6/21/26 1 Sam. 17:32-49 “The Giant Comes Tumbling Down!”

18 Jun 6/21/26 1 Sam. 17:32-49 “The Giant Comes Tumbling Down!”

6/21/26   1 Sam. 17:32-49          “The Giant Comes Tumbling Down!”

Today is Father’s Day and happy Father’s Day to all.  I think that Father’s Day and Mother’s Day should be an official part of the church calendar.  That is because the family is so important to Jesus and the church.  Jesus loved the family so much that He said that if we believe in Him, then we are all part of His family.  Throughout history, fathers have been called to protect, provide and preside in their families.  This is easy to see.  We are to protect the weaker family members any way we can.  We are to provide for them so that they have every opportunity to grow.  The last one is essential even if it is not followed too closely in today’s world.  Fathers are to preside at the head of the family.  This of course, means that the mother also has equal input.  A big part of the problem in today’s world is that fathers are absent.  This is not how God set all this up.  Fathers and mothers are very important.  They are so important that they have one of the 10 Commandments to themselves.  Honor your father and mother.  So, they are a big deal.  Speaking of big deals we are going to be talking about Goliath today along with David.  Goliath was a really big deal.  He was a giant!  Let’s see if we can learn anything new from this timeless story.

There is a story of an archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy.  This would be quite a find at any time.  After examining it, he called the curator of a prestigious natural-history museum and said, “I’ve just discovered a 3,000-year-old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!”  The curator replied, “Bring him in. We’ll check it out.”  A week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. “You were right about the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know that he died of a heart attack?”  The archaeologist said, “Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, 10,000 Shekels on Goliath.’”

There is a lot happening in this story that we often overlook.  Saul is the king and they are going to fight the Philistines.  One of the things that they sometimes did in those days was have a champion fight the champion of the enemy.  The winner would get to rout the other army.  Basically, that is where we stand in today’s reading.  Goliath is their champion and he is a great champion.  Saul’s army really has no champion that could even come close to beating Goliath.  So, the army of Israel is suffering from many insults.  And then along comes David.

David can see this giant.  He is big.  He is strong.  He is almost not human.  There is really no way that anyone will be able to win against this giant.  Everyone thinks that this is a bad idea to send David out as their champion.  But no one else will go.  So, David gets to thinking and talking.  At this point, Saul does not know really who David is.  This is the first major interaction between them.

David looks at that old giant and he is not afraid.  He tells how he came upon a lion when he was herding the sheep.  I don’t know if any of you think you are pretty tough but I would not bet on anyone here today going up against a lion or a bear.  The last time I checked, they were far bigger and more ferocious than me.  I saw a bear once in the wild and there was no way I would ever tackle it even if I had a gun.  And here we have David with only a bare minimum of crude weapons.  But David has something that I have talked about a lot.  David has the Lord on his side.  He knows, just like I know and everyone there knew, that He did not have a chance against such a formidable foe.  And this extends into our world today, your world.  Who are the giants in your life?  What are your insurmountable obstacles?  We all have them at one time or another.  One of my biggest road blocks in life has been just being in front of you today.  But here are some more.  There is peladophobia which is the fear of baldness. There is aerophobia or fear of drafts.  Porphyrophobia or fear of the color purple.  Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.  Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.  Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.  Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights.  Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings. Thalassophobia: fear of being seated. Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking.  Odontophobia: fear of teeth.  Graphophobia: fear of writing in public. And the best one of all – Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.  I think that there should be another one for the fear of having too much time so we make up these silly phobias.  Anyway, these are supposedly real.  The first step to conquering any phobia is to take it to Jesus.  He will help

Now David did much of the same.  He came to bring supplies to his brothers.  When he saw the giant, he was not impressed.  Remember that this was a boy.  He had killed a bear and a lion with, basically, his bare hands.  He really could not help not being a little afraid or maybe startled by the size of the giant.  But everyone else is afraid.  He is mocked for being a boy.  They thought they knew that he had not chance against this monster.  King Saul even got into the act.  He tried to make him wear some of his armor.  Well, that would be like me trying to dress up in the clothes the Shaquille O’Neal wears.  It would be far, far too big for me and it was the same with David.  He could hardly move wearing such over sized clothes.  So, he wears his own clothes and uses the weapons that he had which was a sling.  That was all he had needed to slay the animals.

David could have done this much differently but he knew where his strength came from; the Lord.  He was not going to turn his back on the one who got him this far.  This is totally unlike what Japan did in WWII.  They had an earthquake in 1923 that was devastating.  A major city was flattened.  There were something like 300,000 people killed.  Plus, there were 2 ½ million people left homeless.  Disease and hunger were everywhere.  In 1923 communications were not that good and help was slow to arrive.  Of course, it was the United States that came to the rescue.  We helped them back on their feet.  It was only about 17 years later that Japan declared war on the United States.  What in the world happened?   These people forgot who got them going again.  David was not about to let this happen to him so he took his sling and moved toward this ugly giant.

Now I’m going to get a little personal here.  How many times have you faced your giants or even some problem and you have forgotten all about what you have learned from Jesus?  I would guess that everyone listening has done this.  I would also guess that this happens mainly on smaller giants.  Like “how am I going to get out of bankruptcy?  Or how will I stretch my paycheck for the next month?  Or how are we going to heal our marriage?  Or how will I keep from getting any sicker?  I know that you have the answer right in front of you but you cannot, will not see it until you go to Jesus in prayer.  He is the answer to any and all of your problems.  Plus, He is always there waiting for you.

Now that he is ready, David heads into battle.  Remember that whoever wins this battle, wins the war.  The stakes are huge which is another reason why so many Israelites refused to do battle.  But David heads out with five smooth stones and his sling.  Goliath is already for him or whomever they send.  He knows that he can beat a boy.  He is insulted that they would send a boy.  He is not afraid to let David know how he feels as he piles the insults upon David.  Also notice that Goliath calls upon his gods to help him in what he considers to be a minor scrimmage.  So, there is more than just our God helping David, but Goliath has his gods also.  Of course, we all know that His gods are all false so they cannot help.  We don’t think about this much.  Here early in the Bible we find out that there is only one God and He will overpower all false gods.  So, Goliath is betting on his victory and he tells David what he will do to him after he kills him.  I think that most anyone would be a little afraid at this point.

But all of this does not seem to faze David in the least.  He is truly a boy of God.  He knows of all the things that God has done for him in the past and he knows that God will be with him here also.   It’s like the man in a story by Michael Biolsi.  It seems that a newlywed couple set a case on top of their car and drove off.  $12,000 was lost in the case.  They reported it and wouldn’t you know that an unemployed suburban resident, David Yi, found it and turned it in.  He turned it all in even though he was really broke at the time.  He would accept no reward either.  Then it was found that he had done this with $50 a year before.  The newspaper got ahold of this and asked him why he turned it all in?  He replied that it did not matter if it was $50 or $1,000 or a million dollars.  He could not keep what did not belong to him.  This fellow knew Jesus was with him and he tried his best to be like Jesus.  Well, David is trying his best to obey God also.

Just as Goliath proclaims victory through his gods, David does also.  David declares that he will prevail.  Or to be more accurately, God will prevail.  David does not rely on physical things like Goliath but rather on the power of God who has already done many things for Him.  In a moment, they will know the power of the God of Israel after this boy destroys this giant and that is exactly what he did.

This is a huge lesson for us.  But this is a lesson that many if not most of us do not follow.  We often would rather do things ourselves and talk to God later if at all.  I have so many giants in my life that I feel that I must be in contact with Jesus just about all the time.  Hence, I will tell you to pray continuously.  Anytime you are even thinking about God, you are praying.  Make this a habit for all the time so when you need and extra boost, Jesus is not far from your mind.  Years ago, I asked Jesus to use me in the best way possible.  This was long before I became a pastor.  Look what He has done.  Jesus loves all of you and He will help you if you ask.  Don’t be afraid to claim victory before you even start.  You will learn like David did, like I did, that Jesus will be helping you through anything and everything.  This is one of the great lessons of this passage.

Then notice that David never hesitates.  He charges right into battle.  He is not afraid because he knows that God is with him.  Goliath had to be taken aback by this forward, confident motion.  He is not about to let this little boy take him.  But it is all over in a few moments.  One shot from that sling to his head, and the giant falls.  David was very good with a sling.  Then as a sign of victory, which I don’t understand, he cuts off the head of Goliath.   He wins the battle and the Israelites win the war.

One of the problems we have and I know that I have, is that we hesitate to do some things.  I remember a couple of years ago; I was going to quit my online devotion.  It really had not done much up to that point.  Within a month of deciding this, my following jumped from under 20,000 to 100,000 followers.  I was absolutely shocked.  But then I realized that I had done nothing but Jesus had done so much.  I knew that I was not suppose stop yet.  And now, I have over 140,000 followers and Jesus is not done yet.  One of the great things about this is that I am sending my broadcasts to poor countries all over the world.  It was simply amazing that Jesus made me into a pastor and now it is amazing what He has done online.  Praise the Lord.

Anyway, the lesson here is to do what He tells you.  It really does not matter if it is job related, or money related or family related or anything related.  When you feel the nudging of Jesus, then go do what He says.  You will not regret it.  I recently had the honor of doing a wedding for one of my former confirmation students.  I remember some of the things they wrote down as what they wanted to do when they grew up.  I think most of these students are on the right track in life.  But most of them are not even close to what they wanted to do.  However, God has directed them in the direction of where He wants them to be.  Now if they or you just realize that it is God working for you, then hopefully you will know enough to just do as He tells you.  The life you have in Jesus is or will be the best that can ever be.  That is a promise, not from me, but from Jesus.

Hopefully, we have learned to recognize the giants in our lives, that we use the weapons of tools of God and not man, that we are able to declare victory before we even start on our quest, and that we run towards the battle right away and not wait.  Following Jesus is really not that hard.  Have Jesus help you break up your problems in smaller pieces that will be easier to manage.  Then go after it.  As I have said before, the life we have in Jesus is a great life so get going on it.  You will never be disappointed.  And thank, you Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.