It has become so well-known because it is such a compelling story. The unlikely combatant rises to the challenge and defeats the undefeatable. At least, this is the popular interpretation of this story. However, the popular interpretation of a story is not necessarily always the correct one.
Many of you
have no doubt heard sermons about David’s prowess with a sling. As the young
lad spent many hours and days tending sheep, he had honed his ability to hit
the mark exactly as he hurled his sling around his head and let the stone fly
at just the right moment. And there is no doubt that David was no coward in
confronting wild beasts. It is a fact that God had given David previous life
experiences that would enable him to do the task that he would one day be
called upon to do. I do not deny that to be true.
He told king
Saul, “Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I
went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it
reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it”
(1 Samuel 17:34-35).
How many of us would dare to seize a lion by
the beard and strike him until he was dead? I think that I would tend to say, “Let
the lion have just this one lamb.”
Who would have
guessed that this young shepherd lad could kill a giant trained in warfare? It
is so unlikely. The only reason that David was allowed to try it at all is
because the entire Israelite army trembled in their sandals at the sound of
Goliath’s boasts.
I do not want
to diminish David’s skill or bravery, but the main point of the story is not
David’s skill and bravery, or even the preparation that the Lord had given him.
But the greater point of the story is found in David’s own words to the giant
Goliath before the young shepherd killed him.
As the young
shepherd approached the giant Goliath, David calls to him, “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…that this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by
spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:45-47).
“The battle is the Lord’s.
Moses at the Red Sea
There is
another incident in the Bible that has a lesson very similar to this one. The
year that this event takes place is not known exactly, but let’s just say it
was about 1400 BC. The nation of Israel had been in captivity and in slavery in
Egypt for about 400 years. After all these years, the time had come for God to
fulfill his promise to lead them out of that captivity and to return to their
own “promised land.” The person that he put in charge of this task was Moses, a
man with his own interesting history.
Moses went to
Pharaoh on numerous occasions with the message from God. “Let my people go.”
This is another
well-known story, and I will not go into details at this point, but I bring you
to the place in the event where Moses is standing on the banks of the Red Sea.
He has following him perhaps a million Israelites, and perhaps many more. They
had managed to leave Egypt proper, but they had not yet escaped completely.
Bearing down upon them was the Egyptian army. This was the greatest military force in the
world at that time, complete with horses and chariots. These were the
state-of-the-art fighting units in that era, the equivalent to our modern-day
Blackhawk helicopters.
There seemed no
escape for Moses and the Israelites. Because of the sea in front of them, they
could not flee this army, and they had no army of their own to fight back. The
Israelites had just left generations of slavery. All that they knew was mixing
straw and clay to make bricks. And now, all the forces of Egypt were bearing
down upon them. The Red Sea lie before them. The Israelite people could already
see themselves being slaughtered on the banks of the sea.
As Moses stood
at sea’s edge, he himself did not know what to do. The only thing that he could
do was to express his faith in God.
“Do not fear!”
he shouted to the multitude. “Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which
He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today,
you will never see them again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you
keep silent” (Exodus 14:13-14 NAS).
“Stand and see
the salvation of the Lord.”
Of course you
know what happened, and we shall return to that point in a moment.
However, I would first like to tell you of another incident in the history of the people of Israel – more specifically, the nation of Judah. Again, I don’t want to get specific with the dates, but this incident took place sometime in the 9th century BC.
Jehoshaphat
The king of
Judah was a man by the name of Jehoshaphat. The only thing that most people
know about this king is that the editor of the Daily Planet newspaper from the
Superman comics, Perry White, used to say as an expression, “Jumping
Jehoshaphat!”
But there is
more to say about Jehoshaphat, who was one of ancient Judah’s better kings.
However, at one point in his reign, Jehoshaphat was threatened by some very
powerful nations. In fact, it was reported to him that a large force from three
nations had allied themselves with one another, and even at that moment were amassed
on Judah’s border, poised and ready to attack.
Jehoshaphat
knew that his army would be no match against this threat. He was afraid of what
looked as if it would be a devastation to his people. In desperation, he turned
his attention to seek God, proclaiming a fast throughout all Judah.
The king prayed
to God, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not the God in the heavens? Are
You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your
hand so that no one can stand against You…And now [these nations] are coming to
drive us out from Your possession which You had given to us as an inheritance…O
our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great
multitude who is coming against us; nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are
on You” (2 Chronicles 20:6-12 NAS).
It was after Jehoshaphat had prayed this prayer of utter dependence upon God that he was visited by a prophet of God, man by the name of Jahaziel. The prophet said these words:
Listen, all Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, “Do
not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not
yours but God’s.
Tomorrow go down against
them…You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see
the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.”
Do not fear or be
dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.
2 Chronicles 20:15-18 (emphasis added)
“Stand and see
the salvation of the LORD.”
The prophet’s
words are echoes of young David’s words when he stood before Goliath. “The
battle is the Lord’s.”
These also are
the very words that Moses, as spoke to his people standing on the banks of the
Red Sea. “Stand and see the salvation of the LORD.”
Jehaziel said, “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”
Moses Cries Out
Returning now
to the story of Moses, I am not sure that his strong statement of faith and
confidence fully revealed what was in his heart, for the next words that we see
in the account of the Red Sea crossing are those from God. God told Moses, “Why
are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. And as for
you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it,
and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land”
(Exodus 14:15-16 NAS).
This is the account that we have of the Red Sea crossing. God required Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea to cause it to part, but there is no doubt what the real cause was. It was no power that Moses possessed. The staff that he held in his hand was no magical staff. The power came from God.
Jehoshaphat Cries Out
In the case of
Jehoshaphat and the Israelite army of his day, when the day of battle came, the
king addressed the army and all the people, “Listen to me, O Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be
established.”
It is
interesting to see how this battle played out. Jehoshaphat stood up and said,
“Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and
you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
Then Jehoshaphat appointed singers to begin singing praise to God, instructing them to go before the army, giving thanks to the Lord and singing, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving
devotion endures forever.”
Please take
note that these songs of praise were not sung after the victory was won, but
even before it began. In the name of the LORD, they did what Jehoshaphat had
told them, “Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in
His prophets, and you will succeed.”
Amazingly, when
the people began singing praises to the Lord, God sent ambushes against the
enemy forces, routing them completely. There were three nations that had been
in alliance with one another and against Judah, but as it turns out, all was
not well within the alliance. At the appropriate time, God caused there to be
discord within this alliance, and two of the nations turned upon the third, completely
destroying it.
But the job was
not yet complete. After the third nation had been annihilated, the two
remaining nations began fighting each other, now destroying each other.
It was clear
that the battle was the Lord’s. As the prophet had earlier told the king, “Stand and see the salvation of the Lord.”
**********************
In all three of these cases, that of David, of Moses, and of Jehoshaphat, the lesson was clear to them that it was the Lord that gave the victory. I am not saying that they, as men, did nothing at all, for each was involved with an activity of some kind. Each did as they were instructed, but each understood well that it was God who provided the salvation from their situations.
John the Baptist
The people in
all of these situations were thinking mostly about salvation from their
immediate and severe circumstances. But when God speaks of the salvation that
he brings, he has more in mind merely than our present difficulties.
When John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, he spoke of this. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah referred to John as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight…the crooked shall become straight, and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God’” (Luke 3:4-6 NAS emphasis added).
Giants, Oceans and Armies
In our own
lives, we all pass through difficulties of one kind or another. Perhaps none of
us as severe as these examples in the Bible. Nevertheless, some struggles that
we pass through can be quite severe indeed. Like the people in these Biblical accounts, we also seek salvation from our
troubles and help with our needs. The most important lesson that we can learn
from these examples from the Bible is that, although these men did their tasks as
they were instructed by God, they looked completely to the Lord for the
salvation.
Some of us have
difficulties in our lives that perhaps have even become chronic and
debilitating in one way or another. Maybe you have some situation that you have
been dealing with for years. Perhaps it even seems as though this problem has
been with you for your entire life. You have been seeking for relief, freedom
or salvation by various means, only to find yourself still entrapped.
What these
lessons from the Bible show us is that there is no true salvation apart from
God. We can try what we want, but only God can give freedom. But it does not
come automatically. It often takes desperation on our part.
If your relationship
with God is merely just one of many aspects of your life equal to other things
that you do, then you will not know freedom in this life. If you worship God
only when you have time or when it is convenient to you, you will not know
relief from your situation. The Red Sea will be before you and will not part,
the giant will not fall, and you will be routed by the enemies that oppose you.
We need to
learn that our relationship to God is ultimately the only important aspect of our lives.
It is amazing
to me that when people make God the only aspect of their living that is of
ultimate importance, the things that have plagued them their entire lives often
just seem to go away. They just disappear. This does not happen to those who
merely give God a polite nod once in a while. It does not happen for those who
simply read the Bible on occasion and gather to worship with other believers at
church sporadically a few times a year.
Freedom comes
only to those who realize that they are nothing
without God. It come to those who are desperate
for God.
We need to
learn to cry out to God. Moses did. Jehoshaphat did.
Pick almost any of the Psalms written by David, and you will see him constantly crying out to God. It was God who delivered all of these men.
It is my great privilege today to tell you that the message of God has not changed. Here is what the Lord says and here is why I count it a privilege to tell you:
From the prophet Isaiah:
How lovely on the
mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and
brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your
God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift
up their voices, they shout joyfully together; for they will see with their own
eyes when the LORD restores
Break forth, shout
joyfully together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted
His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared His
holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah
52:7-10 NAS emphasis added)
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