"The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them." (1 Samuel 17:3)
....and they just, "stood," and, "stood," and, "stood," translated, They did absolutely nothing.
This is the famous passage about the encounter of the Philistines and the Jews, culminating with the battle between the Philistine giant and the Jew, David. Our text is from my reading of a few days ago, and I know I have commented on it several times before. But the "bears-repeating" applies here. There were any number of men that day who could have slain the giant. Judges 20:16 tells us of, "seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair's breadth and not miss." This was not uncommon in the ancient Middle East. One historian writes, "In skilled hands a sling is a very accurate and effective weapon."
The sling was a "weapon of choice" among shepherds. It was light weight, and ammunition was readily available, especially in the land of Israel. Yet the scene in 1 Samuel 17 is quite pathetic. Two massive armies facing each other for days and days, and doing nothing. The giant began coming down into the valley floor for a number of those days and taunting the Jews to a one on one match up of fighting men. None of the Jews took the challenge, none, that is, until a young lyre-playing shepherd showed up. David in essence said to some of the men, "What is going on? Don't you know that many of you can take this guy with your slings. You've used them to protect your flocks against powerful animals. Why not against him?" And, yes, no doubt that he would add, "The Lord our God is with you."
I have often said that 1 Samuel 17 is a classic Biblical "type" of Jesus and His Church, Satan and his "church." 1 John 3 tells us that Jesus, "....destroyed the works of the Devil," and Colossians tells us that Jesus did it, "through the blood of His cross." Furthermore, the the Gospel narrative goes on to tell you and me, "the works that I do shall [we] do also," as in, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against," the Church. The problem historically is that most have awaited some "David" to show up, when we are all "called" and "equipped" to "take on" and destroy much of the "kingdom of darkness." Stop the hero worship; stop the only-the-big-name-wonderful-people-can-do-this. What our Lord Jesus said to Moses, he continues to say to you and me, "What is that in your hand?"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I receive Your grace to get into the valley floor and do battle. Amen.
....and they just, "stood," and, "stood," and, "stood," translated, They did absolutely nothing.
This is the famous passage about the encounter of the Philistines and the Jews, culminating with the battle between the Philistine giant and the Jew, David. Our text is from my reading of a few days ago, and I know I have commented on it several times before. But the "bears-repeating" applies here. There were any number of men that day who could have slain the giant. Judges 20:16 tells us of, "seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair's breadth and not miss." This was not uncommon in the ancient Middle East. One historian writes, "In skilled hands a sling is a very accurate and effective weapon."
The sling was a "weapon of choice" among shepherds. It was light weight, and ammunition was readily available, especially in the land of Israel. Yet the scene in 1 Samuel 17 is quite pathetic. Two massive armies facing each other for days and days, and doing nothing. The giant began coming down into the valley floor for a number of those days and taunting the Jews to a one on one match up of fighting men. None of the Jews took the challenge, none, that is, until a young lyre-playing shepherd showed up. David in essence said to some of the men, "What is going on? Don't you know that many of you can take this guy with your slings. You've used them to protect your flocks against powerful animals. Why not against him?" And, yes, no doubt that he would add, "The Lord our God is with you."
I have often said that 1 Samuel 17 is a classic Biblical "type" of Jesus and His Church, Satan and his "church." 1 John 3 tells us that Jesus, "....destroyed the works of the Devil," and Colossians tells us that Jesus did it, "through the blood of His cross." Furthermore, the the Gospel narrative goes on to tell you and me, "the works that I do shall [we] do also," as in, "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against," the Church. The problem historically is that most have awaited some "David" to show up, when we are all "called" and "equipped" to "take on" and destroy much of the "kingdom of darkness." Stop the hero worship; stop the only-the-big-name-wonderful-people-can-do-this. What our Lord Jesus said to Moses, he continues to say to you and me, "What is that in your hand?"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I receive Your grace to get into the valley floor and do battle. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
