March 6 I Sunday

Numbers 35-36

Mark 10:1-31

“David said to the Philistine, ‘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.’”   —1 Samuel 17:45

The greatest king of Israel was David, who was also described as a man after God’s own heart.

      Earlier in his life, David faced a near-death experience and was miraculously saved by God. This story is found in 1 Samuel 17, when the nation of Israel was at war with the Philistines. They were encamped on two hills with a valley in between. For forty days, a giant man by the name of Goliath taunted the armies of Israel by saying, “Choose a man and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us” (1 Samuel 17:8-9).

      All of Israel was terrified by Goliath, but who does God send to deal with this problem? David, who, at that time, was a young shepherd boy that spent his time tending sheep, writing psalms and singing worship music. He confidently walked out to meet Goliath on the battlefield. If we were watching from the sidelines, between the giant Goliath in full armour and a teenager David with only a sling and five smooth stones, we may place our wager on Goliath as the victor.

      Like Moses who went against Pharaoh, David was not going into this battle alone. David’s ordinary obedience was endued with God’s power, because God was fulfilling His promise made in Genesis 3. David stood in the battleground with confidence not in himself, but in God. We see this in what David said in 1 Samuel 17:45, 47: “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. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” David was not focused on Goliath at all. He was focused on the God who stood above Goliath, the God who was far greater than any obstacle that stood in his way.

      God turned weakness into strength. God turned vulnerability into invincibility. God turned the ordinary obedience of people like Moses, David and countless others throughout the Old Testament into the extraordinary.

Prayer: Lord God Almighty, turn my focus from the circumstances that I am in to You. What a comfort to know that in the battles that I face, I am not alone, for You are with me. Thank You, Lord.