Goliaths Too, Fall

“And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.”( 1Sam 17:49I Samuel 17:49,50 KJV)

If there are any take home lessons from the duel between the Biblical Goliath and David (1Sam. 17:1-51) then perhaps one of them is this:  giants too, fall. What that means to me is that I have to perpetually be on the watch against that blinding pride that evacuates the Holy One of Israel out of my life and leaves me vulnerable to the “stones”of the enemy.

Goliath had no reason to lose the battle against David. First he was well poised in stature. Standing at about “seven feet tall” (1 Samuel 17: 4, NET), who would dare come closer to him? Besides, his entire body was cast in iron armour. It is no surprise to me that no one did (1 Sam. 17:4-11). The man was in all human appearances and terms unconquerable! Period!

The Great Delusion

But you are as equally deluded as Goliath himself was if you think that is why he was unconquerable and I fear that doom might as well be tracing your footprints for nursing such a myopic view of life!

Just in case it shocks you too much to suggest that Goliath was not undefeatable because of any of the above characteristics tradition has attributed his victories to let me remind you of this— and that is what I think made Goliath undefeatable:

Yahweh was already all out into punishing the stubborn Saul and his brainwashed officials who led Israel into rebellion against the gods who brought them up. The Holy Spirit had already evacuated from the life of Saul and his leadership (1 Sam. 16: 14). Yahweh had even gone ahead to symbolically tear apart it when Saul dared to pull Samuel the holy man of God’s robe (1 Sam 15:10-31). Thus, Saul was in a sense in a battle against the gods! He was reaping the fruits of his rebellious life. 

And let me embed a footnote right here and say, none of us is smarter than Saul when the Holy One of Israel evacuates our premises! Watch out!

This is why none in Israel would stand the Philistines. It was neither the superiority of the arsenal of the Philistines nor the giantism of a certain Goliath among them per se that kept Israel on the bay of winning the battle! They had lost it with Yahweh and so they were in for it— reaping the fruits now—and they had to do it unless they repented which they had not done yet.

As long as Israel remained in a self justifying defiant spirit against Yahweh Goliath was not going to fall down. And as long as Goliath was going to keep his watch against pride over his victories, ascribing them to his stature and gods,  Yahweh, my God was not going to replenish the arsenals of Israel by sending in a Holy Ghost filled little David! Believe it!

The only mistake Goliath made was to believe that he was invulnerable because he was born that way and his gods destined it that way! A mistake some of us folk repeat today.

The Great Misattribution

If you think my theology is too philistine let me refer you to Habakkuk 1 where Yahweh reveals that he was behind the victories of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) though they did not know it and consequently ascribed the glory to their idols (Habakkuk 1:5-11,KJV). According to Habakkuk, the Chaldeans were humiliated later because of this spirit! They failed to recognize Yahweh for their victories and might!

And so it was with Goliath. You can read his statement of defiance of the gods of Israel (1 Sam17:41-44). He doesn’t sound like one who was conscious of the external divine source of his victories, successes or “blessings,” whatever! He was terribly mistaken and deluded by power and success!

And for a while, Yahweh tolerated it because his cup of iniquity was not yet full (Genesis15:16)—perhaps giving him probation to come back to sense— but the giant worshiped his giantism and gods too much to recognize the presence of Yahweh in his victories let alone remain humble and so he sealed his fate and guaranteed his fall! 

Just one little stone, catapulted by a tender little hand of a novice in the arts of war, was enough to send the mighty Goliath twirling on the battle field on his way to death! He had filled up his cup—used up his balance on his mobile account and “Google” of the gods had cut the power connection and he was left without a network; access was denied and it was too late to go to Microsoft or Yahoo! Gone! Sad he was lost unto death!

Quick lessons for busy people?

Yes. And much more! Take not of this:

You are not a giant because you are a giant. The gods have simply graciously recharged your account for the moment.  Take care how you use it lest you find yourself out of network for another recharge when your account balance can’t sustain a call to the powerhouse.

Again, don’t fool yourself into believing that you are “untouchable”, “unconquerable”, “undefeatable” whatever your favorite tag, just because you can count a few victories behind you and nobody has moved your cheese yet, perhaps you are yet to discover the weak spot in your empire that will lead you to the ground when a David shows up. For Goliath it was the forehead, just between his eyes, yours might be different, I know. But it is a vulnerability spot still. Take care!

By the way, that reminds me of the importance of a regular stock check of my own life. Where am I not covered as I face the enemy today? Got it? And you too, may be wise to introspect every now and then.

It is a shame that giants should fall before little Davids but God doesn’t care much about your reputation if you least care about His! Think about it.

But ALWAYS remember: giants fall—Goliaths fall! If you think you are another “Goliath” in your own shape and style, then watch out! Your David may as well be in the camp right now. Let no iron helmet whatsoever it be that you are “wearing” give you a false sense of security. 

In my opinion we are never safe until we take cover in the NAME or the man they call JESUS! Otherwise, there is nothing like once a Goliath, always a Goliath!

jagphiri ©2013