Ever heard of the song sung by Sunday school children, " Only A Boy Called David "? This week I was reminded of this song which I sung when I was a little boy attending Sunday School at the age of 5 years and which again I was teaching other children when I was involved in the Sunday School Ministry many years ago.

Only a boy called David,
Only a rippling brook,
Only a boy called David,
Five little stones he took.
And one little stone went in the sling
And the sling went round and round;
One little stone went in the sling,
And the sling went round and round.
Round and round and round and round and round,
One little stone went up, up, up
And the giant came tumbling down.

The song tells the story of how the shepherd boy David fought against the giant Goliath and killed him. Lets turn to 1Samuel 17 to read the whole story.

The enemies of Israel, the Philistines, gathered together to wage war against the army of Israel in a place called Sochoh (Hebrew for "hedge") and they made camp between Socoth and Azekah (Hebrew for "fence") in Ephes Dammin (Hebrew for "boundary of the blood") while the army of King Saul camped in the Valley of Elah (Hebrew for "Valley of the Tree") and they faced each other in battle. The Philistines had a champion who was close to 10 feet tall (6 cubits and a span tall - one cubit being the measurement from the elbow of a grown man to the tip of his middle finger or about 18 - 19 inches and a span measures from the palm to the end of the middle finger and is approximately 8 - 9 inches) and he came forward to taunt the Israelite army for forty days and forty nights to choose a champion to fight against him. Whoever won the fight, the other army would become the slaves and servants of the victor.

Now the whole army of Israel was terrorized by this giant who is called Goliath (in Hebrew, it means "stripped exile") from Gath (in Hebrew, it means "wine-press" or "God's wrath"). No one was brave enough to take up sword and go forth to represent the army and fight for fear of losing the battle and thus enslaving the whole nation of Israel.

One day, the shepherd boy, David (in Hebrew, it means "beloved"), was sent by his father Jesse to the battlefront to deliver some food for his three elder brothers who were in King Saul's army. David, who spent all his life among the hills tending his father's sheep, was never in the army himself but when he came to the army and heard all the touting and threats, became angry that Goliath should make fun of the armies of God. He said, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" You see, David loved God and trusted Him to deliver him from all his problems. So to David, the very fact that Goliath even dared to poke fun at the army of Israel is already an insult to him.

So the boy David was brought before King Saul and was given the king's armor and sword since he was the champion for the Jews and therefore will get the best armor and weapon available in the army and that has to be the king's very own. Now the armor and the sword proved too heavy for young David and he rejected the offer; instead David went forth to face Goliath with nothing but his shepherd's rod and his slingshot (and of course the five stones he picked up and kept in his pouch all the time always at the ready incase wild beasts were to come and attack his father's sheep). Picture this - a young boy (probably around 5 feet 9 inches) going to meet a seasoned warrior who is about 10 feet tall and whose weapons themselves are rather formidable.

To the military strategists, the odds are 10 to 1 that the battle would go to the giant. However, David was not afraid of facing the giant alone as he knew he was not really alone. You see, as he told King Saul in 1Sam 17: 34-36

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.

36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."

David had an intimate relationship with The LORD God and because of his faith, he knew the battle would be won according to the promises of God. David knew the battle had already been won even before he went forth to fight the giant; his previous experience told him that. So David went forth and confronted the giant in the valley (of Elah).

Now the giant's armor was very formidable; it covered every part of his body. His helmet was so large it covered part of his face. Because of his height and the length of his arms, there was no way that David could approach him. Have you ever watched a boxing match between an adult and a child? No matter how many punches the child throws, he would never be able to even touch the adult - all the adult does is to stretch out his arm and the child would be prevented from coming near. The giant, when he saw David approaching him and holding only a staff in his hand was so tickled that he started to ridicule David and laughed. The laughter must have caused Goliath to lean his head backwards slightly and as a result the helmet must have slipped backwards too thus exposing his forehead and giving David a perfect target to aim his slingshot. Slam and the stone found its mark and down came the giant.

Now David, as soon as he saw Goliath fell, rushed forward, took the giant's sword and beheaded Goliath. He brought the head of Goliath back with him to Jerusalem and buried the head in the city.

Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary (Luke 23: 33) or in the place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull (Matthew 27: 33). The shape of the hill does look like a skull; hence the name. However, Jewish historians believe that the Place of the Skull is the actual place where David buried the head of Goliath 1000 years prior to Jesus' death.

In Genesis 3: 14 -15, God prophesied to Satan that the Seed of the woman would destroy him.

14 "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel."

So who exactly is Goliath? And what does he represent? Goliath stands for him who had been exiled from the Presence of God and he will be stripped of everything ( as his name suggested) and he came from a place that is God's wrath ( Gath ). Also Goliath, a giant, was a direct descendant of one of the fallen angels who had sexual relationship with the female inhabitants of the land. So when Goliath fell, it foretold of the downfall of Satan. And when the Roman soldiers sunk the cross on Golgotha, the head was indeed crushed and Satan knew that; Jesus had defeated him on the cross and he knows that but he does not want us to know that. So the devil has since employed deception to conceal that fact from all mankind.

My friend lets snap out and know for a certainty that the death that Jesus died had defeated Satan once and for all eternity and that the devil now has no power over the Children of God. He cannot deceive you when you know the great truth. He cannot accuse you any longer because Jesus, on the Cross, had dealt with the punishment that you and I deserve.

God loves you and wants you home with Him to enjoy His Companionship. Have you made that decision to receive Him into your life? If not, why not spend some time to pray this prayer.
"Our Father in Heaven, thank you for the great love you have for us in that You sent Your One and only Precious Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for us and to rise again on the third day.
I acknowledge my sin and my need for Your love and forgiveness. Come into my life, Lord Jesus, forgive my sins and give me eternal life, life with You.
I confess You as my Lord. Thank you for my salvation. Now I am a child of God; a joint-heir with Jesus of the inheritance that is ours.
Jesus who knew no sin had become a curse for me so that I can receive His blessing.
Thank you that I am greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected.
I thank you in Jesus' Name.
Amen."

That is a very simple prayer but it is also a very powerful prayer because it is prayed from the heart and God looks at our hearts and honors whatever we desire from the heart. The moment you have prayed that prayer, there is a spiritual transfer. God's Holy Spirit comes into your life and lives within you in your spirit as what it was intended to be right from the beginning but which was broken when man sinned against God.

Also it is interesting that the Bible recorded for us the names of the places where the battle took place. The army of the Philistines stopped and made camp at the hedge and the Boundary of the Blood. Because of the Blood of Jesus, evil cannot cross over to our side. The Precious Blood of Jesus has redeemed us and it is in His Blood that we live today. The battle was fought in the Valley of the Blood and praise God the battle had already been won for us and there is now no defeat - only victories in Jesus.

So cheer up, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Don't even entertain any thoughts of doubt about the power on the Blood of Jesus. Don't allow anyone to cause fear in you especially during these times when the world gets caught up with this fear of the Anthrax contamination. Sure we are to be watchful but we are not to be terrorized by it.

And the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all. Shalom.

Best regards,
Andrew L W Lee

Dated : 21 October 2001