Sometimes we wait for a long time to get an answer and then at other times it seems as if we don’t even ask the question and … there it is. Sometimes we even learn more than we expected!
Once again I have been studying the life of David. It always seems as though when I am in the midst of a spiritual battle I turn to David for some comfort. After all, he was a warrior all of his life and a man who was after God’s own heart. I have studied his life in great detail and have written about it in the past.1 But, just when you think you have your arms around a certain subject along comes God to show you differently. As a case in point let’s go back to David’s encounter with the Philistine and look at something that has slipped right by me for years. Just a little something that is so powerful it changed my thinking about spiritual warfare!
As we all remember, Jessie sent David to check up on his brothers who were in Saul’s army. When he got there he saw the situation and stepped up with his famous statement:
1 Sam 17:26 who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
Boy what a stir that caused among Saul’s army and especially his brothers—who did he think he was?
Now we all know how David answered that question but what may escape the casual reader is the real lesson God set before Israel on that day. It was a lesson that had escaped me through many readings until this past week. And there it was, staring me right in the face. It came in several parts:
1 Sam 17:33-35 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. 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.
First note three key parts of verses 34 and 35:
- I went after him
- I smote him
- I delivered it out of his mouth
Now jump to verses 36 and 37:
1 Sam 17:36-37 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.
Look at these key pieces:
- He shall be as one of them
- The Lord that delivered me
- He will deliver me
What David was saying here, with total faith in His God, was that what God had done before He would do again. God always builds on His presence in our life. That is what sanctification is all about; working out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Each task and every trial is designed to mature us into His image. Remember from our other discussions that image is His character. God is always stretching us and a very necessary part of that process is building upon the lessons we have learned.
Look at David’s immediate response to Saul’s challenge. He said that he had killed the lion and the bear in the normal course of caring for the sheep that had been put in his charge. Note also that he did not just kill the lion but he took back that which had been stolen—and delivered it (the sheep) out of his mouth. Have you taken back what the enemy has stolen from you? That which the Lord has put in your charge!
David was about His father’s business and when he was challenged he immediately rose up and took action. Why was he so confident to go after the lion and the bear? Because … thee Lord that delivered me. David knew that when he was where he was supposed to be and doing what he was supposed to be doing, God would deliver him. Surely He would do the same here. How sure was David? Look at verse 48:
1 Sam 17:48 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.
David was so certain of victory that he RAN out to meet the giant. How many of us have been so certain of God’s delivering hand that we have run out to meet Goliath?
Let’s look at what God showed me early one morning last week:
1 Sam 17:50-51 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Do you see a similarity here? Look back at verse 35: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
David had learned his lesson well. He took the sheep from the lion and thought he had killed him. But to his surprise the lion rose up again and came after him. Then he finished the job. We must remember that in our battles … FINISH THE JOB!
David knew from experience that he had to finish whatever challenge God set before him. It isn’t enough to gain a partial victory and let your guard down. When the battle seems to be won, make sure it is. Don’t let the enemy have a chance to get back up. Do Peter’s words have a little more meaning now?
1Ptr 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
David had built upon his experience and had learned to trust God. He recalled those times that God had delivered him in the past and trusted God that He would do it again. That brings us to a very key part of the story that has never made sense to me before.
1Sam 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.
He put the armor in his tent? I’ve always wondered why. It was too big for him to wear and it was made of bronze so there wasn’t much value. Was it just for a trophy? As I asked those questions the Lord said to me; perhaps he had a bearskin and a lion skin in his tent as well. A trophy? No, a remembrance!
Perhaps remembering that bearskin and lion skin in his tent is what caused David to run out to meet Goliath. Perhaps it was Goliath’s armor in his tent that encouraged David in the years to come when he had much bigger battles to fight for the Lord. Perhaps in those moments, hiding in the caves from Saul, he remembered that armor and the Lord that delivered him. Yes, Goliath’s head was a remembrance for all of Israel but the armor was for David.
The head was a remembrance of what God had taken back from the enemy and given to Israel; their vindication and their dignity. The armor was a remembrance for David that God would stand by him in all that He asked David to do.
We all have trophies in our lives, both for the world to see and those we keep in our hearts. Think on those times that the Lord has come through for you and all those around you were amazed and gave glory to God. That was your Goliath’s head. And the memory deep in your heart that God was faithful to supply His strength in your time of need. That was your Goliath’s armor.
Just as he did for David, God is filling our tents with spoils from the enemy. Every time we defeat him in the name of the Lord we add to our collection. And every time we face a new challenge—like David picked up the weapon he was familiar with, his sling—we pick up the weapon we are familiar with, the Word of God. And we run to meet our next Goliath, knowing full well that what God has asked us to do we will accomplish in His power and His strength. After all, our tent is full of trophies from our past victories.
Was David a trophy hunter?
No, he was just a man after God’s own heart.