The Bible which I use and study is a King James Version with notes edited by Frank Charles Thompson. It is called a “Thompson Chain Reference Bible.” I have used it for nearly fifty years. It isn’t perfect, so I also employ other tools, but I like it and don’t see myself looking for another Bible. The word “chain” refers to the way Mr. Thompson links related verses together. For example, verse 18 mentions “cheese.” If I wanted to study cheese, there in the margin is II Samuel 17:29 where is another reference to cheese, and that verse refers to Job 10:10 and so on. Besides those references to “cheese” there is a number. It is #670. If I was in a hurry I could turn to the back of my Bible and look up #670 to find all the references to cheese which Mr. Thompson thinks are important.
Another example is “Faith.” Thompson has four columns of references starting with #1200 and going to #1211. First, there are General References, such as “Faith is the substance of this hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” and “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” After general references there is a section under “Faith Enjoined” with verses like: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” There is a section called “Blessings According to Faith,” and another called “Aids to Faith.” Of course there is another important subdivision referring to “Salvation by Grace through Faith” – #1206.
A study of faith could extend for hours and hours, using nothing but Thompson’s chain of scriptures. And that would be a good use of a person’s time. But, as I have said before, there is a difference between theological faith and faith’s practical application. Sadly, none of these subdivisions give me verses which explain how faith actually works. So how can we transition between general references to faith to the practical application of faith? It seems to me, the best way to move from the theoretical to the practical is by looking at Biblical examples.
When a human being like Jonathan or Joshua demonstrates their faith, that is something into which I can sink my teeth. Those were people just like myself. They had problems and personal weaknesses, just like me. But they overcame those weaknesses by applying what they knew about the Lord, sometimes trusting Him for great things like crossing the Jordan River or the Red Sea. That is what I call “practical faith.” And that is what I need, what you need, and what modern Christianity needs. We don’t need more King Sauls. We need Noahs, Jonathans and Joshuas.
In trying to make this approach, we are forced to review some well-known Bible stories. Whereas Thompson’s #1206 lists six examples of “Great faith,” all from the New Testament, we’ve already looked at about ten from the Old Testament. And even though we are looking at some of the details of different segments of Bible history, we are doing so with a desire to emphasize the faith of the men and women involved. And in fact, you may have noticed that in some recent lessons that I’ve skipped over well-known details. I am trusting you to know them. It is the faith of these people that I’d really like to emphasize.
I am calling this particular message: “Gargantuan Faith.” But that is only to get people’s attention. Sure, Goliath was a big guy, but David didn’t need bigger or stronger faith to bring the giant down, than Jonathan did to defeat twenty ordinary Philistines. The crossing of the Jordan didn’t require more faith than the Red Sea just because flowing water. This isn’t about the size of the dog in the fight; it’s about the size of the God who governs the fight. We need just as much trust in the Lord to make a major decision in our lives as David did to fight Goliath. But I am getting ahead of myself.
A summary of the historical event.
Because King Saul didn’t have the same faith as his son Jonathan, Israel was able only to push the Philistines away for a while. They came back with a vengeance, bivouacking right in the heart of the tribal lands of Judah. Saul was able to pull together, or perhaps to draft, an army to oppose the enemy, and they set up their camp with the valley of Elah between the two forces. This time the Philistines had brought a giant of man with them in order to intimidate Israel. He was huge. Goliath was from the race of men who had terrified the twelve spies during the days of Moses, and this descendant of the Anakims terrified the faithless in Israel in Saul’s day.
As you will remember the family of Jesse had sent their three eldest boys to fight along side Saul. After several weeks with no action, Jesse sent his youngest son, David, from Bethlehem, with food for the warriors in the family and with something extra for their captain. When David arrived, he saw everyone’s eyes looking across the valley. Following their gaze, he saw Goliath and then heard his words and challenge. “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. 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. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”
When David asked why someone didn’t go over and punch the bully’s lights out, his oldest brother rebuked and even ridiculed him. “With whom has 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.” David had left his many sheep in good hands, and there was no pride or naughtiness in his questions. “And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?”
After being invited to stand before the king and getting his permission, David then went down into the valley and a few yards up the other side toward Goliath, who was apparently so unconcerned he didn’t even look at him. Eventually, spotting the much smaller man, Goliath said, “Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?” He apparently couldn’t see the sling in David’s other hand. “And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” Then David famously replied, “I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts (Jehovah), the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD (Jehovah) deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee…” Then verse 48 says, “And it came to pass.” Two verses later we read, “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone…”
It has nothing to do with my message, but I read a comment yesterday. “A rock in bad hands murdered Abel. A rock in good hands killed Goliath. It’s definitely not about the rock, folks.” If I’m not mistaken, the author of that comment had a political agenda in mind. But otherwise he is right, it is not about the rock, nor is it about David. It’s all about the Lord. “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee…” “And it came to pass.”
Now let me try to apply this chapter to us and to this day in which we live.
How might we look at Goliath?
There are several application options. Once again, as in other illustrations, Goliath could illustrate a godless society, residing in and dominating over what should be the Lord’s kingdom. We could use Goliath to illustrate the atheistic, evolutionary thinking of today’s educational system. He could represent the powerful ten percent of society pushing their LGBTQ agenda. He might be the people of the WOKE movement, or communists, the socialists or the humanists. We might look at Goliath as a representation of an evil government doing everything in its power to make slaves of its citizens. Goliath said, “If I prevail against (your champion) and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.” God, of course, could crush and silence these evil influences with the flexing of His little finger. But He hasn’t done that, perhaps, because He wants a David to stand up and to do it in His name. Sadly, those Davids and those Jonathans are not to be found very often.
How might we look at Goliath? How about as an illustration of certain kinds of lost souls? Look at his ego. Listen to his intimidating bravado. He was living in denial of the God of Israel, a God of whom he apparently knew to some degree, but not personally. He was defiant and arrogant. He was convinced there wasn’t a Christian in the world who could defeat his logic and strength. “Your ideas about a recent six-day creation are ludicrous and out-dated.” “No one needs a Saviour today. We are all capable of saving ourselves if we want to.” “Give me a victim that I can tear apart.” Goliath was a religious man, even if his religion was only a tool. “The Philistine cursed David by his gods.” This giant may have had as much faith as David, only his faith was in an empty, teetering and broken-handed idol, named Dagon.
Goliath needed Christ the Saviour like everyone else. How could he possibly justify bowing and worshiping a god who was depicted as a fish with hands? Answer: probably the same way that thousands of people who would be out fishing today, if they weren’t at home watching the Super Bowl. This sinner, blasphemer, idolater needs to be reconciled to the true and living God. He needs to be saved. But like Goliath, he will fight tooth and nail to isolate himself from the omnipresent God.
I wonder how Goliath became the Philistines’ champion? It certainly wasn’t through an earned PhD in physics or even with a ThD in bad theology. Judging by his words, he was new on the scene, and he’d ever gone into battle against Israel before. Has he ever fought anyone except in simulations with some of his fellow Anakims or other Philistines? Why does he need all that fancy armor and an armorbearer, if he is the great warrior he claims to be? It is all bravado. Generally speaking the Lord’s enemies are not as powerful as they picture themselves. They are certainly nothing before God, and in truth they are little people when a man of God approaches in the name of the Lord. The world needs, and God wants to employ men of faith, like David, to bring the lost to the cross.
And there were have David.
Once again, we are talking about a youth, a young man. He was something like the young men whom the Lord used to ignite the Welsh revival. The first of those men, Evan Roberts, was twenty-six years old when the fire of God fell upon him. David was the youngest son of Jesse. He was small in many ways. He was the smallest of the small. His eldest brother looked down on him for his youth and inexperience. When Saul tried to put his armor on David, it engulfed him like a tent made out of mail. He wasn’t a blacksmith with huge biceps; he didn’t muscle around a team of plow horses or oxen every day. He was shepherd, whose only responsibility was to carry baby lambs around on his shoulders. At least that was what some people thought or implied. Who is this kid kidding thinking he can go up against a nine-foot-tall seasoned gladiator?
But David had a pair of ears which could hear things his brother and the others could not hear. He heard Goliath slander and blaspheme the name of Israel’s God – David’s God. As far as this young man was concerned the giant was already standing on a banana peel. He was going down. But it was not because David was stronger, quicker, or more agile than anyone else. David wanted to go into battle with this blasphemer in the name of the God he slandered. He fully expected the Lord to defeat this gargantuan man.
David said to Eliab, his brother, and then to several others, “Is there not a cause?” “Is there not a cause?” Absolutely. David’s words and questions were reported to King Saul, but it wasn’t by his brother. “Eliab’s anger was kindled against David” – verse 28.
Probably for years Eliab had looked down on his brother, the way that Asher and Simeon looked down on their brother Joseph. But Eliab’s attitude turned even more sour in the previous chapter. The prophet Samuel had been sent by God to anoint the future king of Israel from among the sons of Jesse. Seven of the sons of the family were gathered before him, and Samuel’s eye first fell on Eliab. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature… the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” What the Lord saw in Eliab didn’t impress him. He as an ordinary, essentially faithless Christian, who only went through the motions of his religion. He was too full of himself to think about any one but himself. He was no servant of God. Of the seven sons of Jesse, the Holy Spirit didn’t reveal the future king, so somewhat confused, Samuel asked if there was another son in the family. David was so little thought of by the family that he wasn’t even invited to the meeting with God’s prophet. But the great man of God insisted that David be summoned, and he was brought in from his sheepfold. The Lord then told Samuel, “This is the future king of Israel,” and David was anointed to replace Saul. The point is: not even David’s father gave him much thought or hope for success in his adult life.
And now, Eliab, who might have hated David ever since that day of his anointing, accused his brother of pride. “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 the should defy the armies of the living God?” I have read and re-read that question, and I can’t find any pride in it at all. Obviously, there can be a great deal of pride in serving the Lord, particularly when Eliab, Saul and the rest of Israel weren’t properly serving Him. But this was only a question. On the other hand, there can also be a charge of pride, when it is not deserved.
Let me apply a little test. Would you think me full of pride if I told you that one of the brethren and I were here at the church yesterday at 7:00 a.m., praying and beseeching the Lord for His blessing on you? You might accuse me of pride in saying that, but I assure you there was no pride whatsoever. The truth is, I intended not to mention it, but then I needed an illustration for this point in my message. There is no pride in David’s question: “Is there not a cause?” There is no pride in understanding our great need of God’s blessings, and praying for those blessings.
David hadn’t yet volunteered to bring Goliath down when Eliab made his false accusation. It is not pride to yearn for the blessings of God. There is no one who deserves those blessings. It is not necessarily pride to want to be used by God and to be a part of God’s work. It is not pride to expect the Lord to do great things, even if those mighty works are through us. It wasn’t pride when David said, “This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee.” It was nothing but the confidence of faith. But I can see that there might not be a very big step between faith and what appears to be pride. Eliab might have thought he saw pride in his youngest brother, but he was wrong.
What I like about David’s faith, and what I wish we all possessed, was its humble boldness. “Let no many’s heart fail because of (this giant), thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” “This day will the LORD deliver thee (Mr. Philistine) into mine hand.” “There is a God in Israel. 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.”
When David met him, Goliath who was probably seated on a good-sized bolder. He “arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, (and) David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” – verse 48. God’s servant then reached into his pouch and pulled out a stone, placing it in his sling. “And he slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth,” probably knocked out, but perhaps dying. Then David drew out the giant’s heavy sword and dispatched the Philistine’s grand champion, sending him into eternity.
Secular historians might have said that things worked out quite well for David that day. The sun was in Goliath’s eyes; he had nodded off and was still a little sleepy; he had a muscle cramp. They might have said that over the years David trained himself to accurately use the sling, even while running. He may have driven away a dozen wolves and other predators which tried to attack his sheep. And his defeat of a bear and lion gave him special confidence and courage. Then David was small and agile, making Goliath hesitant to throw his spear. The unbelieving historians of Israel might have credited David with various human skills to create a victory that day. But David himself placed the credit where the credit was due – firmly on God. David attacked the giant, not with skill or weapons, but in the name of the Lord – with the authority of Jehovah. And that was the primary reason that God stepped in and blessed the young man’s efforts.
Again, this is what we need. We need victory in our lives. Our church needs a revival of the power of God. Post Falls need to feel the moving of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction and yearning for holiness. Christianity generally needs to see the power of God once again. But we are not going to see any of this if you and I can’t learn to trust God, putting Him first in all that we do, and more particularly in the our service in His name. We need to risk ourselves the way that David risked his life that day – for the glory of God. If we will step out, the way David did, into the pathway of Goliath’s spear, we too will see giants go down. We will see lost souls come to Christ and we will see God’s churches strengthened and growing.