1 Chronicles 20:4-8 KJV
“And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot : and he also was the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.”
The stories throughout the Old Testament are very intriguing. Upon first glance, this story doesn’t look too much different from many of the other stories in the Old Testament. We grow accustomed to stories of battles and war when we read through this portion of the Word. In our world today, we have a hard time relating to or understanding these accounts that are bloody and gory to say the least. Often the Bible stories we read our children have been cleaned up and sanitized to fit the way our world appears to the outward eyes. We label stories such as Jonah and the whale, or Daniel in the lions den as children’s stories, and in doing so we feel the need to keep them simple.
Perhaps the most famous Bible story is the story of David and Goliath. We well know how a diminutive shepherd boy overcame a giant. This story is most often used to encourage people who are having trials. Through it they are told that they just need faith to overcome the challenges they face. We also might hear how we need to pick up tools to put in our sling to overcome what pitfalls we might encounter. While not morally wrong, if we only look at this through the lens of what we can do, we miss the point of this story.
I have heard it told, and believe it to be true, that if we look at David as a “type” of Christ we see that story in a different light. We see what Christ has accomplished for us who could do nothing for ourselves. We do in fact have a giant problem, but this problem isn’t a giant. It is a problem of our own sinfulness. In bruising the head of Goliath, Christ bruised the head of the serpent. When David cut off Goliaths head, Christ ended the power that sin had on us.
I see the verses above as a reminder to us of Gods complete work in Christ. Various members of David’s army defeated what appears to be Goliath’s relatives. From what can be told, there are not any giants mentioned after this. The redeeming work of Christ leaves nothing to chance. The enemy of our souls has been completely vanquished. There are no traces left of Satan’s power. We are told that he walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, but that is all. His bark has no bite left. When Christ rose on that Third day the serpent who had tempted Eve in the garden was relegated to an afterthought. We can take great comfort that God’s work is complete, and because of it we can join Him one day to sit around the throne and sing eternal praises to Him.
Praise God for his unspeakable mercies toward us.
Hans Lampinen
Submitted by Pastor Stan
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