Month: August 2023

1 Samuel 17:37 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.

David, a mere lad, was willing and ready to go up against this giant of a man in one-on-one combat, when no one else had the courage to do so. He declared, “The Lord will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” Where did he get such amazing faith from? From spending time with God as a shepherd boy and from repeating the words and promises of God. It also helps that he had previous personal encounters with God’s help and deliverance. If God was there in the past to deliver He will do so again today.

We can enjoy the same kind of faith as David. We spend time with God and hear the gospel word repeated, which the Spirit uses to create and build faith. By amazing grace we are able to face any giant in our life and have the confidence of victory. Jesus Christ has already defeated the giants that oppose us, and we can be sure that He will do it again in the present situation. The story of David and Goliath is written for our learning: not to honor him as someone unusual, but to see that we, too, can have the same faith in the same God.

1 Samuel 17:26, 45 …who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?….but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

Goliath defied the armies of the living God. Goliath was likely a biological heir of the Nephilim, the children of the unions of evil angels and human women before the Flood, the DNA coming through Ham’s wife. These were really evil, God-defying beings, who corrupted the world so much that God had to send a Great Flood to save humanity.

Because of their angelic ancestry, the giants knew God well enough, but hated Him fiercely. This giant descendant of the Nephilim, Goliath of Gath, spewed his utter contempt of God and His people, in his arrogance mistakenly believing he was bigger than God. This brazen defiance of God so deeply offended the godly young man that his faith found the courage to trust God against all odds.

Faith creates a bond between Jesus and me that an offense against one is an offense against the other. Worldly men respond to God with unbelief, defiance, and mockery. Believers are rightly offended with that attitude and respond with faith and courage.

1 Samuel 17:11, 24 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid….And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

The well-known story of David and Goliath is memorable because it teaches a powerful Biblical principle that we easily forget: “We walk by faith, not by sight.” “We look to the things that are unseen.” “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.”

When Saul and the men of Israel saw the giant Goliath challenge them to a personal duel, they were discouraged and very much afraid. Fear is the natural response of any normal human when facing a giant. The whole camp was scared witless of facing this monster of a man in one-on-one combat. The whole scenario struck fear into everyone, and no one had the courage to stand up to the giant alone.

There are many giants in our own life that threaten us in many different forms. The regular fears, doubts, worries, anxieties, and frustrations of life are the giants that plague us from time to time. Living by what we see and feel renders us weak, powerless, and afraid, especially when it looks like the problem is bigger than we are. Even our own human pride and strength is frightened. And if it feels like the problems are overwhelming we cower in hiding. And no matter how strong we think we are something bigger shows up.

Faith sees things differently, and perfect love (coming from faith) casts out fear. Jesus puts a Big God on our side, with Him we can face any giant.

1 Samuel 18:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Samuel went to the family of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel, as the Lord instructed him. None of Jesse’s first seven sons were chosen by the Lord, even though by outward appearance they looked fine. God told Samuel a Biblical principle: look not on the outward appearance. Humans respond to life’s relationships according to what they see outwardly. God sees the heart. Thus David was anointed because saw a man after His own heart.

Only God can see the heart of a person. We cannot. Therefore we are told, “Judge not.” We can judge behavior according to God’s Law, but we must not judge the person. While we cannot see the unseen with physical eyes, we must “look to (trust in) the things that are unseen [2 Corinthians 4:18].” God reveals to us what we cannot see with our eyes or know with our minds. By faith we see.

1 Samuel 15:19, 22, 24 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?….And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams….And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

“To obey is better than sacrifice.” God wants the heart more than the outward ritual. Saul clearly knew the command of the Lord to utterly destroy the Amalekites and their goods. But he purposely disobeyed God’s direct order, and he saved King Agag and the sheep and cattle. For their great evil, the Amalekites were placed under the ban of God, meaning not one person or animal should be left alive; there is to be no plunder.

Saul admitted he sinned and did evil in his disobedience to the Lord, but he made excuses, blaming the people and doing what they wanted instead of what God wanted. However, disobedience could not be tolerated, and though he turned and worshipped God, the punishment was irreversible. The kingdom would be taken from him and given to a neighbor who was better. That turned out to be David, a man after God’s heart.

The Lord is looking at the heart, and He will not abide with a heart that is not wholly devoted to Him alone in place of self. We also should know that disobedience cannot be tolerated, and no excuses can cover the sin or justify the person. The only hope we have is that God will extend mercy and count us righteous for Jesus’ sake. And the Good News: He does! Because of Christ, He forgives our sin. He does not, and neither do we, excuse, overlook, or ignore our sin and disobedience. So we take it seriously: we repent, believe, and live. The heart is with God.

1 Samuel 14:24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

During the victorious rout of the enemy Saul made the army swear an oath that they would not stop fighting to eat food until the evening. The people were tired, hungry, and worn out, so when they heard this command they were distressed, for they needed to eat. But Saul wanted to finish the battle completely that day rather than give thought to the needs of his soldiers.

This was a foolish command from a foolish commander. He was willing to surrender the health and safety of his army to meet his own need for vengeance. His foolishness was evidenced when his own son, Jonathan, paused along the way to eat some honey. When this was found out, Saul had to keep his oath by putting his own son to death, just because he made a rash oath. But the people stopped Saul from doing so and thus rescued Jonathan.

We learn that we should take our promises, oaths, and curses seriously so that we do not make rash oaths and insincere promises. And we do not cause stress in others by making them make a promise. See the story of Herod killing John the Baptist because he made an oath. Or make a note of Jephthah, who killed his daughter because he made an oath.

1 Samuel 14:6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his at our, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.

Here is an incredible story of faith in God and the resultant victory miracle. It is similar to the David and Goliath story: with God, the weak underdog can win against a stronger and more numerous enemy. Jonathan with his armor-bearer alone went up against a garrison of Philistines. Outnumbered, the two slew 20 men and gained a significant victory. The impossible happened because the Lord worked for them.

Where did Jonathan get such a faith in God? He believed that there is no restraining the Lord to save by many or by few. How did he know that if God is for us, who can be against us? He believed God’s Word and promise, and knew what the Lord had done in the past: He would do it again.

We also believe and know that the Lord is working for us through the gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We may feel overwhelmed at times by the strength and number of our spiritual enemies, which takes all kinds of forms in our regular lives. But we confess, “There is no restraint to the Lord to save.” Then we go forth into our day with the power of God’s Love on our side.

1 Samuel 13:12-13 Therefore said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee.

Saul had good intentions, but he did the wrong thing. It was good that he wanted to pray to the Lord for help when he saw the vast army arrayed against him. Fear drove him to pray and offer an offering. But he did it the wrong way, breaking the commandment of the Lord.

Saul should have waited for Samuel to get there and let the priest make the offering. But Samuel was late and didn’t get there soon enough. Saul grew fearful and impatient and anxious at the delay, and he took matters into his hands. God’s way and God’s timing were not good enough, so he went ahead and made the offering himself. He could not trust God to do it His way in His time, so he presumed to do it himself.

We pray and then leave it with God, but then we go and do something on our own instead of trusting the will and way and timing of the Lord

1 Samuel 13:6 When the men of Israel saw they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

A vast Philistine army had amassed to fight against the Israelites. They were a people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude. This sight caused Israel to be very much afraid: they were distressed. Then the people hid themselves wherever they could find a hiding place, so great was the fear.

The spiritual enemies that are amassed against us on a daily basis can sometimes seem overwhelming. Distress, fear, doubt, guilt, worry, and anxiety can at times feel so crushing that we just want to run and hide. Our problems can become so powerful that we try to ignore them, avoid them, or pretend they don’t exist. We find many diversions and distractions to prevent us from dealing with the real issue head on, which is our own sin.

Instead of hiding, we may respond by looking to the Lord for help, answers, forgiveness, salvation, and life. Come out of hiding and confront the enemy army with repentance, faith, forgiveness, victory, and life. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

1 Samuel 12:24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

In Samuel’s address to the people upon anointing their new king, he urges them to remain faithful to the Lord by fearing and serving Him in truth with the heart. Trust and worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. The outcome of such faithful worship will be blessing and good. Unfaithfulness in serving other gods will result in curses and bad things.

The key to continued fearing and serving is to consider often what a great God you have and what great things He has done for you. When we take time to consider on a regular basis the great things God has done for us we are most likely to fear (believe) Him and serve (worship) Him, and then enjoy the consequent blessings. For us it is a question of considering and rehearing and remembering the great work of Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection. We do just this when we go to church weekly to hear the Gospel and remember our Baptism daily.

Considering involves hearing, learning, reminding, and taking to heart the Word of Gospel, how great and good Jesus really is for us. Consider what great things Christ has done for us. It is too easy to forget amid the daily grind of living in the world. So stop and consider.