David The Giant Slayer

David The Giant Slayer 1 Samuel 17:1-10

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A Study Guide From Koinonia The Call Of The Heart

Koinonia The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single English word is adequate to express its depth and richness. It is a derivative of koinos, the word for common. Koinonia is a complex, rich, and thoroughly fascinating Greek approach to building community or teamwork.

Koinonia embraced a strong commitment to Kalos k'agathos meaning "good and good", an inner goodness toward virtue, and an outer goodness toward social relationships. In the context of outer goodness, translated into English, the meaning of koinonia holds the idea of joint participation in something with someone, such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture.

Those who have studied the word find there is always an implication of action included in its meaning. The word is meaningrich too, since it is used in a variety of related contexts.

Koinonos means 'a sharer' as in to share with one another in a possession held in common. It implies the spirit of generous sharing or the act of giving as contrasted with selfish getting. When koinonia is present, the spirit of sharing and giving becomes tangible. In most contexts, generosity is not an abstract ideal, but a demonstrable action resulting in a tangible and realistic expression of giving.

In classical Greek, koinonein means "to have a share in a thing," as when two or more people hold something, or even all things, in common. It can mean "going shares" with others, thereby having "business dealings,� such as joint ownership of a ship. It can also imply "sharing an opinion" with someone, and therefore agreeing with him, or disagreeing in a congenial way. Only participation as a contributive member allows one to share in what others have. What is shared, received or given becomes the common ground through which Koinonia becomes real.

To create a bond between comrades is the meaning of koinonia when people are recognized, share their joy and pains together, and are united because of their common experiences, interests and goals. Fellowship creates a mutual bond which overrides each individual’s pride, vanity, and individualism, fulfilling the human yearning with fraternity, belonging, and companionship. This meaning of koinonia accounts for the ease by which sharing and generosity flow. When combined with the spiritual implications of koinonia, fellowship provides a joint participation in God’s graces and denotes that common possession of spiritual values Fires, Apostolic Resource Centre,

s 1 Samuel 17: 1-10 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

Saul countered by gathering his troops near the valley of Elah. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.

The scene is set for a battle, but should there have been a battleground. The answer to that is no. But that fact stands and the past is gone. The time has come to fight, one army looking across to the other. The Philistines on side interestingly the word Philistine means “Immigrants” and that was precisely what they were being. And on the other side the Israelites. The meaning of the word Israel is “God Prevails” The Philistines were beaten force not long ago, and even now as the names say they were already defeated. But they were looking at the circumstances instead of the facts. What it needed was a great man of faith. King Saul had been disobedient to God and because of that Samuel said these words; But Samuel replied, “I will not return with you! Since you have rejected the LORD'S command, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.”

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” It was just like a bad dream for King Saul, a man who had been told that he no longer would be king. Yet there stood a great army in front of Him, under his command. Things looked so normal, and yet running to and fro amongst the Israelites army was a lad who only recently had been anointed, by Samuel to be king. But that was to be some time in the future. Saul was still in command and David was obedient to that fact, it was not his time to be King. But the anointing was so strong that he saw right through the situation and as we shall find out. He is to become the “The Giant Slayer”. As we spend time studying this event in the Bible. I pray that the revelation will not only reveal to you great steps of faith, but will also encourage you to step out and put into action the things that God has revealed in your life. Maybe things that you know that he has said to you, but you have felt that you did not have enough faith to do.

I will be using a lot of symbolization in this exhortation of scripture. It is a way that God speaks to me and reveals many great mysteries that I would never have got to know from life. It all started when I first became a Christian an elderly gentlemen said these words to me ”If you only discover one thing Kevin, about being a Christian then this is my advice; search the scriptures and look for Jesus, He is there in every word, line and passage”. Hence that is why now I can say that every time I pick up my Bible, there comes over me an excitement that has lasted for the last 13 years. I pray that those words spoken to me will touch your heart, and will lay a key in front of you to start a grand adventure.

So back to the passage that we are studying. David is about to rescue Israel from the hands of the Philistines. The Man of faith enters the scene, there in front of him was this scene; 1 Samuel 17:4-7 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.

Goliath stood there in front of the Philistine army, looking directly across to the Israelites.

He was full of arrogance and he despised them so much, he could not understand that not long ago this army had defeated them. He wanted revenge and he was going to glory in it.

Forty days he was shouting and taunting them. But they were afraid to challenge them.

Why? The Stature and armor reveal a lot about the situation. And I believe they also reveal to us today in situations that we still face. Let me explain; Goliath was a champion he was the best warrior they had. So it only seemed logical that the Israelites should put up a worthy contender, someone of the same pedigree. A warrior was needed, a great warrior. How many times in your life have you seen this. The best sportsmen battle it out. One country against another, they step into the arena to compete. That was the problem for Israel they had taken there eyes of God and put them on man.

Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, “Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat! If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves.

But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!”

I believe that we do exactly the same today, we look to mans ways of doing things and not God’s. From this, I hope we will learn that God can and will supply an answer to all our problems. But we need to be obedient and take time to listen to Him. Back to Goliath Here is a breakdown of what I believe each part means

- The situation looks bad.

9- 10 ft tall Bronze helmet

- Goliath’s thoughts were to make them suffer.

Bronze coat - This shows that this was a heavy burden. (125 pounds) - He was sure he could win.

Leg protectors Spear

- He was capable of doing real damage.

Weaver’s rod Blade

There was real substance in his claim.

- He was determined to pierce through the Israelite army.

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In our lives we face the same issues, there are not warriors standing in front of us, but situations. They seem giants in their appearance. The situation looks bad, there seems to be no way out. But have we as did the Israelites ignored God in the situation. Let’s see how David, who as we shall see, looks upon the problem in an entirely different way.

David was asking questions about the battle with his brothers when Goliath made yet another challenge, it is then that we see the anointing starting to work on him. He asked questions?

If you want to know the situation you need to ask questions. The Israelites were afraid and asked or should I say cried out for help .1 Samuel 17:25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men were asking. “He comes out each day to challenge Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? The king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

The king was offering a great deal for the one who would stand and challenge Goliath . Yet there had been no offer made to take the job. Why? Because they were only seeing with their eyes the physical truth. What they did not see was the spiritual truth.

David responded to the statement, he not only repeated the offer, but he added to it.

1 Samuel 17:26 David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and putting an end to his abuse of Israel?” he asked them. “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

David saw things from Gods eyes and heart, who is this that has the right to stand against the Living God. We tend to often to allow the situation to escalate out of control. So much so that we become blinded to the truth. And the things around us become reality. David became quite angry, about his situation. We need to show the same kind of anger, when something is allowed to become an illegal immigrant to that which God intended.

There will be opposition to your statement of faith, and at times you will be surprised from where it comes.

In David case it came from his brother Eliab. Eliab only looked at David as the youngest brother. He had already set boundaries around his thoughts about what David could do. Most of the time the nearest are sometimes the most blind. They only see from the actions of the past, when they had authority over you, by being the oldest or by having power to decide the outcome of your life. In life so many people want to hold the power of choice, and we get so involved in this that we forget that it is the creator Himself that has the final say. So if you are letting anyone have that power you are actually allowing them to rob you of the things that the creator Himself has for you. Eliab became angry, and that is the reaction you will get, when you stand up to those that are interfering with the freedom that God has given you. They will become quite verbal, they will call upon all the past records to hold you down. For David it was that he was the youngest, he should be looking after the sheep. David answered back and stood his ground, precisely what we should do. He replied a familiar saying that we use today. ”What have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?”

You see the brother wanted to show his authority by not allowing David to express how he felt. How many today do the same?

The report about that account on the battle ground reached the ears of Saul. You will be surprised at the outcome of your stand for God. It will give others the opportunity to see the person that God intended you to be. Don’t be surprised if people start to ask for you, it is then that you will see the wonderful purpose, God created you for. From the very beginning of time. Such freedom and boldness, the purpose of life becomes very clear to you. You will start to live for Him, not for yourself or for anybody else.

Have a focused mind when God reveals to you the reason for your stand of faith. Be clear and bold.

David in front of the king answered so positively; 1 Samuel 17:32 “Don’t worry about a thing,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight this Philistine!”

Saul answered the statement immediately in the negative; 1 Samuel 17:33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!”

Saul was looking at the circumstances instead of the facts that God is master of it all. That is precisely how some will react, using language that counters the statement that you have said. David then replies to Saul with an account of what he has achieved in the fields to protect his fathers sheep. He was actually saying that God has the power to protect his sheep. He then goes on to describe events that he encountered, that were of real danger not only to him, but also to the sheep. David was using this to demonstrate that there was no real difference between the Philistine and the lion and bear. There end result would end up the same death and defeat.

With that statement Saul said to David; “Go, and may the Lord be with you”,. He still had doubt because he used the word “may“. He still did not fully understand the situation. It will be the same with people that are around you, they will let you go, but will still have doubts. Because it has not come from them. They even may try to influence you by adding their insecurities on to you. That is precisely what Saul did to David: 1 Samuel 17:38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.

Again Saul and the people wanted David to look the part, they were more interested in impressing the opposition than defeating it. David humored them and showed them how ridiculous this was. David could not even walk, let alone fight. David could not go in the armor because it was foreign to him. We too often try to fight the battles that are in our lives by putting on the thoughts and even imitating their actions. It is not about seeing and hearing only, it is about applying and understanding in your heart. It is about faith, your faith in what God has imparted into your life. By being who you are and not being a imitation of someone else.

David took the armor off and he took what he knew, He took his stick or staff, five smooth stones from the stream, and he put them into his shepherds bag. Then he grabbed his sling, and went into battle prepared to meet the Philistine face to face. God wants us to be the same to do things by the power that he given each one us. It’s not for others to fight it is for you to fight.

I want to list the item and for me what those items mean in the symbolic way. I believe we will see through this the significance of David's weapons. Compared to Goliath's that we saw earlier.

STAFF 5 SMOOTH STONES STREAM SHEPHERDS BAG SLING

Liberating factor Gracious promises of God Word of God Faith of the believer Vehicle of Faith

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Starting with the staff, let us begin a breakdown of all that David took into battle. The staff was a very important part of a shepherds life. It had a crook at the top and was pointed at the end. In those days a shepherd had to protect his sheep from some of the most ferocious predators. The staff acted as a javelin, when in the hands of a well trained shepherd.

The predators would never confront the shepherd head to head, he would always pick off the sheep that were furthest away from Him. So the shepherd would use the staff as a spear , he throw it above the heads of the sheep and it would either hit the predator or would scare it off. David did not choose to use this against Goliath. The reason for that I believe is because he knew that this was not a predator in the sense of picking at the edge, this predator was the in your face type. So David had to look towards the other weapons that he had.

The Sling was the one It not only was used to guide the sheep, in their way: what I mean by that, is that the shepherd, would fire a stone from the sling just in front of the feet of the sheep, so that sheep would not wonder off but it was in the hands of David it was an accurate weapon, being able to hit any object or predator that advanced towards him or his sheep. He chose five stones from the stream, the significance of that I believe is that this represented the gracious promise of God and the stream of running water represents the word of God, continuing to hold true. No muck was allowed to attach itself to the stones it was pure, as is the word of God. He put them in to his shepherds bag and that is the way in which we take the word and hold on to it, believing it and applying it at the right time.

So the scene is set David prepared, Goliath over confident about his victory. The battle line is set. Now comes the statements about what will happen. So many times we hear what people think will happen and sometimes we allow ourselves to get sucked into their ways. And that is why we get disappointed. Lets look at the statement of Goliath's first 1 Samuel 17:43-44 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

Goliath got offended that he was being compared to the wild animals in the fields. Plus the fact that there stood in front of him, what seemed to be a pitiful figure. His pride was being violated and that was making him angry. So he begins to shout abuse. Just the same for us today, when we stand for what is right, people begin to get angry. They start to attack either with physical abuse or more often than not verbal, which in many ways hurts more. But the plans of God were already starting to happen. Because David returned with this statement;

1 Samuel 17:45-47 David shouted in reply, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.

And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The LORD will give you to us!”

Talk about being bold and sure. This statement just took Goliath over the edge, he just lost any control that he had. Now he only had one thought and that was to get to this little insignificant boy and to tear him to pieces. So he charged towards David. This can seem to be a fearful moment, the giant in full flight hitting the ground with such force that the ground shook, just like an earthquake. The natural reaction would be to run. But David was so sure that he could not be beaten. Because the Lord was with him, he did not run and he did not stay still, he grabbed hold off his sling he took out the stone from his bag and all the time he was gathering the promise. He ran towards Goliath, it was a battle that had to have an out come. We need to learn from this that if we are sure about the promise that God has for us we should not be afraid of what comes at us

The stone was the promise the sling is the vehicle. We should take the promises of God and we should put them in our hearts and believe them, in a sense we are the vehicle that God has chosen to fulfill his promises. When we do that then the results come, Goliath as soon as David let go of the sling saw that he was in a battle that only had one outcome. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead, it buried itself deep. That is what the promises of God do they insert such power into our situation. Goliath falls facedown in the dirt. That is what happens when you hold the word of God in Faith.

David does not leave it there he ran to the defeated Goliath and I believe that he was willing to take on any other challengers. In the army of the Philistines at that time there was still four more of Goliath Family amongst them, just as tall and that is why he picked up five stones. He was willing and able to carry on to the end. But David was about to shock the Philistines by picking up the sword of Goliath, that would have been so heavy for David in the natural but because he was flowing in the anointing he received super strength. Then he proceeded by cutting off the head of Goliath. That was it for the Philistine they turned and ran. Then those around David began to believe and they chased after the army. Their bodies laying along the road of retreat.

How about you and I having the faith that David had. It is possible just look towards the creator Himself and believe. Take hold of his promises in the word and go slay your Goliath.

BE A MAN OR WOMEN OF FAITH, A GIANT SLAYER

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