Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the
midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon
David from that day forward.... (1 Samuel 16:13, NKJV)
Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to
battle ...
And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines,
named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits {9
feet} and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, ... a
coat of mail, ... bronze armor on his legs and a bronze
javelin between his shoulders. (1 Samuel 17:1,4-6, NKJV)
And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from
him and were dreadfully afraid.
And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against
this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and
he a man of war from his youth."
But David said to Saul, "... Your servant has killed both
lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be
like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the
living God.... The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of
the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me
from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Sam 17:24,33-37, NKJV)
Then [David] took his staff in his hand; and he chose for
himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in
a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling
was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a
stone, and ... David ran and stood over the Philistine,
took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed
him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead,
they fled. And David took the head of the Philistine and
brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
(1 Samuel 17:40,50,51,54, NKJV)
Immediately after Samuel anointed David to be king, the
Holy Spirit came upon David. He had lived a life of faith
before he was anointed by Samuel, but he now had a new and
more powerful relationship with the Lord through the Holy
Spirit.
Shortly after his anointing, David came into the presence
of Goliath, the giant of Gath. The Israelites and
Philistine armies had arrayed themselves on opposing hills,
with a valley between the two. Since Goliath was a minister
of fear and intimidation, he continually displayed his
gleaming bronze armor and physical prowess before the
armies of Israel, all the time slandering the name of the
Lord God of Israel.
While the men of Israel were greatly intimidated by
Goliath, the Spirit of the Lord within David was outraged.
Whereas the men of Israel had focused on Goliath's
strength, his stature, and each and every detail of his
armor and weaponry, David focused on the Lord. The men of
Israel were gripped with fear because they saw their
limitations in regard to Goliath, while David was filled
with confidence, because he focused on the Lord's ability
to deliver him in each and every situation, no matter how
intimidating.
King Saul offered David his personal armor, but David could
barely move in it. Since he was trusting neither in
himself, his armor, nor his weaponry, David simply took the
weapons he was familiar with, and entered the valley
trusting the Lord.
Goliath was outraged to see a small boy coming from the
armies of Israel to face the mighty, valiant, and seasoned
warrior. The intimidator was humiliated. Goliath trusted
his own strength, but David trusted the far superior
strength of the Lord and prevailed with a shepherd's sling,
and three small stones taken from the stream at the bottom
of the valley.
So what does David teach us about faith? First, those who
focus on their problems will continually live in fear,
whereas those who focus on the Lord will live in faith.
Second, those who focus on themselves will be defeated,
while those who focus on the Lord will be victorious.
'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the
LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6, NKJV)
----------------------------------------------------
Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."
