Lessons from Goliath

So we spend a lot of time, in lessons from 1 Sam. 17, about how and why David won that battle against Goliath.  And thus, using those principles, how we can face and defeat our spiritual giants, too.  But I got thinking about Goliath on Sunday morning and the fact that he lost a battle to his spiritual “gnat” – a battle he should have won decisively.  And that got me wondering about my own life, and how often I let the same behaviors lead to my own defeat in areas that seem tiny.

1. In his pride, Goliath didn’t perceive his impending destruction.  

Of course, I don’t mean that he should have been able to tell the future and missed a huge sign.  What I mean is that Goliath had no way of knowing that the 40 days he challenged the Israelite army were his last 40 days.   He was playing with fire and didn’t even know.  But he also never even gave it a second thought.  He wasn’t going to die…some nameless Israelite warrior was (in his mind, anyway).  So he could continue his challenges in full confidence because it just wasn’t possible, he thought, that each challenge was bringing him closer to his own demise.  His pride blinded him.  And how true that is of me.  I rarely perceive my impending doom in a particular area.  I don’t know when all the days I blow off my time with God or choose to continue a pattern of “not-so-bad” sin are suddenly going to turn into a moment of huge failure.  And neither did Goliath.  And since he never considered the possibility of failure, he wasn’t ready when it came.

2. He based his sense of confidence on the wrong things.

First, he based it on outward signs of his own superiority, call this active intimidation.  The Bible describes him as a man who stood over 9 feet tall.  His chain mail shirt weighed 125 lbs., and the head of his spear weighed 15 lbs.  He was huge, strong, a seasoned warrior.  And he believed that those realities were enough.  After all, they had always been enough before.  I mean seriously, what Israelite in his right mind would want to fight someone who looked like that?  And Goliath knew that his physical presence would be imposing, so he felt supremely confident that winning would be no problem. 

Second, he was depending on the power of passive intimidation.  Keep in mind that there was no CNN or YouTube.  There was only a few thousands (or maybe ten thousands) of soldiers on one side, facing a similar number of soldiers on the other.  And Goliath was one guy.  So when he walked out into the middle of the field and yelled his challenge to Israel, only a few hundred could see and hear him.  And the rest of the soldiers would hear from them.  Hearsay.  Rumor.  And imagine how much bigger, louder, stronger, more frightening Goliath got with each new ripple through Israel’s camp.  They were doing his work of intimidation for him.  Every time a soldier told another soldier, like a game of Telephone, things got embellished and the likelihood of finding a challenger got slimmer.  

And how often do I do the same things.  Okay, so I’m not physically imposing at 5 feet and (normally) about 100 lbs.  But I consider myself to be invincible, impervious to attacks by Satan or to betrayals by my sin nature.  I haven’t fallen yet, so I shouldn’t fall today.  I’ve got that sin conquered, I think, and no temptation would dare raise its head against me and my totally practiced ability to walk in the Spirit and follow Jesus. They’ve heard how I’m a champion for Jesus, right?  Um…sounds like Goliath-think to me.  And it’s only a matter of time before I will be eating those words.

3. Goliath misjudged the significance of the battle.

When David came out to fight him, Goliath saw only a small kid, and he mocked him.  “Am I a dog that you come to me with a stick?”  In other words, ‘How small do you think I am, you little runt?  I could squeeze you to a pulp with my bare hands, and you shake a stick at me?’  From where Goliath stood, there was only a small boy with a shepherd’s staff coming to meet him.  But he never considered that the battle might be more important than he realized.  He didn’t think that David might have other weapons or a different game plan than the apparently obvious tactic.  He perceived David as a gnat, sent to torment him for a bit, and nothing more.  So Goliath came at him, apparently to fight in close combat, while David slung his stone from a distance.  And Goliath lost. 

Goliath was unprepared for the battle to go any way but the one way he had envisioned.  He had apparently left his shield with his shield bearer.  And, as we find out after the stone brings him down, he had never even unsheathed his sword (which David uses to kill him and cut off his head).  He wasn’t ready for all possibilities.  He totally underestimated his opponent, and it cost him his life.

And that is pretty much where I find myself most days, as well.  I’m prepared, I think, for the battle of the day, assuming I will be facing a frontal assault in a particular area, when instead, I am totally blindsided by a different sin, and newer temptation, an attack by the enemy or my sin nature that I never saw coming.  This is why, I’m sure, Paul insisted we put on the whole armor of God.  We don’t know how the enemy intends to come at us.  We don’t know how the battle will play out today, and we have to be ready for anything, for everything.  How often do I leave my sword sheathed, just like Goliath did, and it costs me everything because I do.

Lessons from Goliath: If you want to set yourself up to lose a battle you should win handily, follow his lead.  Let your pride blind you.  Use the wrong criteria as the basis for your pride.  And misjudge the size of your enemy and the significance of the battle.  

Lord, help me to leave behind my Goliath-style ways today. 

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