The Head of the Serpent - 1 Samuel, Pt 28

1 Samuel 17:1–11 (ESV)

It is uncertain how much time elapsed between Chapters 16 and 17, but as this chapter opens we find the Philistines gathering for war against Saul and the men of Israel. The battlefield is described as the Philistines to the north and the Israelites to the south.  Between them was the valley of Elah.

The Philistines had a nine and a half foot giant as their champion soldier.  He name was Goliath from Gath. His armored appearance was stunning. “Commanders of opposing armies in the ancient Near East would occasionally avoid engaging all their forces; instead, each would select his best fighter to engage in a death match with the best fighter from the other army.”^[1]

The challenge came from this Goliath. ““And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”” (1 Samuel 17:10, ESV).  As the incumbent king of Israel it was Saul’s duty to accept the challenge.  Israel and their king were “dismayed and afraid.”

Who is this Goliath of Gath?  Gath was one of the five Philistine city-states during the Iron Age. It was located in northeast Philistia.”^[2]   The Philistines enemies of the Hebrew people between the time of the conquest until the divided kingdom.  By the time Israel had been led out of Egypt, the Philistines had established themselves as a mighty nation. “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”” (Exodus 13:17, ESV). During the initial conquest of Canaan, Israel did not fully displace the Philistines (Josh 13:2–3). While the Philistines declined in power over time, they remained a threat and an enemy throughout the duration of the divided kingdom.

In addition to noting Goliath’s height the text offers a detailed description of his armor and weapons. What is occurring here is best understood through the narrative of the Bible, or Biblical Theology.  This is not just an account of an ancient battle.  This is a chapter in an ongoing story.

God created mankind to act as His vice-regents throughout the world displaying His glory and exercising rule on His behalf.  Man sinned. In the Garden, incarnated as a snake, Satan successfully tempted the first man and woman.  God judged their disobedience and He cursed the snake.  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”” (Genesis 3:15, ESV).

God caused war to commence between Satan and the Woman and between Satan’s offspring and her offspring. For ever after that there were 2 lines of spiritual offspring in the world: Satan’s and the Woman’s.  That conflict was seen almost immediately between Eve’s sons, Cain and Abel.  Abel was killed by the offspring of Satan (Cain).  That conflict between ungodly offspring and godly offspring continued down through history until the Satan’s head was bruised by The Woman’s Seed.

David as the anointed king was the godly seed.  And as this familiar story unfolds we will see that the head of the ungodly Philistine will be bruised – lethally bruised.  So as we approach this story we see far more than a historic battle, we see a cosmic battle.  We see a battle that the greatest Son of David will forever bring victory.  The Seed of the Woman will conquer.

“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8, ESV)

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^[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (1 Sa 17:4). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

^[2] McClellan, D. O. (2016). Gath. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

But In Fact Christ Has Been Raised From The Dead

Paul is very explicit in 1 Corinthians 15:13–14 (ESV):

“¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

This supports the thesis that Christianity is an evidence-based faith.  It disputes the notion that Christianity is a blind leap into a dark, unknown abyss.  It disputes the notion that Christianity and science are at polar opposites and you either have one or the other. 

Several reputable scholars have coined the phrase: The Minimal Facts Approach.  Dr. Gary Habermas originally and then with a co-author Dr. Michael Licona have developed this Approach in their book: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus.  Habermas did his doctoral thesis on the topic from Liberty University.  Minimal facts are those that are accepted by most New Testament Scholars, even skeptical ones.  The idea is that while some of these scholars may deny the resurrection happened, they do agree on this list of facts and events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus.  

What are those Minimal Facts?

Gary Habermas has identified 12 such facts after combing through some three thousand articles penned by professional historians:

1. Jesus died by crucifixion.

2. He was buried. 
3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope. 
4. The tomb was empty (the most contested). 
5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus (the most important proof). 
6. The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers. 
7. The resurrection was the central message. 
8. They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem. 
9. The Church was born and grew. 
10. Orthodox Jews who believed in Christ made Sunday their primary day of worship. 
11. James was converted to the faith when he saw the resurrected Jesus (James was a family skeptic). 
12. Paul was converted to the faith (Paul was an outsider skeptic).

Habermas explains that the Minimal Facts method “considers only those data that are so strongly attested historically that they are granted by nearly every scholar who studies the subject, even the rather skeptical ones”.   Gary Habermas has documented over 100 cases of scholarly work done from 1975 to 2000. His finding is that most scholars believe: (1) something really happened, (2) these were real experiences of the disciples, (3) they believe they saw the risen Jesus, and most importantly, (4) scholars believe the disciples really saw something. At the very least, critic after critic accept Paul’s eyewitness accounts.

The task of skeptics is not to casually say, "I don't believe in the Resurrection."  The task of opponents to this view must produce proof/evidence that it DID NOT occur.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:20–23, ESV)

Troubled Soul, 1 Samuel, Part 28

God’s plan from the very beginning was to have a human son who would king who would represent his rule over all things. God created Adam for that purpose and gave him responsibility. God created all human beings in his likeness to represent him in ruling the earth. They are to image God; to reflect his glory — rule over creation. To be fruitful and multiply.  As they fill the earth, the whole earth will be filled with image bearers and the glory of God.

Very early Adam fails in his responsibility. This is the first instance of exile in the Bible. In judging the serpent we learn because of Adam’s sin, a competing line of offsprings are introduced into the earth. The children of the serpent and the children of God will be in perpetual conflict. Both will come from the woman.  But we also see that a child of the woman will crush the serpent.

As the Old Testament unfolds it is looking for this child.  Even in Genesis 4, Eve thinks it’s Abel, but as the story unfolds we see that it is not. So the question is, who will be born to the woman and defeat the serpent and the serpent’s offspring?

When we get to Genesis 12 we learn that this godly seed will be born to Abraham. The whole world will be blessed depending on how they respond to this seed of Abraham. From Abraham God chose one nation out of all the nations of the earth.  God owns everything but he chose this one nation, Israel, to be his treasured possession that will display his rule over the whole world.

Judges exposes that even though God was king, they did what was right in their own eyes. Instead of choosing a king that God had promised they wanted a king just like every other nation.  So God turns them over to their own desires and gives them Saul. But God is faithful to his promises and he raises up David as his king, a human son, to represent his rule over all things.

1 Samuel 16:14-23 (ESV)

The author commences with these ominous words: “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him” - 1 Samuel 16:14 (ESV). In the previous verse the Spirit of God came on to David and anointed him for leadership.  Now we read the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.  If that isn’t bad enough we are accosted with these unbelievable words “a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.”  For the average reader that should either sound simply wrong.

Even Saul’s servants recognized this: “ And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you” -  1 Samuel 16:15 (ESV).  This ought to jolt every notion and every concept we have of God.  Could God send a “harmful” spirit to torment someone?  Just in case we think that perhaps the author simply erred in this place, we read it again in Chapters 18:10; and 19:9.

Saul’s servants believed that nice music was in order.  So Saul ordered that it would be done. His servants suggested calling David who was known to be a skilled musician. “And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.”  What an interesting story is emerging.  Saul received permission to keep David in his employment, and “whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him” -1 Samuel 16:23 (ESV).

God wasn’t tempting Saul with the evil spirit; he sent it as an act of judgment in response to Saul’s stubborn rebellion. Saul had committed wilful acts of rebellion. This was not a permanent oppression as we have noted.  God used the evil spirit to affect a change in his life.  It is even an act of grace that permitted the music of David to bring temporary comfort. Scripture plainly teaches that God uses the entire spiritual world for his purposes (Judges 9:23; 2 Samuel 24:1; 1 Chronicles 21:1; and Luke 22:31).

The evil spirit which tormented Saul was maliciously willing to torment him, but it could not have done so unless it was allowed by God. Hebrew writers were very cognizant about this.  Unlike the modern Church in Canada, the Old Testament makes no apology for admitting that even behind the arm of evil is the hand of a sovereign God.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face. [1]

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1. God Moves in Mysterious Ways, Benjamin Brainard | William Cowper © 2015 Brainard, Benjamin