Weapon of Choice

Weapon of Choice
May 20, 2013
1 Samuel 17:45  ". . . You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most famous and widely known tales.  It is so well known, it would be a waste of time to re-tell it to you.  However, there is a part of the story you might have forgotten.  Just before David killed Goliath on the battle field, David and the giant exchanged words.  Goliath mocked David's size and choice of weapon, then cursed David using the names of the giants own gods, promising to gut him on the ground he was standing upon.  David did not let the giant's words intimidate him; David offered a similar taunt in exchange of Goliath's promise to kill him.  David promised to kill Goliath, cut off his head, and feed him to the buzzards along with the flesh of his entire army.  Pretty bold words by David.   But there is something interesting that David declared before he spoke the death threat to his giant.

While Goliath pointed out David's poor selection of artillery, David first clarified his personal choice of weaponry.  David corrected the giant and said he had come out to meet Goliath with his most important weapon, the name of the Lord.  David recognized the giant's weapons were in his hands (sword, spear, and javelin).  But David's weapons were not in his hands.  Sure he had his sling and stones tucked neatly in a bag around his shoulder, but David was standing before his giant in the name of the Lord, not in the confidence of his skills with a sling.  David knew no matter how skilled he was with any weapon in any battle, he still needed the victory to come from the Lord.  David knew that no giant could stand in his way if the Lord was fighting the battle.  David spoke to his situation and declared that the Lord Almighty was going to defeat the giant.

Though you may not be fighting a large man holding a javelin, you are facing a giant even today.  Do not declare to your giant your intent to defeat it unless you have come to the battle in the name of the Lord your God.  Come to fight but don't come in the confidence of your weaponry unless your choice of weaponry is the Lord.  He alone holds the battle in His hands.  So go ahead and offer those death threats to your giants, but do so in the confidence that comes from standing with the Lord over your life.

I urge you to never go into battle without the Lord.  You are up against a hard fight, I know; plan and act in the same way that David did.  He came to the battle field prepared to fight, ready with weapons by his side, and speaking death to his opponent in the name of the Lord.  After David had finished speaking to his giant, the giant took a step closer to David in preparation for battle.  Notice David's next move.  Scripture says that, "David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him."  He made no hesitation but reached into his bag, pulled the first stone and made the first strike.  Since the Lord was with him, the first strike was all it took.  The giant fell in David's life and he cut off his head as promised, with his enemy's own weapon of choice, Goliath's personal sword.  To quote the Lord's own words:  "'No weapon formed against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,' declares the Lord."

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Deut 32:31, 1 Sam 17, Is 54:17