Text: 1 Samuel 17:4-54

Prop: small flat stones and a sling

Summary: David trusted God to fight the battle for him. We must trust God to defend us.

The story of David and Goliath is one of my favorites. Have you ever been made fun of by a big bully? I have. It doesn’t feel good to be taunted. Goliath was a huge man. He was a giant that stood about 9 feet 9 inches. That’s taller than Shaquil Oneal. He cursed at the Israelites and said bad things about their God. He was a Philistine and wanted to settle the battle in a one-on-one contest so that many soldiers did not have to die. He was asking for one man among the Israelites to come out to fight for them. Everyone was afraid because he was such a terrifying giant.

David was just a teenage mutant ninja shepherd. No, not really. He was young, but he was brave. He knew that God protected him from the bears and lions that tried to steal the sheep he was guarding. One time he killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands. Although Goliath had a suit of armor, all David had was a slingshot and five smooth stones and his shepherd staff. King Saul tried to get David to wear armor to protect him, but it was very heavy and David had never tried to fight with it on before. So he left it behind and trusted God: he will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine.

When Goliath saw that the Israelites sent a boy to fight, he made fun of them some more. Then he told David he was going to rip him apart and feed him to the birds and beasts. David answered bravely and told him God would get the glory. Wow! David gave a testimony right on the battlefield in front of everybody. In 1 Samuel 17:47 it says

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.

Now David didn’t have a slingshot like you may think. It wasn’t a Y-shaped stick with a rubber band between it. It was a rope with a small pouch on the end and you would wave it around in a circle to get the speed you needed to release the stone. When Goliath came at David, he didn’t get scared and run away. He went straight at Goliath. He took out a smooth stone from his shepherd’s bag and placed it in the sling. Then he slung it at the giant and hit him squarely in the forehead. The stone had been a mighty weapon after all. It went into his skull and killed Goliath. Then David went and took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head. That scared the Philistines so badly that they ran away in fear and were chased by the Israelites out of the land.

We all have our fears and enemies. We don’t have to be afraid. Jesus is always with us to protect us and give us courage. We only have to remember that the battle is the Lord’s. When Jesus gives us the victory, let’s be sure to thank him and praise him for what he has done.

©1997 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.