The Lord delivered me from the lion and bear...

1 Samuel 17:31-54 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. ³² David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” ³³ Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. ³⁹ David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. ⁴⁰ He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Then the Philistine came on and approached David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. ⁴³ The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” ⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

⁵⁰ Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵² The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps. ⁵⁴ Then David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent.

Romans 8:28-29 says:  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.        It is not that God causes all things. He is omnipotent, so He does have power and authority over all things. But God has given people free will. He allows us to make choices. In the beginning, when God created both man and earth, He gave man dominion over the earth. So the choices people make have an impact on what happens. There is a cause and effect relationship. God doesn’t cause the difficult things in our lives. Some of them can be caused by our own decisions and choices, some can be the result and the impact of the free will of others and some things are the result of living in a fallen world, influenced and impacted by sin. While God does not bring hardship, trials, or difficulties against us, He will cause those things to work together for our good. If we will draw close to Him in the trials, we will become more unified with Him. We will be conformed to the image of Christ and our faith and confidence in Him will increase.

In today’s text we see an application of this principle. The armies of Israel are being taunted by the Philistines and Goliath. David, a young shepherd boy comes onto the scene.     David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”         God had not caused the bear or the lion to attack David’s sheep. Yet because David deeply loved God, because his confidence was in Him, God used those things to build David’s faith, not in his own ability and strength, but in God. Because David loved God and He was called for God’s purposes, God used those things, the bear and the lion, to prepare David to meet Goliath.   So too, will God work with us, causing us to grow in faith, preparing us, through the trials we face, for the trials ahead.

The account of David continues:    And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.     Saul, although he himself would not face Goliath, tried to influence David. He tried to prepare David to fight Goliath as a soldier, in his own strength. David’s confidence though was not in himself or in human armaments. David’s faith was forged from his confrontations with the bear and lion. His confidence was in God.  We, like David, need to grow in faith recognizing that God, who has delivered us in the past, will be faithful to deliver us again. We need to walk confidently in God, not in the strength of man.

When David approached Goliath, Goliath mocked and ridiculed him. David responded:   “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”     Both our enemy the devil and many in the world will mock and ridicule us for facing our battles relying on God. They will say we cannot stand against the giants we face. But if like David, we remain steadfast and confident in God, using the preparation and the weapons He has given us, we to will overcome, in the name of Lord of hosts, the name of Jesus. Jesus says:  “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

In the end not only did David prevail over Goliath, but the text says:  Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.  Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps.       David’s victory over the bear and lion were unseen by others. But because of the preparation and faith he gained in those battles, he was able to provide a great victory for others. We too, if we will grow in faith and confidence in the Lord, gaining personal victories in and through Him, will be able also to lead others into victory through faith in God. Our personal victories not only prepare us for the battles we face, but also to lead others as we are called according to His purpose.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You that I do not face my battles alone, but rather You fight for me. Help me to continue to trust in You, to continue to grow in faith and confidence in You. May the difficulties I have overcome through You prepare me to walk in confidence, not in my own ability, but in You. Prepare me to do all that You have called me to do, in and through Christ.   Amen.