David was the youngest of Jesse’s sons.  It was David’s job to watch over the sheep of his father.  The Israelites were fighting the Philistines and David’s older brothers were soldiers in the war.  Jesse sent David to the battle with some gifts and to find out how his brothers were doing.  David came to the army just as the Philistine giant Goliath came out to challenge any Israelite to a duel.  Goliath was perhaps 10 feet (3 meters) tall.   He was armed with a coat of mail and had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin.  1 Samuel 17:10-11 “And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” 1 Samuel 17:24-25 “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.  So the men of Israel said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” David decided to accept Goliath’s challenge.

1 Samuel 17:32-37 “Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’  And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’” David saw that the challenge of Goliath was a defiance of the armies of the living God and thus a defiance of God.  David had killed the lion and the bear that came against his sheep and he gave credit to the Lord for his ability to kill them. He believed that with the Lord on his side he would also defeat the Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:38-44 “So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.  So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!’”

1 Samuel 17:45-47 “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, 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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” David came in the name of the Lord of hosts; he saw his fight as a fight for God.  He had faith that the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hands. When the Lord had given him the victory, then everyone would know that the battle was the Lord’s and that the Lord had given Goliath into his hands.  David demonstrated great faith in God.

1 Samuel 17:48-51 “So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.  And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

You and I may also be fighting battles; like David, we may be fighting against giants.  But our battles should be spiritual and not physical.  The apostle Paul described our battles in Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  If we are fighting for the Lord, then the battle is the Lord’s.  If we have strong faith in Him, He will fight for us just like the He did for David.  Romans 8:37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” I encourage you to have faith in the Lord just as David had faith; be brave like David in fighting your battles for the Lord.