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Singapore Moses
By race, Goliath was not a Philistine; rather, he came from one of the races of giants whom Israel fought when leaving Egypt. Goliath and his brothers were of the remnant of giants left in the country to test Israel in the settlement of Canaan. He was 13 ft. 4 in. Tall, counting 25 in. As a cubit and 10 in. As a span. David and his men killed the last of the races of giants (1Sam. 17:49; 2Sam. 21:16- 22; 1Chr. 20:4- 8). Gen. 6:4 teaches that there were giants on the earth "in those days" (before the flood), "and also after that" (after those days which were before the flood), as a result of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men. All these giant nations came from a union of the sons of God (fallen angels) and daughters of men after the flood. Goliath, whom David slew, wore a coat of armor weighing 196 pounds and was nine feet and nine inches tall (1Sam. 17:4- 6). The pyramids of Egypt, the giant cities of Bashan and other huge monuments of construction may remain a mystery until they are accepted as the result of the labor and skill of giants. The Philistine drew near to David, hiding behind the large shield carried by a man before him, not knowing what he was to face. When he looked from behind the protecting shield he was full of wrath a mere boy should be sent against him. He hurled slander at David and cursed him by his gods, promising to give his flesh to the birds and beasts (1Sam. 17:41- 44). Such a boy without armor and weapons of warfare made the vain giant careless in his defense, so he came at the opponent to tear him in pieces with his hands. Faith of David was the only weapon: " I have faith in God. I Killed both the lion and the bear, and I will do the same to this uncircumcised Philistine, since he has defied the armies of the Living God. Jehovah delivered me out of the paws of the lion and the bear; He will deliver me out of the hands of this Philistine" (1Sam. 17:34- 37). Sevenfold prophetic answer of David (1Sam. 17:46- 47 -- fulfilled): 1. You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied 2. This day will the Lord deliver you into my hand 3. I will smite you and take your head off 4. I will give the bodies of your army to the birds and beasts of the earth, this day 5. All the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel 6. All this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save by a sword and spear 7. The battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands Lessons learnt from this episode: Note the chief end of David's acts of faith-- that all the earth and all this assembly may know: 1. That there is no god in all the earth like the God of Israel (1Sam. 17:46) 2. That God does not save by carnal weapons (1Sam. 17:47)
S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) is a factual account from biblical history that demonstrates how the Lord intercedes for His people. David was a shepherd, the youngest of the eight son...
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Doris Loren Stevens
The Lord has taught me a very important lesson from 1Samuel 17 : 37. "David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. -------". It was David's past experiences with the living God that gave him confidence and courage to face the uncircumcised Goliath. In like manner, our past experiences with our God should give us hope, courage and confidence to face the present and future challenges of our lives. Many a times I have noticed believers testifying about God's goodness, protection, healing, provisions and deliverance in their lives. But sooner or later when they encounter a similar situation or a situation of greater degree they fail to remember what God did for them in the past and as a result entertain unnecessary worries, fear, restlessness and turmoil. They should rather like David be able to say with great confidence, 'God who delivered me in a similar situation in the past will deliver me even now in this situation also". I have applied this valuable lesson in my life and have seen amazing results.
Salem Markus Purba
We should learn that good and evil power always interact with each other. This causes a dynamic of living throughout the history of human life in this world. No one is good but God alone (Luke 18: 18-27); we should believe and follow God's command, as David did, since we were created as an image of God (Genesis 1:26-31), and it was very good. Denying the existence of God is an evil (1 Samuel 17: 45-47), as man has a knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3: 22), he/she can not avoid of doing evil in the eyes of the LORD (1 Kings 11: 6-13). By believing and following Jesus, we are enabled by God to come to Him (John 3: 16-17; 6: 65).
Leroy Prempeh
This passage points toward Jesus. Our savior Jesus Christ is the true David. We are the Jews standing back cowardly unwilling to take on Goliath (the devil). But God sends a savior (appearing to be weak) to fight on our behalf. It is from this sacrifice that we lean into our gratitude and worship our wonderful Father! We deserve to be destroyed but because of Jesus we are victorious through no actions of our own. What a wonderful story!
Jay Saunders
What can we learn from the story of David and Goliath? With God's help we can do all things through Christ Jesus or (Jehovah God in his covenant). Life and death are in the power of our own tongue or confession of faith; it is not by our might, not by our own power but by God's spirit that helps us to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Unless you have experienced a miracle, witnessed a miracle, believed for and/or been a part of a miraculous manifestation, you will always be a weak, defeated Christian in numerous areas. Why? Because you read, you go to church, you give into the kingdom but you do not exercise your faith. Just like you exercise your body to stay fit, you must ask, seek and knock before the door of heaven will be opened unto you for a miracle. You see you must be willing to risk it all. You have to want it with all your heart, mind, soul, and body. You have to be relentless. You may have to be willing to fast and pray. Yep, give up something really important to you: food. The bible says the fervent prayer of a righteous person shall see God's glory. His glory is when he acts on the behalf of his saints. Without the righteousness of Jesus Christ this task is impossible. Jesus must be your Lord and you must witness him before mankind without fear. You must be wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove, but bold as a lion. Fear must not reign in your life in any way because God has not given us a spirit that fears but power, love and a sound mind. Faith believes that the impossible "can and will" be done. Yes, God's will be done of course, but isn't perfect love's will this? "Beloved above all things I wish that you might prosper, be in good health even as they soul prospers." This includes body, soul and spirit prosperity. If you're not prospering just be fervent in prayer and someday you will be victorious in all things through Christ Jesus our Lord. Remember you may lose a battle along the way but you will eventually win more battles than you lose because you have become faith-filled through the exercising of that faith. Always remember humility in winning and losing battles is a part of your learning to be content by knowing that the war has already been won by our Lord when he said on the cross: "It is finished!" Everyone's first miracle is their own salvation,but God's love wants more for you than just that, unless you're soon headed for the gallows after you were just saved. Then you can confess and say, your grace is sufficient. Think about it (Selah!)
Alan Hitchner
He situation was severe and desperate. The fortitude of the Hebrews was at an ebb. They needed very badly to see faith, courage, determination, savvy and agility in action. David, the young little swash buckler that recently wrangled lions, tigers and bears had survived and succeeded by his courage in the face of mortal threats where as the Hebrew army had their doubts. David took a very high risk in squaring off with the giant, but he had agility, cunning and quickness. But most of all, he had the deep faith that gave him courage. Very well practiced with the rock sling in a stand off fight, he had confidence he would make his mark. Good thing for him he had the cool and composure under pressure because his ultimate confidence was that God stood with him.
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