40 Days with Goliath Part 2

For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and 
​took his stand.

​     My husband is very athletic.  As he wraps up his long, wearying day on multiple jobsites, he keeps going with the thought that when he gets home, he will get to exercise.  The longer the hours of sitting in the car, the more intense the workout that he wants to pound out.  For him, the thought of increasing strength and endurance, of being ready for any emergency and need, is what drives him on. 
     Goodness, it's not mine.  
     My motivation looks more like a hot cappuccino in a pretty mug just to get out of bed in the morning.  The longer the day, the more I look forward to sitting with a warm blanket and a good book.
      But when we are in the thick of it, when our day isn't just a normal, messy craziness, but there is an extra weight to it, a deprivation, an urgency and trauma, a vulnerability and testing--and these are the markers that come back day after day unresolved, then we need to recognize that we are facing a goliath--and that there are exciting things ahead.  
       In ​Part 1, we studied the place and stance of our fight, and who our goliaths are.  In today's study, let's look at some of the first problems David encountered before he even had to stand up to his Goliath, and how he rooted himself firmly in his identity and future.  These are problems that are unavoidable in every life of victorious faith for a believer in Christ, and yet are embued with the presence, power and promise of the Holy Spirit to deliver and reward!  

12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.
​15But David occasionally went and returned from Saul [ministering to Saul with the lyre\ to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
1 Sam. 17:12-15

     As background, we need to understand why we are given the information about David’s brothers. Earlier, in chapter 16, when David was about to be anointed by Samuel.  In front of the entire village and its elders, David had been neglected—uninvited--at the feast for which he himself would be the guest of honor, known only to God. His father and brothers had not considered him worth calling. Of course, they presumed, Samuel would choose one of Jesse’s oldest sons: they were the strongest, handsomest and most charismatic.
     God, however, did not see it that way. Instead, in front of the whole village, God told Samuel to tell them that Eliab was not chosen by God, but rather rejected, because God could see his heart. Down the line went Samuel, through the six sons of Jesse, each in turn, rejected by the Lord because their hearts were not right.
     Samuel got to the end of the line. Turning to Jesse, he asked him if he had any other sons. “There remains yet the youngest,” Jesse replied, “and there he is, keeping the sheep.” (1 Sam. 16:11). After bringing his youngest son, David was anointed by Samuel “in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” This anointing and pronouncement was followed by a feast, given in David’s honor.
     After this event, David was given a job in the palace playing his lyre, an instrument similar to a harp, for an unsuspecting and now replaced King Saul, for whenever Saul would be distressed by an evil spirit (1 Sam. 16:16).
     So here was David, still in charge of keeping his father’s sheep, but also in Saul’s employ as a musician, traveling regularly back and forth to keep up with his responsibilities. David was anointed by God as the king-elect, so to speak, close to the throne in proximity, but with many lessons to learn before receiving it physically.
     Just as Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the presence of His brothers and then led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil, so would David start his public ministry—with a 40 day test in the wilderness:
          

"For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and took his stand."
1 Sam. 17:16​

      Here, we see Goliath coming out every single day to mock, revile, and test the Israelites. Both morning and evening the entire armies of the Israelites and Philistines would gather on their respective hills, face off across the valley, and hear the challenge and mockery yet again: “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.” v. 24
      Now in the Bible we see a pattern of 40 days. The rain fell for 40 days while Noah waited in the ark; the people of Israel traveled 40 years in the wilderness, 1 year for each day the spies spied out Canaan; Moses stayed for two sets of 40 days on Mt. Sinai, fasting, and receiving the commandments of God; Joshua, who waited partway down the mountain for Moses, also fasted; Aaron, simultaneously, waited the 40 days down in the desert with the people, followed by creating the idolatrous golden calf for them to worship; Elijah fasted for 40 days while he went through the wilderness, Ezekiel lay on his right side for 40 days, bearing the iniquity of the people; and Jesus was led by the Spirit for 40 days in the wilderness, fasting, to be tested by the devil.
     Each of these 40 day periods was a time of extreme testing, deprivation and temptation. It would involve feelings of weakness, shame, vulnerability, fear, exposure, worthlessness, wastedness, and futility. These feelings would come, whether the person gave into the temptation or not. The feelings would assault them, even if they refused to sin.
     For those who gave themselves over to the temptation, as in the case of Aaron and the people of Israel, there were sad and painful consequences as they became enslaved to the desires for which they lusted.
                        

When we remain faithful in the testing,
​there is the promise of an increase of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
     ​

 
     The scriptures say of Moses that, after enduring his time of fasting on Mt. Sinai with the Lord, “when Moses came down from Mount Sinai….Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” (Ex. 34:29-30) Furthermore, the scriptures say of Jesus, that after he returned from his fasting and temptations, that “he returned in the power of the spirit,” (Luke 4:14) for further and effective ministry.
     A time of testing, a time of temptation, a constant barrage of accusations, lies and enticement to do evil: these are not sin. Rather, they are a common occurrence in the spiritual journey of every believer. There will be Goliaths in our lives. There will be those 40 days of suffering and deprivation. There will be times when we wait and wait for the Lord to deliver us, wondering when this season will be over.
     Sometimes we are tempted to believe there must be something wrong with us that we would even be in the middle of such a difficult test of our faith and commitment to self-control. Sometimes we can feel like we must already be guilty because of the temptations and accusations that the enemy calls out to us.
      In reality, though, it may simply be the effect of a calling or anointing on your life by God. These ministries must be preceded by an encounter with the enemy, for which you must solely depend by faith on the deliverance through the blood of Christ. It is in the crucible of your wilderness with Goliath that you come to understand intimately how deeply the blood of Jesus can deliver you from every sin, temptation and evil.
       God is faithful. He has always and will always be faithful to deliver us from “every evil work and to preserve [us] for His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). Listen and meditate on the promise of God for these seasons of our goliaths:
     

  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. But God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” 1 Cor. 10:13

     There is nothing—no emotion, no temptation, no terror-- that isn’t common to us all in some way or fashion. As children of God, He is just to discipline His children—not in the same way, but to the same end: to bring each of us to a full maturity in Christ.
     It is these Goliath seasons that provide the discipline and hardship that bring us into that state of maturity. 

It is our goliaths that take the theory of our theology
​into the intimacy and power of relationship.
​

17Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”26Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
​1 Sam. 17:7-27
​

​     Notice David’s response. He questions their fear, their terror, at a mere man, when the people have the very living God on their side. “What shall be done,” David asks again and again, “for the man who kill this Philistine and takes away the reproach (the mockery, the shame) from Israel?”
​

     As servants of our King, we have the “armies of the living God” waiting to go out to battle with us. Armies that do not quake with fear or run, afraid of the voice of the giants. Armies that are supernatural; hosts of heaven waiting on the King’s command.
​

      What shall be done for the man or woman who fights for their King, defeats the giants who come against them, and takes away the shame from God’s people? This is Jesus, your King, says to you: “He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations—….and I will give him the morning star” (Rev. 2:26-28).
   Sometimes when we are fighting our goliaths, we are only considering escaping the severity of slavery or of death.  Seeing past the battle to the victory, and even to the reward, can seem presumptuous and perhaps past what our minds can seem to take in in the moment. 
    In our story, though, David shows us how to live faith in the testing:  Focus on the reward.  Not on the giant.  Not on the fearful soldiers.  Not on the valley of depression.  Not on the escape.  The reward.  We see the same outcome with Jesus when He focused on the reward set before Him:  
   ​

 
​1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
​despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Discipline of God3For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
Hebrews 12:1-4   

     When the reward is great enough, and we truly believe that it is waiting at the end of our pain, our actions will reflect that faith in endurance. 
      In all of David’s bold and courageous questioning, though, there was one man who was not impressed with his assertiveness---Eliab:
​

28Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
​1 Sam. 17:28

​     Eliab turns against his brother, and, seething in rage, jealously and vindictiveness, accuses David's faith and courage of being really a presumptive pride and an evil desire to watch a battle that was none of his business.
     Eliab burned with anger—because he himself had failed to step up to defeat the giants in his life. Anger is often a response of guilt in our lives, especially when directed at someone who is suggesting that there is a way to not sin—to live in victory. He had already in his heart given himself over to the slavery of the fear, lies, and shame. As indicated by God’s rejection of Eliab as king, Eliab had heart issues with which he had not dealt.
     In fact, the very two accusations he leveled at David were a few of his own pitfalls—pride and wickedness. It had been his pride that had been injured when he was refused as king. It was he who had presumed that God would validate him, without the righteous obedience that accompanies a clear conscience and loving heart. It was the wickedness of his own heart that now sought to accuse God’s Anointed.
     He was angry that David would imply that there was another choice. People who have given themselves into obedience to slavery want to feel and believe and be validated in the belief that they had no choice: it just happened to them. They “couldn't help it.” It was a “disorder”. It was their “personality.” They choose to believe that God never had another way for them to choose.
     When others successfully choose to live in victory, it only serves to make them feel the shame of their choice, and their response can be to lash out at those who have success in the area, accusing, trying to make it seem like it is nothing more than pride and evil to assume that there is a better way that God will make victorious. Even when it is those very people who are offering them a better way to live, a rescue from their own enslavement.
      Just as David was implying that each one of them could have chosen to defeat Goliath--could still choose to defeat him, each one of us continues to have a choice in our lives. None of them were helpless, they were simply choosing to let Goliath take control through their lack of faith in God. None of us are helpless, either. We have a constant choice about our actions, thoughts, and even feelings.
       Friends, like David we should be declaring God’s absolute power to free and deliver us from the Goliath’s. From pride, bitterness, hatred, greed, lust, jealousy, gossip, destructive criticisms, addictions, immorality, and depression. But know for sure that when you declare this, your Eliabs--perhaps family members or other Christians, perhaps unbelievers or co-workers, perhaps even your church leadership and yes, your own thoughts--your Eliabs will try to shut down and oppose the idea that there is deliverance and victory with God over the giants that we face.
      But how did David respond to Eliab? Did he accuse back? Justify his position? Declare the anointing and calling that God had on his life? No. He simply asks some questions, and turns away:

29And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.” 1Sam. 17:29-30

     ​Like David, when we are confronted and opposed about the truth of God’s deliverance, by ourselves or someone else, we can simply ask the question: “What is exactly wrong with saying that this giant (insert: lust, deceit, depression, etc.) has no right to mock our God by claiming that He is too small to give us victory in this area? Isn’t this a big enough deal that we should talk about what God can do?”
     Secondly, rather than argue, debate, or convince, turn away from those who maintain their anger...keep declaring our God's power to deliver over these things. You may never convince your Eliabs, but you can keep declaring God’s faithfulness to the next person…and the next…

​...and the next.