Good Morning Friends,
The battle lines were drawn between Israel and the
Philistines – across the valley of Elah. Goliath, champion from among the
Philistines marched into the valley to challenge Israel. "Choose a man and
have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become
your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects
and serve us." (1 Samuel 17:8-9) Why should whole armies fight and many
die, let the matter be settled with just a man to man fight between the best of
each army.
No one from Israel would face Goliath, not even
King Saul who stood a head taller than any Israelite. “Saul and all the
Israelites were terrified.” (1 Samuel 17:11)
A young delivery boy came into the camp. David brought
food for his soldier brothers. When David heard Goliath’s challenge, David offered
to be the one to fight. With no one else willing to be sent, Saul agreed to send
the boy David.
Goliath mocked David because he was such a
youth. He was convinced that David would be a quick victim to his strength. David’s
confidence was not in his own strength or experience, but in the power of the
Lord his God.
“David said, ‘You come against me with sword
and spear, but I come in the name of the Lord Almighty, whom you have defied.
The Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your
head. The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those
gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves;
for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our
hands.’" (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
The battle was the Lord’s. With a sling and a
stone, David killed the giant. Israel triumphed because of a boy sent against a
giant. Not because the boy was a superhero, a military prodigy, but because the
boy trusted the Lord.
David and Goliath is a story of faith. It’s a
story of trusting God rather than ourselves for our most difficult challenges.
You and I have never faced a giant, but we have
all faced challenges. Do we face them with faith?
His, by Grace, Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment