We Are Giant Slayers

I was watching Joyce Meyer this morning and she referenced a scripture from 1 Samuel 17. I don’t even remember the verse, but decided to reread the entire chapter. The chapter is about David and Goliath and David defeating this giant. However looking at the full story there are key points found that relate to our walk with God today.

The story of David and Goliath actually is a picture of satan, Adam and Jesus.

The issue in chapter 17 is a direct result of what king Saul did in chapter 13. He sinned by offering sacrifices to God and not waiting for the prophet Samuel to appear like he was ordered. Saul moved by fear/sight allowing for a questioning of God’s orders. This set in motion his eventual loss of the kingdom, falling out of favor with God, and the Philistines gaining the upper hand. Saul is a type of Adam. Adam allowed God’s instructions to be called into question in a reaction to the enemy and lost everything by stepping out of God’s will. (Genesis 3) By one man, Adam, sin entered the world and we all became slaves to it. (Romans 5:12) David is actually in this passage a type of Jesus. They tried to give David armor and make him a warrior and fit their mold (verse 38), but David couldn’t walk in them and didn’t feel comfortable in them. He went just as he was, a humble shepard boy, using weapons that no one valued; a sling shot and smooth stones. He defeated the giant and cut off his head. Generations later, the Israelites expected their deliverer to look like a warrior, to overthrow the Roman government and set them free. Instead what happened? Their deliverer came into the city on a donkey, a sign of humility. (Mark 11) Jesus didn’t wear fancy garb, yet he commanded and had power to defeat the enemy. By one man, David, he released the Israelites from the power of the enemy, the Philistines. By one man Jesus, the world was redeemed and our enemy was defeated. (Galatians 5:15, 4:4-5, Ephesians 1:7)

The Israelites allowed their enemy time to break them.

Verse 16 says “For 40 days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.” In verses 8-9 we learn what Goliath was doing and probably still doing for those 40 days. He shouted to the Israelites saying he was a champion and they were just servants of Saul or slaves. Goliath bullied them for 40 days twice a day and the bible never references them giving a verbal defense back. Goliath, a type of satan, initiated fear in the Israelites. In verse 11 it says they were “terrified and deeply shaken”. Satan will come at us and try to appear larger than what he is. He will try to appear larger than any solution. He will try to keep your focus on his so called power, his so called authority, and the problems he has thrown before us. The longer we don’t respond to him the tighter the grip we allow him to have in our lives and take root. However, what does the bible say about his fear and bully tactics?

Romans 6:16-18 "Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living."

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Romans 8:31-37 “ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Goliath, the type of satan, called the Israelites servants or slaves to Saul who was the type of Adam in which sin entered, making us slaves to sin. In Romans 6, God established we are no longer slaves to sin. Yet, we have a choice in that. We can still act in a way that says we're enslaved or we can accept the freedom God has given to us. We walk out that freedom directly by how we chose to live.

Additionally, God has established that the power and control of fear isn’t from Him and we posses the power to overcome that fear. He also answers in this passage of Romans the bully tactics of satan against us. God is on our side, standing in our camp, so what can the other side really do to us? God has also released us from condemnation, another tactic of the enemy that would say you’re not even deserving to be set free, redeemed, or delivered from your sin, problems, or circumstances. Moreover, Christ death was for more than just a deliverance from temporary life issues. The deliverance David brought to the Israelites was great, but it was still temporal. The enemy would be back. What Jesus did for us was eternal. He broke the power of the enemy over us. Yes, satan still tries to trip us up. Despite this, Jesus’ death not only broke his power, but allowed for a total reconciliation to God, fixing eternally what Adam did. Now satan can never truly separate us again from God. He can only try to get us to believe that he can. It’s up to us not to buy this lie. Don’t give him time to break you.

Finally, James 4:7 says “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is an immediate call to action. Don’t wait until you’ve been beaten to a pulp to turn to God and refute the enemies claims. The sooner you act, the sooner the devil runs away from you. When David showed up at the Israelite camp and heard the taunts of the enemy, he responded immediately. The Israelites let 40 days go by and still had no response. David moved in courage and a righteous indignation and took Goliath down in one day. He knew where his confidence lied. In verse 45 David points out that Goliath showed up with weapons, but David was coming at him with God. That kind of confidence is the same confidence God gives us each and every day because our enemy has already been defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In closing, don’t entertain the enemies threats. Act and act quickly. Recognize the power given to us as believers by Christ. As we strengthen ourselves by reading God’s word, in prayer, and worship, we can step into battle. Spiritual battle has already been tipped in our favor. What other fight can you have that you’ve already been told you’ve won it before you even stepped on the field? That would be the dream of any sports team, athlete or coach, but that is the guarantee God has given us as believers. On the other hand, the battle stems in our minds. Our spirit knows God’s truth, but we struggle in our minds and with our flesh to comprehend. (Romans 8:17) Romans 12:1-2 says we are transformed by the renewing our mind. Meaning this is an ongoing thing, not a once and done. We have to consciously, daily, seek to link our minds to God’s truth. When we do this we realize we have already won, we can defeat satan’s lies, and we can triumph over all problems thrown our way. We are indeed giant slayers!