1 Samuel

1 Samuel 17: The battle belongs to the LORD

Begin in prayer

Before we stand in the valley of Elah and watch David meet Goliath, and learn that the battle belongs to the LORD, let us pray together. Ask Him to teach us that the battle is His, and to show us Jesus.

Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries.

Psalm 60:12

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that the battle belongs to You, and help us to trust You rather than our own strength. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The Philistines gathered for battle, and Goliath, a champion from Gath, stood up morning and evening to defy the armies of Israel. He was a champion in heavy bronze armor, and he challenged Israel to choose one man to fight him. Saul and all Israel were dismayed and greatly afraid. David, the youngest son of Jesse, came to the camp with food for his brothers, and he heard Goliath’s challenge. David went out against Goliath in the name of the LORD of Armies, not in Saul’s armor. With a sling and a stone he struck Goliath in the forehead, and the Philistines fled. Afterward Saul asked whose son David was, and David answered that he was the son of Jesse of Bethlehem.

As you read 1 Samuel 17, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The battle belongs to the LORD, and He saves His people without sword or spear.

Israel and the Philistines faced each other across the valley of Elah, and Goliath defied Israel for forty days (verse 16). He was a champion from Gath, and his coat of mail weighed five thousand shekels of bronze (verses 4 to 7). Saul and all Israel heard his challenge and were dismayed and greatly afraid (verse 11). Saul offered David his own armor, but David had not tested it and took it off (verses 38 and 39). David went out in the name of the LORD of Armies with a sling and five smooth stones (verses 40 and 45). He said all the earth would know there is a God in Israel (verse 46). Everyone gathered there would know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is His (verse 47). On the cross Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities and triumphed over them (Colossians 2 verse 15). The LORD wins the real battle against sin and death for His people.

How does 1 Samuel 17 show us that the battle belongs to the LORD, and that He saves without sword or spear?

Goliath defies the armies of the living God.

Goliath stood six cubits and a span, well over nine feet (verse 4). His spearhead alone weighed six hundred shekels of iron (verse 7). He offered a fight between two men, and the loser's people would serve the winner's (verses 8 and 9). For forty days Saul and all Israel were dismayed and afraid (verses 11 and 16). David asked who this man was to defy the armies of the living God (verse 26).

The battle belongs to the LORD.

David came in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel's armies, whom Goliath had defied (verse 45). He said the LORD does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is His (verse 47). David struck Goliath with one stone, and there was no sword in his hand (verses 49 and 50). Through death Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death (Hebrews 2 verse 14).

David trusted the LORD, not Saul’s armor.

David said the LORD had saved him from the lion and bear and would save him from Goliath (verses 34 to 37). Saul put his own armor on David, but David had not tested it and took it off (verses 38 and 39). He chose five smooth stones from the brook and went out with his sling (verse 40). Goliath saw only a ruddy youth and cursed him by his gods (verses 42 and 43).

Memorise

Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s

1 Samuel 17:47

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what am I trusting to save me from sin and death?

Goliath stood in bronze armor and defied the armies of the living God. Then David said, “Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s.”

Our true enemies are sin, death and the devil, and none of us can beat them. We have no armor that could save us. Jesus took on flesh and blood, and on the cross He died for His people and broke the power of death. Jesus rose alive from the grave. The war is won, and nothing is left for us to add.

Do not trust your own strength or your own armor. Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus. Everyone who trusts Him shares His victory and is forgiven.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the battle belongs to the LORD, and that Jesus has won the victory over sin and death. Parents, you may want to explain verses 43 to 46 and 51 to 54 in your own words. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that the battle is His, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

We will triumph in your salvation.

Psalm 20:5

Father, the battle belongs to You, and You save Your people without sword or spear. Thank You that Jesus has won the victory over sin and death. Turn us from trusting our own strength, and help us to trust Him alone. Keep us close to You in every battle this week. Amen.