Can you begin to imagine this handsome young man , with beautiful eyes armed only with his sling and his stones in his pocket , a shepherd boy called David in front of Goliath the Philistine , a mountain of a man , said to be 9 foot tall , who was dressed in his bronze armour , his massive heavy shield and sword . It must have been a sight ! 1 Samuel 17
All those soldiers , including 3 of David ’ s older brothers , had quaked in their boots for 40 days , terrified of Goliath and his threats . Morning and evening that giant shouted , challenging them to a fight . They were all watching on as David took up the challenge for them . Goliath must have looked and sounded scary and impressive with all that heavy armour , arrogance and attitude but this also hampered him . I believe that David was scared but he knew that if he ran from the problem it would still be there . It took a courageous boy from Bethlehem to remind them that their God was bigger than Goliath and his threats , they had forgotten they were the armies of the Living God . No-one realised Goliath had a weakness but David spotted it , weighed down with all that armour and protection Goliath was a target too big to miss !
Now envisage another couple of young men , Caleb and Joshua ( Numbers 13 ) They spoke up against the other 10 men that had entered the promised land with them . The rest of the group said , that the promised land was full of giants that could not be beaten . Yet Joshua and Caleb knew that their God would not have sent them there unless He would protect them ; their God was bigger than the giants . It must have been very daunting when the furious crowd didn ’ t believe them and wanted to stone them . God was enraged , He showed up threatening to get rid of all of those who could not believe that He alone would protect them . He wanted to start again with a new people but Moses and Aaron managed to persuade God to allow them to live , those doubting Israelites had to live with the consequences of their mistrust : their punishment was they had to wander in the desert for 40 years until they died ; a year for every day the group of men had explored that land initially . They wandered in the desert until all that generation was dead except Joshua and Caleb , they and the children of that disobedient generation were the ones that entered the promised land .
Their God would not have sent them there unless He would protect them ; their God was bigger than the giants .
With Joshua as their leader , Israel remained faithful to God throughout Joshua ’ s lifetime because he listened and obeyed . He was a man who knew His God .
What do these men have in common ? Joshua as his name suggests in Hebrew , Yahweh is salvation or Yeshua , Joshua has pictures of Christ in his life story just as David did . They were men who truly loved God and had a very good relationship with Him , they absolutely knew that God would protect the people of Israel if they trusted Him . Joshua led
God ’ s people into the promised land , just as Jesus , the Saviour of the New Covenant people will . Jesus goes before His people to bring them to the true inheritance .
David , even though not perfect as Jesus was , was known as the mighty warrior king , the Shepherd king , who was chosen by God to rule His people in perfect covenantal faithfulness , the king of Israel . Doesn ’ t that sound familiar ? There were many other things about David ’ s circumstances that foreshadowed the coming of Christ .
Are you facing your giants now ? Have you got circumstances right now that feel as if they are insurmountable ? Just like David , Joshua and Caleb can you trust God with your life ? Your God is bigger than any of your circumstances . Do you have that close relationship with God and Jesus ? It ’ s not how good you are , it ’ s not what you have or what you do but how much time do you spend in God ’ s company , what is your heart condition ? Your identity is in Him . Our blessings come from Him so we do not have to worry about what is going to happen , do not burden yourself unnecessarily with worries about the giants we face .
Trust in Him , our mighty provider , our mighty God , surrender to Him , surrender your problems to Him . Try to remember this ditty when you are facing doubts :
When a Christian is in a fix , remember Proverbs 3 : 5 & 6 .
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding ; in all your ways submit to him , and he will make your paths straight . ( N . I . V ) p
By Teresa L . Randle Missionary , Preacher and Bible Teacher
April - June 2017 SHARE | MAGAZINE | 11