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THE LORD’S ANOINTED HAS SLAIN THE ENEMY OF GOD’S PEOPLE.
In the name + of Jesus.
The story of David and Goliath is often
used as a locker room pep talk. A smaller
school or less talented team is assured that the little guy can beat the
giant. Sometimes God’s name is even
invoked, implying that God is on their side and they will defeat their
opponent. If this is how the Biblical account
is taught, then it is woefully misapplied.
The Holy Spirit did not have this event recorded for the sake of locker
room pep talks. St. Paul wrote, “Whatever
was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that, through
patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope”
(Romans 15:4). Our hope is not that
we can defeat an opponent. The fact is, mankind
has been overcome by the devil. We have
not overcome temptations. And we will
not escape death. But our Lord Jesus
Christ has. That is our hope. Since Scripture was written to give us hope,
all Scripture points us to Jesus Christ.
To appreciate the account of David and Goliath,
we need to go back one chapter. In 1
Samuel 16, the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to the little town of Bethlehem to
anoint one who would be king in place of Saul.
When the youngest of Jesse’s sons appeared, “the Lord said,
‘Get up! Anoint him, because this is the
one.’ So Samuel took the horn of oil and
anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed on
David with power from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:12-13). David had become the Lord’s anointed.
It was after
this that the Philistine and Israelite armies lined up for battle. Rather than have full armies engage in battle
and suffer numerous deaths and casualties, they could follow the custom to have
a champion from each side represent his people.
The two would fight, and only one would have to die instead of
thousands. The winner would claim
victory for his nation; the loser’s people would be subjugated to slavery.
Goliath, all six
and a half cubits of him (over 9 feet tall), was the Philistines’ champion. He issued the challenge for Israel to present
their champion. No one from Israel dared
to face the giant. Who could blame
them? Goliath had thorough military
training, displayed great strength, and was enormous. Day after day, Goliath issued his challenge—insulting
the people of God and, by extension, God himself.
Military age for Israel was 20 years old,
so David was probably in his late teens.
David was not in Saul’s army, but when he heard the defiant challenge
from Goliath, he told King Saul, “Do not let anyone lose heart
because of this Philistine! Your servant
will go and fight him” (1 Samuel 17:32).
Goliath
was insulted at David’s appearance. This
is Israel’s champion?!?! Then he
insulted David to his face. David replied,
“You come against me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come
against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks
of Israel, whom you have defied. …The battle belongs to the Lord, and he
will deliver you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:45,47).
This man, lowly
in appearance, went forth on behalf of all the people of God. The odds seemed heavily in favor of Goliath. The Philistine army must have thought it
laughable. Goliath’s taunting seemed
justified. “When you presented a
challenger, I thought this showdown would at least be a challenge!” But remember who went forth to face the enemy
of God’s people. It was the Lord’s
anointed. The Lord’s anointed slew the
enemy of God’s people.
“Whatever was written in the past was
written for our instruction, so that … we would have hope” (Romans 15:4). Our hope is in the name of the Lord, in the
one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Jesus has instructed us that “(the Scriptures) testify about me”
(John 5:39)! The events of the Old
Testament point us ahead to Jesus who comes to fulfill them all. So, when we hear how the Lord’s anointed went
out by himself to slay the enemy of God’s people—that is, when David went out
to battle Goliath—this foreshadows what Jesus would come to do.
Jesus, the Lord’s anointed, was sent to rescue
you from your enemy. Your enemy is the
devil who had taken mankind captive back in the Garden of Eden. He seduced the man and the woman to believe
that disobedience to God’s word was the path to happiness and a better life. So, they rebelled against God’s word. From that moment on, all mankind has been held
captive by him.
The devil still uses seduction and deception
to lead you into sin. “Why would God put
restrictions on you? Who is God to tell
you what you can or can’t do? What
matters is your happiness, so do whatever makes you happy!” It all sounds good, doesn’t it? The devil always has you question God’s
wisdom and doubt God’s love. The devil
promises you so much more, so much better.
David was seduced by the devil’s lies,
most famously by having an adulterous affair with Bathsheba and then arranging
the death of her husband. Even though he
was the Lord’s anointed, he proved he was a sinner. You and I know better than to follow Satan’s
lies. Yet, we do. Our problem is not ignorance of God’s word. Our problem is the sinful condition which
continues to question God’s will, doubt God’s love, and turn from God’s
word. If you have ever struggled with a
particular sin, you know how intense it can be when temptation comes. The devil entices, appeals, and afflicts
you. He convinces you that you have to
sin in order to get relief. But instead
of feeling relief, you are left with shame and disappointment in yourself that
you failed again. When the battle against
temptation comes, you must resort to prayer which is just as intense as the temptation
you face. You cannot stand on your own;
you need your champion.
Even though we have succumbed to
temptation, Jesus did not. Jesus went
forth to slay the enemy of God’s people.
The deal that Goliath had given is similar to the rules of engagement
between Jesus and the devil. “Choose
a man to represent you, and let him come down to me. If he is able to
fight with me and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I overcome him and kill him, you will
become our servants, and you will serve us” (1 Samuel 17:8-9). God the Father made the choice for us. The man who was chosen and anointed to act
for us is Jesus.
God the Son was sent by his Father to be
our champion. He was sent to battle
Satan on behalf of all mankind. But the
battle was not engaged by God the Son in his full glory, power, and majesty. It was engaged by a man in meekness, weakness,
and humility. The battle is for mankind,
so a man went forth to fight the devil with all his deep guile and great might. We heard of one such battle in our Gospel
reading.
But just as we did for the account of
David and Goliath, so here we need to peek back one chapter in Luke’s
Gospel. St. Luke recorded, “Jesus was
baptized …and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove”
(Luke 3:21-22). This is when Jesus was
anointed by the Holy Spirit and began his word as the Christ, the Lord’s
anointed.
Immediately after that, Jesus “was led
by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the Devil for forty
days” (Luke 4:1-2). This man—unimpressive,
humble, and weakened by fasting—was to do battle with the foe who had taken the
whole world captive by sin. Just as he
did with Adam and Eve, so the devil did with Jesus. He tried to seduce him into using his miraculous
power for his own selfish gain by turning stone to bread. He twisted Scripture, hoping that Jesus would
trust a false promise and test his Father’s care for him. He even offered Jesus the easy way out of suffering
and dying. He told him, “I will give
you all this power and the glory of (the world’s) kingdoms, because it has been
entrusted to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. So, if you worship me, it will all be yours”
(Luke 4:6-7). The devil promised
Jesus he could have glory and power without suffering hell for sinners, many of
whom still defy him and deny him. It
sounded like a win-win. Unlike Adam and Eve,
unlike David with Bathsheba, unlike you and me, Jesus stood on the words of God
and held his ground. The Lord’s anointed
had overcome the enemy of God’s people.
This,
however, was just one show-down. The devil
knew it, too. “When the Devil had
finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:11). The opportune time presented itself when
Jesus was about to suffer and die for sins and to drink the cup of God’s wrath. Jesus, already experiencing the torment of
the curse for our sins, prayed in Gethsemane, “‘Father, if you are willing,
take this cup away from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but yours be done.’ An
angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. As he was in agony, he prayed more fervently.
His sweat became like great drops of
blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:42-44).
Strengthened by prayer, Jesus endured the
mockery, the lies, the unjust sentence, the flogging, and the agonizing death
of crucifixion. The final conflict between
Jesus and the devil moved from Gethsemane to Calvary. Satan dealt the death blow upon Jesus at the
cross. Jesus had taken all sin into him. He made himself accountable for all Satan’s
accusations. Man must die for his sins,
and so this man died for all the sins of mankind. The devil, it seems, had conquered as the unimpressive,
beaten, lifeless body of Jesus was wrapped for burial. And if Jesus had been conquered in the battle,
then Satan remains our captor and we are forever enslaved to sin and death.
But on the
third day, it was Jesus who stood alive having risen from the grave. The devil had inflicted as severe a blow as
he could, but Jesus overcame him. Jesus has
overcome sin and temptation. Jesus has defeated
death and the grave. Jesus has conquered
the devil. The Lord’s anointed has slain
the enemy of God’s people. And as a result,
you are not slaves of the devil. You
have been set free—free from sin, its curse, its consequences, and its Accuser.
When all seemed lost to Israel, the Lord’s Anointed stepped forward and said, “Do not let anyone lose heart because of this Philistine! Your servant will go and fight him” (1 Samuel 17:32). The Lord’s Anointed then slew the enemy of God’s people. And so the Lord’s Anointed has told you, “Do not let anyone lose heart because of your enemy, the devil! Your servant has fought him and overcome. Fear not sin, death, or the devil. With me is life. With me is salvation. With me, you are safe.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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