ON THE VANGUARD

WHO IS THIS UNCIRCUMCISED PHILISTINE?
“David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’”
I Samuel 17:26

Have you felt recently like you’re standing face to face with a giant of a problem? Maybe an unexpected bill is due or your car broke down. Perhaps you’re facing a medical problem where the cures and remedies just aren’t working. Whatever it is that keeps bouncing you from place to place, the fact is you are tired of it. I have spent the last few weeks praying for people in those type situations. You know the struggles. The friends whose marriage needs a breakthrough, the family trying to buy that new house but finding delays at every corner, and the couple whose child seems to never get physically better. It was while in prayer yesterday that God showed me a truth in the story of David and Goliath that I want to share with you who find yourselves in these stare downs with the giants. It is for you all that I write this devotional today.
I was listening to a sermon podcast by Pastor Larry Huch recently concerning his climb up a physical mountain in order to hunt bear. As one who has never hunted before, nor sure I want to, I was taking in the sights and sounds as he was describing them. And then he referenced the story of the young David in the field with his father’s sheep. As David was explaining to King Saul, he had seen his share of battles in the fields as he had taken down both a lion and a bear. The easy assumption to make, and one I have made in reading this account, is that David overcame these beasts with no problem. When you read it, doesn’t it sound like that? “’Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it’” (I Sam 17:34-35). What we don’t know from this passage is if David got hurt in the battle. Chances are he did get banged up a little, and maybe cut, scratched, and he quite possibly even had a few battle scars. The reason I point this out is because as our faith is put to the test we too may find it not such an easy battle. Remember, the enemy in cunning and will work to break our spirit and empty us of faith in what God can and will do. But we must not lose faith. When David fought these wild beasts he had faith in God for the skill and strength needed to find his victory.
So then, when David came bringing supplies to his brothers and saw with his own eyes the monstrous Goliath, he questioned the details. It was explained that this giant of the Philistines had been coming for days now, defying God and challenging the men of Israel. Yet even with the promised reward to be given by King Saul, no man found the boldness to attack the giant. When David was called into Saul’s tent for being overheard in his boldness toward the giant, David stated, “’Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him’” (I Sam 17:32).
To the men of Israel, Goliath was the problem that crippled them with fear. To David, Goliath was a roadblock between where Israel stood and where they were headed. The question begs even today for us, which of these is our view of Goliath? When David asked the men about Goliath he asked, “’Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’” (I Sam 17:26). He had it right. He knew that Israel was afraid because they were looking at their own skills in battle as opposed to looking at God’s skills in battle. So then, when David stood physically before Goliath with a stick and a sling shot, he was really standing in the strength of the Lord in faith. Victory came to David not because of who David was, but because of who David was in the Lord.
In closing, I want to challenge you in how you see your enemy. Does the knowledge of a troubled marriage, unpaid bill, or medical illness paralyze you with fear? I can relate. But keep in mind that our giant is uncircumcised. This word bares two meaning, the first of which is obvious. But the deeper meaning relates to a pagan who has no relationship with God in his heart. If we know nothing else about Israel, we know that they are God’s chosen people. In accepting Christ as our Savoir, we have been adopted into this family. Although the lion and bear will come and perhaps scar us in battle, they along with the giant will fall for it is God who fights on our behalf. I encourage you to declare the words that David spoke as he ran out to take down Goliath. In the boldness of God’s strength, question “Who is this uncircumcised giant that he should defy this soldier of the living God?”