DAVID AND GOLIATH.
Israel was fighting against the Philistines.
Right from the very beginning the Philistines were the enemies of Israel. After all they had been put out of their land. or at least moved to the edge of it, when the Israelites moved in.
God had warned Moses that He would not take the children of Israel into the land by the short route - from Egypt up to Palestine,
because of the presence of the Philistines.
God knew that the Philistines were a warlike bunch of people.
All through the history of Israel, through the period of the judges, and especially during the time of Samson, the Philistines were the perpetual enemy of Israel.
Now when David came along, they were still the enemy and they had a giant fighter to promote their cause.
His name was Goliath.
The name Goliath means "soothsayer" (diviner) and this indicates that he dealt with the occult - that which is demonic.
He was a huge man with unmatched strength.
He was six cubits - 9foot 9inchs tall.
The war had reached a stalemate because of the presence of Goliath. The armed forces of Israel were on one side of the hill and the Philistine troops were on the side of another hill. There was a valley between them and each day Goliath would parade up and down in the valley and intimidate the Israelites by challenging them to send out a man who would be willing to fight against him.
1 Samuel 17: 8-11 "And Goliath stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye 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.
If he is 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.
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."
This had gone on for 40 days.
No one had accepted Goliath's challenge.
It was at this time that Jesse, who had three sons in the battle, decided to send his youngest son David, who minded the sheep, to take provisions to his brothers. While David was in the camp Goliath came out and David heard his speech. David was incensed and he asked
1 Samuel 17:26 "....What shall be done for the man who killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel?
For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
David was just a shepherd boy and this was very brave talk from him.
He was an amazing person.
He had a great love and a consuming passion for the true living God of Israel.
Goliath's challenge did not send him into hiding.
HE WANTED SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT.
David's brothers were not impressed with him 1 1 Samuel 17:28 "And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down here? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle."
It is quite interesting to see that David's brother Eliab could so easily get angry with David,
YET HE DID NOT GET ANGRY WITH GOLIATH.
David, on the other hand was angry at the Philistine.
King Saul heard that David wanted to fight Goliath and so he sent for David.
Now that Saul had a volunteer, he was willing to take on the giant.
He wanted to dress David in the king's armor but the armor was too big for him. The kings sword was also far too heavy for David. David was unable to use the instruments and the methods of this world to fight the giant and so he said to the king that he would use the instruments that he was used to.
He had already slain a lion and a bear and he would kill Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:36 "Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God."
This is a tremendous lesson for us today.
Let us not try to be something that we are not.
LET US USE THAT WHICH GOD HAS GIFTED US WITH, TO DO THAT WHICH HE HAS CALLED US TO DO.
David was familiar with using a slingshot and he was confident that God would deliver him from GOLIATH.
1 Samuel 17: 37 "Moreover, The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go and the Lord be with you."
David knew that he could not fight Goliath with the weapons of this world.
HE WENT TO FIGHT GOLIATH WITH THAT WHICH GOD HAD TRAINED HIM TO USE.
The believer must recognize that the world can only be overcome by faith - complete trust in God.
1 Samuel 17:40 "And David took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near the Philistine."
When the giant saw the young boy coming to meet him, he became boastful and insulting.
He used the names of pagan gods to curse David.
David's entire confidence was in God alone.
Listen to him in
1 Samuel 17:45-47 "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.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee; And I will give the carcasses of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all the assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU INTO OUR HANDS."
David killed Goliath that day with just one stone from his slingshot.
God gave David the victory.
In the Scriptures David is a small picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus was called a son of David, and one day He will occupy the throne of David.
Our Lord Jesus often, when He was rebuked by His critics, referred to David.
David also represents the believer in the Lord Jesus. I think that the giant represents the world and that king Saul represents Satan.
The final conflict will eventually be between God and Satan - David and Saul. But for the present time it is between believers and the world - David and Goliath. When we first come to Christ, the world system - which includes governments, educational systems, entertainments and so on - becomes our enemy.
Our Lord Jesus made it clear in
John 15:18-19 "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
Something is wrong with your testimony if the world loves you. There is something wrong with your life if you are living arm in arm with the world.
The apostle John tells us in
1 John 2:15-16 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM."
We are to be in the world but not of the world.
David treated Goliath as the enemy.
The enemy of God, and the enemy of God's people.
Here we see the difference between Samson and David.
Samson treated the Philistines as his friends.
He even married one of them.
This distinguishes believers in the world today - some are "Samsons" and some are "Davids."
We must remember that the world is our enemy - we need to overcome the world. Samson said in effect,
the way to overcome is to start a United Nations and we'll all get together and get along just fine - remove those things that separate us.
That thinking was his downfall.
David said,
Goliath is my enemy.
I NEED VICTORY OVER HIM.
We are not to fight against this world with the type of weapons that it uses.
We are to use spiritual weapons,
the weapon of our faith in God.
It was Davids complete trust in God that enabled him to gain victory over the giant.
The believer overcomes the world by faith in God.
1 John 5:4 "For whoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
Joshua also learned the same lesson when instead of fighting, they marched around Jericho for seven days and the walls of that city came tumbling down.
Why?
Because THE BATTLE IS THE LORDS.
Remember that David said to Goliath,
1 Samuel 17:45 "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts."
If we are to gain victory over the world, we will have to learn that the battle is the Lords.
We are to go in His name,
BUT THE BATTLE IS HIS.
He alone gains the victory.
You and I in our own strength, cannot overcome the world.
May I ask you to make a decision and ask the Lord Christ Jesus to overcome the world in you?
On the victory side,
No foe can daunt me,
No fear can haunt me,
On the victory side.
On the victory side,
On the victory se,
With Christ within,
The fight we'll win,
On the victory side.
Played by Caryl.
Amen!
Reply to Caryl@cherith.co.za.
THIS PAGE UPDATED:
17-7-2008.