1 Samuel 17 – The devil never fights fair.
In the account of David and Goliath, all of the Hebrew army was hiding in their tents… afraid of the evil giant threatening to enslave all of them. The bully Goliath was taunting them and trying to entice them to enter into a fight on his terms. He wanted one hand to hand fight to determine Lordship over the entire Kingdom. Rest assured, there was more going on here than what the eye could see.
The people had chosen Saul over God to be their king. While the Lord permitted Saul to be their king, Yahweh was still their Lord and the army belonged to him, but Goliath had a different plan.
Standing at 6 cubits, or approximately 9 feet tall, fully decked out in brass armor and chainmail, Goliath APPEARED as an indestructible human tank. He worked as hard as he could to insult the pride and instill fear into the people, knowing, if he could get just one to step outside of their calling, he would win. You see, Goliath and many of the Philistines weren’t just of human descent. The Philistines, along with many of the pagan tribes were actually descendants of the Nephilim – offspring of the fallen angels who deviled themselves by taking human wives and teaching the people to perform ungodly acts with themselves, children, and even animals (Genesis).
Many of the beings that have been counted as mythology are described as having come from these unholy unions. Satan’s attempt to create a super human army in order to overthrow God’s plan was in full swing in this moment. Yes, the flood had set him back quite a bit, but in this moment, the enemy had the Lord’s people right where he wanted them… caught between a rock and a hard place.
What should they do? Continue to hide in fear OR fight and become slaves? All of the Israelites were of pure human descent and they knew they were no match one-on-one for a physical old school MMA fight. It would be like Brock Lesner meets Pinocchio… over before it even started… and EVERYONE knew it…except one person.
Before the foundation of the world, God knew that this day would come and He had already set things in motion. A shepherd had a few sons who were in battle and one day, that shepherd’s heart led him to send his youngest son to check on his boys. While he sent his son to deliver some food and bring back word of how they were doing, God had a plan for this teenage boy to deliver an entire nation from slavery.
When David showed up, he found his brothers. Disgusted by their fear, and led by the Holy Spirit of God, David announced that he would fight Goliath… oh it went over like a lead balloon. First his brothers talked trash, reminding him who he was and tried to get him to stay in the lane that they designed for him. Then the king, Saul, had to put his two cents in. According to him, David surely couldn’t go to battle without armor, so Saul put his armor on David… armor that was not a fit for David.
Thankfully, David was wise enough to discern that wearing someone else’s armor would only hinder him. It would be better for the Lord to be his armor. He who has an ear let him hear with the Spirit says to the church – your anointing is your anointing, no one can walk in it but you can’t walk in someone else’s anointing, only your own.
David picked up 5 smooth stones, met Goliath on the battlefield, talked some God smack to the evil giant and then took that superhuman giant down with one shot.
David knew that he would be successful because of his training as a shepherd. He was a master slinger. There was NO way, he was going to miss such a large target. He had already been victorious over bears and lions. This giant was NOTHING for the Lord.
So why did he pick up 5 stones instead of just one? What he didn’t know was how the enemy would respond. Goliath had some high-ranking family members that were just as big and bad as he was. In other places, they have been referred to as The Five Lords of the Philistines. He needed a stone for each one that might get froggy. He was READY to claim victory for the Lord over EVERY name that exalted itself over the name of the Lord.
While he didn’t get to achieve the total victory, he desired that day, through him God developed one of the greatest underdog stories ever told.
Who doesn’t know the story of David, a teenage shepherd boy, kicking the tail of the superhuman evil bully giant Goliath?
What giants are you facing? Recognize as believers and followers of Christ that we have been given ALL authority over the enemy – Luke 10:19 – Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
As a recent song by Elevation Worship says, “The weapon might be formed but it won’t prosper.”
We have to be wise like David. We can only wear the armor or anointing appointed to us by God. Wearing someone else’s armor will only slow us down and may give the enemy an area to get in. WALK IN YOUR CALLING.
We also have to be armed. Not just for the battle immediately in front of us, but realizing that there will be more to come.
David saw one enemy but prepared for 5.
Our weapons are prayer, praise, and the Word of God. Stock up on these and no attack of the enemy will be able to stand against you.
