It's Not Your Armour!!!
The story of David and Goliath is very familiar to almost everyone - it is even used by non-Christians to talk about overcoming impossible obstacles in a person’s life. It’s a favourite story for children because it’s exciting and adventurous. Yet, there are elements of the story that many of us overlook, or don’t see, which are important to understanding the character of God - as well as helping us to see how God is working in our own lives.
It is a story of courage, of overcoming those things that stand in our way and of defeating evil. These lessons are key to our understanding of the story and its context within our own lives…yet there is more to it!!!
The story of David and Goliath is found in 1 Samuel 17, and from it we can glean many important lessons. Here are the several key lessons of the story of David and Goliath that we will explore:
A) David wasn’t sent to the battlefield to fight; instead he was sent to bring provisions to his family and to the commander of their unit - who would have been from the same tribe, and may have been a member of David’s extended family.
1 Samuel 17:17-19 “One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.”David’s father Jesse only intended David to be a courier and a messenger to his brothers on the frontline of the battles with the Philistines.
There was no mention about being involved in the fighting, and it certainly was not Jesse’s intention for David to be there long.
However, God had other ideas. God knew that this battle was going to be an important piece of the puzzle that would lead David to become king over all of Israel.
Our lives are no different. Sometimes we are put in certain positions, or circumstances by others, but God intervenes and leads us to be involved with something greater - and something that has distance impacts far beyond our own lifetime, and sight.
Be prepared to step into a battle that is before you, do not shrink from the fight.
B) Saul tried to give David his armour, in order to send him to fight Goliath as Israel’s champion.
1 Samuel 17:38-39 “Then Saul gave David his own armour—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.”
Saul was trying to equip David with armour and weapons that he was used to, and had used in battle before.
David was a shepherd boy, he was not used to the heavy armour of a trained and experienced soldier.
You never go in to battle with equipment and weapons you have not trained with, or used in battle before. Doing that will get you killed, and possibly those around you killed.
In our own lives - this should also be true.
We cannot go into an unfamiliar battle (often against circumstances that seem to beyond us), using unfamiliar equipment and weapons. When we do, it often results in us being ineffectual for the Kingdom of God, or it leads to us being wounded (spiritually and emotionally).
C) David used the weaponry that he had tried and tested in battle.
1 Samuel 17:40 “He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.”Instead, David relied on what he had used against bears, lions and other predators which tried to attack his father’s flock - his sling and stones. He was not just comfortable with those things, but he was proficient with them.
Just like David relied on past experiences, we too should rely on God using our past battles to help us fight a battle in our present.
The problem is that many of us (me included) tend to try and forget our past battles because they remind us of failures and traumas that have significantly affected us.
This position diminishes God’s ability to use us to stand for His kingdom, and it leads to us trying to utilise things that we were never meant to use.
D) David used Goliaths own sword to kill him.
1 Samuel 17:51 “Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.”David didn’t kill Goliath with his sling and stone - rather he had to use Goliath’s own sword to kill him by cutting off his head.
There are times where the enemy we face is an enormous obstacle, yet with the confidence that we find in God, we can kill them, and defeat them - often with their own weapons.
Consider how many Christians are using the media, music, social media etc to get across the Word of God to those who need to hear it. Those things were developed and pushed into our culture by those who are not believers and do not serve the Kingdom of God, but rather they serve the devil and his evil kingdom. Yet, Christians are using the system to fight against evil.
In our own circumstances this can be true too.
E) David was confident in his victory.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”David was only able to do those things mentioned above for one reason, and one reason only - he had confidence that God was going to be with him.
You see David relied on his memory of God’s interaction with and protection of him while he was tending his father’s flocks. In 1 Samuel 17:36 David informs King Saul that…“I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!”
David took those experiences with wild predators and applied it to his situation with Goliath.
We need to take what God has done for us in the past, and use it as the basis for confidence of victory in our current battles and circumstances.
The story of David and Goliath is an important story that had far-reaching impact on the world, for generations to come - leading up to the birth of Jesus who was from his familial line, just as it was prophesied. It is a story that has real applicable lessons for us, especially in today’s world where spiritual warfare, and our stand against evil is so intense.
May God bless you with the courage of David. May you step into the battle that he has called you into, and be prepared to use what you have already bee given to fight with.