David -- Reporting for Duty

Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands. - I Samuel 17.47

Better commentators than I have discussed the clash of David and Goliath at length, but there are still a few things we can take from this much-loved passage.

Notice that David does not accept Goliath's terms of the battle, not the banner under which he fights, the method and outcome of the contest, or even the rules by which it was fought.

1) The Banner: Goliath called out Israel, as "servants of Saul". Saul was singled out, probably not only because he was king, but because he was also physically the tallest man in Israel. (I Sam 9.2) In effect this was probably a taunt, a reminder that he dwarfed even their mightiest man. --See how this was countered by David, who naturally did not see himself first and foremost as a servant of Saul, but of God. (I Sam 17.45-47) He viewed the giant's lack of Covenant with God as a much more serious handicap than mere mass.

2) The Method and Outcome: Goliath challenged single-combat, winner take all. I Sam 17.8-9 (obviously stacking the deck in what he thought was his favour.) Do you really think he'd have gone through this trouble if they had a superior army? Would they not have simply crushed Israel if they thought they could? This confrontation was an effort to shape the battlefield to be more favourable to themselves. --This was countered by David who promised to lift Goliath's head from his shoulders, and not simply take the Philistine army as servants, but to destroy them, and feed the birds and beasts with their carcasses. 'No quarter'.

3) The Rules: Goliath -- and everyone else -- expected David to strap on the heaviest armour he could find, and find the biggest, meanest weapon in Israel's arsenal, hoping it would be enough to even the odds. That would have been the last mistake David had ever made. No, David took the tools he knew and had tested into the battle with him. He stayed out of the toe-to-toe slug fest. Instead, he used his range and mobility, exploiting the giant's weaknesses, pride, and assumptions. He sank a stone into his head as he ran toward Goliath. He then used the Philistine's own sword to kill him. Goliath thought he was running toward the battle, while David knew they were already IN it.

4) Unnoticed: there are two other things David was armed with that most people overlook in the energy and the complexity of this account. (A) He had been anointed as the future king by Samuel. David could say with certainty that this would not be the last day of his life, in part, because God had promised he would be king. (B) Notice the words of Goliath when the battle commenced: "Come to me..." This was the same sign that God had given Johnathan when he wanted to know whether to attack the Philistine Garrison. (note especially verse ten in I Sam 14)

What we are left with is a man, aware of the purpose of a real God upon his life, zealous for His honour, ready to stand against God's foes, and not willing to let the enemy dictate the terms of combat. This is a recipe for successful battle.

We as Christians must behave the same way. Our cultures have Secularists trying to paint our positions as being antithetical to some 'higher good'. They try to use inflammatory language, sometimes blatant: ('homophobe') and sometimes subtle ('intolerant' or 'religious right') adjectives to cow us and make us back off of our position, or undermine our credibility. They cannot defend their own positions based on their inherent merits, so they redefine terms. Don't fall for it. They use the courts to undermine Christian rights and expression, in the interest of 'Freedom of Religion'. Gradually chipping away, hoping we won't notice. Knowing that they don't have the ability to do so through direct legislation, they socially re-engineer from the shadows.

We also have abandoned the battlefield to our opponents in many fields of influence: Politics, Public School, Law, Business, Higher Learning (humanities, history and science, particularly) Art, Music and Film to name a few of the 'unsavory' professions Christians do not wish to 'sully' themselves with. Therefore, the cultural leverage each of these positions inherently possesses falls under the authority of people hostile to Jesus Christ.

Prayer should precede, but Never replace the battle.

David charged Goliath, and overcame him. Had he stood still, he would have been ground into powder.

We face the same choice.

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