Wednesday, December 11

SOMEONE DELIVERS: DAVID AND GOLIATH

1 Samuel 17

     Have you ever had somebody influence your life so greatly that it changed the rest of your life?  Everybody has someone special in their life.  It may be your mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, but none nearly compare to the greatness of our God Almighty. 

     David and Goliath is a true story in the Bible that is well known.  It is a story about how one small, Israelite boy, with the grace and almighty power of God, defeated a mighty man, Goliath, of the Philistines.  Goliath was a giant who stood over nine feet tall and was equipped with heavy armor made of bronze.  His scale coat of armor weighed 5,000 shekels (about 125 lbs.).  Goliath challenged the Israelites to battle.  He said, “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.” (verse 8-9)  All the Israelites under Saul’s command were terrified.  Wouldn’t you be terrified, also?  Any soul would, if they entered under their own strength, instead of relying on the will of God.

     Jesse was a servant under Saul, who had three of his oldest sons at war with Saul.  David, the youngest son, was sent by his father to learn of his brothers’ health and the progress of the war.  When David reached the place of battle, he was greeted by the shouts of the Philistine and was shocked by his defiance.  David was told that whoever destroyed the giant would be granted great wealth, the king’s daughter in marriage, and will be tax-free for the rest of his days.  Now King Saul sent for David and asked how a boy could defeat such a warrior.  David replied by saying that he tended his father’s sheep and fought off lions.  But, David knew he accomplished this feat by power from God.  David approached the giant with just a staff, five smooth rocks, his sling, and the power of God.  The giant was astonished and mocked the boy with no thoughts of loss.  But David, by the grace of our Lord, defeated the giant with a single stone.  This battle was over and the rest of the Philistine army fled with fear due to the safe deliverance of a little shepherd boy.

     I looked up deliver in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and it said that the word “deliver” means to give over or to shut out.  David gave his life over to the will of God.  He shut out all the bad of the world.  He did not rely on the world.  He shut it out and devoted his life to God just the way that we should today.  We should deliver His word to many and celebrate in His majesty.

~ Josh Helgert