The Sword of Goliath
1 Samuel 17:50-51 - KJV - „So David prevailed over the Philistine
with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew
him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David
ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it
out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith.
And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. „
The
story of David who fought against the giant Goliath at a young age
as we read in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 17 is very rich an inspiring.
In this story David is an amazing example of courage, faith and boldness.
It is a story that has been told again and again and from which we
can always draw a lesson. Today we are going to turn our attention
on the sword of Goliath. This Philistine was extraordinarily tall
and scared the army of Israel to death. When he came to fight against
Israel at Schocoh, the Bible says that he was heavily equipped for
the battle. The description of his weapons and their weight clearly
indicate that he was unbeatable on the human point of view. But the
young David was not impressed at all by this uncommon and scary Philistine.
His faith told him that the God he knew and served was far greater
and stronger and mightier than this giant. That’s why he told him:
„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 defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45).
The only physical weapons that David carried to fight against Goliath
were 5 stones from the river. But his greater weapon was spiritual
and invisible: it was his faith. David defeated Goliath already through
the words of faith that he declared to the Philistine. And by the
power of his faith, God directed the very first and only stone he
used into the forehead of Goliath and killed the giant. Words spoken
in faith have a great amount of power and God will back it up.
The Bible says in Isaiah 54:17 „No weapon formed against you shall
prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You
shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and
their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.“ All the heavy
weapons that Goliath carried against David and the army of Israel
did not help him at all. He was very well equipped for the fight.
But he did not even have the time and the opportunity to use his weapons
against David because before he could realise it he was dead. His
spear and his sword did not help him at all. He relied upon his weapons
and had put his confidence in his human ability and strength. There
was no way he could believe for one second that this child could be
stronger than himself. David carried a greater giant called faith
in his heart. And the God whom David served proved to the Philistines
that God is not mocked. He has the final say. The weapons that Goliath
had prepared to kill David and destroy the army of Israel were used
against him. Even though Goliath’s sword was very heavy, David was
still able to use it to cut off the head of that enemy. Indeed, those
who know their God shall do exploits and He is the One who will destroy
our enemies (Daniel 11, 32; Psalm 60, 14). Jesus told us that we can
move mountains if we just have faith like a mustard seed. Nothing
is impossible with God. He uses our faith to give us the victory in
the battle. And the things that the enemy tries to use against us
will be turned against him because God is our General in the battle.
He will honour our faith and put the enemy to shame. Let’s continue
to fight the good fight of faith and move on in the battle in the
name of the Lord, for with Him we are more than conquerors. mt