This morning’s sermon continued our series ‘Battles and Blessings’ by looking at possibly the most famous battle in the Old Testament: David defeating the giant Goliath (1 Sam 17). Even people who have never picked up a Bible tend to have heard this story, but there is a danger that we treat this as a story for children only and fail to realise God can still speak powerfully through the known and familiar. The Bible is not really a book of legends, but a manual for living, and if we want to defeat the metaphorical giants in our lives – things like addiction and fear, rejection and adversaries – then we have to learn from David’s victory in order to make it ours.
Whilst the chapter focuses on David’s victory over the Philistines in the form of Goliath, he also mentions 3 other battles which must be overcome before that final victory can be realised. He had to battle against his family’s preconceptions and attitudes (1 Sam 17:12-14, 28); he had had to learn to win the unseen battles as a shepherd against the lion and the bear (1 Sam 17:34-37) and he had to learn to fight Goliath in his own way, not Saul’s (1 Sam 17:38-39). Once these other battles had been overcome, David could defeat Goliath, not in his own strength, but in God’s: ‘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.’ (1 Sam 17:45) Ultimately, this is the secret of all spiritual victory. When we are confident in God’s ability to deliver from all evil, we can take on any enemy, for we know that the battle is the Lord’s! (1 Sam 17:47)