David and Goliath. It is quite possibly one of the most well-known stories of all time (at least within the Western world). Sports reporters refer to “David and Goliath” match-ups between the powerhouses and the underdogs. However, I was re-reading the story the other day and I saw it in a whole new light.
For the sake of space I won’t type the entire story. If you want to read it turn your Bible to 1 Samuel 17. In the story we see the Israelites are called out to battle their arch-rivals, the Philistines. Camped at opposite sides of a valley, each army is prepared to fight. Verse 4 says “And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was 6 cubits and a span (about 9 ft).” Skip to verse 10, “And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”
This is the first part that jumped out at me. I believe our current times draw a parallel to this story. The body of Christ is Israel and the Philistines represent the unsaved and Goliath is the Enemy himself. In this story Goliath is the pride and hope of the Philistines. In him they place all of their faith. He is strong, his armor weighs over 100 lbs, his spearhead ways 15 lbs. He is invincible. The world is standing with all of their faith placed on their “Goliaths.” Their hope is in pleasure, fueld by psychologists who tell them “it’s all about YOU! Do what makes YOU happy.” Their hope is in riches, thinking that more money will supply more happiness. Their hope is in relativism. Everything is relative, there is no absolute truth. Such an attitude leads to moral states we see running rampant today. There Goliaths are speaking, yelling their viewpoints, making their opinion known. Just look at Goliath in the story. It says that EVERY DAY he would go out and defy the armies of Israel. Everyday he would mock their God. And what did they do? Verse 24 says “All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.” Unfortunately our response today has not changed from that of the Israelites thousands of years ago. Satan taunts the church, dares the church to act and yet we flee in fear. We allow the agenda of the enemy to rule our nation and overcome the hearts and minds of those who are lost. We flee from taking strong stands against moral relativism. We fear offending someone so we lock the truth up in our hearts. We sit and watch as they make a mockery of Jesus Christ. The enemy is making his stand known and we refuse to utter one word of protest.
Luckily for Israel, in walks David. Merely a shepherd he enters the scene and sees Goliath taunting the armies of Israel. Verse 26 is David talking, he says “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David walked into the same circumstance as every Israelite warrior but he did not tremble in fear. If only we all had the boldness of David, to see the state of our friends, the state of our city and country, the state of the world in the correct light. God has chosen to use the church as his instrument to change the world, but no one changes the world lying down. To make a difference we must stand up, stand firm, and fight back. We have been fleeing the issues of our time for long enough. It’s time to make a definite, loud stand.
As soon as David makes his stand, attempted discouragement comes in. His brother comes to him and angrily accuses him of coming just to “watch the battle.” His brother questions David’s motive. So many times when we make a stand, someone will come in and say, “Look at you, who do you think you are? Making a stand? You just think you’re better than me and want everyone to follow your beliefes.” David responds correctly and simply turns away and continues with his plan to fight. David didn’t stop to question his own heart, he knew his heart was right and he moved on towards his purpose.
We all know the rest of this story. There is some more I got out of it but I won’t go into all those details. But David goes out and faces the Goliath and strikes him down. He exposes the “unshakeable” giant for what he was – merely human. God is asking the church today, “where are My Davids? Where are those who will strike the giants of the enemy down for me? Where are those who will stand and fight?” Will I stand and fight? Will I engage in prayer? Will I speak of for righteousness? Will I represent Christ and represent truth?
Ok, this is really long and I hope I didn’t lose you. Hopefully you understand what I’m getting at!
