Eric Casagrande      /          Genelyn Novabos

 

 

David & Goliath:  A Prophetic Foreshadow of Jesus Christ

  

My friends, I would like to share with you today, another revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. More specifically, I’ll be taking a close examination of the well-known Biblical story of ’David and Goliath‘, showing you how it very clearly represents a prophetic foreshadowing of God’s New Covenant based on Grace.

Upon reading 1 Samuel 17: 1-3, we discover that Israel was at battle with the Philistines, near the Valley of Elah, in the land of Judah. Among those in the Philistine army, was a giant of a man – around nine feet tall - whose name was ‘Goliath’. He wore a massive helmet on his head, that had been fashioned entirely out of brass. His body armor is said to have weighed in the neighborhood of about 125 pounds by today’s measurements, and the tip of his spear weighed another 15 pounds (1 Samuel 17: 4-7)!

Let me tell you something: Goliath was definitely not your average bully on the street! He was an absolute monster – imagine your biggest nightmare come true - and all of Israel was terrified of him (1 Samuel 17: 11).

Now allow me to make another point which may not appear so immediately obvious. Goliath bears a very strong resemblance to the Mosaic Laws – or as we might say today - our own self-efforts at trying to please God.

You see my friends, there was not a single person in all of Israel – not the bravest of the brave, nor the strongest of the strong -  who was capable of satisfying all of the demands put forth by Goliath, and set the nation free.

Similarly, absolutely nobody – including Moses, who, in playing the role of mediator between God and Israel, delivered up the very Law – was able to  satisfy all of its impossible requirements, as outlined under the strict terms of the Old Covenant.

Day-after-day, Goliath appeared more defiant before the armies of Israel, shouting out bitter words of death and condemnation at them. Likewise, in 2 Corinthians 3: 7-9, the Apostle Paul openly described the Mosaic Laws as being the ‘Ministry of Death‘, and the ‘Ministry of Condemnation‘.

The Law – and for that matter, our own self-efforts at pleasing God - saved nobody … not even the very best and most dedicated follower. It made no one holy and righteous according to God’s measuring standard - but only led to more sin (Romans 3: 20, and Romans 7: 5-11).

 

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall

no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the

law comes the knowledge of sin.“

 

Notice it doesn’t say that knowledge of holiness, righteousness, or eternal life, comes out of the law - but rather, the knowledge of ‘sin‘ – from which, by the way, comes ‘death‘ (Romans 6: 23).

 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of

God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

 

Finally, after forty straight days of Goliath’s unchallenged threats, Israel’s deliverance came from a rather highly unexpected source. An Ephrathite named Jesse, being the father of Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah – who themselves were fighting alongside King Saul – sent out his youngest son, David, with some nourishment for his boys on the battlefield, along with an obvious bribe of delicious cheese for their commander, just to make sure his sons were kept out of harms way (1 Samuel 17: 17-19).

Interestingly, after four thousand years, the salvation of not only Israel, but for the entire world, also came through an unlikely source. For indeed, the long-awaited Savior – the Christ – was born to a young, teenage virgin, by the name of Mary (Luke 1: 26-38), who seemingly lived out in the middle of nowhere. A girl whom few people knew – and perhaps even less cared.

At the time of Israel’s deliverance from Goliath and the Philistines, David is just a young man, born and raised in the town of Bethlehem. He was given the responsiblity of caring for his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17: 14-15).

When that awesome moment arrived for Christ to deliver the world from all its sin, we read where the prophet Isaiah describes Him as being a ‘tender shoot’ (Isaiah 53: 2). Similar to David’s family heritage, Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5: 2 and Matthew 2: 6). Finally, Paul refers to Him as the ’Great Shepherd of the [Father's] sheep’ (Hebrews 13: 20).

My friends, what incredible parallels!

Innocent though he was, David faced insults, anger, and rejection from his brothers, who questioned his underlying motivation (1 Samuel 17: 28).

 

“When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him

speaking with the men, he burned with anger

at him and asked: Why have you come down

  here? And with whom did you leave those few

 sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited

 you are, and how wicked your heart is; you

 came down only to watch the battle.“

 

Jesus also wasn’t accepted by those closest to Him. In John 1: 11, it says that He came unto His own, but they didn’t receive Him. In addition, those religious leaders quite frequently accused Him of being demon-possessed (John 8: 52 and John 10: 10). Then in Isaiah 53: 3, the prophet spoke of the strong hatred and bitter rejection Christ faced:

 

“He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of suffering and familiar with

pain. Like one from whom people hid

their faces, he was despised, and we

held him in low esteem.“

 

Further in our prophetic comparison, we read in 1 Samuel 17: 34-37, how David stood before King Saul, and offered up a rather stirring testimony of how God had faithfully delivered him from both the lion and the bear, while tending his father’s sheep. The words David spoke were so powerful, even the skeptical King Saul was standing on his feet, cheering him in faith.

Standing in the palace before Caiaphas, the High Priest, our Lord Jesus also gave an incredible, unparalleld witness, that He was indeed the great Deliverer – the promised Messiah of all mankind. Unlike King Saul’s reply to David however, Caiaphas reacted in unbelief, and jumped angrily to his feet, screaming that Jesus had spoken blasphemy (Matthew 26: 57-64).

In 1 Samuel 17: 48-49, David ran straight to Goliath, and put him away by slinging a stone deep into his forehead (i.e. skull).

In Matthew 27: 33, Jesus walked straight to Golgotha (Place of the Skull), and took with Him the condemning stone of the Law, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2: 13-14). 

Oh hallelujah!

David took hold of Goliath’s sword, and, standing atop his chest, removed his head (1 Samuel 17: 51).

In like manner, Jesus took hold of the cross, and, through pouring out His blood, crushed the Serpent’s head (Genesis 3: 15).

After defeating the giant, Goliath, David then completely stripped him of all his weapons (1 Samuel 17: 54).

In defeating Satan at the cross, Paul says that Jesus completely disarmed him, and made a public spectacle of him openly (Colossians 2: 15).

Finally, just as David went on to become King of Israel (2 Samuel 5: 1-4), the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ will also one day return to the earth as the King of kings, and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19: 11-16).

Oh praise His name, forever! Hallelujah!

 

 

  

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