1 Samuel 17:32-33, 36-37 (NKJV) Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”…. 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.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
There are many recordings of King David’s life in the Old Testament of all the great exploits that he had done for the Lord. In Daniel 11:32 (NKJV) it says that those “…who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” David is a true personification of that verse. Therefore, we should model a lifestyle of faith to our children because David was a young lad who had faith in God that put the armies of Israel to shame. David’s faith had developed from an early age, especially in the aspect of knowing God and this had differentiated him from the others. Likewise, how we face up to intense distress through our unwavering faith in God is what will differentiate us from the rest of the world during trials and tribulations.
Goliath had challenged and threatened the Israelites daily for 40 days and caused them to fear because of what they saw in him. Goliath was huge in stature, 9 feet (about 3m) tall, armed with 3 weapons (spear, sword, javelin) and a shield-bearer went before him. He wore a bronze helmet, a coat of mail which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze and he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels (1 Samuel 17:5-7).
Goliath was challenging the Israelites to send someone to take him on one-on-one and whoever lost would be the slave to the other. The whole army of Israel and King Saul were in fear of Goliath even though King Saul was supposed to be the best person to fight Goliath as he was the king and the tallest amongst all the Israelites. Similarly, we can also be a slave to fear if we do not deal with all the concerns in our lives when we face any crisis e.g. COVID19 or the economic crisis.
Goliath represents a problem that we face in life that speaks to us daily and torments us. This problem seems too huge for us to handle, we are afraid of it and at times it almost immobilizes us because of fear. Goliath was just like a mountain of metal that stood before the Israelites. An impossible situation. The sheer size, the threat and the armor of Goliath were already a psychological barrier to the army of Israel. Never ever allow the size of a problem to intimidate you.
Do not become a slave to fear. Instead be like David and put our trust and faith in God our covenant partner to deliver us from all situations.
Sermon Series : You Are in the Hall of Faith (Part 3)
不被恐惧所奴役
撒母耳记上17:32-33, 36-37 大卫对扫罗说：「人都不必因那非利士人胆怯。你的仆人要去与那非利士人战斗。」 33扫罗对大卫说：「你不能去与那非利士人战斗；因为你年纪太轻，他自幼就作战士。」… 你仆人曾打死狮子和熊，这未受割礼的非利士人向永生 神的军队骂阵，也必像狮子和熊一般。」 37大卫又说：「耶和华救我脱离狮子和熊的爪，也必救我脱离这非利士人的手。」扫罗对大卫说：「你可以去吧！耶和华必与你同在。」
在旧约里有很多关于大卫王一生为神争战功勋彪炳的记载. 但以理书11:32的经文说那些”… 作恶违背圣约的人，他必用巧言勾引；惟独认识 神的子民必刚强行事。” 大卫王是这段经文的真实写照. 因此, 我们需要示范一种信心的生活方式为我们的孩子树立榜样, 因为大卫王在他还是个少年的时候就对神有信心，使以色列的军队蒙羞. 大卫王的信心是从年幼时就建立起来的, 特别是对于神的认识，这使他脱颖而出。 同样, 在遭遇试炼和苦难时我们靠着对神的坚定信心面对危难的态度，将把我们从世人中分别出来。
歌利亚连续40天每天挑战威胁以色列人, 以色列人看见他的样子开始恐惧. 歌利亚身材高大, 9英尺(约3米)高, 装备了3种武器(刀, 枪杆, 铜戟) 并手拿盾牌. 他 “头戴铜盔，身穿铠甲，甲重五千舍客勒； 腿上有铜护膝，两肩之中背负铜戟； 枪杆粗如织布的机轴，铁枪头重六百舍客勒。” (撒母耳记上 17:5-7)
歌利亚向以色列人的军队骂阵, 让他们叫一个人出来, 与歌利亚单挑, 输方将成为赢方的仆人. 尽管扫罗王本应是迎战歌利亚的最佳人选，他身为以色列人的王而且是民中身材最高大的，然而以色列全军包括扫罗皆因惧怕歌利亚而战兢. 同样, 当我们面临危机(如新冠病毒或经济危机), 如果我们不去处理生命中的各种惶恐, 那么我们就可能被恐惧所奴役.
歌利亚所代表的是我们生命中遇到的问题, 它天天出现并困扰我们. 问题看上去大到似乎难以解决, 我们害怕它, 有时甚至出于恐惧而几乎动弹不得. 矗立在以色列人面前的歌利亚是一个无法克服的困难，如同一座铁硬的大山。一个绝境。歌利亚的巨人身材, 骂阵气势, 以及盔甲成为了以色列军队的一道心理障碍. 永远不要让自己被问题的大小所胁迫。
不要被恐惧所奴役。让我们像大卫王一样, 将我们的倚靠和信心交托于神, 神是我们的盟约伙伴, 必救我们脱离凶恶.
讲章系列：你在信心的殿中 (第三部分)