“Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying,
‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine
and takes away the reproach from Israel?
For who is this uncircumcised Philistine,
that he should defy the armies of the living God?’”
1 Samuel 17:26
Goliath shouted out to Israel daily for 40 days, taunting them with what he intended to do to them, and Israel was terrified. Goliath was a giant, a truly formidable foe.
The Scriptures show in many places that the word “giant” is not an exaggeration. Goliath was more than 9 feet tall. Imagine David who at the time was a youth, going against this giant. Picture it. A youth – against a fully-armored man more than 9 feet tall!
David insisted in going up against Goliath, so King Saul put armor on him for the fight, but little David couldn’t walk in it because it was too heavy, so he took it off and went out unprotected. There was something David knew about his God; he knew he wasn’t going against Goliath in his own strength; the only reason he was confident against this giant was his faith that God himself would grant him the victory. And when God grants the victory, even the most horrific of giants has no chance.
vs 45:
“Then David said to the Philistine,
‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin.
But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’”
How does this apply to today? Israel today is surrounded by giants. There’s fully-armed Hezbollah on her north western border, then Turkey, then Syria on her north eastern border. Down along her eastern border is Jordan and Saudi Arabia. To her south is Hamas embedded in Gaza, and further south is Egypt. To her west is the sea. But the true giant in this story is Iran who has nuclear weapons and who is the one behind these terrorist groups.
Just as today, morning and evening, Goliath shouted insults to Israel and boasted in his ability to destroy them. And today, the Muslims boast daily, “Death to Israel!” shouting how they are going to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. And truly, it looks like Israel doesn’t have a chance against these giants.
But these enemy nations surrounding Israel don’t realize who they’re up against. Look at tiny Israel – the entire country is the size of New Jersey. You could put 48 Israels into the state of Texas! The picture looks grim. Israel is only 71 years old and is surrounded by well-established Muslim nations hell-bent on her destruction. She is so outnumbered that her demise looks inevitable. Anyone looking at this picture would conclude that there is absolutely no way to prevent Israel’s annihilation.
There’s a huge surprise coming. This Goliath is going to fall. They will meet their defeat when they meet the GOD of Israel who has promised Israel’s survival. God says that the land of Israel is HIS land, so in coming against Israel, they are coming against Israel’s God.
Israel became a nation in May of 1948. The very next day she was attacked by FIVE surrounding Muslim nations. Who were the Israelis at that time? They were few in number, and many were survivors of the Holocaust. They had very little armaments. They were sitting ducks, easy pickings for the surrounding countries. But …Israel won. How on earth???
Again in 1967 the Goliaths attacked. And again …not only did Israel win, but she vastly increased her territory …and THE CITY OF JERUSALEM fell into the hands of Israel, fulfilling prophecies thousands of years old. There is no way humanly possible for Israel to have survived the attacks of these Goliaths, but the God of Israel granted the victory.
When I hear the daily taunts and boastings of the countries surrounding Israel, I laugh as I shudder. I shudder because I’m human and I’m seeing an impossible situation. But I laugh because I know Israel’s God. Before this story is over, the God of Israel is going to show the world who he is. There is no nation, no power, no so-called god, no devil from hell who can prevent the victory that is going to take place by the hand of Israel’s God.
Soon God will take care of the so-called “Palestinians” who boast daily how they will drive Israel into the sea. They have brought terror to Israel since the day she was born in 1948, but their doom is at hand, and they will stand before Israel’s God; and they will meet …their end.
By the way – the word “Palestinian” is the Hebrew word “Philistine.” If you know your Bible, you can connect those dots.
