Most of us know the story of David and Goliath. A number of
us grew up to the story being repeated at home, in school and at Sunday school
class. I think the story motivated me to stand up to a class bully in Primary 3
(rolls eyes).
It is a beautiful story of how a young lad was able to bring
down the enormous giant, Goliath with a stone in a sling in the name of the
Lord. It is in the similitude of facing one’s fears and defeating them. But why
was God able to use David to bring down Goliath? What about other mighty men of
war in the army?
David was busy minding his father’s sheep when he was
summoned by his father. When he got there, the prophet anointed him. Strangely
enough, even his father did not really reckon that David will be the one to be
anointed. He thought his firstborn, strong and well built, would be God’s
choice. Thank God the prophet did not anoint based on his own mind set – can’t really
blame him. When he anointed Saul, he noticed his physical attributes – height and
appearance. However, for David, God looked at something more important – his heart.
So off went David to check up on his brothers at his
father’s bidding and he came across the threat to Israel. What really baffled
me about the whole dilemma was Saul’s fear. Saul was anointed to save Israel
from the hand of the Philistines but he was desperate in fear to hand over the
battle to a teenager
(1
Samuel 9: 16 – ‘To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the
land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people
Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I
have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.’
In the natural sense, why should a king leave the fate of
his nation in the hands of a lad? Goliath had presented himself for 40 days
before the army of Israel demanding for a representative of Israel to fight
him. Goliath’s term was ‘If he be 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.’
Shouldn’t Goliath have been Saul’s final victory? This
was a serious fight that could have enslaved the whole of Israel but there was
no one courageous enough to confront Goliath. Saul who was one of the tallest
men in Israel (if not the tallest) would have been closest in height to the 9
ft tall giant Goliath, but he was afraid. The Spirit of the Lord had departed
from him (1 Sam 16).
Within moments, David made mincemeat of Goliath that had
harassed the army of Israel for days and gained national recognition. Now that
was where David’s real battle began. The fight with Goliath was over in a day
but his battle with Saul was for years (minimum of 13 years)!
After Saul came to realise that David did what he could
not do, plus he successfully completed any task he was given including getting
twice the number of foreskins for Saul’s daughter in marriage and he was well
loved by the people, Saul began to seriously nurse a deep hatred for David and
began to actively seek out ways to kill him. The hatred festered and grew until
it became an all-consuming passion. This hatred drove David from his marital
home, his family and his people. It drove him out of his nation and even at a
point, his family members were not safe because of it. For no just cause, a
king sought a shepherd boy turned national hero with all the national resources
available to him. Everywhere David went, Saul followed to kill him, even to the
point of killing prophets of God. David’s cry to God can be seen in Psalm 57
& 59.
Some battles are inexplainable, unwarranted but truly
adamant and unrelenting like Saul. Yours may not be with a physical foe. It could be your finances,
spouse, health, job or something else. You could be struggling with a number of
things which may even want to prompt you to question God. For some, even your
family and close friends doubt your strength to pull through and may even
hamper any moves you make. Try to hold on to God and encourage yourself just
like David did and you will overcome just like David did.
I heard something that sometimes helps when things get
confusing - when a student takes a course within a semester or term, he or she
can ask questions and get more explanations from the lecturer. But when the
exam commences, the student will not be permitted to ask the lecturer for
further explanations; the lecturer will be silent.
Another one is the picture of a toddler tripping and
falling. The parent will run to the child and pick him or her up and comfort
the child. When the child becomes a teenager, the parent will expect him or her
to pick himself / herself up if he / she trips and falls unless it is life or
bone threatening. With spiritual growth, comes the expectation of spiritual
maturity. When the battle of Saul became over for David, he was crowned king
and he reigned till old age.
May God grant you the grace to pull through whatever you
are faced with till you overcome in Jesus name.
Comments
Post a Comment