Difficult Fight, Easy Fight

Difficult Fight, Easy Fight

 

1Samuel Chapter 17

 

Many people believe that Christianity is a religion of peace, but when we read the Bible, we find many stories about wars, battles, and fights. Even we may call the Bible a war history book. Christians are also often called soldiers like Paul called his son Timothy “a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2Timothy 2:4). Today’s text is also about a fight, the famous showdown between David and Goliath. In this sermon, I want to talk about fight, not about peace. I hope this may be exciting to you.

 

For this sermon, I gave the title “Difficult Fight, Easy Fight.” Here, I don’t mean that there are two kinds of fights, some easy and some difficult. What I mean is that each fight has two parts, difficult part and easy part. The difficult part is difficult to win. To win the fight, you need to put a lot of efforts. And the easy part is very easy to win as long as you have won the first and difficult part. The point of my sermon may be summarized as follows: God is my stronghold. If I am in the stronghold, I am already fighting an easy fight. But for this, first, I should occupy the stronghold. This is the difficult part. Why is this difficult? It is because the stronghold is at a very strategic and impregnable point, almost impossible to subdue. Where is it? It is my heart. It is extremely difficult to occupy my heart and give it to God so that He may be my stronghold. This is the difficult fight. But once I have won this battle and my heart is steady in God, the stronghold, then the rest is very easy.

 

Let me tell how the difference between those who fight in the stronghold and those who do not looks like. You may know this old story about a young barber. There was a giant man in a village. The big man was very violent and cruel. one day the giant wanted a barber to shave his beard. But none of the barbers in the village dared to shave his beard. It was because the brutal man said that he would not tolerate even a little scratch on his face. So if any barber would shave the giant and get a big tip, he had to run the risk of his life. They were all skilful barbers. They made a scratch on the customer’s face only once in every five or ten years. Still they were scared at the giant’s roaring threat and the big glittering sword on his waist. Then, a young barber stepped forward and said he would shave the giant. He was merely an apprentice. But he looked so calm. Laughing at him and waving his sword, the giant reminded him of what would happen if he made even a tiny mistake. The boy was not shaken at all, and began to shave the giant. And without any mistake, he finished it. The big man gave him a big tip, and asked him, “Aren’t you afraid of me?” “Aren’t you scared at my sword?” Then, the boy smiled at him, and showed the big man his razor. “My razor is sharper than your sword, and this is much closer to your throat than your sword is to mine. Remember this. My faultless shaving saved your life, not my life.”

 

We have a similar story in today’s text. It is the fight between David and Goliath. In the text, Goliath is called a champion. He was a giant. His appearance itself was a terror. He was nine feet tall, and armored with a bronze helmet on the head, a coat of scale armor of bronze on the body, and bronze greaves on his legs. Furthermore, he had a bronze javelin, a heavy spear, and a shield bearer ahead of him. He was a fighter to the bone. When the Israelite army, under the command of King Saul, confronted the force of the Philistines, everyday Goliath came out of the Philistine camp and shouted to the ranks of the Israel, “Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us!” In this way, Goliath provoked the Israelites and insulted them. However, there was nobody who dared to go out and fight with Goliath. one day, David, who visited the battlefield only as his father’s errand boy, saw this scene. Then he went to King Saul and said to him, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him” (v. 32). Saul could not deter David, merely a young boy, from doing such a reckless challenge. As David approached Goliath, all the people held their breath, looking at the scene that they had never heard before, a fight between a nine-foot tall warrior and a fifteen-year-old shepherd boy. But the fight was not so dramatic or spectacular. Rather it was like a boxing game that ended abruptly by just one KO punch only in 10 seconds of the 1^st round. David’s first shot from his sling hit the giant on the very center of his forehead. That’s it. It seems that David never doubt he would kill this man and cut his head. He was more like an executioner than a fighter. To David, it was such an easy fight.

 

How were the young barber and young David able to defeat the terrifying enemies so easily? Simply speaking, it was because they did not fear. As we examine in today’s text, we cannot find any hint of fear in David. To him, Goliath was nothing but a dead meat. He just walked out and slaughtered the massive flesh. This was the same for the young barber. When these young boys did not fear, they could see that they had the edge over the intimidating enemies and they were able to use your lethal weapons efficiently. Many barbers, although far more experienced and skillful, could not recognize that they had a sharper razor and the enemy’s neck was fully exposed to them. They only saw the giant’s big body, his glittering sword, and his dreadful face. They were blinded and deafened by fear. And then, to them, this became a fight without any chance of victory. This is also the case for David and Goliath. This is what is written in Judges 20:15-16. “At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” According to these verses, the Israelites had many sling professionals, at least, hundreds of them. Their shot was so accurate that it never missed even a hair. How about the size of Goliath’s forehead? To them, it might look like the gate of the main entrance. Hitting Goliath’s forehead might be far less than a piece of cake. They might be able to hit the Goliath’s head without mistake even with their two eyes closed. But they could not use their skills to Goliath. When they saw the bronze-clad giant, his weapons, and his stature and muscle, and when they looked at themselves, they thought that they were nothing. They hid their slingshot as if covering a shame. And they trembled. Terrified by what they saw, they couldn’t realize how easy the fight would be as demonstrated by David.

 

We wonder how David, such a young boy, could not fear Goliath even a tiniest bit while hundreds of thousands Israelite warriors and even King Saul, who was a semi-giant, were all together trembling? Fear is very contagious. We usually tremble if somebody trembles beside me. But David did not. This is mysterious. But we may find a clue to this mystery from what kind of person David was. In 1Samuel 16:18, one of Saul’s servants recommends David as Saul’s harpist, and describes David in this way, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking. And the LORD is with him.” David had many merits, but specially one thing that distinguished him from other hundreds of thousands of warriors was this: “The LORD is with him.” We don’t know how David became famous for God’s being with him, but anyway this was who and how David was. The LORD was with him. And this explains everything of what he did to Goliath. He was not ruled by the fear of the enemies. He was ruled by the Spirit of God and his holy fear of God.

 

David was the youngest one among the eight sons of his father Jesse. He was a shepherd, spending most of his time alone in the field and taking care of his father’s flock. This sounds peaceful and idyllic: a handsome young boy in the green pasture, sitting under a tree and playing the harp while the flock is grazing around. However, it was not as beautiful as it sounds. The young boy and his flock were always the good target of wild animals such as lions and bears. David had to keep alert day and night and protect the flock from the wild animals. He was faithful to this job, and he learned how to fight and defeat wild animals by relying on God and using his sling. one day, Prophet Samuel visited David’s town Bethlehem in order to anoint one of the eight sons of Jesse, David’s father. A big event was held with all the elders of the town. In the meeting, Samuel invited Jesse and his sons, but only seven of the sons were there. David, the youngest, was still in the field, tending the sheep. If I were David, I might be very upset, run to the place, and protest, saying “Why did you exclude me, only me?” But David didn’t do that. He stayed in the field alone. As usual, he kept watching the flock against wild animals. He could have a chance to be chosen and anointed as the king of Israel. At least, he could say hello to Samuel, the great prophet of God. This chance might never come again. In such an important moment, David, all alone, stayed in the field. It seemed he was forgotten. However, David didn’t think he was alone. David was not sad or anxious. He knew that God was with him. He knew that it is not Samuel but God who chooses and anoints the king. He knew that to be with God is better than to be the king. He knew that even if everybody forget him, God will never forget him and forsake him. This faith was David’s strength, peace, joy, and wisdom. With this faith, he kept his place and worked hard to take care of the flock, and later he was called and anointed as the king of Israel. To be called and anointed as the king, he didn’t have to compete with his good-looking older brothers. As long as God was with him, he didn’t have to be in such competition. It was quite an easy race. But it was easy only because he already fought the difficult fight in the wilderness all alone, relying on God and taking care of the sheep.

 

We can also find another good example of this fight in Jesus our Lord, our true Champion and Commander. Jesus’ life on earth was a series of big fights from the beginning to the end. In John 16:33, to his disciples, Jesus summarized his ministry on earth in one word. “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” The word translated here as “overcome” can also be translated as “prevailed” “conquered,” or “become a victor over.” Jesus, the Commander of God’s Army, came to this world to fight, and subdued the world through his fight. The culmination of Jesus’ fights was in his cross in Golgotha. But before the cross, there was even a fiercer fight. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, in order to obey God, Jesus struggled with the Father through prayers. The battle was so violent that his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground, and even an angel from heaven had to come and strengthen Jesus (Luke 22:43, 44). Then, Jesus won the battle through his prayers. Now he was ready to take the cross. And on the cross, he took away all sins of the world, crushed the power of death, and cut the throat of Satan. Jesus declared his victory, saying “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus fought a difficult fight in Gethsemane, and as that much, he had an easy fight on the cross.

 

Like Goliath, Satan always invites us to the fight of flesh and to the race of the world. Then, we are easily discouraged because we don’t have money, we don’t look attractive, and we don’t have a good network. But this is not the fight that we should fight. The fight we should fight is this: having God in my heart and trusting and obeying him even in the valley of shadow of death. This is not easy at all, even to Jesus our Lord. How much harder may it be to us with such an unbelieving and unfaithful heart! However, if we win this difficult fight and have God as my stronghold, then everything becomes so easy. In God as my stronghold, we become a fearless fighter. We realize how strong I am. We learn how to use my slingshot. We become wise enough to pinpoint Satan’s fatal spot. As long as God is my stronghold and I am ruled by His Spirit instead of the spirit of fear, it is easy to kill Goliath and even to take the cross like Jesus did for us. Fight the difficult fight with God. Then, our fight with the world will be easy!

 

Concluding my sermon, I would like to recite a few verses of Psalm 27 written by David. I think this is a good summary of this sermon:

 

Psalm 27:1-4

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life

of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me

to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then I will be confident.

 

One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.