David and Goliath Part 1

# 237 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 17:1-4, “Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (1 Sam 17:1-4) Those feisty Philistines are at it again. Perhaps they had heard that the Lord was no longer with Saul. Maybe they had heard about his unstable condition and thought this would be a good time to attack. There's a lesson here for us. The Lord is with those who act wisely, that is, those who seek to measure their behavior in accordance with God's Word. (See my Du-votional # 235 “The great Conductor”) When we cease to act wisely, (like Saul) the enemy of our souls sees it as an opportunity to retake lost ground. Further, the enemy sees our instability he knows when we are tottering in fear and doubt, and is quick to seize the opportunity. How did Luther put it? “When the water becomes troubled, the devil likes to fish.” Know these things and be prepared to lean on Jesus for mercy and help. Repent of all unwise actions, confess them as sin, and seek to live henceforth in accordance with God's Word. So the battle lines are drawn. Very real geographical locations are painstakingly given here. Lest we think this is just a story. This is not just some fairy tale unfolding. It is an actual historical event in very real geographical locations that God allowed to play out for our own teaching and benefit. This is the account of David and Goliath. One of those first stories that we all learned about in Sunday School, and rightly so, because the lessons learned from it are vital to the Christian walk. May God the Holy Spirit impress some of those lessons upon us in this series of Du-votionals on David and Goliath.