Have faith in God
And giants will tumble before you
Look at the Israelites. They were destined for greatness but the Philistine champion was out to make sure that it did not happen. In the Valley of Elah, this colossal being, the champion from Gath, mocked the armies of God.
His stature, his physique and body size were so intimidating that no one dared to put up a fight against. By looking at his enormous size, one was crippled by fear. Let us examine Goliath closely to get a vivid picture of how gigantic and imposing he was.
The children of Israel were terrified because of what we are about to underscore about Goliath. When Joshua took over the mantle from Moses, he led the children of Israel to the Promised Land. He wiped out all the Anakims from the land that He had given them.
This was as far as Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah and Israel. He completely destroyed their cities except Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. Goliath was a survivor of the ancient race of the Anakims; a remnant who found refuge in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. As an offspring of these giants, he grew up with the knowledge of who his enemy was (Israelites) and was therefore wired for revenge.
The first thing to note about Goliath is his enormous size. He was six cubits and a span in height. The word cubit signifies the length from the elbow, to the top of the middle finger, which is generally rated as one foot, six inches. A span on the other hand is the distance from the top of the middle finger to the end of the thumb when extended as far as they can stretch on a plain. This is ordinarily nine inches.
From these measurements, we could easily ascertain the height of Goliath to be nine feet, nine inches tall, which is a tremendous height for a man. His legs would almost be equal to the height of an ordinary man. He had a monstrous stature; a colossal creature and formidable to contend with.
But despite his size which was quite intimidating, it is great to know that it is not the size of your enemy that determines the outcome of the battle but it is the size of the God you serve. Your enemy might be big but if you have Jehovah God who is Supreme, Immortal and Infinite on your side, then you do not need to be afraid.
As Goliath was busy parading himself and showing-off his monstrous structure, God was waiting for the right time to intervene. Despite the size of your challenger, greater is He that is in you than he that comes up against you.
The second thing to note about Goliath is his arsenal in proportion to his gigantic stature. His size coupled with his armour made him a grotesque creature. He was well- furnished with defensive armour, according to 1 Samuel 17:5,6.
His defensive armour was a helmet of brass on his head, a coat of mail made of brass plates laid over one another like the scales of a fish. A coat weighed five thousand shekels, and a shekel was half ounce a pound. This was quite a vast weight for a man to carry. He also wore brass boots and had a large corselet of brass about his neck.
His offensive weapons were extraordinary; his spear was like a weaver’s beam (1 Samuel 17:7). His arm could manage that which an ordinary man could scarcely heave. His shield, which was the lightest of all his accouterments, was carried before him by his esquire. His weapons were not only deadly but also huge in size.
His military accessories highlighted his imposing presence that easily intimidated his opponent before the actual fight began. The third thing we notice about Goliath is his audacity. He came into the valley with one aim and that was to intimidate the armies of Israel. With his voice probably stronger than any other person, he roared loudly to scare-off his enemies. He defiantly uttered this statement at the top of his voice:
“I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” (1 Samuel 17:10, NKJV). For 40 days every morning and evening, this Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army, mocking them with these words.
Goliath had the nerve to challenge the Israelites to settle their dispute in a single combat. In ancient times, an army often avoided the high cost of battle by pitting its strongest warrior against the strongest warrior of the enemy. This avoided bloodshed because the winner of the fight was considered the winner of the battle. His defiance coupled with his arrogance in asking for a man able to challenge him, frightened Saul, who was hiding in his tent.
Goliath’s arrogance led him to disregard the God of Israel. He mocked the children of Israel. His boldness and assurance that he would win made the children of Israel shrink in fear. He looked big and talked big. His insolence, arrogance and pride held the Israelites hostage for 40 days.
He looked upon himself with admiration, because he was so much taller and stronger than everyone else in that valley. He looked down upon Israel with disdain, because they had none among them who could match his strength. Even Saul who was described as having conspicuous shoulders was not a match for Goliath’s monstrous stature.
From a human standpoint, Goliath had a definite advantage over everyone that was present in the valley of Elah. This propped him up to ask for a man. In his mind he knew there was no man to match him. However in the heart of God, there was a man anointed to accept the challenge and win in the end.
Despite the visible insurmountable challenges the children of Israel had to contend with, there was one deadly weapon yet unseen that completely paralysed them. As we look at the text before us, we discover that it was fear of failure that debilitated and incapacitated the Israelites that they failed to rise to the occasion. Just when they were enjoying victory in battle, striking terror in their enemies and building their might, Goliath showed up and quickly extinguished their flame of courage.
How often has this happened to us? Just when we think everything is going on well in our lives and victory is our portion; when we think we have so much faith and a reason to rejoice something happens that deflates our faith; Satan lifts up his ugly head and mocks us to the point where we have no more strength to believe that God can still bring us out of our misery and pain. Satan does this by orchestrating circumstances to sabotage the plans that God has preordained for us so that we do not realise our destiny.
Have you allowed fear to entrap you, cage you and hold you back from exploring your full potential?
Have you allowed yourself to become a prisoner of fear by letting wonderful opportunities pass you by? Are you a victim of a painful past or a traumatic experience that has chained you and caused you to be afraid of facing tomorrow?
Fear will give you all sorts of reasons why you should not take a bold step towards an undertaking you have a positive conviction about. People who are prisoners of fear cannot stand and take the heat for something they believe in. They always shy away from imaginary obstacles and hurdles erected in their minds by fear. Remember, you are not a victim of fear until you allow it to control your life.
God has not given you the spirit of fear. If you are experiencing fear right now, know that it is not from God. It is from the enemy, a ‘Goliath’ dispatched from hell to thwart God’s plan for your life. The enemy knows very well that if you are not courageous then you can’t step out and be all you have been designed to be by God.
Your success does not depend on what other people do or say about you. Stop using what happened in your past to determine what will happen to you in your future. By God’s grace, you are a victor, not a victim. You are courageous and not a coward. You are as bold as a lion and not a weakling. Go out there and fight the giants, including the giant of fear that stand in your path to destiny. Do not shy away from what you can truly possess. Do not be like the children of Israel who decided to put up with Goliath’s abuse in the valley. Be fearless and set the agenda for your life despite any form of impenetrability in your area of interest. Set your face like flint and don’t be cowed by circumstances. Do the right thing when it counts, be courageous and remember you are not a victim of circumstances neither are you a prisoner of fear.
END: BL 43/50-51