David vs Goliath - Type of Jesus' Faith

David's witness of faith vs. Goliath - Jesus Christ vs. Satan (Part 3):

In our last study we began to examine how David's witness of faith in facing up to and killing the giant Goliath, 1 Samuel 17, was a type that pointed to the finished work of Jesus. In David's case, Satan was using Goliath to question the truth of God's Word to Israel, thereby trying Israel's faith. For although Goliath was physically bigger and stronger than any individual Jewish soldier, Israel had God's promise they would have victory over their enemies and be invincible as long as they obeyed God's law, Deuteronomy 31:3 - 63 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.

4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

; 33:27 - 29; Joshua 1. Furthermore, Israel had experienced what God could and would do for them: the plagues that released them from Egypt; the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea; the defeat of Jericho, all were a matter of fact to them. So when Goliath came out twice a day for 40 days he was testing Israel's faith in God's Word. They could have had faith that God would give them victory over the giant and the Philistines and charged forward as a group. But instead they cowered before him. Of course the problem was that their leader Saul had lost his communication with God and Israel was thus like a rudderless ship.

David stepped forward by faith in God's Word and killed Goliath, thus saving Israel for the time being. After Saul died and David was king he went on to lead Israel in some magnificent exploits, as long as he did so by faith in God's Word. But the Nation of Israel, as a corporate body, never really reached their full potential, as promised by God. They went on to demonstrate the impossibility for fallen man to maintain constant faith in God's Word. They were hopelessly lost and unable to meet God's standard of righteousness, which was the Law He had given them through Moses. But this was not because Israel was any less capable than any other people. They failed because, like all mankind, they were born with a sinful nature, which is naturally selfish. So it will be asked, why did God give a law that He knew no one can live up to? The answer is that it was necessary for God to instruct Israel, and all mankind, that they needed/ need a Savior: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:2424 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

.

David's witness of faith was a type of and pointed to the faith that was to come, Jesus Christ. Many of David's experiences, that is, his witness of faith, pointed to the finished work of Jesus who was/is the Author and Finisher of faith. We will explore more fully how David's encounter with Goliath pointed to the time when Jesus withstood Satan's temptation in the wilderness. And there were other examples in David's life that pointed to the faith that was to come. For example, the times when Saul attempted to kill David with a javelin when the evil spirit came upon him but David escaped from those attempts, 1 Samuel 18:10 & 1110 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.

; 19:9 & 10, were types of when Jesus escaped the attempts made on his life before His time, John 7:3030 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

; 10:39.

But even though David was born witness to by his faith in God's Word he never the less proved his humanity in a number of ways. That is, he was a sinner and thus he sinned. Like many, a lot of problems came his way because of his appetite for women. He must have had a screaming testosterone level because he went on to take on a number of wives and concubines, 1 Samuel 25:43 & 4443 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives.

44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.

; 2 Samuel 5:1313 And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.

; etc., from which a number of children were born. He became an adulterer with Bathsheba and even had her husband killed. He suffered a lot because of these activities, --- his sin. But never the less God saved him to eternal life by ultimately sending His own son, Jesus, who was the antitype of David's faith, and the faith of all those saints in the Old Testament, to do what no sinful man could ever do.

The next Faith Study will begin Volume 3 of these Faith Studies and therein we will examine the faith of the Man Jesus Christ during His three-year ministry here on earth and attempt to point out some instances of how He fulfilled the Word of God and lived a life of faith, perfectly dependent upon God. Then, even though Jesus lived a perfect life of faith He bore David's sins, as well as ours, if we believe in Him:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:2121 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:1616 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

.