The Battle Is The Lord's

1 Samuel 17:47

And that all this assembly may know that Jehovah saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand.

Goliath is mocking the Israelites, King Saul on down, to come and have a fight to the death with him. No one on Israel's side is willing.  King Saul trembles... 

40 days go by of the Philistine's taunting; David steps up and says enough. Goliath may be a giant, but He is a flea compared to God. David is ridiculed by everyone for his willingness to go to war, particularly his older brothers, but his brothers are unwilling to meet Goliath head to head. So, shut your traps or step up man. David sees Goliath as defying God and confidently states that "The Battle is the Lord's."

King Saul, who trusts in the arm of the flesh, puts his armor on David. It does not fit and it is not necessary. A comical scene. A few small stones later, Goliath is on the ground and David chops off his head with G's own sword. No more boasting and bleating from you big man. Dead as a dinosaur.

I have been contemplating this saying "The Battle is the Lord's." In Old Testament times, it seemed, that as long as the Israelites were right, they had God's might. When they were wrong, God backed away and let them take the ass-whupping or worse from their human adversaries. The record of victories were coupled with even more defeats. Israel could have been a contender but her sin sapped her punching power.

These days, God does not smite our enemies physically like the ground opening up on bully Korah's. In fact, it looks like He is no longer in the fight. We are in a different era where the battle is spiritual primarily and we may not prevail inside the ring as a clear victor with arms arised. We may even lose in the world's eyes.

Yet, there is always the spiritual realm and ring where truth is the small stone of the conflict. The opponent may have many and much resources but if he/she/they don't have truth, all of the weapons won't move their cause from wrong to right. God expected David to pick up the stones and sling them Goliath's way. Accuracy and skill were required, but God guided David to victory. We are to fight wisely...we are more than conquerors in this eternal battle. The Last Day will show the record of Wins and Losses.

We have to be willing to submit to God's review of our case and cause. Our consciences alone cannot be counted on as being infallible. As best we can, we must come clean, be transparent, and ask the Lord to search for any wicked way in us. Likely, we will not be entirey pure but I do believe God does recognize degrees of rightness and wrongness. We should not expect to prevail if there is sin in the camp of our hearts, minds, and souls.

Sometimes the best thing we can do in a battle is stop fighting and decide to let God be the decider. We have to step out of the way and lay down our arms and not be Saulish. In our absence, God often becomes more of a presence. Until we step away, He does not step in. We are to entrust ourselves to His care.