We
saw last week that David’s older brother discouraged and wanted to silence
David. David said to his brother Eliab, “Now
what have I done? Can’t I even speak?” 1 Samuel 17:29 We also saw that Saul discouraged David saying that he was just a youth and not skilled in battle
like Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:33) Saul
was looking with “natural” eyes, but David was looking with “spiritual” eyes.
Saul’s Armor
Saul dressed
David in his own armor. Saul was much taller and bigger than the youth David,
so his armor was much too big and cumbersome for David. David wasn’t trained in
this type of armor. God had hidden David away in the shepherd’s field training
him to defeat any enemy with God's weapons. Eventually, David would rule and reign over God’s
people.
It didn’t
matter to David that Saul and his brother didn’t know who he was in the Lord. David knew! So did God’s prophet Samuel. He had anointed David to
be King over all Israel even though it had not yet come to pass. When we trust
who we are in the Lord, we will be confident, fearless, bold and courageous
over any enemy or weapon that comes against us.
If David had
listened to his brother and king Saul, he would have never killed the giant
Goliath. There
was a famine of Divine leadership in Saul and his army, so God raised up David
to defeat the enemies of God’s people. God never deserts His people. His love
and protection is everlasting.
David’s Weapons
David would
use the same weapons he used in the shepherd’s field to kill the lions and the
bears who came to attack his father’s sheep. He “took his shepherd’s staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from
the stream and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, and with his sling
in his hand, approached the Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:40
Why Five Smooth Stones?
David’s five
smooth stones have a spiritual message since God and Jesus use the things of
the earth to teach spiritual truths. Five is the number of grace. Jesus who is
God’s grace chooses the fivefold ministry gifts – apostles, prophets, teachers,
evangelists and pastors – equips and prepares them by the washing of the water
of the Word and the Holy Spirit –and uses them to build His church and defeat
the spiritual enemy of all humans. The fivefold ministry is Jesus’ gift to His
Body.
Goliath
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear
and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” This day the Lord will hand you over to me,
and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses
of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and
the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered
here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the
battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” Vv 45-47 David
wanted God’s people to know that the God of Israel would defeat this giant
through him. The ways of man cannot defeat our spiritual enemy. The ways and
weapons of God will! David would trust the Lord for all Israel. David is God’s representative, but he gave
glory to God not himself. God will do to Goliath what he threatened to do to
David. His evil acts will be turned onto Goliath’s own head. God does the same
to our spiritual enemy – Satan and his demonic army.
Under His Feet
As
Goliath moved closer to attack David, David fearlessly ran quickly toward him.
David reached into his shepherd’s bag and took out a chosen, precious stone. He
slung it and struck the Philistine in the forehead, and Goliath fell facedown
on the ground. In other words, David rendered Goliath lame, just as Jesus, God’s
chosen, precious Rock, rendered Satan lame at the cross. David then ran and
stood over Goliath. In other words, David put the enemy of God’s people under
his feet. Then David took Goliath’s own sword out of his sheath and cut off his
head. To cut off one’s head means that you are cutting off his authority. Satan
has not been completely defeated. He still works through the flesh of mankind.
Jesus will complete the job and will destroy Satan completely in the end. In
the meantime, God wants his chosen, precious followers of Jesus to cut off
Satan’s authority by walking according to the Spirit not our flesh. Satan can
only be defeated through the ways of God, not our flesh.
In
the scriptures, God said that He put all things under the feet of Jesus. (see Psalms 8:6; 18:9; 1 Corinthians
15:25-27; Ephesians 1:22 and Hebrews 2:8) David’s son Solomon said that
David could not build the Lord’s temple because he was a man of war and had
shed blood. (see 1 Kings 5:3) Solomon,
the prince of peace who is a type and shadow of Jesus, will build God’s earthly
temple in Israel. God’s temple is to be a place of peace. God has put all
things under the feet of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, including the devil and
his demonic army. Jesus wants His followers to also put the devil under our
feet (authority) since we are one
with Jesus. (see Romans 16:20) We have the victory in Jesus. Jesus will
finish the job in the end. Satan and His demonic host will be in the lake of
fire in the belly of the earth forever.
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