Last week we saw the preparation for battle.
David did his deep breathing exercises, so to speak, by remembering all the
times God went out before him and was the Champion, not just for himself, but
for Saul, and for the nation of Israel. He rallied the troops, inspired Saul,
and stepped out in faith knowing who he was, a servant of the Most High God.
This week we will see the actual battle itself and how it unfolded. We join it as David left behind the
arraignment of battlement and stepped out as what he was, a shepherd defending
the flock of God.
Then he took
his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the
brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling
was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Samuel
17:40
This is one of the most powerful verses in
all of the scriptures, yet people miss it. It is one that says so much with
very few words. It paints a picture of might beyond what can be found in the
alphabetic characters. Think about each group of words and the symbolism behind
them. We’ve got a youth who steps out from an army of men with nothing but a
staff, a pouch, and a sling in is hand, to go out against a gigantic warrior
who is a tried and true champion. Eliab was probably trying to decide how to
tell his father about how his little brother was killed, and how he let it
happen. Saul was probably wondering if God was going to bring down a legion of
angels to get this kid out of this mess. The entire Israelite army was aghast,
and the Philistine army was probably laughing their heads off. But David didn’t
care how the others reacted. He wasn’t there for them. He was there for God.
David took what God had
given him. He took his staff. It was the weapon he’d used on the lion and the
bear. It was the tool he used as an extension of his arm to keep the sheep in
line. With a staff the shepherd could be gentle and tap or guide his charges,
or he could be harsh and beat, if necessary, any adversary that challenged him.
But David wasn’t going to use his staff in this battle. He wouldn’t be close
enough to this beast to need the extension. God’s arm was long enough.
Next we see that David
stopped and drew out of the stream five smooth stones. He drew out of the water
five stones. Water does a lot to rock. It gradually wears it way through
constant pressure causing it to break down in equal measure. It smooths it,
polishes it, and makes it as aerodynamically sound as any man made devise could
make it. The spiritual representation of water is clear. Water purifies,
cleanses, and refreshes thus representing the Holy Spirit. Now, if David knew
that, I don’t think so, I think he just knew that’s where he would get stones
appropriate for his sling. God had already taught him where to go to ammo up,
and the Spirit was already upon him.
Also, why five stones? And
why does the Bible make specific count of the amount? Why doesn’t it just say
he picked up stones from the stream? I do believe the number five is
significant. I believe that five is the number representative of Grace. Grace
is God’s favor. I believe David reached down, picked up a handful of stones and
saw that there was five and knew, just knew, because of the amount, that the
battle was a done deal. It was like God said to him, “Relax, Kid, I got this.”
The next few words I
really love. I love that he put the stones in his shepherd’s pouch. I picture
him placing those stones inside that pouch, and as it did it God placing all
that David would need to face every other adversary that would come his way
inside the Great Shepherd’s pouch, that is David’s heart. What went in there
was the five things David, and all of us as believers, need to have to overcome
the enemy. These things will be the focus of the studies to come after we
complete this chapter of the story. We will look at these things in the
scriptures and delve into what God says about them and how important they are
in our arsenal for defeating sin in our life.
Then he took his sling in
his hand; a sling says that he wasn’t planning to draw near enough to the enemy
to allow the enemy to be able to overpower him. This is important for all of us
to remember when we are facing the enemy. Sometimes we forget who the enemy is.
The enemy is not Satan, or the World, or Self alone. The enemy is sin in whatever
form it chooses to come at us. We need to think before we get too near to it.
We need to think about how we can defeat it. If necessary, it’s best to stay
out of arm’s reach of it, like little David did to Big Goliath.
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well,
sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Genesis 4:7
So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the
man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained
him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that
you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give
your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” 1
Samuel 17:41-44
Enter Goliath, and he’s
really upset that they send this kid to do battle with him. He wanted Saul,
none other than the king to come out and fight with him, and who comes out but
a shepherd boy with a stick and a sling, as if he was a wild dog to be chased
away. He was rightfully insulted. He wasn’t worried about the sling because he
was completely armored up. His shield’s man was in front of him, but I have a
feeling Goliath pushed him away when he heard the laughter starting. He saw the
staff and knew what it looked like. He wasn’t going to chase after David. He
made that clear when he said “Come to me.” He was telling David that he was
going to rip him to shreds, not chase after some stick.
That’s
the thing about the enemy. It knows us really well. It knows that it can stay
put and call to us and we will come to it. We will find the sins we prefer even
if in our own imaginations. As a teacher, I know that the issue isn’t video
games. There are no video games in the classroom, but the kids are still
playing them in their minds. All they needed was one hour with them to master
the ability to entertain them. As adults, we’ve mastered the ability to
entertain sin without detection by others. It calls to us, and we drop the
stick and walk up to it gladly allowing it to rip us to spiritual shreds.
“Then David said to the
Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But
I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your
head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the
Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all
the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
David
back talks this Giant. Sometimes when kids backtalk I want to applaud them,
sometimes. It shows that they’ve got passion, if they can do it in the right
way. This was the right way. David called this guy out. He spit his own words
back in his face. He did one of those, “Oh yeah, says you, well, says my God…”
and just lets it roll right out of his mouth. He says, “you’re coming fully
armed and you’re still going to lose because I’m coming with a really big God
whose going to take you down. All those things you just said about me is what
God is going to do to you. By your own words you’ve sealed your own fate!”
David references the Lord no less than seven times, the number of completion.
It’s a done deal.
“So it was,
when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David
hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he
slung it and struck
the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and
he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over
the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed
him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and
stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and
killed him, and cut off his head with it.” 1 Samuel 17:48-51
Goliath
moved, David moved, the two warriors were about to go at it—NOT. As far as a
match goes this was pretty anticlimactic. It was over before it really got
going. One swoosh and a thud followed by the clang of the armored weight of the
giant hitting the ground. Perhaps there was total silence on the side of the Philistines
followed by a collective gasp. I’m certain jaws dropped on the side of the
Israelites. David walked over to the body, maybe just in time to hear that last
breath. He’d been there before, with the lion and the bear. And there he stood,
with the eyes of thousands upon him from both sides. He had no sword to take
Goliath’s head from him. He did the only thing he could do and used what was
available to him. He used Goliath’s own sword, and cut his head off.
When we face our sins, we are facing God’s
enemies. We also need to allow Him to direct our fight. His is the battle. His
was the stone. His was the water that formed the stone. His was the weather
conditions, the laws of physics, and Goliath’s forehead that the stone was able
to penetrate. All of it was God’s from the moment David left Jesse’s house to
deliver provisions. David was the means to God’s plan, and to Goliath’s end.
Goliath taunted and mocked the hosts of God, and God would have no more of it!
Plink! God swatted him, and took him down. David could not have done it without
God, but David knew God had the victory before the battle lines were drawn.
Where faith lies there was the victory. Shaking faith was not standing faith.
David stood with Goliath’s head in his hand, not the other way around.
Next week we will take a look at the
aftermath and how this victory of God’s affected man. Until then…
I will be on Periscope to answer questions
about this blog, my book, my writing, and just to chat on January 3rd
at 4pm Mountain time, I’m near Albuquerque, NM. If you don’t know what
Periscope is Google it.
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