Second Presbyterian Church

"A Pebble For The Lord Is Better Than A Sword"
June 22, 2003

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2003 » Sermons for June 2003

12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
by The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• 1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 31-49
• Mark 4: 35-41

Someone has noted that Mohammed Ali was a master at making his boxing opponents box on his terms. In fact the strategy of every team is to force the opponent to play their game. When you have your opponent playing according to your strategy, then the odds that you would win are much greater. This is also true for armies in battle. The army that dictates the terms of the battle usually wins.

Now Goliath was a big man. He was over 9 feet tall. His armored breastplate weighed 125 pounds. His spear was the thickness of a flagpole and the iron spearhead weighed over 15 pounds. He was big. He was strong. He had been a warrior since adolescence. He was skilled. Goliath was also arrogant. He knew he was good and he thought that he was invincible. He did not know the LORD.

So the army of Israel and the army of the Philistines squared off across the Valley of Elah. Goliath came out and taunted Saul and the Israelites. He challenged them to bring out someone who would duel with him, winner take all. Every day Goliath would come out and taunt the army of Israel, but no one had the nerve to take Goliath on, especially on his terms. Saul and the entire army were afraid of Goliath. Note, in the previous chapters of 1 Samuel the LORD had already rejected Saul as king. Here Saul demonstrated his lack of faith in the LORD by being fearful.

Now up to this point Goliath was in charge of the game plane. Everything was in accordance with his terms. And if he continued to have his way Goliath would surely have won the contest. He was trying to get an Israelite to fight him in a way that would match strength and skill with weapons of war. No doubt that there were some very skilled warriors in Israel, but the text makes it clear that no one came even close to matching Goliath's strength and size.

Meanwhile, David came to visit his three oldest brothers and he brought them care packages from their father, Jesse. He heard the taunts of Goliath and he inquired as to what the reward was for the one who could silence this Philistine giant from Gath. King Saul heard of David's interest and summoned David to come before him. David expressed his faith in God and stated how Goliath was no harder to defeat than a lion or a bear. King Saul was excited. He really wanted this giant gone. He offered David his sword and armor. David put on the King's armor and sword. He tried, but he could not move. It was too much for him. (Just picture in your mind a teenager that had put on armor that was 6 sizes too large for him - Saul was a large man, too).

And this was a blessing for David. Because if he had gone out to meet Goliath dressed as a warrior, then he would have met Goliath on Goliath's terms and not on his own terms, or the LORD's terms.

So David maked a very wise move. Since he could not move in Saul's armor anyway he took it off and picked up his shepherd's equipment: a staff, a pouch, and a sling. He went down to a brook and picked out five smooth stones and put them in his pouch. David was not going to fight Goliath on Goliath's terms. David was going to fight Goliath on his terms, the same way he fought off lions and bears. Now this will take a great amount of skill, to sling a rock so that it strikes Goliath in a vulnerable spot. There is plenty of room for error. But David trusted that the LORD was going to win this battle. And David did have the advantage of mobility, in that he was not lugging around over 150 pounds of equipment hanging from his body.

They went out to meet each other. Goliath taunted David. David expressed his faith and confidence in the LORD. They commenced the battle and David immediately felled Goliath with a stone that sinks into his forehead. He fell forward, face down. David rushed up, took Goliath's sword and cut his head off. The battle was over. The horrible scourge of the army of Israel, Goliath, was dead. The troops rallied and soundly defeated the Philistine army.

From a practical point of view David didn't have a chance. He was not a warrior. He was just a shepherd boy. But the LORD used that apparent disadvantage for his advantage. David had no delusions of grandeur. He was just confident in the power of the LORD to save. And so a pebble with the LORD is much better than a sword.

How different the Disciples were - at this point in there spiritual growth. They were afraid. And because Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat, they believed that he didn't really care. So they woke him up saying, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" How great their surprise when Jesus rebuked the wind and there was a great calm. How much greater was their surprise when Jesus challenged their faith, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?"

Both of these stories teach us similar lessons. Things can get pretty scary and overwhelming sometimes. And it is easy to assume that the Lord is not only asleep, but that he is not even in the boat!

In February of last year (2002) I was talking with a congregation that indicated it was ready to offer me a call. Then something unforeseen happened and they withdrew the offer, which left me feeling stranded, high and dry. It was already mid February and I knew that where I was interim was also coming to an end. It had taken over 5 months to get that close to a call. At first I panicked. There just didn't seem to be a way that I could get a call by the time I finished with the interim position. But I believe that the Lord was patiently testing me, one more time. Too many times in my life I had panicked and rushed into a bad decision. This time - even while I felt panic inside - I didn't give into it. This time I put the situation in the hands of the Lord. So, from February of last year until July - a month after I had finished with Saint Andrews Presbyterian - I did not know where God was leading me. There were other opportunities, but I knew that God was not calling me there. God does work things out on His terms, in His way and when that happens it is the best for us.

The disciples had not quite learned that yet - when they were caught in the storm. Saul and the army of Israel had not learned that trusting in the Lord was the main, necessary ingredient. Though the prophet, Samuel, had tried very hard to teach this to Saul. Throughout the entire Old Testament you read about God encouraging the Israelites to trust Him and not their own strength, or some ally, such as Egypt. But David got it. David knew that when it was the will of the Lord to destroy Goliath, it would happen.

How about us? How about Second Presbyterian Church? What are we relying upon for our future? If we rely just upon our strength and resources, then we are in trouble. If we rely upon the bountiful, unlimited Grace and power of God, then our future is in God's hands and not ours. All of God's followers have encountered seemingly impossible situations, only to have them overcome by their trust in the grace and power of God. One note of caution, though, the future will be on God's terms, not ours and we need to be very sure that our set ways do not counter God's future. We need to be sure that our vision of the future is not just a look at our past. Amen.