FROG

1 Samuel 17 (TNIV)

    1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war . . . 2 Saul and the Israelites . . .drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines . . .  4 A champion named Goliath . . .came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. . . 

    8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." 10 Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." 11

On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. . .

      16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

    17 Now Jesse said to his son David, . . . See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."

    20 . . . David . . . loaded up and set out . . 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath . . .stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. . .

26 David asked those standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

. . . 32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

    33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are little more than a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth."

    34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and  33 carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.

36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."

Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are little more than a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth."

    34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."

Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

  41 . . . the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy . . .  43 He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" 

    45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands . . . 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

    48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

    50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

This week, Pastor Saul leads us in reflecting on the famous story of David and Goliath, which you can read about in 1 Samuel 17.  Giants, whether they appear in stories like this one, or in various other forms in our own lives, do present us with challenges.  The graphicness of this story also presents a few challenges of its own when it comes to sharing it with children who live in a day and age where we try to encourage them to resolve our differences in more constructive ways.  However the underlying point in the story, the message of

the perspective from which giants can be confronted and rendered powerless, is one that still applies to all of us regardless of our age.  This is what is captured in the acronym FROG (Fully Relying On God). 

If you would like to hear how Pastor Saul leads us through this story, you can click here to access our on-line sermon library.