Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus,
We are all familiar with the historical accounting of David, the shepherd boy, going up against Goliath, the 9’9″ Philistine giant, that is told in I Samuel 17 of The Holy Scriptures. David is a type of Jesus Christ, and Goliath is a type of satan. If you’re a student of The Word, this chapter is SO RICH in Spiritual revelation. I highly recommend a detailed study of this chapter if you’re interested in seeing how The Word works in a Believer’s life when mixed with “fully persuaded” faith. I’ll use this and one or two other email messages to share Truths you may already know and others you may not yet know from I Samuel 17.
In this series of messages, I’m going to jump around in I Samuel Chapter 17 to reveal God’s Truths for us in our everyday living as patterned by the shepherd boy, David. Let’s start with verse 54.
I Samuel 17:54
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
Why did David carry Goliath’s head to Jerusalem? To initiate the fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 when God decreed to satan the end of satan’s power and control over the earth that Adam had given to him with the fall.
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.
David buried Goliath’s head outside the walls of Jerusalem in a place known as Golgotha. This place was also known as Mt. Moriah, the same place God had Abraham go to sacrifice Isaac. This place is also known as Mt. Calvary, or Calvary, which is the Latin word meaning “kranion” or “skull.” Golgotha is two Hebrew words, “Gola” and “Gatha” meaning “Goliath of Gath.” Calvary, or Mt. Moriah, is where Jesus was crucified. So, in I Samuel 17, God’s super soldier, David, triumphed over satan’s super soldier, Goliath (remember Goliath is of the Nephilim, the giants, who are offspring of the sexual union of The Watchers ((angels)) and women of earth designed to stop The Seed of God from entering the earth). The Hebrew word for “bruised” in Genesis 3:15 is also translated “crushed.” One thousand years later, Jesus would crush the head of satan at Calvary, also known as Golgotha, the place of the skull, or Mt. Moriah. Our Father is amazing, He Who knows the end from the beginning, but is merciful every step of the way.
Before David brought Goliath’s head to Jerusalem, which he cut off with Goliath’s own sword (we’ll address this in another email message), David prepared to do battle with Goliath according to God’s prescription.
I Samuel 17:40
And he [David] took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
Staff:
The staff symbolizes the faithfulness of God’s Word. Jeremiah 1:11 God speaks of the staff, Hebrew word “markell,” that represents the faithfulness of God’s Word. Remember Goliath mocked David in I Samuel 17:43 saying, “Am I a dog, that you comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” In essence, Goliath was saying, “Am I a dog, that you comest to me with The Word of your God (staff) against the weapons of my gods (Goliath’s helmet, breastplate, sword, spear, shield, and years of training and war)?
Five Smooth Stones (from Terry Mize in a teaching at Kenneth Copeland Bible College):
1.) The Name – Jehovah Savah (Old Covenant) – Jesus Christ (New Covenant)
2.) The Word – Torah (Old Covenant) – The Complete Word of God in Jesus Christ (New Covenant)
3.) The Blood – Bulls and goats (Old Covenant) – Jesus Christ (New Covenant)
4.) The Covenant – The Law (Old Covenant) – Grace Who is Jesus Christ (New Covenant)
5.) The Holy Spirit – Came upon (Old Covenant) – Lives within us as Jesus Christ (New Covenant)
The number “five” is symbolic in Hebrew of “Grace.” Grace is Jesus Christ and is known to us as “unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unlimited favor from God.” Grace brings both salvation and judgement. Salvation and justice to the Believer, judgment to the unsaved. David, a Believer, operated in both salvation and justice while the stones, which we see from the list above, represent the judgment of God against Goliath and his father, satan.
The “smooth” or “smoothness” of the stones is from the Hebrew word, “shalak,” which is commonly translated “smooth” when related to stones. The smoothness implies “the dividing of a portion.” As we will see, the stones, are The Word of God. The Word of God brings either justice or judgement. Justice to those who are saved and judgement to the unsaved. In the case of David, who used the stone (The Word), justice was served. In the case of Goliath, who received the stone (The Word), judgement was served.
I Samuel 17:48-49
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
Hand = David’s heart
Bag = The Bible
Stone = The Word of God
Sling = The tongue
Slang = Thou shalt also decree a thing
Smote = Overcame the enemy
I’m no longer shocked by revelation, but I’m always amazed. God’s Word is SO RICH, and He has SO MUCH to say to us through it. Only “the diligent” will receive the rhema revelation of God’s Word. Notice in I Samuel 17:48-49 how David’s physical actions symbolize the Spiritual actions we must use today in our walk through this life on earth. David’s heart reached into the good treasure (Matthew 12:35) of The Bible, stored in his heart, to pull out The Words of God which he decreed with his tongue in faith and overcame the enemy.
What “Goliath” is in our lives that we need to overcome? God gives us, through the historical accounting of David overcoming Goliath, the blueprint for “all the time” victory and success in our lives (II Corinthians 2:14). It always comes back to The Word. Let me say this. We can pray all we want, we can attend church all we want, we can sit on the front row all we want, but if we are NOT studying God’s Word (not our denominational liturgies which are based on the traditions of men and the rudiments of the world and not on Christ Jesus – Colossian 2:6-10), we will lose life’s battles on this earth just about all the time, if not all the time. We will be a terribly poor example of Jesus Christ to the world. How can you POSSIBLY know how to pray CORRECTLY if you don’t know God’s Word? God plainly and clearly tells us HOW to pray to Him. Sadly, the vast majority of Believers pray incorrectly and get little-to-no results. What results they do get, they stumble into, and don’t know how to replicate it. Jesus had all His prayers answered. We can, too. I John 5:14-15 makes this very clear to us. We should not feel condemned if all our prayers aren’t answered. We know God’s Word is true. This makes it easy for us to identify where the problem lies: with us understanding The Word of God. Once we understand The Word and put It into motion in faith, we will get consistent, predictable results – just as Jesus did.
We’ll continue looking at I Samuel 17 next week. We’ll see the amazing difference between Believers who bring forth good things and Believers who bring forth bad things.
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Larry