Spare Change August 2016
The Giant We Cannot Overcome
We are continuing to look into 1 Samuel in our 2:42 Group. This study has been so insightful. We are challenged with some of the most familiar stories in the Bible, which can be a problem. We know them so well we think we know the point of the story. Take the story of David and Goliath for instance. We think the point of the story is to learn how God wants us to overcome giants in our life or the popular life proverbs, “The
bigger they are the harder they fall." The problem is that when it comes to the giants in our life, especially the giant of sin, we cannot overcome it. For that we need a savior!
David was that Savior for Israel. If we recall the story in 1 Samuel 17 by the end of verse 11 we have this really specific description of Goliath. This is meant to scare the reader. This man that stands over nine feet tall and is fully decked out in armor from head to toe is an overwhelming force. Because of this, Saul and all of Israel were afraid. No one wanted to face this giant. They knew they could not overcome it, they knew they would get demolished, so they just stood there shaking in their sandals.
Enter David, who was on an innocent errand from his father to check on his brothers. Goliath, per his usual routine, went out to mock the Israelites, only this time something was different. Verse 23 tells that this particular time, “David heard him.” David would not let the Philistine giant defile the Living God and His people. So he set out to defeat him, only to be stopped in his tracks by his brother. Eliab, his oldest brother, questioned his motives, he misunderstood David’s purpose and he sought to derail David’s plan. Saul also told David he was too little and ill-equipped to take on this giant.
But David had a secret-- in spite of these oppositions he knew some things that they didn’t. All the time David spent in the wilderness as a shepherd had allowed David to build his faith in the Lord. His faith was so strong and the Lord’s favor was such that it allowed David to overcome lions and bears that came to attack his flock. In David’s estimation this giant would be like defeating a bear or a lion.
After getting past a couple of obstacles David did face Goliath and he prevailed. The Lord obviously enabled David to win, but it was because David put the Lord first and sought the glory of the Lord in the battle. This is key to understanding the victory here-- David looked at himself as a humble servant ready to do God’s will for the glory of God, he didn’t seek to exalt himself in the victory. So David, the humble shepherd, became the savior of Israel.
You might try to relate to David in this story; however, we are not supposed to relate to David. We should understand that we are like Saul and the rest of Israel standing there afraid, unable to conquer the giant of sin in our lives. We need a savior and Jesus is that savior.
He comes from a humble background, He is misunderstood, He is despised, and people try to question His motives also. But He has come on an errand from His father, just like David. He came to do His Father’s will not for His glory, but the glory of God. He faced off against the giant that we could not overcome, and won. He didn’t swing a sword or throw one spear, He simply went to the cross and took the sins of mankind on Himself, bearing for us the punishment we deserve, then three days later the stone was rolled away and He showed us that He conquered the grave.
Jesus is the real hero of our story and overcomes the giant we can’t overcome so that if we believe in Him we can then overcome the lesser giants in our life. After the giant of sin is slain in our lives, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome any trial or temptation.
The part where we can relate to David is in the area of faith. David trusted the Lord for the victory, we are also called to trust the Lord. Jesus calls to us, “repent and believe”. We need to realize we cannot overcome sin, so we turn to Jesus and trust Him for salvation. We are not the giant slayer, Jesus is the giant slayer! We simply trust Him and know that with Jesus we are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37).
