David’s father,
Jesse, was very elderly. David had seven
other brothers and he was the youngest. You recall that David had been called
into Saul’s court to play for him (1 Samuel 16:22). He also went back and forth to tend his
father’s sheep. The three oldest sons
had gathered with Saul’s troops in battle with the Philistines. Goliath had been carrying on his challenge
now for 40 days, morning and evening.
Jesse sent David
on a mission to take food for his brothers and gifts for Saul. Jesse was kind but he was also making sure
his sons were OK. When David approached
the Israelite encampment they were taking their battle positions. David dropped his goods and went to the front
lines to greet his brothers.
“As he talked with them, behold, 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.” (1 Samuel 17:23, ESV)
The very voice of
Goliath caused terror and retreat in the Israelite force. David learned that
Saul had offered a reward to the man who dispatches this giant. He learned: “And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and
will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”[1]
Eliab the eldest brother heard this
conversation and responded to him with contempt. “Why have you come down?
And 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 to see the
battle.”” (1 Samuel 17:28, ESV) We
don’t know why he spoke to him with such contempt but there surely was an issue
between to the two. David’s brashness
was reported to Saul, so Saul sent for him.
David volunteered to kill Goliath!
The obvious came out. “You are not able to
go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he
has been a man of war from his youth.”
But David gave Saul his resume and he considered this Philistine no
greater enemy that the lion or bear he killed with his bare hands.“And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”” (1 Samuel 17:37,
ESV)
The passion of David is seen in these
words: “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the
armies of the living God?”[2] Undoubtedly, David was
thinking of Israel being the “armies of the living God”. But we learn in God’s Word that God is the
God of armies – the Lord of Hosts. When
David went out to do battle with Goliath we read, “Then David said to the
Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a 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.” (1 Samuel 17:45, ESV) The name of
God, the Lord of Hosts is Jehovah Sabaoth.
The word "host" in English is now
used to refer to a numerous quantity or multitude; like a "host of
options." However, historically, it referred to a multitude of warriors.
So tsabaot refers to all the heavenly armies under God's
command. The hosts God commands are not limited to celestial bodies and angelic
beings, but also extend to human armies as noted by David. “Who is anyone to defy Jehovah Sabaoth? In his great hymn, ‘A Mighty Fortress”[3],
Luther anticipates this Lord of Hosts to be none other than Jesus Christ.
Did
we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be
Christ Jesus it is He
Lord Sabaoth His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle.
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be
Christ Jesus it is He
Lord Sabaoth His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle.
Psalm 24, a Messianic Psalm points to
Christ as the King of Glory, the Lord of Hosts. “Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the King
of glory! Selah” (Psalm 24:10, ESV). When Jesus ordered the wind to be
still, the disciples said to each other, “Who then is this, that even
the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:41). The obvious answer would
have come from Amos 4:13[4],
and the author of Mark makes a deliberate point to equate or at least align
Jesus with “Sabaoth.”
In Isaiah 44:6 – “Thus says
the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of
hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides
Me. Comparing Scripture with Scripture we find that in Revelation
22:13 that Jesus identifies Himself as “I am the Alpha & the Omega,
the first & the last, the beginning & the end,” which clearly
parallels this passage and affirms Jesus as Lord Sabaoth.
Indeed, Jesus Christ is the Lord of Hosts
and the question remains: “Who can defy the Lord of Hosts – the Armies of Living
God? That’s a rhetorical question. There’s
but one answer: No one!
Did
we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
[1] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 17:25). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[2] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 17:26). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[3] Frederick Henry Hedge | Martin Luther | Tommy Walker ©
Words: Public Domain Music: 1997 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Songs
(Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
[4] “For behold, he who forms the mountains
and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the
morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!”
(Amos 4:13, ESV)
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