Face Your Philistine!

Text:  1 SAMUEL 17:(1A, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49

Theme:  “Meet Your Philistine!”

4^th Sunday after Pentecost

Father’s Day

July 20, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

The little Israelite shepherd boy David takes down the mighty Philistine warrior Goliath with a smooth stone hurled from, essentially, a slingshot. 

The two opposing forces were gathered on two hills separated by a valley called Elah.  A massive rush down the hills to battle would likely be a disaster for both sides.  Perhaps sensing this, the Philistine army blinks first and offers up another option – called “single combat” – that was a common practice in the ancient world.  Basically, the sides in the conflict would try to avoid heavy casualties and loss of life by choosing one warrior to represent them in what we’d basically call one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat.

The mighty Goliath, chosen warrior of the Philistines and equipped with all the armament and weapons appropriate to this engagement, expected to be met by his counterpart from Israel.  However, as the story goes, his expectation didn’t meet with the reality “on the ground,” as they say.

So when you face the “Philistines” – or even the “Goliath”s – in your life, keep in mind that expectations don’t always match up with reality.  When forces in life seek to bring you down, they may be expecting you to follow their rules of engagement, their fundamentals.  Taking your cue from little David, you don’t have to let their expectations set your agenda.  Saul was certainly ready to play by the rules of single combat engagement.  He had little David fitted with all the “appropriate” weapons, armament, and gear.  Little David could hardly move with all of that stuff clinging to his body.  He sets all that aside, grabs his little sack, pulls five smooth stones from the wadi (or “river”) and sets out to meet the Philistine for the battle royale!  Spoiler alert!  It wasn’t much of a battle royale at all!

“Three cheers for the underdog,” we might reply.  “Underdog”?  Malcolm Gladwell, author of a book titled David and Goliath, isn’t quite so sure.

The battle is won miraculously by an underdog who, by all expectations, should not have won at all.  This is the way we have told one another the story over the many centuries since.  It is how the phrase “David and Goliath” has come to be embedded in our language – as a metaphor for improbable victory.  And the problem with that version of events is that almost everything about it is wrong.

He goes on to tell of the three kinds of warriors in the ancient world:  cavalry (armed soldiers with horses or chariots), infantry (foot soldiers with armor, swords, and shields) and projectile warriors (artillery).  Today, we might even call them snipers. 

Now Goliath was infantry.  What about David?  He was a shepherd, but he went into this exchange as artillery. He was a sniper.  That sling and those rocks were his weapons, and, through much practice, he had learned how to take out all those lions and bears that sought to destroy the sheep he shepherded. 

Mighty Goliath, weighed down, with all the proud armament of war and who struck fear into the Israelite army, was easy pickings for this shepherd boy. 

Goliath is quite amused at the little urchin.  He shouts:  “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?”  Here’s another takeaway to keep in mind when facing your Philistine:  let their estimation of you work in YOUR favor – especially when they underestimate you. 

On the Israelite hill overlooking the valley of Elah, they saw a powerful giant armed to the teeth.  But, in good Paul Harvey form, we know “the rest of the story” – and power and strength aren’t always what they seem to be.  You may be discouraged at the power and strength that your own Philistines and Goliaths seem to hold over you.  Remember, again:  power and strength aren’t always what they seem to be.  Historian Robert Dohrenwend writes:  “Goliath had as much change against David as any Bronze Age warrior with a sword would have had against an opponent armed with a .45 automatic pistol.”

Yes, Goliath had his weapons.  David even mentioned that:  “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.”  There was no mention of the sling and the smooth stones.  There is declaration, however, of where his confidence lay – not in himself, not in his speed or agility, not in his sack of rocks.  His confidence was in God.  At the heart of confidence is fidei or faith.  So, when you confront your Philistine/Goliath, do so, first and foremost, with that confidence borne of faith. 

Centuries later, we learn that the acorn didn’t fall too far from the ancestral tree.   Faced with the “Goliath” of the cross, knowing full well that it was on his radar screen, Jesus – that great “Son of David” -- didn’t run and hide.  We are told that he “resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem.” 

The forces marshaled against Jesus and His people used all the weapons available to them:  religion, government, and all the power that belonged to them both.  What of Jesus, the Son of David? Was He cavalry, infantry, or artillery? He didn’t even have a sling and five smooth stones.  He had only His Word and commitment to suffering love.  In His suffering, death, and resurrection, He – armed with only His Word and His suffering love – snookered and out-maneuvered the greatest of all Goliaths. 

On this Father’s Day, let us remember:  Father Jesse sent His Son to the front line.  Father God sent His Son to the front line as well.   So there you have it:  the good news of the gospel and a few solid suggestions on facing your own Philistine from this story.  All in all, I hope that adds up to blessing and a good day for each of you – and, especially, for our fathers.

Amen.