Thoughts for the Day

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle...and their came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.... He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel.... 'Give me a man, that we may fight together.'

David said to King Saul, 'Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.' Saul said to David, 'You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.' But David said to Saul, 'Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the clock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down and kill it.... the uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.' David said, 'The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.' So Saul said to David, 'Go and may the Lord be with you!'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Just picture the scene - two mountains looking down on the Valley of Elah, and on each mountain an army. The Philistines who are old enemies of Israel on one side, and the army of Israel on the other. Goliath is not a Philistine, he comes from the Gath, but appears to be a descendant of the Anakin who lived their centuries before and whose height was legendary, in his case around 9 foot tall. He is the Philistine champion, and his size and appearance terrify the Israelites as he comes out day after day to make the same challenge. Their demoralization was achieving just what the Philistines wanted, not least because King Saul was taller than other Israelites, and would have been expected to take up Goliath's challenge. Although a successful military leader, the Spirit of the Lord had left him because he had gone against God's words, and it seems his courage has also left him.

Then we have David, a boy who cares for the family's sheep and the youngest of Jesse's eight sons, who has the presumption to take up the Goliath's challenge. The difference is that David wants to avenge God's honour, he does not make the offer to fight Goliath for what King Saul can give him. He sees things as God sees things, in spiritual terms, and his priority is to take up God's cause.

Do we face an overwhelming challenge in our life at the moment? Can we take heart from David's confidence in God? Can we place our fear on one side and trust in the living God and His plans for our life?

Living God,
ruler of the universe,
who holds us all in Your hands,
may we place all our trust in You
and in Your plans for our world;
may we remember as Your people
that we are first and foremost
called to praise You
and trust You.
Amen.