victories to be won, lives to be changed, all because of the victory of the anointed king. To God be the glory!

Keith Johns is pastor of Caterham Baptist Church, Surrey.

The events of 1 Samuel 17 (David and Goliath) applied to the present day

Morale in the church

Ways to run away

The man who made the difference

So, who is this David?

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