As
we examine the exceptionally famous story of young David defeating Goliath with
five smooth stones, the possibility exists that we could get so involved in the
drama of the story that we miss Christ.
We must ask, ‘How is David’s work in the narrative of 1 Samuel 17
providing a foreshadowing of a greater Son yet to come?’ We know Christ made it
clear to His disciples that the words of the Old Testament, the law, the prophets,
and the Psalms spoke of Him (see Luke 24:44); therefore, we may rightly look
for Jesus on the pages of this great story.
And we should not be surprised to find David foreshadowing Christ;
Matthew presents Jesus as the “son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).
Furthermore, as the life of Christ unfolds in the synoptic gospels, we see
Jesus being referred to as the ‘Son of David’ numerous times by Jews (Mark
10:47-48). All this assures us that we
are not going out on a limb or chasing a rabbit trail when we look for the
person and work of Christ in the story of David and Goliath. Consider the
following:
1.
David was a shepherd (17:15); Jesus presents Himself as the great shepherd in
John 10.
2. Jesse,
David’s father, sent him to his brothers (17:17). Similarly, Jesus often mentions
that he was sent by his Father (see John 5:36, 6:57, 8:42); Jesus said, “I was
sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).
3.
David brought bread to his brothers (17:17); Jesus is the bread of life (see John
6:35, 48, 51).
4.
The champion that defeats Goliath will be given a bride by the king (17:25);
Jesus too will receive a bride, the church (Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2).
5.
The man who kills Goliath takes away the reproach from Israel (17:26). In
Joshua 5:9, the LORD said to Joshua, and by extension all of Israel, “Today I
have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Through the power of Christ’s
finished work on the cross, He has made atonement for our sin. He has rolled
away the disgrace, displeasure, and feelings of distance sin creates between
God and man. The reproach Israel felt was immediately removed when the giant
was defeated, and Christ has made the removal of reproach possible through His
defeat of our enemy, the devil.
6. David’s
brothers, Eliab in particular, reject him (17:28); Christ’s brothers also
reject Him. John writes, “For not even his brothers believed in him”
(7:5). (See also 1 Peter 2:7).
7. David
presents himself as a servant of the king (17:32). Isaiah the prophet calls Jesus
the LORD’s servant (Isaiah 53:11). The very action of washing the disciples’
feet serves to show us just how much Christ views Himself as a servant of the
LORD (John 13). In addition, both Peter and Paul refer to Christ as a servant
(see Acts 3:13, 4:30, Phil 2:7).
8.
There is nothing about David’s physical appearance that would give anyone confidence
that he could defeat a giant (17:33). David is a most unlikely candidate to topple
Goliath. Likewise, Isaiah 53:2 indicates that there wasn’t anything about
Jesus’ physical appearance that would give one the idea that He was the warrior
sent from God to defeat Satan.
9.
David learned to have confidence in God’s ability to defeat the enemy from past
experiences prior to the ultimate battle (17:37). In a similar manner, the
writer of Hebrews states that Christ learned obedience from the things He has
suffered (5:8). David’s past victories
gave him confidence that God was able to deliver the giant into his hands on
that day. We too must have confidence in the power of God to defeat our enemies.
David, like Jonah, knew “salvation belongs to the LORD” (2:9).
10.
David serves as the sole representative for Israel on the battlefield; he alone
will fight this battle against Goliath, the representative of Satan and all
that is evil (17:40-41). Christ alone died for the sins of the world; Christ
alone was buried and rose from the grave; He is the one mediator between God
and man (1 Tim 2:5).
11.
David was passionate about the glory (the reputation, the name) of the LORD.
David said “This day the Lord will
deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And
I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the
birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may
know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know
that the Lord saves not with sword
and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s,
and he will give you into our hand.” (17:46-47). In John 12:27-28, Jesus
expressed with sorrow and anguish that the purpose of His death on the cross
(the reason He came into world) was to bring glory to the Father.
12. David
inflicts a fatal head injury upon the enemy of God and ultimately cuts off the
head of Goliath (17:49-51). In what is sometimes described as the first promise
of the gospel, the protoevangelium,
Genesis 3:15 promises that the serpent (the devil) will receive a similarly
mortal injury to the head.
13. When
David defeated Goliath, the enemy of God, all of Israel participated in the
victory. Goliath’s defeat led to an onslaught against the Philistines (17:52-53).
Through David, the entire army became conquerors. Paul communicates this same
idea in Romans 8:37 where he said, “No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us.” The reason you can defeat the giants in
your life is that Christ has already won the victory. Again, Paul teaches us that God gives us the
victory “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). Think about it. Prior to the conquest of
Goliath, the Israelites were seemingly defeated with no hope of victory. This
provides a wonderful picture of the change that the new believer experiences
through salvific faith in the gospel. Ten minutes ago, you were hopelessly
defeated by the only giant that truly matters—your own sin, and the death and
hell that comes with it—and now look at you. You are a new creature in Christ.
You live as a victor. You share in the spoils. It is finished! Does it take
effort and a little courage to stand up and go after the remaining sin in our
lives? Sure. But it's a guaranteed victory—because of "Christ in you, the
hope of glory. It is finished!" (Colossians 1:27).
14.
After David defeated Goliath, David was clothed in a robe, given a sword, and
set over the men of war (1 Samuel 18:4). Notice how the Apostle John describes
Jesus in Revelation 19.
“He
is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The
Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen,
white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his
mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will
rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the
wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a
name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
15.
The defeat of Goliath leads to the eventual receiving of a kingdom (2 Samuel
3:10, 5:12). David will be the king who expands the borders of the land and truly
establishes the legitimate and united kingdom of Israel. But all of this is
just a foreshadowing of the kingdom God ultimately gives his Son—the Kingdom of
Christ. In fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, Christ possesses an eternal
kingdom (2 Peter 1:11); Jesus told Pilate “my kingdom is not of this world”
(John 18:36). (See also Ephesians 5:5 and Revelation 11:15).
With
fifteen specific examples of pictures, types, and foreshadowing of the person
and work of Christ in the story of David killing the giant, Goliath, one might
be tempted to skip the story altogether and run to Christ, but that too would
be a mistake in teaching (or preaching) the text. First and foremost, the chapter is an
historical record of God granting a boy victory over a giant who dared to
question the sovereign reign and power of the God of Israel. Goliath was an uncircumcised dog who had to
be judged and deserved to die for his sin. Like a terrorist, he taunted Israel
for 40 days and 40 nights. It was time to put an end to the continual
provocation aimed at the existence and power of the God of Israel, as well as
the fear he created in the Israelite camp. David had it right when he asked, “Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living
God?” (v. 26). The reader should not
lose sight of what the glorious victory over Goliath and the Philistines
accomplished on that day! This story is not an allegory. David is not a
fictional character fighting another fictional character, so boys and girls can
learn about defeating giants in their life from a flannel graph board or a PowerPoint
slide. Young David, the son of Jesse, spoke actual words to Goliath of Gath, an
uncircumcised Philistine and a fearsome champion, with a backdrop of armies on
both sides of the valley Elah. Divinely preserved for our instruction and
edification, David said:
“You
come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you
in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will
strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the
host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts
of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and
that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear.
For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
Yes, the teacher needs to
show the student of the Word our Lord Jesus Christ on the pages of the Old Testament,
but it must never be done at the expense of the primary truths found in the
historical record of God’s interaction with His covenant people, Israel, in a
glorious picture of redemption from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of
Gethsemane.
