The Battle Belongs to the Lord

“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!””
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17:45-47‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Goliath - the giant of the Philistines who was almost 10 feet tall. This giant was intimidating and caused fear in the hearts of all the soldiers of the army of Israel. He was an undisputed, undefeated warrior champion. He was a pagan and heathen man. This giant felt invincible and was lifted up in selfish pride to the point that he defied the God of Israel. For 40 days he strutted and taunted the army of Israel until a ruddy, teenage shepherd boy named David was sent with food from his father, Jesse, to his elder brothers and the captain of the Israeli army. When he arrived at the place of the battle, Goliath appeared and, once again, spewed his arrogant defiance to the army of Israel. David was immediately infused with righteous indignation and began to question the soldiers about what would happen to the man who defeats this giant (see 1 Samuel 17:26). The soldiers rehearsed the particulars of the reward to David (see vs. 27). In verse 28 his oldest brother, Eliab, scolded David for his inquiry. Eliab began belittling David and telling him to go back to tending the sheep. Eliab was a soldier. David was a shepherd boy. David was undeterred by the sibling down talk. He proceeded with his intent of fighting this giant. When word reached Saul, the king of Israel, that David was willing to fight this giant he ordered David brought to him. When David came before him, Saul told him that he could not win against this giant because he was a shepherd boy and not a warrior. Saul touted the prowess of the  mighty champion Goliath. Although Saul was, himself, a larger man than most, he was considering natural ability and was focused on the physical comparisons between David and Goliath. David was looking to God for victory. His faith was in God, not his own physical strength. David had a heart for God and His spirit was determined to defeat this wicked, pagan, giant. He testified to Saul that he had slain a lion and a bear that had come to devour the sheep while he was on guard. He proclaimed that the same God who had given him victory of the lion and the bear will give him victory over the pagan giant. After seeing David's persistence, Saul accepted David's proposal and said "May the LORD be with you" (see verses 31-39). Saul tried his own armor on David to give him the physical protection he would need but, after trying them on, David replied that he could not wear these. Two things here:
1. Sauls armor was personally suited to his own stature. Saul was head and shoulders taller than anyone.
“There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭9:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Can you imagine how big this armor must have looked on David?
2. David could not fight in the strength and ways of man to defeat this giant.
“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:3-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NLT
David took off the armor and utilized the weapon that God had already trained him in - the sling. He gathered five smooth stones (smooth stones fly more accurately) from the stream and placed them In his shepherds bag (see verse 40). He started out across the battle field to engage this enemy. Can you imagine what this scenario must have looked like? A young, teenage boy walking across the battlefield with no armor on, dressed in shepherds clothes, a shepherds staff, and carrying a shepherds bag. I can almost hear the jeers from his own people as he marched out to the battle. I can almost hear the jeers and laughter fro the Philistine army. This was going to be entertaining, at least they thought! David, without hesitation, moved in for the kill. He was not fighting for victory! He was fighting with victory! He knew that this was a seemingly impossible task in physical strength but he knew that it was but a small matter to God. His complete trust was in God, not himself!
As the giant saw him approaching he began to poke fun at him and asked if he had come to fight a dog with a stick (see verse 43). Goliath began cursing David in the name of his pagan gods. In verse 44, he tells David that he will feed his flesh to the birds and wild animals. Not once did David flinch! In verse 45, David replies to the giants taunts.
He proclaimed to Goliath that he had come with sword, spear, and javelin but that he (David) had come in the name of the LORD of Heaven's Armies. In verse 46 David proclaimed, with absolute boldness, that today God will conquer Goliath, that he (David) would kill Goliath, cut off his head, that the dead bodies of the men of the Philistine army will be fed to the birds and wild animals, and that the whole world would know that there is a God in Israel! Verse 47 tells us that God saves, not by means of fleshly warfare (sword and spear), but by His mighty power!
David recognized that the battle belonged to the LORD!!!
David went on to be forever known as the giant killer. However, the real truth is that God is the giant killer!!!Remember, David himself recognized this fact in verse 46. God is our victory, not any human means! As we face the challenges around us in this hour, we must also recognize that God is our victory!!!
“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:57‬ ‭NLT‬‬
If Jesus has defeated sin and death, what else is there to conquer? In Jesus we are fighting with victory, not for it! Rest in His victorious power! He is the all time, undefeated, undisputed champion!!!
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:31-37‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Can the church say AMEN??
AMEN!!!!!!!

Curtis R. Norris