Message by Larry Thacker Jr. from July 31, “A Giant Mistake”
It’s a story we all know well. We learned it in Sunday school if we grew up in church, but it’s one of those that almost everyone knows even if they didn’t. We love it when the underdog wins against impossible odds. The story of David and Goliath has become a symbol everyone recognizes. It is found in 1 Samuel 17.
David was a young man, possibly just a teenager. WE know he was good looking, but doesn’t seem to have been presented a very formidable image to those who saw him. Goliath was a giant, standing over 9′ tall, wearing armor and weapons estimated to be 175lps. But Goliath made a giant mistake. He thought himself invincible. He trusted in his size and power, boasting that he could take on anyone in Israel and win. The army of Israel also made a giant mistake. They believed him. So, they cowered and muttered and watch him swagger and curse.
But David saw things differently. He believed in Yahweh, the one true God, the God of Israel. He was angry that this was allowed to go on. He determined to take on Goliath, knowing that God was on his side. Taking along only the tools he employed as a shepherd, he defeated the Giant and cut off his head.
There is a lesson for us today. We are surrounded by giants. Giant governments, giant corporations, and giants of wealth boast against our God. In their arrogance they imagine that no one can oppose them. They taunt, ridicule, and try to destroy anyone who dares even to disagree with them. They are making a giant mistake.
Too many of us cower in fear. We huddle together and complain about what they say and do. We long for someone to do something about them, but we stand at a distance and do nothing ourselves. We might get hurt! We have believed the giants, and that is our giant mistake.
We need to take a lesson from David. He was young and inexperienced in battle, but God uniquely prepared him for the task at hand. He knew that God was on his side. He knew that God would give him the victory. He took the tools God gave him, and won a victory for the whole nation of Israel that day.
We may be at a different point in history. It may be that the giants will prevail for a while, but we know the end of this story too, and our God will prevail. So, let us stand up and fight, keeping in mind that our weapons are not those of the world, but those of the Word.
