…and his sling was in his
hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
(from 1 Samuel 17:40)
David was a warrior, but
more importantly than that, he was a believer. He believed in a mighty God.
When he stepped out to face Goliath, he knew it wasn’t him that was facing the
giant, it was the giant that was facing God. David stepped out with one weapon
he had fashioned, only one that had not been provided by God on the field.
David brought his sling to the field. The sling was his weapon of choice, a
weapon he was well acquainted with and trusted he had mastery over. He knew it
well, and how he had to hold it, to swing it, and when to release the end so
that the stone would hit the intended target.
He practiced since he was a child at using the sling and he was good at
it. He had been faithful with it. The
sling was a symbol of David’s fidelity.
Righteousness shall be the
belt of His loins, And faithfulness
the belt of His waist. Isaiah 11:5
God desires our fidelity
just as much as we desire it in any of our relationships in our life. Being
betrayed in a relationship is tantamount to being stabbed, which is why we
refer to it as being stabbed in the back. Our God is also very familiar with
it. We are very good at betrayal, and fidelity is not as easy for us. Loyalty is only an attribute as long as it is
first of all convenient, and secondly, the person we’re loyal to is also loyal
to us. Jesus expressed this very well when explaining our future to us, “ And then many
will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” Matt.
24:12” Things aren’t looking so good,
are they? So what is it that inspires us to be loyal and faithful to God? What was it that held David so that he would
step out on that field to face such a formidable enemy convinced he would walk
off the field victorious? And how can we have that sling in hand and know when
we take aim our enemy is going to fall, without doubt?
Relationship with God is all
encompassing. It was all David had to focus on during those days of tending
sheep. Yes, there were predators to defend against, but David didn’t have the
noise we do in his life. He didn’t wake up to the sound of the alarm clock, to
what was going on in the nation’s capital, or having to check his Outlook to
find out what his schedule for the day would be. He wasn’t in a hurry to get to
the gas station or to the job site. He was usually on the jobsite. He had what he needed with him. He had his faith in God. He
had his trusty sling to use what God had provided for his defense and the
defense of his charge.
The sling is an interesting
weapon. It was made from natural fibers, usually a form of leather like lamb’s
hide which gave it more elasticity, consisting of two lengths the span of a man’s
arm, with a ‘basket’ which held the stone in the middle of the spans. Having a
longer span just made it harder to launch the stone, and didn’t make it go
farther. A double span was all that was needed to make the weapon effective.
One span was looped so that it would lasso around a man’s palm or finger, and
the other was knotted so that he could hold onto it and then release it, like
throwing a rock. The stone would volley in the direction of the knot. The
slinger would hurl the sling around his head only once, since several times
around didn’t really do anything other than make it more difficult to control
the stone in the basket. It really didn’t serve to increase the distance or the
velocity, but could end up hitting your buddy in the head instead of the enemy.
The sling was a very effective weapon when the purpose was to keep a distance
from danger. With a predator, or a giant, staying out of its way was vital for
security.
If we allow ourselves to draw
the symbolism of the sling as David’s relationship to God it’s all together
beautiful. The sling, two spans of the man’s arm being our spirit reaching back
toward our heavenly Father; holding the weapon of warfare, be it the word,
prayer, worship, fellowship, or service; in the basket being our heart . We swing it
once around our head because that’s all it takes to cover us, with one part
firmly wrapped around us, and the other being released from us to point the way
in the battle. It encompasses the warrior’s space and makes him most
threatening, yet while he’s in his stance he’s most vulnerable to the attacks
of the enemy. It’s a beautiful picture,
and when we think about it, how God could use this weapon to take down a Giant,
it does seem pretty anti-climatic. It was just a stone’s throw and the mighty
warrior was down.
Still isn’t that how our God
does amazing things. He can be in the massive cosmos and in nano-space and it’s
all just as important to Him. “ Are not two
sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart
from your you are of more value than
many sparrows.” Matt 10:29-31 He’s the
miracle worker, yes, but He’s also in our day to day. That’s where David found
enough faith to step out on that field of battle and stand his ground even if
he had to stand it alone with just his sling and a stone, because what the
armies around him couldn’t see is what he had lived. It wasn’t just a sling and
a stone. It was his faith and his God. “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
Sam 17 :47
Whatever God has given you
to use, it’s the sling in your hand, use it. Step out in faith and don’t be
afraid. God is actually the Warrior, you’re just standing there. He’s doing the
fighting. I want to leave you with another picture of a battle from the Old Testament.
It’s Joshua when he was facing Jericho. He, like Saul, was reluctant, until he
saw the Warrior on the hillside. “ And it came to pass, when Joshua
was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood
opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said
to Him, “Are You for us or for our
adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Joshua
5:13-14 Remember
what happened after that? The walls fell down without Israel lifting a single
weapon. They just lifted their voices.
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