138: Jason Hensley - Exhortation: David and Goliath

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   Welcome to Good Christadelphian Talks. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. And I'm Brian. Thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post a new episode at the start of each week with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to listen to.

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   And now let's talk more about this week's talk. This week, we're listening to an exhortation that was given by Brother Jason Hensley back in 2015. And for his exhortation, Brother Jason is taking a look at the story of David and Goliath. And this is one of those Sunday school stories I feel like most people know fairly well.

3. 1:07

   So for his exhortation, what Brother Jason is doing is he's going not just a level deeper on the story and the context of the story, based around there, which he does. He touches on a couple of really neat nuggets right in the beginning to kind of give us a little bit more context to the story that I remember when I heard this exhortation six years ago, were some that I hadn't heard before.

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   But then he also pulls a ton of detail and information that ties the story of David and Goliath to Christ and how the story of David and Goliath can be applied to Christ in a way that makes it just one of those really, really rich stories that after you've heard this exhortation, every time you hear the story of David and Goliath, there's going to be all these little threads that weave off of this story that in turn just make it more incredible how ingrained it is into the scriptures and the tapestry that is woven into the scriptures all the way back at the time of the beginning of Israel as a kingdom that was pointing to Christ at the end.

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   So I was very excited to share this one. It was actually a recommendation that was made and one that I remember hearing. It was one of the times I was visiting to see me and really enjoyed listening to it. So it was good to re-listen to this one as I was reviewing it before we shared it on the podcast.

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   So as always, thank you for those recommendations as they continue to come in. Please continue to send them in as you find them. We always appreciate anything you can send in. It helps a great deal. So with that, I'm going to turn this over to Brother Jason Hensley for his exhortation on the subject of David and Goliath.

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   What is your favorite Bible story? It's pretty hard for it not to be, for David and Goliath at least, not to be one of them. You know, this really is, this is a story of a larger than life kind of situation. Literally larger than life. I mean, when you just, you look at this, it's the classic story of something that you would never expect.

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   A battle in which the one who should lose wins. And he does it all because of the strength of God. And so what we're going to do today is we're going to examine this exciting story, this one that we've loved for so many years. We're going to do three different things. The first is we'll just look at some of the details and just refresh ourselves with the story.

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   And then we're going to see the Lord Jesus. Really, that's what we've come to do today. And I think that what's really going to be, what really sits with me in this, and perhaps it'll sit with you, is that the Lord Jesus is all throughout the story and in more than just one way.

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    And so the big lesson from this, the big lesson from this whole exhortation is really going to be that Scripture is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope that that's what you can really take away from it and really feel as though, feel in awe of the Lord Jesus by the time we go.

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    So 1 Samuel 17. It's a fairly interesting story. Now, if you'll just turn back with me a couple of chapters to 1 Samuel 13. I think this helps us to put together the context. There's a little detail here in 1 Samuel 13 that's easy to forget about. But it really opens up what this battle would have looked like.

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    1 Samuel 13. Notice this. This is the relationship between Israel and the Philistines. It says, 1 Samuel 13 and now verse 19. 1 Samuel 13 verse 19. Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. So look for how many swords there are in Israel.

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    But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, his coulter and his axe and his maddock. Yet they had a file for the maddox and for the coulters and for the forks and for the axes and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan.

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    But with Saul and with Jonathan his son were they found. That's the situation. Have you ever just thought about this? This is the story of David and Goliath. You know, this chapter here, 1 Samuel 13, is the same time period. So you have these two armies arrayed against each other. You have Israel versus the Philistines.

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    And there's two swords in Israel. And everybody else, it sounds like, from verse 20, has something like an axe or a maddock. They're there with farming tools. So just try and picture what this would be like. That you have Israel on one side. This is their weaponry, two swords. And on the other side, you have the Philistines, who are armed as a typical army at that time would be.

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    So that's how it all starts. Now then, back to 1 Samuel 17. As we come to 1 Samuel 17, we're fairly familiar with the story. The two armies are against each other. There's a valley in between them. And neither army is going to run down and attack the other one. Because who wants to run uphill in a fight?

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    That's not a good choice. So they're both standing there, staring at each other. And to break the silence, Goliath comes. Now he comes for 40 days. And it's interesting to notice what he says. Because I think this is just something that we don't often consider. But have you ever wondered who Goliath wanted to fight?

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    Have you ever thought about that? He says, send me one man, right? And I would suggest to you that he had somebody in mind. Just let's look at what he says. It's 1 Samuel 17 and verse 8. Just consider who Goliath wanted to fight. 1 Samuel 17 and verse 8. Remember, there's two sorts in the nation.

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    1 Samuel 17 and verse 8 says, And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said unto them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you and let him come down to me.

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    If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.

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    Who do you think he wanted to fight? You know, he mentions one name. And I would put to you that that was who was in his mind. Goliath stands up there on the side of the hill there. And he's thinking, Saul, are you going to come and fight me? You just think about this, right?

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    There were two swords in the nation. Saul had one of them, right? It was either Saul or Jonathan that had a sword. And, you know, it would have looked like a pretty lame battle. And Goliath gets mad about it later if somebody came out there to fight him with a stick, right? You know, that's just not going to work very well.

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    So he's thinking, I suggest to you, Saul. Remember Saul was a head and shoulders above everybody else? The people said in 1 Samuel 8 that they want a king to go and fight their battles for them? That was their specific words. To fight our battles before us. So you can just picture that Goliath stands up there.

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    He says, you're all servants to Saul. Now, if I fight with this man and kill him, then you'll be my servants. Because clearly, your master, Saul, will be dead. So you can just feel the pressure. All eyes on Saul. So that's just something to think about. Now, what happens is Goliath comes for these 40 days.

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    Morning and evening, he presents himself. And in the midst of all of this, Jesse comes to David and says, now, go to your brethren and bring them these 10 cheeses and 10 loaves. I always remember because somebody once told me that it was 10 grilled cheese sandwiches that he brought. So, you know, there you go.

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    That's how you can remember. He brought 10 loaves, 10 cheeses. So he brought his 10 grilled cheese sandwiches and he goes to them. And he goes to his brethren and he's supposed to take a pledge, it says. I guess to show, you know, that they were still alive. So he goes to them and he hears what Goliath says.

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    And he's so frustrated, in fact, that in verses 25 and 26, the men of Israel have to repeat to him twice what they had said. So he just, he can't even listen to anything because he's so angry. And he starts going from group to group saying, who's going to fight this man? Who's going to fight this man?

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    And that's when his brother gets all frustrated with him and says, what do you know, what are you doing? Well, he eventually gets brought in front of Saul, right? And he tells perhaps, you know, just the things that David says in this chapter. He tells perhaps one of the greatest stories. Can you imagine being Saul and hearing these things, right?

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    Saul says, verse 33, Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. Now, I don't think Saul expected this at all. David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep.

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    And there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. Did you notice what David did? And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him.

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    Now, we obviously don't have wild lions here, right? But I guess we have mountain lions. But, you know, you look at a lion, right? And that's the kind of thing when you go to a zoo, you think, wow, I'm glad that they're there and I'm here. Right? That there's a big, nice fence that separates us.

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    Lions are big and they're scary, right? But look at what David does. Can you imagine Saul hearing these things? David says, well, you know, this sheep came or this lion came and he took a sheep. So I chased after him and I took the sheep out of its mouth. Right? Goodness. Taking a sheep out of a lion's mouth.

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    He takes it out of his mouth. And then he says, and then, you know, when he tried to get me, well, I just grabbed his face and I threw him on the ground. That's weird. To do that to a lion? Who would grab a lion's face? But he says, when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him.

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    You know, and you could just picture Saul thinking, who is this person? Who would grab a lion? And he says, oh yeah, and I did that to a bear too. Which, you know, lion, like 200 pounds. Bear, 400. Eh, no big deal. And that's what he says. And I'll do the same thing to this man.

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    This is just one of those stories where you step back and you think, is this for real? How could he do that? And so you see that Saul's attitude immediately changes. And he says, go and Yahweh be with you. Right? I don't know who can grab a lion's face. And I don't know who can kill a bear like that.

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    But, you know, you can do that. You can fight this man. And so what happens is David then goes with utter confidence. And I think there's some reasons for that. If you ever feel like it, I would suggest to you that David had a great affinity for Samson. They were the only two people at that point to have killed a lion.

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    And I think that he was thinking a lot about Samson here. And so with Samson in his mind, he goes up to the Philistine. And this epic battle takes place. And really, it's an epic battle of words. Because you look at just what Goliath says. And, you know, he makes a big mistake in verse 43.

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    Verse 43 says, The Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Big mistake. Because now this is a battle of the gods. And so what you see is David really gives, I think, probably the best battle speech ever in the Old Testament.

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    And maybe you have one that you like better. But it's hard to find one. Just consider what he says. Verse 45. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

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    Now, as we read the next verse, consider who he's planning on killing. Because it wasn't just Goliath. Look at the next verse. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand. And I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. And I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto fowls of the air.

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    And to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Did you see who he was going to fight?

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    He says right in the middle of the verse. And I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air. David essentially stands up and he says to Goliath, Goliath, okay, I'm going to kill you. But I'm not just going to kill you. I'm going to kill everybody.

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    All those people behind you, all those Philistines, yeah, I'm going to first kill you. Then I'm going to chase after them and I'm going to kill all of them too. You just think, wow. Here's this man who stands up and he says, I grabbed a lion's face. And then he says, I'm going to come and kill all these thousands of Philistines here.

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    But that's not it. Because he also said something interesting to Goliath. He said, I'll smite you. This is still in verse 46. And look at what he told Goliath he was going to do. And take thine head from thee. Have you ever thought about that? What weapons did David have? He had a stick and a sling.

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    And he says, oh, and by the way, Goliath, see my stick? I'm going to cut off your head. Right? Just like think about this. What was he planning on doing here? It sounds like he's saying to Goliath, well, Goliath, first I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to take your sword and I'm going to cut off your head with your own sword.

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    Then when I'm done with that, I'm going to chase after everybody else and kill them with your sword too. This is, you know, David's plan. And it's astonishing to see that this is what he's planning on doing. Okay. So that's the story. He says that to Goliath. Goliath stands up and he runs at him.

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    Rah! Whatever noise he made. And then he gets hit in the head with a stone and he falls over. Right? And it's kind of interesting because, you know, the record actually says that he died twice. In verse, which, you know, you wonder how that's possible. Verse 50 says, So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and smote the Philistine and slew him.

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    So he died when the stone hit his forehead. And then, if you keep reading, in verse 51 it says, Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of the sheath thereof and slew him and cut off his head. Twice dead. And you wonder, well, what is this all about?

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    You know, how can somebody die twice? And I think that really opens up what this story is really about. Because it's, yes, it's about a man who has sayings that are larger than life. Things that he's going to do. Plans that he's going to carry out. That are huge and that are just mind-blowing in their proportion.

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    But I would suggest to you that really, the purpose of this story is about the Lord Jesus. I think that that's what we see when we start to look at the Old Testament. That the Old Testament are the stories of the Lord Jesus. You know, we have so many different lives of people in Scripture.

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    Right? There's character after character after character. And they lived 50, 60, some over 100 years. Right? But we only have a few chapters on them. And so you have to ask, well, why? Why do we only have those few things? Couldn't we have more information? Couldn't we be told some of the other things that they did?

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    And I think the reason is, our God has specifically chosen pieces of it. So that when we look at their stories, we see the Lord Jesus. And so when we come here to 1 Samuel 17, just take a look. Because we're going to notice that not only do we see the Lord Jesus in his first advent, in his battle against sin, we actually see the Lord Jesus in his second.

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    Just come with me and look at this. We're going to be using two hands here. So you'll want to have one in 1 Samuel 17. I mean, you don't have to, but if you want. 1 Samuel 17. We're introduced to Goliath. And notice that there is a prevailing metal in his armor. 1 Samuel 17.

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    Just notice how he's described. Verse 5. This is really going to set the stage for us. 1 Samuel 17, verse 5. It says, And he had a helmet of brass upon his head. And he was armed with a coat of mail. And the weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs.

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    And a target of brass between his shoulders. You know, you read about Goliath, and you hear brass, brass, brass, brass. It's emphasized to us that he's this man of brass. And throughout scripture, brass is constantly connected to the flesh. To sin. And we won't go there, but this is an interesting reference to just take a look at later.

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    If you go to Ezekiel 16, in verse 36, that word brass there, the Hebrew word for brass, nehushta, I think it is, is actually translated as filthiness. So that's Ezekiel 16, 36. So it has that, like, double meaning. Ezekiel 16, 36. So he has brass all over him. Now, just again, interestingly, in verse 5 there, you'll notice that it also says he's armed with a coat of mail.

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    And that word mail, again, in Hebrew, is the word that means scales. So he has this coat of scales. See, you look, and you, I think when you looked at Goliath, you'd almost see a brass snake.

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    Does that remind you of anything? That's Numbers 21. Remember the serpent in the wilderness that was supposed to be lifted up on the pole? And that was the flesh. Again, that's what it represented. The flesh being crucified on the pole. So what we have here is Goliath is this man of flesh. And it's an interesting battle because notice how this is structured.

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    He stands up and he says, I'm going to fight one man, which we think was supposed to be Saul. Now, here's what's very interesting. When you look at the life of Saul, there was one major issue that Saul really had. I mean, he had a few. But I think what really started a lot of things, the foundational problem that he had, was that he never really understood what faith meant.

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    He had this idea that if I follow God's laws like this, like this, like this, then I'll be righteous. And God will love me, right? It's classic legalism. You know, we talk about that kind of thing. Let's just look at a few examples of this. Come back with me to 1 Samuel chapter 13.

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    1 Samuel 13. We want to see Saul's problem. 1 Samuel chapter 13. This is when Saul, again, is fighting against the Philistines. And this is the story where Samuel tells him, look, Saul, you're going to offer an offering, but do not offer it until I come. You can't offer the offering until I'm here, and I'll offer it for you before you go into battle.

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    Now, Saul waits, and he waits a number of days, and Samuel never comes. And so eventually, he decides in verse 9, 1 Samuel 13 verse 9, it says, And Saul said, bring hither a burnt offering to me and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. He does it on his own. Samuel later comes to him and says, what were you doing, Saul?

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    You're a king. You don't offer offerings. It was for the priest. But Saul had this ingrained in his mind, I cannot go to battle until I offer an offering. He didn't understand why. He didn't understand the principle. But he has this thought in his mind, must offer offering. And that's that. You see the same kind of thing in the next chapter, in 1 Samuel 14, where he tries to build up these rules in order to become righteous.

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    So he starts to fight against the Philistines, 1 Samuel 14, and Jonathan is fighting against them and having great success. And Saul, in his attempt to be righteous, he again does the same kind of thing. Verse 24. 1 Samuel 14, verse 24. It says, 1 Samuel 14, 24. The men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until the evening, that I may be avenged on mine adversaries.

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    Now, really, that's a very silly idea. You know, you're going to have your men go out and fight without eating anything? Not a good plan. But anyway, that's what he does. Because he thinks rules equal righteousness. So he says, here's a new rule, guys, and we're going to go out and fight this battle righteously.

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    And all the people say, oh, good. You know, we can't eat anything. So he does that. The same kind of thing happens in the next chapter, which we won't look at, but this is his battle against the Amalekites. Do you remember what his big issue there was? He kept the sheep and the oxen because he was going to offer them as an offering, he says.

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    So this is what's in his mind. Offerings. This is what God wants. God wants all these different things of the law. And he never understands what the big meaning is. He was a man of legalism. A man of rules. And so what you have that's very powerful is in 1 Samuel 17, you have this story in which you have this man of sin approach the man of law.

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    And he says, come and fight me. And we'll see who wins. And whoever wins will be the master. And all the people then will follow that person. And do you notice Saul's reaction?

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    Saul trembled. Because the man of law knew that the law couldn't defeat sin. Now, that again is speaking figuratively. But I think this is what we see. Sin comes and says to the law, I'm going to take your people. And the law says, I can't save them. I can't do it. I cannot give them life from you.

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    From sin. But someone can. And so that man was prepared. Was being prepared. While sin presented itself for 40 days. And it's reminiscent of the Lord's temptations. 40 days in the wilderness. And so David appears. And it's very intriguing what he does. Because he appears on this battle. And what he does is he brings these bread.

71. 24:23

    These breads to his brethren. In verse 18, he's told to take the bread. And he goes and he gives it to them. In, let's see. In verse 22, he brings the bread to his brethren. And that's just interesting. Because if you come with me over to John chapter 6. Just take a look at this.

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    Notice what the Lord Jesus says. And what he connects to this idea. Because just like David. When he entered onto the scene. Fighting against sin. The Lord Jesus also brought bread to his brethren. But he makes an intriguing connection. John chapter 6. Let's start at verse 47. Just like David, he brought bread.

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    Here's what he says. John 6 verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness. And are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven. That a man may eat thereof. And not die.

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    The manna was the bread that the people received under the law. The manna was the bread that was provided to them. By Moses. The man of the law. And the Lord Jesus specifically brings in this contrast. And he says. You're all about Moses. And this man of law. And he says. And that's fine.

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    But the people that ate manna. Do you know how long they lived? Another 10, 20, 30 years. And then they died. But I can really give you life. Is what he says. I can give you that real bread. And so you have this picture here of David. Coming to his brothers. Bringing bread.

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    At a point at which the law said. I can't save you. And it's interesting that. You know. It looks to be a similar kind of thing.

77. 26:16

    Nevertheless. There's a little bit more. So what David does. In 1 Samuel 17. Is he goes. And he comes to Saul. And he says. I can kill. You know. I killed the lion and the bear. I'll fight against him. Saul says. Okay. Here. Take my armor. Right? And he doesn't just give him his armor.

78. 26:30

    But he says. Take my armor. My robe. My coat of mail. It seemed like it's his whole. All of his paraphernalia. So. Probably the sword too. And then at that point. David crosses over the brook. He grabs his stones. And he goes. And he fights against Goliath. And he slings the stone at his forehead.

79. 26:45

    And if you just come with me now. To Luke chapter 22. I think that the gospel writer. Was bringing this to our attention. Just keep this in mind. David refused Saul's armor. Refused Saul's sword. He then crosses a brook. Then he slings a stone. Refuses Saul's sword. Crosses a brook. Slings a stone.

80. 27:06

    And it's very interesting. Because. Notice what Luke says. Verse 37. Luke 22. 37. Look for David. Ready? Luke 22. 37. For I say unto you. That this that is written. Must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors. For the things concerning me have an end. And they said.

81. 27:29

    Lord behold. Here are. Two swords. And he said unto them. It is enough. That's interesting. Two swords. And the Lord Jesus says. We don't need them. Refusing Saul's sword. Perhaps. Not only that. We're then told in verse 39. That the Lord Jesus. And he came out. And he went. And as he was wont.

82. 27:55

    To the Mount of Olives. And do you know what the Lord had to cross. To get to the Mount of Olives? He crossed a brook. We find that out in John 18. In verse 1. John 18. 1. He crosses the Kidron. The brook Kidron. And then look at what Luke does. We find the Lord in the garden.

83. 28:13

    Battling against sin. Let this cup pass from me. And this is what it says. Verse 40. And when he was at the place. He said unto them. Pray ye that you enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them. About a stone's cast.

84. 28:35

    And kneeled down and prayed. Why does Luke say that? He withdrew from them about a stone's cast. Couldn't he have said he withdrew from him. Ten feet. But he says. The Lord was given two swords. And he said I don't need them. And then he says. The Lord went to the Mount of Olives.

85. 28:53

    Crossing a brook. Luke. And then he says. And he went the distance of throwing a stone. And I would suggest to you. That Luke is trying to draw our minds. To this whole picture. And saying.

86. 29:06

    The Lord. Fought Goliath that night. And that just as Goliath died. Twice. Remember? Just as Goliath died twice. The first time he died was in the garden. But the second time he died. We find out about it now. In John chapter 19. Come over to John 19. And notice what it says there.

87. 29:28

    That the Lord Jesus fought Goliath in the garden. He fought sin. In his mind. And he said. Not thy will. Not my will. But thine be done. He fought Goliath. And yet he did it again. The next day. In John 19 and verse 18. Sorry. John 19 and verse 17. Notice. Notice what.

88. 29:49

    John is attempting to tell us. John 19 verse 17. It says. And he bearing his cross. Went forth into a place called the place of a skull. Which is called in the Hebrew. Golgotha. And you look at that. And you wonder. Well. Why are we told that he went to a place called Golgotha.

89. 30:05

    Right outside of Jerusalem. And you stop and you think about it. Do you know there's one time. At least as far as I can tell. One time in scripture. When a skull. Is placed outside of Jerusalem. Do you know who's skull that was?

90. 30:22

    Goliath's. That's 1 Samuel 17 verse 54. 1 Samuel 17 54. It says. And David took Goliath's head. And brought it to Jerusalem. And he put it outside the wall.

91. 30:36

    And the record specifically tells us. That when the Lord Jesus was crucified. That's where he went. To the place of Goliath's head. The second time he died. Do you see that? Just the beauty of this. That here's the Lord Jesus. Fighting against Goliath in Gethsemane. The stone's throw. And then here's the Lord Jesus.

92. 30:56

    Fighting against and killing Goliath. For the second time. The head. Just as David killed him twice. So it's something to think about. It's interesting to see. Just kind of these parallels. To put them together. Now.

93. 31:09

    I told myself I'd only go for another 5 minutes. So. We're going to see how this goes. Back to 1 Samuel 17. Just take a look at this. 1 Samuel 17. And. We want to look at. Goliath. And David. In the Lord's second advent. Now we already saw that Goliath. Was a man of brass.

94. 31:31

    But. Notice something else. He wasn't just brass. He was another metal too. And as we look at this. See if this reminds you. Of any latter day prophecy. 1 Samuel 17. Starting at verse 6. It says. And he had greaves of brass. Upon his legs. And a target of brass. Between his shoulders.

95. 31:47

    Goliath. The staff of his spear. Was like a weaver's beam. And his spirit head. Weighed 600 shekels. Of iron. And one bearing a shield. Went before him. Brass. And iron. Does that remind you. Of any latter day prophecy? It's kind of interesting. Goliath. Was this big man. And. In Daniel chapter 2. We have this story.

96. 32:08

    Of. Of. A big image. Made out of. Brass and iron. The same things. But two metals are missing. Where's the gold and the silver? Right? In Daniel chapter 2. You have Nebuchadnezzar's image. Starts. Head of gold. Shoulders. And arms of silver. Belly and thighs of brass. Iron legs. And then iron and clay feet.

97. 32:30

    Well. Where's the gold and the silver? You might recall. That in Daniel chapter 7. You have a parallel prophecy. Do you remember. The beast that come up. Out of the water. You see a lion. And then Daniel saw a bear. Then a leopard. Then a dreadful. And terrible beast. And. Those four seem to parallel.

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    The four metals. The first being. A lion. And the second being a bear. Well. Does that remind you of anything? David says to Saul. There came a lion. And a bear. And took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him. And smote him. It's just interesting to see. That.

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    You know. You see Goliath. This man of brass and iron. And then. You have the lion and the bear too. Already dead. That's why they're not here. That's an interesting picture. Something to consider.

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     Alright. Okay. Let's go to Revelation 13. Revelation 13. We get a picture of a beast. And. I want us to see how. This beast. Connects to some of the other things. That we just talked about in Daniel. So in Daniel 2. We have the picture of the image. Right. Gold. Silver. Brass. Iron.

101. 33:51

     Iron and clay. And then. In Daniel chapter 7. We have the beasts. Lion. Bear. Leopard. And then. Whatever it is. Daniel just calls it. Dreadful and terrible. And then a little horn comes up later. So we have these five phases. Five phases. Well. When you come to Revelation 13. Notice what you get.

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     Think about those beasts. Again. Revelation 13. Verse 1. Look for the beasts. And I stood upon the sand of the sea. And saw a beast. Rise up out of the sea. Having seven heads. And ten horns. And upon his horns. Ten crowns. And upon his heads. The name of blasphemy. The beast which I saw.

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     Was like unto a leopard. Oh interesting. A leopard. And his feet. Were as the feet of a bear. And his mouth. As the mouth of a lion. And the dragon. Gave him his power. And his seat. And great authority. Did you notice. That in that verse. There's four animals. You have a leopard.

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     A bear. A lion. And something scary. Dreadful and terrible. A dragon. I would put to you. That those are the four beasts. Of Daniel 7.

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     Not only that. It's very interesting. To just go through. Daniel chapter 7. I don't know. If you've ever done this. But if you take the time. In Daniel 7. And you count up. The number of heads. That those beasts have total. Right. How many heads. Does the lion have. How many heads. Does the bear have.

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     Does the leopard have. You add them all together. Do you know what you come up with. Seven heads. If you add together. How many horns they have. Right. How many does the lion. How many is the bear. Do you know how many horns you'd get. You get ten. Seven heads. And ten horns.

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     And that's exactly. What this beast has. In verse one. It has seven heads. And ten horns. Now I just suggest to you. That what you see here. And I hope this isn't too weird. But what you see here. I think. Is it's almost like. The four beasts of Daniel chapter seven. Were taken and put into a blender.

108. 35:47

     And out comes this beast. That comes out of the sea. I know that's kind of gross. But it helps. Hopefully it helps you remember it. This at least is what it seems like to me. They all get mixed together. And you get this thing. That looks like a leopard. But has bear's feet.

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     And then a mouth of a lion. And then the power of a dragon. It's Daniel seven. All put together into one. And you know what's interesting. Is when you start to look at history. This is what we talk about a lot in the school. I do a lot of the history classes. You see that when one empire takes over another.

110. 36:18

     The characteristics of the conquered empire often remain. Right. The biggest example of that is in. When Rome took over Greece. Right. A lot of Greek culture still remained. And so what you seem to have here is. This is a conglomeration of all those empires. Because they've all been taken over. Babylon's been conquered.

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     Persia's been conquered. Greece. Rome. They've all been conquered. And what you get now is this. And so this is that image. All the way at the last phase. When all those other empires are gone. This is that image at the feet. This is those beasts at the little horn. Here's why that matters.

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     We've already seen in Goliath. That there's the lion and the bear. Right. Those are the first two. We've seen the brass and the iron. So we have all four phases. We're just missing the last. The feet. This beast I think is the feet.

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     Now notice what the beast is called in verse 18. Revelation 13 verse 18 says. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man. His number is 600 three score and six. The dreaded number. Six six six. Do you know that that's Goliath's number too?

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     If you come back to first Samuel 17. I would suggest to you that in fact. We have all five phases. Of the image. And all five phases of the beast. In first Samuel 17. Because. Not only do we have the lion and the bear. Not only do we have the brass and the iron.

115. 37:52

     But we actually have six six six. In here as well. Which is the number of that fifth phase. Just take a look at Goliath. It says here. First Samuel 17. This is our last thing. First Samuel 17. And verse four. It says. There went out a champion. Of the camp of the Philistines.

116. 38:09

     Whose name was Goliath of Gath. Whose height was. Six cubits and a span. There's the first six. He had a helmet of brass upon his head. And he was armed with a coat of mail. The weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. He had greaves of brass upon his legs.

117. 38:23

     And a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam. And the spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. Second six. Now if you just go through and count. Goliath's armor. Guess how many pieces there are. Six.

118. 38:41

     Says that he has a helmet. One. Says that he has a coat of mail. Two. Says that he has greaves of brass. Three. Says that he has a target of brass. Four. It says that he has a spear. Five. And it says that he has a shield. Six. He's six six six. Interestingly.

119. 38:56

     And you can do with that what you want. You know. But I would just put to you. Now there's more connections. And we're not going to look at them. But I would put to you. That this is the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what you see in him. You see the stone.

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     Which flies and hits the image. This is the Lord Jesus throughout scripture. And it's a wonderful kind of thing. To just go through. And as you read. Look for him. And suddenly what you realize. When you start doing that. Is that the Lord Jesus is the altar. The Lord Jesus is the laver.

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     The Lord Jesus is the table of showbread. The Lord is the ark. He's the altar of incense. He's the lampstand. And he's all the sacrifices. And you suddenly realize. That the Lord is everything. And this whole Bible. Focuses on him.

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     And brothers and sisters. How privileged we are then. To be able to come and remember him. Because there's one element. About David. That's mentioned over and over. In this story. And I would put to you. That the reason is. So that we don't lose focus. When we see the Lord Jesus conquering sin.

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     When we see the Lord Jesus. Fighting against this image. Of the kingdoms of men. We don't want to lose focus. And just take a look. And see what's repeated over and over. It says. Verse 15. First Samuel 17. David went and returned from Saul. To feed his father's sheep. Verse 20. David rose early in the morning.

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     And left the sheep with a keeper. Verse 28. With whom hast thou left. Those few sheep in the wilderness. Verse 34. David said unto Saul. Thy servant kept his father's sheep. And finally. Verse 40. And he took his staff in his hand. And chose him five smooth stones. Out of the brook. And put them in a shepherd's bag.

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     Over and over. More than anything else. We're told about David. That he was a shepherd. In this chapter. As he fought Goliath. I think the point is. That as we think. On the Lord's sacrifice. We think on his second coming. That is what we're supposed to remember. That he is our shepherd. And we're his sheep.

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     That is the overarching principle. That this isn't just something. That's going to happen later. And oh. Latter day prophecy. Where it's. It's not just the Lord Jesus. On. On. The mountain. On the cross. This is the Lord is our shepherd. And the good shepherd. Gives his life for his sheep. And so as we take the bread and the wine.

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     May we remember that. And remember. That this man. Of whom all scripture is about. Wants us. As his flock. Thank you. For listening to the good Christadelphian talks podcast. We hope this talk. Helped you in your walk. If you would like to hear more. Please subscribe for new episodes. And leave a review.

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129. 42:09

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     If you know of a great talk. We want to know about it too. Send a suggestion. To our email. At good Christadelphian talks. At gmail.com. Or message us. On any of our social media accounts. Thank you for listening. God bless. And talk to you next week. God bless. God bless. Thank you.