“The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.’” –1 Samuel 2:10, ESV
“This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God, and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.’” –1 Samuel 17:46b-47, NET
Too often the account of David and Goliath is twisted into a prideful parable about pursuing selfish endeavors. We put ourselves in the place of David and cast as Goliath whatever obstacles we seek to conquer. But we are neither the author nor the director of life, although we seek to be such (Gen 3:4-6; Isa 14:14). The main characters and the battle have already been determined. The only available roles are the two supporting multitudes behind each challenger (1Sa 17:3).
How this also parallels the great battle scene in Revelation, where the anointed “King of kings” rides into battle. A great army rides behind Him and serves as witness to His single-handed elimination of His enemies with the sword of His mouth (before the bodies are fed to the birds of the air) (Rev 19:11-21).
Again, where do we stand in this battle?
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” –Luke 11:23
Do you stand with the Lamb, your feet faithfully beside Him in obedience (Rev 14:1), clothed in righteous deeds among a conquering army (Rev 3:5) that then rides behind Him (Rev 19:14)? Are you of this armored army that simply stands (Eph 6:13) as witnesses to the chosen King’s conquering of the enemy (Acts 1:8), charging ahead into a battle that has already been won (1Sa 17:52)?
Or do you stand elsewhere? It matters not what the shape of the face, every idol is connected to the beast and wears a blasphemous name (Rev 13:1). Those who follow “might” and “proud words” ultimately worship the dragon (Rev 13:3-5) and are marked with the same number (Rev 13:17-18) and the same fate (Rev 20:15).
Let us see the clear distinction. Let us see Christ makes a clear divide (Mat 10:34-36). Let us choose this day our role, and call out to the multitudes to see there is no fence on which to sit. A decision must be made (Deu 30:19; Jos 24:15).
“Elijah approached all the people and said, ‘How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!’ But the people did not say a word.” –1 Kings 18:21, NET
Billy Neal
