~ a five-minute read
a giant of unbelief
Some attacks on Scripture are subtle and academic, some persuasive and seducing. When it comes at us as direct opposition or boastful defiance, even then it can be answered though facing a giant of unbelief is a daunting task.
We picture David and Goliath, and it’s the size of the Philistine, his heart-stopping weapons that come to mind. We recall the young shepherd’s five smooth stones, his inexperience in the ways of nations at war. However, what these two combatants say to each other, more than the look of this scene, provides an instructive point for a time when open attack on the Bible, impious boasting, or in-your-face, obnoxious unbelief can’t be ignored.
The Philistine has challenged to single combat the forces of King Saul, one representative against another: “Why do you draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you will become our servants and serve us” (1 Sam 17: 8-9).
Goliath expects to see one of the king’s mighty men, maybe even the king himself. Instead, the entire army of Israel is cowering in their camp, gazing in miserable unbelief at the champion the Philistines have sent out to fight for them—a giant nine feet tall, scale armor weighing five thousand shekels or 1,950 pounds. His spear is as long as a weaver’s beam, and it is armed with a pointed iron head weighing another 234 pounds. He thunders: “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together” (1 Sam 17: 10)
a rosy-cheeked boy?
If things weren’t so serious, the contrast might almost be humorous. Goliath exults in his strength and terrifying resources and what does he see? Does Israel dare send out a rosy-cheeked boy, no one but him? The giant is insulted and sharpens with his anger the traditional moment of challenge: “Am I a dog that you come out at me with sticks?” shouts Goliath. Then he “curses David by his gods,” saying: “Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field” (1 Sam 17: 43-44).
attacks on the Book
We rarely face open attacks on the Book that directs our lives and encourages our faith. At this point, our adversaries are more or less polite, perhaps reserving their comments for like-minded colleagues and friends who will agree that superstitious Bible people seem uneducated, or at least not well enough informed to discern the difference between fairy tales and reliable sources. The time may come when that changes. It seems to me that the one or two remaining prejudices still allowed in our politically correct and “tolerant” world include people like us— Bible-believers, fundamentalists, cultural conservatives, whatever happens to be the label du jour.
In a future that may not be so distant, we could find ourselves confronted by mockers who are more direct and much more dangerous. Current giants exult in wealth, degrees, political influence, reputation, social media impact. To a growing segment of American society, people like us appear to be blind, probably neurotic, and certainly outdated. We aren’t demonized yet, but scorn for the Bible we trust is everywhere on display. We face our own giants. At some point we who trust Scripture as the reliable source for knowledge about pleasing God, about life, death, and what to expect in eternity, may find ourselves toe to toe with opponents who, like the Philistine, thunder mockery and unbelief too open, too public to be ignored.
in the name of the LORD of hosts
David says: “You come out to me with a sword, a spear, and 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 taunted. This day, the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down, and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hands” (1 Sam 17: 45-47, NASB).
whose battle?
We know the rest of the story. The key, the scriptural point for a day of challenge, a point not to be missed, is this: The battle is the Lord’s.
from The Edgefield Advertiser, oldest newspaper in South Carolina
February 18, 2021
with thanks for the great image, Photo by Mayur Joshi on Unsplash
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