The Winds of Change: David Challenges Goliath
Sermon texts for April 27, 2008:
I Samuel 17; Matthew 18: 1-4; Ephesians 6: 10-20
The winds of change continue to blow over the Promised Land. The Chosen People are afraid and looking for an anchor. When they demanded that Samuel anoint a king to rule over them, they envisioned a leader who would intimidate neighboring nations, but King Saul was not strong enough to keep danger at bay.
In our lesson from I Samuel, the armies of Israel and the Philistines are squaring off with one another. We get the image of two armies coming up to the line drawn in the sand. They threaten one another, but neither army is ready to step over the line and begin the battle.
In this battle, Israel is at a technological disadvantage. Their Bronze Age weapons are not as strong as those of the Philistines’ who have progressed to the Iron Age. Television pundits of 1000 B.C.E. would probably pick the Philistines to win. For Israel, a loss is inconceivable, because it means once again becoming slaves for Egypt. The Philistines are mercenaries fighting for Pharaoh. Egypt’s goal is to seize Israel’s farms to feed Pharaoh’s army as it expands its influence throughout the region.
Merely defeating Israel’s army was not enough for the Philistines; they also wanted to humiliate King Saul and his army. Day after day the Philistines sent their weapon of mass destruction to stand on the top of a hill overlooking Israel’s camp. From this position, Goliath taunted his opponents. He called them names, challenged their manhood; he even laughed at the impotence of Israel’s God.
Basically, Goliath was right. No one in King Saul’s army wanted to challenge Goliath. That is until one day a shepherd boy named David came to Israel’s camp. He was not there as a combatant, but to bring food for his brothers. When David heard Goliath’s challenge he became enraged. He could not believe that no one in Saul’s army rose to meet Goliath’s challenge. Surely the God of Israel would fight on Israel’s side to defeat the challenger. Maybe Goliath was right. Maybe the Army was full of cowards.
But David could not standby and hear Israel’s army being mocked. So against his brothers’ wishes he offers to trade in his musical instruments for the implements of war. The scene is comical as David is prepared for battle by being dressed in Saul’s armor. David – the shepherd boy, the gentle musician – looks very small, even tiny in a grown man’s armor. Others in SauI’s entourage must have had a good laugh when they realized in that Saul’s armor, David could not move. He was a boy trying to do a man’s job, but it was a job that no man in Israel was willing to do.
Finally David realizes that his safety would not come from Saul’s armor, but rather from the armor of God. If David is going to be successful against the Philistine giant, he needs to rely on the power of God – nothing more and nothing less. And so David takes off Saul’s armor and goes to meet Goliath armed only with faith, and a sling shot, and a few smooth river rocks.
When Goliath sees that a child has accepted his challenge, he is outraged and insulted. Perhaps no man in Israel would be an adequate challenger, but this is ridiculous. In addition to his size, Goliath was a seasoned veteran. He has been through the wars, and deserves to be challenged by someone who is also a seasoned veteran. But if the child wants to die it is alright with Goliath. Goliath roared at David and the two traded insults with one another. As the Giant came to the line to kill David, David took one of his river rocks, placed it in his sling shot and killed the giant. The invisible armor of God proved more important than the best protection the army of Israel could offer.
Who or what are the giants in your life? What are the issues in your life that seem to hang over your head and mock you? If we think individually and as a congregation, what is it in our lives that causes us to hear an inner voice questioning our faith, saying something like, “Is our God big enough to handle this?” Our giants are those things that seem so large that we are not sure even God can handle them.
Our personal Goliaths can be almost anything. Some of us live with the constant nagging thought that we are not good enough. Some of us have bodies that are betraying us, and we wonder why God allows these things to happen. Some of us face heartbreaking issues with spouses, children or grandchildren. And God doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help. Sometimes it seems that the only thing we can do is try to outlast the problem, but in the meantime we feel angry or hurt. And we long for the full armor of God.
Yet we have the story of the ruddy-cheeked shepherd boy who destroyed the giant, and the assertion by Jesus that those who want to enter the Kingdom must become like little children. The advantage that children have over us is that they instinctively look to someone else, Mom or Dad, to solve their problems. We, on the other hand, believe that for the most part we can take care of ourselves. Perhaps if we regain that childlike faith we too can become giant-killers.
“Jesus called a child and put him in the midst of them and said, ‘truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
And the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the “whole armor of God … put on the breastplate of righteousness … the shoes of the gospel of peace … the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation … and the sword of the Spirit.”
God doesn’t always save us from problems, but always provides a way for us to live through them so that we emerge safely on the other side. My wish for you as you anticipate calling a new pastor is that you will become as vulnerable as children to one another and to her, and that you will greet the world openly as people who know that you are protected by the full armor of God.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
I Samuel 17; Matthew 18: 1-4; Ephesians 6: 10-20
The winds of change continue to blow over the Promised Land. The Chosen People are afraid and looking for an anchor. When they demanded that Samuel anoint a king to rule over them, they envisioned a leader who would intimidate neighboring nations, but King Saul was not strong enough to keep danger at bay.
In our lesson from I Samuel, the armies of Israel and the Philistines are squaring off with one another. We get the image of two armies coming up to the line drawn in the sand. They threaten one another, but neither army is ready to step over the line and begin the battle.
In this battle, Israel is at a technological disadvantage. Their Bronze Age weapons are not as strong as those of the Philistines’ who have progressed to the Iron Age. Television pundits of 1000 B.C.E. would probably pick the Philistines to win. For Israel, a loss is inconceivable, because it means once again becoming slaves for Egypt. The Philistines are mercenaries fighting for Pharaoh. Egypt’s goal is to seize Israel’s farms to feed Pharaoh’s army as it expands its influence throughout the region.
Merely defeating Israel’s army was not enough for the Philistines; they also wanted to humiliate King Saul and his army. Day after day the Philistines sent their weapon of mass destruction to stand on the top of a hill overlooking Israel’s camp. From this position, Goliath taunted his opponents. He called them names, challenged their manhood; he even laughed at the impotence of Israel’s God.
Basically, Goliath was right. No one in King Saul’s army wanted to challenge Goliath. That is until one day a shepherd boy named David came to Israel’s camp. He was not there as a combatant, but to bring food for his brothers. When David heard Goliath’s challenge he became enraged. He could not believe that no one in Saul’s army rose to meet Goliath’s challenge. Surely the God of Israel would fight on Israel’s side to defeat the challenger. Maybe Goliath was right. Maybe the Army was full of cowards.
But David could not standby and hear Israel’s army being mocked. So against his brothers’ wishes he offers to trade in his musical instruments for the implements of war. The scene is comical as David is prepared for battle by being dressed in Saul’s armor. David – the shepherd boy, the gentle musician – looks very small, even tiny in a grown man’s armor. Others in SauI’s entourage must have had a good laugh when they realized in that Saul’s armor, David could not move. He was a boy trying to do a man’s job, but it was a job that no man in Israel was willing to do.
Finally David realizes that his safety would not come from Saul’s armor, but rather from the armor of God. If David is going to be successful against the Philistine giant, he needs to rely on the power of God – nothing more and nothing less. And so David takes off Saul’s armor and goes to meet Goliath armed only with faith, and a sling shot, and a few smooth river rocks.
When Goliath sees that a child has accepted his challenge, he is outraged and insulted. Perhaps no man in Israel would be an adequate challenger, but this is ridiculous. In addition to his size, Goliath was a seasoned veteran. He has been through the wars, and deserves to be challenged by someone who is also a seasoned veteran. But if the child wants to die it is alright with Goliath. Goliath roared at David and the two traded insults with one another. As the Giant came to the line to kill David, David took one of his river rocks, placed it in his sling shot and killed the giant. The invisible armor of God proved more important than the best protection the army of Israel could offer.
Who or what are the giants in your life? What are the issues in your life that seem to hang over your head and mock you? If we think individually and as a congregation, what is it in our lives that causes us to hear an inner voice questioning our faith, saying something like, “Is our God big enough to handle this?” Our giants are those things that seem so large that we are not sure even God can handle them.
Our personal Goliaths can be almost anything. Some of us live with the constant nagging thought that we are not good enough. Some of us have bodies that are betraying us, and we wonder why God allows these things to happen. Some of us face heartbreaking issues with spouses, children or grandchildren. And God doesn’t seem to be doing anything to help. Sometimes it seems that the only thing we can do is try to outlast the problem, but in the meantime we feel angry or hurt. And we long for the full armor of God.
Yet we have the story of the ruddy-cheeked shepherd boy who destroyed the giant, and the assertion by Jesus that those who want to enter the Kingdom must become like little children. The advantage that children have over us is that they instinctively look to someone else, Mom or Dad, to solve their problems. We, on the other hand, believe that for the most part we can take care of ourselves. Perhaps if we regain that childlike faith we too can become giant-killers.
“Jesus called a child and put him in the midst of them and said, ‘truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
And the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the “whole armor of God … put on the breastplate of righteousness … the shoes of the gospel of peace … the shield of faith … the helmet of salvation … and the sword of the Spirit.”
God doesn’t always save us from problems, but always provides a way for us to live through them so that we emerge safely on the other side. My wish for you as you anticipate calling a new pastor is that you will become as vulnerable as children to one another and to her, and that you will greet the world openly as people who know that you are protected by the full armor of God.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 4:43 PM
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