Ensign: The Battle Is The LORD's

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 26 April 2013

“And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.” I'd figure even non-Bible readers know what I mean when I refer to David and Goliath; in our culture, that term's come to mean any struggle which seems to be against impossible odds. Note I say SEEMS to be; while the Goliaths of our world today often seem to be the winners, the Bible story which inspired the term has a decidedly different outcome. And that came from the last place anyone expected, which often means that God is involved!

The story's in 1 Samuel 17, and verse two with which I opened today shows common battle practice in Bible times; rather than armies clashing and soldiers slaying friend and foe in confusion, it was an accepted practice for armies to each send out their champions to fight it out. Whichever side's champion won got the surrender of the opposing force. Such was Goliath of Gath, the Philistines' champion who's described in verse four as being “six cubits and a span” – about nine and a half feet tall – and wearing armor and sporting weapons near everywhere he physically can.

Little wonder that verse eleven describes the Israelites and Saul as dismayed and greatly afraid! But then we're introduced to David whom we've already met in the previous chapter (1 Samuel 16) when the prophet Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel. But David's not king yet; he's not even part of the Israelite army, but as the youngest child of his household is the one who stayed home to take care of the sheep. The most recent time he comes back, he finds both armies in battle array – they're getting pretty antsy after forty days of Goliath presenting his challenge and the Israelites doing nothing.

After David volunteers to go forward to face Goliath as he visits his older brothers at the front, King Saul might think him a little loopy. But after forty days, he and the Israelites are pretty desperate. David reveals his credentials: as the shepherd of his father's flock of sheep, he chased down a lion and a bear which stole one of the lambs. He forced the lamb out of one of their jaws and then killed both the lion and the bear. (The full story's in verses thirty-four through thirty-six.) In David's eyes, Goliath is just like that, and just as “the LORD . . . 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 the Philistine.” (37) Saul's only response to that kind of confidence is, “Go, and the LORD be with thee.”

Saul is thinking it doesn't hurt to hedge his bets, so he orders David to wear his own armor to go up against Goliath. With the helmet and mail and sword of an especially tall man like Saul, David must have felt like an elephant on roller skates! He politely says to Saul that he can't use his armor because “he had not proved it” (39) under battle conditions for himself. David takes his staff, picks five smooth stones out of the brook, puts the stones in a bag and arms himself with his sling and goes down to face Goliath.

Goliath laughed him off as the shepherd boy came down, but David was focused on the goal as he replied, “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 defiled.” (45) Goliath in the face of such boldness had to be snickering at least as he rushed toward him (“drew nigh to meet David” in verse forty-eight) and David came, put his hand in the bag, drew forth a stone, and slung it smack into Goliath's forehead! And Goliath comes tumbling down.

Verse forty-nine is written very calmly as though slaying giants happened every day. But it CAN happen every day – oh, not necessarily a physical giant, but the obstacles which can hinder us in our own lives. Nothing's wrong with preparing, nothing's wrong with planning, but when we try to do something without being on God's side, not the other way around, we'll be like David if he'd faced Goliath in Saul's armor. It's easy to trust armor and weapons and wit or a thousand other things to protect us; it's against our natural inclination to trust God without substance, but that's why David had to act. We have to act; Our giants have to be faced before they can be overcome, and when we are claiming our battles as the LORD's, acting boldly as He will, then nothing can stand in our way!

Sincerely yours,

David

P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encourager too! If you find that I’m not or you want me to get lost, just let me know, thank you!

We praise You, Lord, for this beautiful day You have given us! Please pray with me for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and for physical and spiritual communities around our world.

Lord, we need Your strength to fight the natural disasters and human ills to ultimately treat the cause and not just the symptoms; until we who have power change, this world You have made us stewards of won’t either.

Thank You, Lord, for all those in leadership and service here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have been given as well as the promise of new life through Your Son. And may we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.