Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
This message is the finish of our review of I Samuel 17 which is the historical accounting of David and Goliath.
I Samuel 17:16
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
For forty days, twice daily, Goliath challenged the army of Israel by speaking words which did not align with The Word of God. We all know by now that if any man or woman, saved or unsaved, speaks words that do not align with God’s Word, they are speaking the curse over themselves and the situation. What was the result to the armies of Israel when Goliath cursed them twice daily for forty days?
I Samuel 17:11
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Amazing. But is it any different today? How many Goliaths, or fear, have we had in our lives that have made us dismayed and greatly afraid? We read this historical accounting, and we think how could the armies of Israel have been so weak and faithless? Yet, many times today, we’re no different.
As a student of The Word of God, we learn that EVERY WORD in a verse has significance. Did you ever ask yourself why God mentions, “forty days?” The number “40” has significant meaning in Hebrew. Every time one finds the number forty in the Torah, its inner meaning is the “ascent from one level to the next higher one.” Forty, then, represents both the completion of the previous level, leaving it behind, and nullifying it, and it also represents the inauguration and structuring of a new existence (the Torah given in forty days, the development of the fetus, etc.). Knowing this now, and based on all we’ve learned, we see how God brought the humiliation and reproach of His Word and His children to an end on the forty-first day. God’s Word, in this earth, David, and the children of Israel ascend to a new level and existence physically and Spiritually when David, a young, young man who understood the Covenant of God and was fully persuaded of God’s Word, killed Goliath.
One thing we see in I Samuel 17 that is so commonplace today, and will become even more so as the last days draw to a close, is religion’s rebuke of faith. Believe me, if you become fully persuaded of God’s Word, His full counsel, you will be ridiculed and persecuted not only by the world, but also by many in the church – even the very church you attend. Why? Very simple. Pride and jealousy. Your success in The Kingdom of God, and their lack of it, creates pride and jealousy. Jesus made it very clear in Matthew 25:29.
Matthew 25:29
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Let them hear who have ears to hear. Don’t be offended, as Jesus taught us. Why? Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Whether they like you or not or believe what you have to say or not, it doesn’t change your outcome in The Kingdom of God one iota. Win them over with love, forgiveness, and a constant, consistent Spiritual and physical manifestation of God’s blessings upon you in all areas of your life. Eventually they’ll get tired of constantly losing life’s battles and will go all-in on trusting in God’s Word or they’ll arrive at the Bema Seat and Jesus will instruct them of what they could have accomplished had they trusted God’s Word.
I Samuel 17:28
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
Eliab represents religion. Eliab accuses David of being prideful when in fact it is Eliab that is prideful. How you ask?
1.) First, and foremost, Eliab doesn’t trust The Word of God and cowers in dismay and fear like the rest of the army. This is pride because Eliab, and the army of Israel, trust their own fear and dismay more than they trust The Word of God. Any time we trust the world and ourselves more than God, this is the same pride that caused Lucifer to fall.
2.) Eliab makes it a point to highlight the “few sheep” David is tending. Regardless of whether the herd was small or large, Jesus makes it a point to say, “if you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” in Matthew 25:21. David was faithful to deliver the sheep from a lion and a bear and didn’t run away in fear and shirk his duty. Why? Because David understood the Covenant and was Covenant minded. David could have let the lion and the bear take the one sheep they both took. However, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that a Covenant man would not allow this in Luke 15:4-5.
Luke 15: 4-5
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
We’ll also find the argument that religion, the world, and satan will use against us if we decide to go all in on God’s Word in faith in I Samuel 17:33. Look who’s speaking to David. King Saul who at one time was God’s anointed king to lead the children of Israel. Saul started out well but guess what got to Saul and changed him? Pride. Saul became “Mr. Something,” and forgot about The Lord God Almighty. This is seen all the time in the world and especially in the church when people become wise in their own eyes and trust themselves and the world more than The Word of God. Pride goeth before a fall and a fall before destruction.
I Samuel 17:33
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
I absolutely love David’s reply to religion. David rebukes religion in I Samuel 17:32 and I Samuel 17:34-37.
I Samuel 17:32
And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
I Samuel 17:34-37
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of The Living God.
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and The LORD be with thee.
David completely understood The Word of God and The Covenant. He knew exactly what The Word of God said in Joshua 1:5.
Joshua 1:5
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Amen!! This same promise God made to Joshua and to David is the same promise He has made to you and me. NO MAN!!!! It doesn’t matter if the man is four feet tall or ten feet tall – NO MAN. Even if the man is Ivy league educated or not, has billions of dollars or just ten, is a prominent leader or just a janitor. NO MAN! David fully comprehended and was persuaded of this. Do you notice in I Samuel 17 David never, ever says anything about Goliath other than what he says in I Samuel 17:36 – “and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them.” You go, David!
We can see that David completely rejects the wisdom of the world and fear in I Samuel 17:38-39. David rejects the use of Saul’s armor choosing instead the weapons of faith.
I Samuel 17:38-39
38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed [examined; tested; proved by experiment] to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
David repudiated the wisdom of the world, the conventional wisdom, and chose faith in God’s Word and in the testimonies of all the times before when God had protected and delivered David. David KNEW God would keep His Word if David decreed It and stepped out in faith.
We see the curse’s last gasp fear attack against David’s faith. Fear is of the curse, and it screams louder and louder until we do something violent (Matthew 11:12) about it. Goliath issued all kinds of threats and curses. This is satan, all mouth and no bite – UNLESS WE LET HIM BITE US.
I Samuel 17:41-44
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Lastly, look at David’s reply to the threats and curses of satan, of the world, and of whatever instrument satan uses to come against us(in this case Goliath).
I Samuel 17:45-46
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of The LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will The LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
Sisters and Brothers, in closing, it should be so clear and so evident that as a Believer, you have choices, but ONLY ONE will protect, deliver, prosper, heal and make you whole. Only one, complete faith and trust in The Word of God. Anything else is a recipe for failure. Remember this, talk is cheap. The Word of God is powerful. Anything other than The Word of God is just talk. Worthless, powerless, and lifeless – unless we give it life in believing its lies.
Choose God over satan, faith over fear, and The Word over talk. If we do this, we will be as Proverbs 4:18 describes us.
Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
In closing, I praise and thank God Who remembered His covenant with the United States that was sworn before God by George Washington and the first Congress at St. Paul’s Chapel, built in 1766, in what is now Manhattan, less than 100 yards from the site of the World Trade Center site. During the 9/11 attacks, St. Paul’s Chapel was the only thing left standing in the area of devastation. This was a reminder from our Father that He remembered His Covenant, but also a wake up call the nation should turn to Him before He would have to stand back and allow His justice to carry out His Truth. This election was a Covenant reminder. Let’s pray for the salvation of those departing and for God’s wisdom to be accepted by those incoming. And, let’s declare that every evil weapon formed by satan against this nation and the Believers in this nation and those used or that will be used by satan to carry out the attacks will fall into the pits they dig, be bitten by the snake in the hedges they break, and will be run through by the sword they intend to use for evil against this nation and God’s Believers. In Jesus Name. Amen.
In Christ,
Larry