Today, annihilation (the
second death), David and Goliath, stoning, and the plagues of Egypt are in
view. Only through judgment that displays divine grace, mercy, and
righteousness can there be the completeness of divine revelation. Because so
many of us first heard an account of David and Goliath as a bedtime story, or
something to amuse and entertain us, many continue to dismiss and undervalue the important aspects of divine revelation that appear. In addition to judgment
against the enemies of GOD’s peculiar people, that there is judgment against
GOD’s people themselves is not to be overlooked. Goliath was one of the last
remaining descendants from the seven tribes who had lived in Canaan as the
covenant people of GOD prior to Israel leaving Egypt. For their transgression
of sacred covenant, his entire culture and race were to have been removed from
the Promised Land. Thus, he may be thought of as part of “Israel’s unfinished
business,” and his destruction a fulfillment of divine mandate. A fighter in
the “Yahoo! Answers” forum using the ID “Racket” (Level 7 with 25,403 points, a
member since November 14, 2015) posted the following:
David betrayed Goliath !!!
Why didn't he use a sword instead of throwing a stone? Anyone can win
wrestling if he use catapult?
Is this not a cheating of a God-chosen?
THE GOLDEN ARROW: For
thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In
returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be
your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon
horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore
shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the
rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon
upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. And therefore will the
LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore
will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they
that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt
weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when
he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you
the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers
be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And
thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk
ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. (Isaiah
30: 15-21, King James Version, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Secular
History, Sacred Revelation? (01/11/2018); GOD Protects the Faithful
(12/19/2017); David, Goliath and GOD (05/26/2017); The Wisdom of Years?
(10/31/2016); The Accounts of Giants (05/24/2016); Christ the Son of David?
(06/12/2015); The Priesthood of Kings (10/17/2012); Childlike Faith
(10/18/2012)
“Racket”, many disbelieve that GOD exists on the
basis of their failure to recognize the real “presence” of divine judgment.
Mature Christians may describe the confrontation between David and Goliath as
one expressing divine judgment, and wrath against sin that is an inseparable
aspect of the divine fullness along with faith, holiness, longsuffering,
lovingkindness, righteousness, and wisdom. What on surface is merely a contest
or a “fair fight” between two proud, or reckless individuals on a battlefield
also must be acknowledged as a conflict between two nations, two different
covenant relationships with GOD, and a sacred event that addresses divine
promise, prophecy, and eternal purpose. In the same way, sinners make too
little of the judgment displayed against Egypt as 10 plagues, they also make too
little of the judgment that came against the Philistines.
No longer should Goliath’s offense against Israel
be understood as only having challenged, insulted and mocked the army of
Israel. Goliath blasphemed; denied glory to GOD, the Creator and King over
Israel; and manifested himself as a living idol among the Philistines. That
only David was sensitive to this, or reacted as personally attacked can be
discerned as an indication that the divine anointing by Samuel the Prophet, and
the imparted Spirit of GOD already were operating within, and speaking out
through David.
The rules of engagement and warfare center on
conflicts for conquest, gaining territory, and expanding wealth. Use of stoning
as a sanction against sin comes into view as a provision that further binds a
community through shared accountability, obedience to sacred law, and
fundamental principles pertaining to divine sovereignty. Mortality in mankind
introduced through Adam must be completed and fulfilled. Even so, divine
provisions may include rebirth, resurrection, and new life. In communal
judgment, every member of the collective casts only a single stone. The person
who casts the stone that delivers the fatal blow may remain secret, and known
only to GOD. There can be no “fair fight” between a full grown, seasoned
warrior and a teen-aged shepherd boy; however, as part of becoming mature on the
earth, there must be a “fight of faith” for every believer. Consider again the
following that uses language from the Bible:
(1.) 1st Samuel 17: 4-11, King James Version
(KJV): 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines,
named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And
he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with
a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of
brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of
brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a
weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of
iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto
the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set
your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants
to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able
to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I
prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man,
that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of
the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
(2.) 1st Samuel 17: 32-37, KJV: 32 And David
said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and
fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth,
and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant
kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out
of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered
it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught
him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew
both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one
of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said
moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the
lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this
Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be
with thee.
There is far more to be said, correctly examined,
and spiritually apprehended regarding the Spirit imparted from GOD through Jesus
Christ. (For example, (3.) 1st Samuel 17: 40-50, KJV: 40 And he took his
staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put
them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his
hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and
drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before
him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him:
for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And
the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with
staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said
to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and
to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest
to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in
the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD
deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from
thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto
the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth
may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know
that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the
battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our
hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew
nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the
Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and
slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk
into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the
Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of
David.) Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you
according to your faith.
Washington, DC
Today, focus is on the account of David and Goliath that appears within the Bible as part of the full revelation of GOD. While the precipitating events that resulted in the death of Goliath were little more than name-calling and taunting Israel to challenge them in battle, Goliath represented and was the “stand-in” for all the Philistines, and was condemned as guilty before GOD their Maker and Judge as being idolatrous, lawless, rebellious, and unrepentant. As a foreshadowing to the coming of Jesus Christ, the express will of GOD (we say, the law) was made incarnate, and appeared having material form as a shepherd boy, who served as an officer of the Divine Court (the Executioner). That a teenager (David) would be used on a battle-field against a veteran soldier who had physical stature as a giant was to make clearly visible to Israel, the Philistines, and all mankind that GOD will impose judgment upon created beings and living creatures, and will operate as the highest authority, power, and sovereign-will present in human affairs. The fighter at “Yahoo! Answers” who uses the ID “Kumquat May” (Level 6 with 10,357 points, a member since April 17, 2012) posted the following:
The bible says thou shall not kill and turn the other cheek but when david brains Goliath dead with a rock suddenly he's a great guy?
Goliath's five year old daughter: "Mummy, mummy, when's daddy coming home. I made a thing in school out of pasta that says world's best dad!"
Mrs Goliath: "Sit down, my poor daughter, I have terrible news. Daddy won't be coming home. He was murdered at work today. Some short man called David threw a rock at his temple and he died having a seizure in the dirt. You'll never see Daddy again, and now we no income it's prostitution for me and slavery for you, if David's army don't rape and kill us before that happens"
Goliath's five year old daughter: " Noooooo! But won't the Lord punish him, Mum, he's against that sort of thing? It's one of the commandments"
Mrs Goliath: "No dear, not this time. I've already heard he's mind controlling one of his zombie writers to put it in his book about how great the man who murdered your father was"
THE GOLDEN ARROW: And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. (1st Samuel 14: 6-13, King James Version, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Making and Keeping Justice? (05/25/2017); Judgment, Peace and Warfare? (03/26/2017); Teach Me To Pray (03/21/2017); Carrying Out Divine Law? (03/20/2017); Restoring the Divine Presence? (03/09/2017); The Wisdom of Years? (10/31/2016); Kingdom and One-world Empire (09/08/2016); The Accounts of Giants (05/24/2016); A Note On Spirit Warfare (01/06/2016); Why So Much Murder? (01/12/2013); Confusion 2013 (01/13/2013)
“Kumquat May”, in the account of David and Goliath, GOD is the Judge, and David is a legitimate officer of the divine court, the Executioner. Among mature Christian believers the account of David and Goliath is received as part of the full revelation and “self-disclosure” whereby the active presence who is GOD is made knowable, known, and “visible” to created beings and living creatures. The Bible displays the operations of GOD upon the earth from a divine perspective—that is, using thousands of events, within thousands of lives, over the course of thousands of years. Taken from its context, spiritual confusion surrounds that and many other accounts. Often “David and Goliath” has been presented as merely a story or adventure tale to amuse and entertain, as questionable secular history from the Middle East, and as a peculiar form of communication using diverse literary and poetic devices (e.g., allegory, epic, hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism). Dominated by their appetite, emotion, sensation and mental functions (we say, the flesh) awareness and self-will directs a listener or reader to focus primarily on elements such as the heroism, weakness, vulnerability, and youth of David, or the arrogance, cruelty, prowess and size of Goliath. In effect, mockers, scoffers, sinners and unbelievers remain blind, and fail to see the actions and operations of the account’s most important figure, GOD. They would have to be “born again” in order to clearly discern, recognize, and properly respond to the account as imparting spirit content from the makeup of GOD (such as faith, holiness, hope, longsuffering, wisdom, wrath against sin). Using their own endowment of life essence from GOD (we also say, breath, spirit, word), the listener/reader as a new creation will experience the account as demonstrating divine integrity, righteousness in covenant relationship, the fulfillment of promise and performance of duty, and the inarguable authority, prerogative and privilege of the Creator that may appear as deliverance, judgment, salvation and victory. Consider the following from the Bible:
(1.) 1st Samuel 17: 33-37, King James Version (KJV): 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
(2.) 1st Samuel 17: 45-48, KJV: 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hands.
There is far more to be said, correctly applied, and spiritually apprehended. (For example, (3.) 2nd Chronicles 20: 15-18, KJV: 15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.) Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
Today, points are shared on
giants upon the earth appearing in the Bible along with the
longevity of the patriarchs. Accounts of giants are shared in
Scripture as admonition regarding divine judgment against sin, secular
history or “matter-of-fact” reports, and are not intended as stories for
amusement, entertainment, and hilarity. Where we correctly approach the holy
writings for authentic statements from GOD to establish and reinforce spirit
content in the living, there is no error concerning “make believe,” monsters,
and mythology. The writer at “Yahoo! Answers (Australia)” using the ID
“Love Unites” (Level 7 with 38,553 points, a member since May 08, 2013) posted
the following:
R&S, do you believe giants once
existed? Such as the giants in the Bible?
THE GOLDEN ARROW: I was at
ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck,
and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. His archers compass me
round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my
gall upon the ground. He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon
me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in
the dust. My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the
shadow of death; Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer
is pure. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no
place. Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. My
friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. O
that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his
neighbour! When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I
shall not return. (Job 16: 12-22, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: The Cross
and Today (03/22/2016); Our Beginnings Were Perfect? (12/14/2015); Asked To
Teach On Adam? (10/30/2015); Stories Repeated in the Bible? (08/30/2014); Why
Similar Accounts (08/31/2014); Bible Authors and Truth? (06/19/2013); On Testing
GOD (06/20/2013); Why Clothing? (10/15/2010); Known by GOD?
(10/16/2010)
“Love Unites”, Christian believers are to accept
the accounts of “giants” that appear within the holy writings in the same way
they are to acknowledge the longevity for Patriarchs (nearly 1,000 years for
Adam), and the Son of GOD dying upon the cross. His height measured in cubits
(generally, 18 inches, a foot and a half), Goliath of Gath, the Philistine
champion defeated by David, is not described merely to provide an exciting
“bedtime story.” Faith and the unseen must come into view. Just as the
Patriarchs lived as vessels of oral history, the Scriptures are for “revelation”
(divinity being made knowable and known), and the imparting of sacred
knowledge. The Bible shares a divine point of view whereby readers who have
received spirit content imparted from GOD (e.g., faith, holiness, longsuffering,
wisdom, wrath against sin) are able to discern and recognize the operations of
GOD displayed through thousands of events in thousands of lives, over the course
of thousands of years. Many forget the earth was once “brand new,” and the
present pollution from automobiles, machines, over population, and human waste
did not always exist. Many understand that the original pair (Adam) was as much
as 10 feet tall. It was a long time before the operations of sin corrupted and
debilitated the divine plan of healthy food for healthy bodies to where is
today. The Watusi tribe of North Central Africa have long been celebrated in
the modern world as a race of giants. Also, those of us who have seen the many
athletes over 7 feet tall in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and big
men such as Shaquille O’Neal repeatedly lift a 300 pound body off the floor and
up to the net, have no doubt that it is possible for GOD, who clothed Adam and
Eve with the Spirit, to have scaled Adam and Eve as what we might call
“giants”. Consider how some of this appears stated in the language of the
Bible:
(1.) Genesis 6: 3-5, King James Version (KJV): 3
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with
man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and
twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after
that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which
were of old, men of renown. 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
(2.) Numbers 13: 32-33, KJV: 32 And they brought
up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of
Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a
land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in
it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the
sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight
as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
(3.) Deuteronomy 3: 10-12, KJV: 10 All the
cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei,
cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 For only Og king of Bashan remained
of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron;
is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was
the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a
man. 12 And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer,
which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities
thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.
There is far more that could be said, must be
carefully examined, and spiritually understood. (For example, (4.) 1st Samuel
17: 4-7, KJV: 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the
Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a
span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he
was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was
five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his
legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear
was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six
hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.) Even so, I
trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your
faith.
THE BLACK
PHOENIX
Washington, DC
