The Gospel in a Slingshot

My Dad was an amazing man. Born in 1918, he spent his childhood in the days before most rural people had electricity. Running water was brought into the house using a hand pump on the kitchen sink. His parents and grandparents were dairy farmers. He, like his father before him, was born in the family home. The firstborn son of the firstborn son, he was thrust into the family business at an early age.

School was one room about a mile from the house. For lunch, he’d often walk home, do a few chores and down a quart of milk. By the time he entered high school he was a strapping young man. The day he turned 16 he dropped out of ninth grade to work the farm full time.

From the outset, the family called upon him in difficult times. Over the years he supported more than one family member when they needed help. Living through the depression left an indelible mark upon his psyche. A naturally gifted maker, he would forever find creative ways to use what he had to get what he needed. He was frugal to a fault. Dad wasn’t the kind of man who ever needed help. He was the guy to whom everyone else came when they needed help.

For better, and often for worse, that independent spirit was instilled into me. Over the years, this certainly had repercussions in my career and for projects around the house. Its most important ramifications however, were in the realm of my faith. For many years, I tried to act like a Christian—to behave properly and obey God’s laws, thereby demonstrating my victory over the enemy, so that God would accept me.

I worked hard to overcome temptation and do right so that I would avoid punishment in this life, and hell in the hereafter. But the harder I tried, the more often and more egregiously I would fail. I lived in fear of the Lord and of the enemy. I was depending on my own efforts to defeat the enemy and make me acceptable to God rather than depending on what Jesus did on my behalf.

Maybe some of you have had similar experiences. A shepherd boy named David faced a similar situation. It is reported in First Samuel chapter seventeen. In reading the story of David facing Goliath we find great insight into what it takes to face our own enemy.

The familiar story of David and Goliath from First Samuel 17 shows us another way God has provided for us to understand the Gospel of King Jesus. In this account, we can find exactly what Father says about how the enemy of our souls is defeated.

Come along with me as I stroll through this amazing passage.

1 Samuel 17:1-7 (KJV)
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. (About nine feet nine inches) 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. (At least 125 pounds) 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 (fifteen or sixteen pounds): and one bearing a shield went before him.

Goliath is clearly a fearsome-looking enemy. Our enemy, that old serpent, the father of lies, is fearsome looking too, isn’t he? It is hard to see how he can be defeated. He is larger than life. He is not human. We read in Job of him going to God and getting permission to test that righteous man.

Scripture has things like this to say about him: 1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Any of you who have ever promised “never again” and “I’ll do better from now on,” only to find yourself sinning again in an old familiar way can understand.

1 Samuel 17:8 (KJV)
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.

Goliath refers to the Hebrews as servants of the king. The enemy tempts us in exactly this way, doesn’t he? He tells us that he is too powerful for us and we are merely servants of the King. Our enemy uses big lies wrapped in a little truth to confuse us and make us doubt what the Spirit within us tells us is true. It’s important that Goliath here calls himself “a Philistine.” Goliath is the representative for all Philistines, as we will see next.

1 Samuel 17:9 (KJV)
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.

The stakes are high. The question is who will rule and who will serve.

God made mankind the rulers over the earth: Genesis 1:27-28 (KJV)
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

But mankind gave control to the enemy. Genesis chapter three tells us that the serpent was more crafty than any other beast God had made. The serpent questions God’s command and plants the seed of doubt. The first people want to be like God (a good thing) and know good from evil, and so they eat from the wrong tree. We have all suffered the consequences of that action ever since. It put the enemy in control of the earth. Therefore, Scripture refers to him as the god of this world. He is “the Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:10 (KJV)
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.

He says the same thing to each of us today. “Try again, maybe this time you’ll beat me.” He goads us into fighting a battle that has already been won and we quickly forget that, according to 1 John 5:18, the wicked one cannot touch us.

1 Samuel 17:11-12 (KJV)
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man (Jesse was an old guy) in the days of Saul.

David’s father Jesse is referred to as “the Ephrathite.” Both David and Jesus are descendants of Jesse. Isaiah foretold that Jesus would come from Jesse’s line in verse one of chapter eleven: Isaiah 11:1 (KJV)
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

Bethlehem is also called Ephratha. Genesis 35:19 (KJV)
19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

It is central in the Good News of our lovely Lord Jesus. Micah 5:2 (KJV)
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

1 Samuel 17:13-24 (KJV)
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

This is what it’s like for us when we face the same issue time after time. After a certain point we often get fearful in anticipation of our impending failure.

1 Samuel 17:25-26 (KJV)
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Young David has faith in the power of God. It is as if he does not even see the size of the enemy.

1 Samuel 17:27-32 (KJV)
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

David’s faith is about to come into full view. He does not tell Saul that he will try really hard to defeat the enemy. He simply tells the king that he will go and fight.

1 Samuel 17:33 (KJV)
33 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.

I can really identify with this. Maybe you can too. I was raised to see others as more important than myself; to see myself as smaller, less significant, and less important. It was easy for the enemy to tell me that I didn’t have enough faith, that I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t holy enough, that I was but a youth. In my flesh, I was preconditioned to believe that the enemy had been a warrior since the beginning, he had defeated Adam and Eve, and I had no chance of winning.

1 Samuel 17:34-36 (KJV)
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

David’s faith is strong because he remembers what the Lord has done for him in the past. He has placed Ebenezers, marker stones, at various events in his life. Now he recalled those events and as a consequence he knew that God would be faithful in this challenge in the same way He always had.

1 Samuel 17:37-39 (KJV)
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. 38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

While we are instructed to put on the full armor of God so we can stand against the enemy, David was being asked to wear human armor. This is symbolic. Nothing created by us, nothing we do by our own power, no amount of willpower or determination or good intentions, will help in this battle. God’s armor is very different from human armor. Human armor protects our physical bodies. God’s armor is different because our struggle is not against physical bodies.

It is very important that we keep this in mind in our interactions with people, by the way. Other people are not our enemies. We are called to love.

Let’s see what the Spirit has to say in Ephesians 6:10-17 (KJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:This is what David did. All his faith was in the Lord.

1 Samuel 17:40 (KJV)
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 (a travelling pouch, so basically, David wore a fanny pack.); and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

He reached into the stream of water and pulled out five stones, smoothed by the stream of water itself. Shaped by God, not by mankind.

1 Samuel 17:41-47 (KJV)
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.

David does not come to fight in his own strength. He carries no usual weapons. Instead he has the weapon of a boy. Just a slingshot against an enemy so great that the entire Hebrew army is afraid to fight him. Instead of a sword, spear, and shield, David comes in the name of the Lord. He comes with a confidence born of having seen God work in the past and he makes it clear that the Lord does not use weapons like humans.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

1 Samuel 17:48-51 (KJV)
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.

I see three things here:
First, the Philistine is like the enemy of our souls. David is like the savior of our souls. When Jesus went to the cross, He did it by faith in God the Father. By His death and resurrection, the Rock from the River of Life defeated the enemy, and cut off his head.
Second, the Philistine was the federal head of the philistine nation, just as Adam is the federal head of the unsaved. David stood for Israel as their federal head in the same way that Jesus is the federal head of all who by faith receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith.
(Federal headship refers to the representation of a group united under a federation or covenant. For example, a country's president may be seen as the federal head of their nation, representing and speaking on its behalf before the rest of the world. --Wikipedia)
Third, David made something of a show or spectacle of the enemy of God’s people. Jesus made a show of the enemy of God’s people too.

Colossians 2:15 (KJV) 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

1 Samuel 17:52-58 (KJV)
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. 57 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. 58 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.

Jesus is also the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. Just as David won the battle with Goliath on behalf of the Hebrews, Jesus has won the battle with the enemy of our souls on behalf of all who believe.

When the enemy seems huge and undefeatable, remember that it is not you who is fighting the battle.

Trust in the One who has already won that battle.