Bible Talks

From: Messages of God's Love: 1954

1 Samuel 17:41-18:1⁴¹And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. ⁴³And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴And 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. ⁴⁵Then 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. ⁴⁶This 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. ⁴⁷And 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. ⁴⁸And 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. ⁴⁹And 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. ⁵⁰So 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. ⁵¹Therefore 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. ⁵²And 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. ⁵³And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. ⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. ⁵⁵And 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. ⁵⁶And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. ⁵⁷And 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. ⁵⁸And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. ¹And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 17:41‑18:1).

David’s stones were made smooth by the continual running of the water over them. So it is by reading the Word of God continually that we become well-acquainted with it, and are able to use it wisely.

When Goliath the giant saw David coming out to meet him, he came toward him boldly. He despised David because he came without a coat of armor, having only a staff and a sling, and he said he would give David’s body to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field.

David replied, “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.” David was not afraid because his confidence was in the Lord. He did not look at the size of the giant, for he knew that his size meant nothing to the Lord. Instead he ran out to meet him, and, putting his hand in his shepherd’s bag, he took a stone and slung it at the Philistine. The stone hit the great giant in his forehead and he fell upon his face to the earth. David then went forward and took the sword from Goliath’s sheath, cutting off the giant’s head with his own sword. What a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus who went to the cross, despised, rected, and delivered up to die by sinful men, but there on that cross where He was “crucified in weakness,” 2 Cor. 13:4⁴For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. (2 Corinthians 13:4). He won the great victory over Satan’s power. Satan had the power of death, and kept men in fear by it, but the Lord Jesus went down into death for our sins, took the sting out of it, robbed it of all its power for the believer, and then arose in triumph (Hebrews 2:14, 15¹⁴Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; ¹⁵And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14‑15)). And so here, David came back with the head of the giant in his hands, and the army of Israel then pursued the Philistines until they had completely overcome them. Then they spoiled their tents. Now we, as believers, need not fear death. The Lord Jesus victory at Calvary was for us, and He has divided the “spoil” with us. Even death itself is ours, for we read, “All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” 1 Cor. 3:21-23²¹Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; ²²Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; ²³And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. (1 Corinthians 3:21‑23). May we be more thanul for the wonderful triumph won for us at Calvary and praise Him more!

As we have remarked before, Saul did not recognize David after this viory, nor did Abner the captain of Saul’s host. Unbelief never sees anhing attractive about walking by faith. While David was playing his harp in Saul’s court, Saul had been refreshed, but he did not know him when fighting the Lord’s battles. Even the world can appreciate what appeals to the flesh in religion, but they will never appreciate the obedience of faith.

If Saul failed to appreciate what David had done, Jonathan his son, who was a true child of God, a man of faith, was quick to recognize it. David had won his heart, even as our hearts have been won by the true David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jonathan’s soul was knit to the soul of David and he loved him as his own soul. When a sinner sees his need, and what the Lord Jesus has done to save him on the cross of Calvary, his heart goes out in love to Him. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19¹⁹We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19).

ML 10/10/1954

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