The battle is the LORD's

The Word for today: 1 Samuel 17:1-54

David is a shepherd, a king, a prophet, a poet, a warrior. His life is a prophecy, a picture of Jesus to come.

When Jesus won the battle against the forces of sin and spiritual darkness, he fought alone. You and I were not with Him when He won the battle which saved our lives.

David went against the giant with a slingshot. What foolishness, to think that a lone soldier with a sling could topple the giant.

Against the champion of the Philistines, a young lad brought a slingshot. It's ridiculous. Later on in the New Testament, Paul talks about the foolishness of the cross (1)--when an itinerant teacher, without a dime in his pocket, dies alone on a cross at the hands of Rome and at the hands of religion. And that is the moment that turned the universe upside down.

It makes no sense, except for the fact that God is showing us that the battle is the LORD's, alone (2); and that it is not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit (3).

It is not by marching around Jericho blowing horns, nor by slingshots, nor by defeating Rome at their own game in the streets of Jerusalem. But it is by His Spirit, and by His cross, and by His hand, alone.

(1) 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; (2) 1 Samuel 17:47; (3) Zechariah 4:6

Click to listen to audio clip from 6-28-2009 Cross-Ties Bible Class:

"Slingshot, Jericho, Gideon, the Cross"