Why Bother With The Old Testament?

A lot of this sermon is based on Nicky Gumble's 'How To Understand The Old Testament' from the Jesus Lifestyle Series, click HERE to listen to Nick's talks from this series

Introduction

I love the Old Testament, but I have spoken to many people in St Martin’s, who have admitted to me that they really struggle with the Old Testament, and rarely if ever read it.  So this morning, I want to explore the question of ‘why bother with the Old Testament?’

I hope that as a result of today’s talk, I will have encouraged you to be excited about the Old Testament, and want to start reading it regularly. 

You may ask the question, why do we need to read the Old Testament at all?  Why not just stick with the New Testament? 

The problem with the OT

This to some people may seem an appealing idea, particularly as we have to admit that there are parts of the OT which are confusing, difficult, hard to understand.  Did Noah really live to 950?  Did God really destroy the world by sending a giant flood?  What about all the wars?  Isn’t the God of the OT a scary, judgmental, angry God? 

Many modern atheists are scathing about the God of the OT.  Richard Dawkins writes ‘The God of the OT is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.’

So why don’t we just cut out the OT?  This was something Marcion did in the 2^nd Century when he rejected the OT in its entirety, because he believed the God of the OT was wrathful and vengeful, and could not therefore have anything to do with the loving and all forgiving God of the NT.  But he found that if you rejected the OT, you also had to reject a lot of the NT as well.  He rejected all the apostles, except Paul.   He kept 10 of Paul’s letters, but he had them radically cut down to remove all OT references.  He also rejected all the Gospels expect for Luke, which again he cut down.

One of the consequences of Marcion’s proposed canon was that it helped to push the early church to develop its own authoritative list of inspired writings, which ultimately led to the formation of the canon of the New Testament as we have it today.

So why should we bother with the OT?

It’s Full of Great Stories

If we got rid of the OT, or didn’t bother with it, we would be losing some of the greatest and most exiting literature in the world.  For example the creation story, the story of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, Samson, David, Daniel and Jonah to name just a few. Some of the most beautiful poetry in the world is contained in the Psalms, and the Song of Songs, and we have some of the greatest wisdom of the world in the book of Proverbs.  And then there is the teaching of the OT prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Hosea to name just a few. 

Also in the OT we find some of the most beautiful and wonderful descriptions of God and his love for us found anywhere in the Bible.  ‘For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps 103:11-12)

But the OT is much more than just great literature, it is divinely inspired.

God breathed

In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul writes ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’.  When we read this quote, when tend to think that Paul was writing about the Bible as we have it today, but remember that Paul wrote this letter in 66 or 67AD, whilst imprisoned in Rome, before many of the books of the New Testament were written and long before they were brought together.  It is worth noting that the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke are believed to have been written between AD 50 and AD70, and the Gospel of John was composed in the 80s or 90s, some considerable time after Paul wrote 2 Timothy. 

Therefore when Paul talks about all Scripture being God breathed, he is in fact referring to the OT.  Therefore we see that the OT is an important tool for teaching us about God.What we see as we read the OT, is God’s love and concern for humanity, and how God often uses deeply flawed, weak, ordinary people to achieve his mighty purposes.  People like Samson, a very controversial character, who would have benefited from attending an anger management course, and relationship counselling, and yet we are told the spirit of God was on him.  Or David, who is described in 1 Samuel 13:14 as a man after God’s own heart, and yet seduced and made another man’s wife pregnant, and then to cover the pregnancy arranged for this man to be killed in battle.  Or Moses, who despite having killed a man, and then fled into the desert, is called by God to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. 

The OT has much to teach us and challenge us.  We see in it what happens when God’s people walk in faithful obedience to God’s will, and what happens when they forsake God.  But above all, we see God’s heart for his people.  How, despite the fact that they reject God again and again, God never gives up on his people.  His love remains steadfast. 

The OT has a tremendous amount to teach us about God, and our relationship with him.

The Bible Jesus read

For me one of the strongest arguments about why we should read the OT, is because it is the Bible that Jesus himself read, loved and used.   And in Jesus’ preaching and teaching, he refers to the OT again and again.  To understand the teachings of Jesus, you need to have some understanding of the Old Testament. 

For example, when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan he responds by quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy.  Three times Jesus responds to Satan’s temptations by saying “It is written…” (Matthew 4) 

If Jesus felt it was important to know the OT, then it is also important for us to know it. Jesus the fulfilment of OT prophecy

Not only did Jesus know the OT, he came to fulfil it.  Jesus said "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Matthew 5:17) 

The OT looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, who would bring salvation to the world.  For example 700 years before Christ was born, Isaiah 53 talked about suffering servant, a man of sorrows, despised and rejected by men, who was ‘pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’ (Isaiah 53:5)  Here is a prophecy about how Jesus would die on the cross for us.

There are over 300 references to the coming Messiah in Old Testament that were fulfilled by Jesus, including twenty-nine major prophecies fulfilled in a single day – the day he died.
Jesus is the one who was prophesied about in the OT, he is the fulfilment of Scripture.  That is why he said ‘You study the Scriptures diligently [the OT] because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.’  (John 5:39)  And when the risen Jesus met the two disciples on the Emmaus road ‘ beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:27)

How do we read the OT

This leads me onto the question, how do we read the OT.  Many years ago I attempted to read the OT from start to finish, I sailed through Genesis, Exodus, but then things got a lot harder when I hit Leviticus, and the instructions about grain offerings, and burnt offerings, and cleansing from infectious skin diseases.

The best advice for reading the OT is start with the easy bits.  It’s like a crossword puzzle, you start with the easy parts first, which help you fill in the harder parts.  The more we get to know and understand the OT, the more we find we understand.

But the main key to understanding the OT, is to know Jesus, because it is through the lens of Jesus that we read the OT. 

Jesus fulfils God’s story, history is HIS story.  Right from the beginning of the OT you see Jesus’ identity and mission begin to be revealed through the characters and teaching of the OT.  For example, right at the beginning of the Bible we see how in the Garden of Eden, the first Adam disobeyed God, and chaos followed.  And how in the NT, Jesus, who is described as the second Adam, obeyed God, and made it possible for chaos to be restored. 

And when Abraham took his son Isaac to be offered as a sacrifice, here we have a picture of a God who is willing to give up everything that was most important to him, for you and for me, and it foreshadows Jesus’ own death on the cross. 

In Exodus we see a God who wants to set us free from slavery, and how the Israelite’s were saved by the blood of the lamb, again foreshadowing Jesus, the Lamb of God, through whom we are saved by the shedding of his blood.

The deeper you go into understanding the OT, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus.Reading the OT without Jesus, is like going into a room with a light out.  With the light out, you can feel your way around, and say this feels like a sofa, this feels like a picture, but with the light on you can see a sofa, you can see a picture, and much more as well.  Jesus switches the light on, to give us understanding of what is in the OT. 

G E Wright says “Christ is the key to the central contents of the Old Testament, but at the same time it is the Old Testament which provides the clue to Christ.”

This is why it is so important that we do not neglect the OT.

Reading the OT

So going back to my original question, why should we bother with the OT? 

• Because it is rich in wonderful stories
• Because it is God breathed, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’
• Because it is the Bible Jesus read
• Because Jesus is the fulfilment of OT prophecy
• If we are to fully understand and appreciate the NT, and who Jesus is, why he came, and what he has done for us, we need to understand and appreciate the OT. 

If you are someone who struggles with the OT, I hope that today I have inspired you to start reading the OT, and discovering the richness that can be found in it, and during the course of this year, we will spending time studying many of the great stories contained within the OT, starting next week with the book of Jonah.

The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: The Fall of Israel: David & Bathsheba (36)

2 Samuel 11:1-12:25

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’

So David sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’ And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house, and wash your feet.’ Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the entrance of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, ‘Uriah did not go down to his house’, David said to Uriah, ‘You have just come from a journey. Why did you not go down to your house?’ Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing.’ Then David said to Uriah, ‘Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.’ So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the next day, David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

David Has Uriah Killed

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, so that he may be struck down and die.’ As Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant warriors. The men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was killed as well. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting; and he instructed the messenger, ‘When you have finished telling the king all the news about the fighting, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, “Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?” then you shall say, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead too.” ’

So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, ‘The men gained an advantage over us, and came out against us in the field; but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall; some of the king’s servants are dead; and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ David said to the messenger, ‘Thus you shall say to Joab, “Do not let this matter trouble you, for the sword devours now one and now another; press your attack on the city, and overthrow it.” And encourage him.’

When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she made lamentation for him. When the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son.

Nathan Condemns David

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lordsent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meagre fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.Now there came a traveller to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.’ Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’

Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child that is born to you shall die.’ Then Nathan went to his house.

Bathsheba’s Child Dies

The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, ‘While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.’ But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, ‘Is the child dead?’ They said, ‘He is dead.’

Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the Lord, and worshipped; he then went to his own house; and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate. Then his servants said to him, ‘What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but when the child died, you rose and ate food.’ He said, ‘While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, “Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.” But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.’

Solomon Is Born

Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and went to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The Lord loved him, and sent a message by the prophet Nathan; so he named him Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

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How Could You?

KEY THOUGHT

We all sin. But if we truly repent, God will forgive us.

OVERVIEW

How could David, the man “after God’s own heart” commit adultery, arrange a murder and then cover it up? The biggest mistake we can make is to think sin won’t get to us. That’s why it’s so important to be part of a Christian community that can hold us accountable. When David was confronted with his sin (12.1-10) he immediately and genuinely repented (12.13 and Psalm 51). It can be incredibly difficult to admit our sin. But when we do, God removes the burden forever.

CHALLENGE

SIN MAY INFECT YOU BUT GOD WILL PROTECT YOU.

The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: The Rise of Israel: David & Saul (34)

1 Samuel 23:7-24:22

Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, ‘God has given him into my hand; for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.’ Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, ‘Bring the ephod here.’ David said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant.’ TheLord said, ‘He will come down.’ Then David said, ‘Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?’ The Lord said, ‘They will surrender you.’ Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the Lord did not give him into his hand.

David Eludes Saul in the Wilderness

David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life. Saul’s son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through theLord. He said to him, ‘Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my father Saul also knows that this is so.’ Then the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, ‘David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon. Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so; and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.’Saul said, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord for showing me compassion!Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. Look around and learn all the hiding-places where he lurks, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.’ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.’ So Saul stopped pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. David then went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.

David Spares Saul’s Life

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, ‘David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.’ Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. The men of David said to him, ‘Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.” ’ Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak. Afterwards David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.

Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the words of those who say, “David seeks to do you harm”? This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.” See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life. May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lordavenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the ancient proverb says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness”; but my hand shall not be against you. Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea? May theLord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.’

When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.’ So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

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FIRST IMPULSE

KEY THOUGHT

When treated unfairly, our first impulse should turn us to God.

OVERVIEW

Saul had an impulse for doing things his own way instead of God’s (1 Samuel 13.1-15; 15.10). David’s impulse, in contrast, was to trust God in every situation. When he had every right to kill Saul in selfdefense, David preferred to let God do things his way (24.12). Have you been unfairly treated or wronged by someone? It rarely helps to “give them a

taste of their own medicine.” Far better to pray, “Lord, this is not fair and I’m angry about it, but I’m determined to make choices that please you.”

CHALLENGE

FEELING ANGRY? DON’T LASH OUT. LOOK UP AND DO WHAT PLEASES GOD.

The E100 Bible Reading Challenge: The Rise of Israel: David & Goliath (33)

1 Samuel 16:1-18:16

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.” So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! 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.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers; also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.” Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.” David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.

When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them.

Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and 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 very 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 Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” The king said, “Inquire whose son the stripling is.” On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they made merry, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day on. The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lordwas with him. When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.

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ONLY A BOY NAMED DAVID

KEY THOUGHT
No challenge is too big to overcome when God is with us.

OVERVIEW
The story of David and Goliath has become part of our popular culture. But what really was the key to David’s success? Ultimately, David won because he understood Goliath was picking a fight with God (17.45). The Bible also makes clear David had learned to depend on God in other stressful situations (17.34-37), so when the pressure was on with Goliath, he was ready.

CHALLENGE
HAVING A HEART FOR GOD IS THE GREATEST STRENGTH OF ALL.