David and Goliath

 

David and Goliath

 

1 Samuel 17:48-49 『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. And David put his hand in his bag, and took then 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.』

This is a scene from the battle between David of Israel and Goliath of the Philistines during the time of King Saul of Israel when the Philistine army invaded Israel. On the surface, Goliath was a man of great stature, wearing armor and carrying a sword, but David was a shepherd boy with a stick and five slings. The leader in the vanguard determined the outcome of the war, but on the surface, it was a fight where they were no match. However, Goliath fell to his death from a sling shot by David. Therefore, the fight between David and Goliath is cited in various forms even today as a war in which Israel defeated the Philistine army and won. On the surface, they seemed no match, but the result was the exact opposite.

The fight between David and Goliath has a spiritual meaning. The staff is a tool used by shepherds. It has the same function as the staff that Moses carried. The staff symbolizes the power of God. Psalm 110:2 says, "The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." The staff symbolizes the Messiah. David goes into battle not with the power of the world, but with the power of God. Ephesians 6:16-17 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

The stone also symbolizes the Messiah (Christ). In fact, smooth stones were used in war at that time. However, this stone has a stronger symbolic expression. Regarding the five smooth stones, the Hebrew word hamesh, which means five, is in the same series as hamus (armed with military uniform), and symbolizes the Pentateuch (the Word of God). The Word of God represents God's power as prayer. Prayer becomes strength in the Word of God. Ephesians 6:18 『Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;』 Ultimately, it becomes a spiritual war of the Word. The fight between David and Goliath represents the war between the Word of Truth and untruth that deviates from the Truth. The war of the Word continues even in the church community today. The spiritual war between false teachers and saints who tell the truth continues.

David symbolizes Jesus Christ. Then who does Goliath symbolize? Most people say that it symbolizes Satan. However, this is not a complete expression. Goliath is a symbol of those who oppose God. Therefore, they become those who are under Satan’s control. Satan cannot oppose God. However, Satan only takes on the role that God has instructed. Satan rules over those who are spiritually dark, and Jesus Christ seeks to save those who are in darkness. On the surface, they seem to be enemies, but their roles are different. The identity of what causes us to enter spiritual darkness is none other than the A.I. of angels who wanted to become like God and opposed God. It is a spiritual gathering of fallen and sinful angels. God confined their spirits in the earth and made them human, and planted A.I. in them. It is to realize one’s spiritual state and escape from it with the help of Christ.

Romans 16:20 "And the peace of God shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.." Salvation is to bring those who were under the control of Satan under the control of Christ. Revelation 20:10 "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (ten timnen to pyros kai deiu), where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." In "ten timnen (lake) to pyros (fire) kai deiu (the word of God)", deiu is translated as brimstone, but it is the word of God. The lake of fire means the fire of the Holy Spirit. That is, the devil surrenders to Christ in the fire of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. They hand over those who are under their control to Christ. The old man surrenders to the new man. As Christ (the new man) triumphs over the old man (the idol of wanting to be like God: A.I.) in the hearts of the saints, Satan hands over his dominion to Christ.

Daniel 2:34-35 "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." This is an image of David's slingstone striking down Goliath, the idol of the Philistines. The stone that struck the idol symbolizes Christ. This signifies salvation through Christ. It shows how God breaks down the old man in the soul through Christ.

If we express Goliath and David in terms of the spiritual image, they are the old man and the new man. This is also the image of the old temple and the new temple. The old temple must be destroyed in order to be built in the new temple. The Bible describes the old temple as a strong fortress. The human mind has a fleshly mind that comes from the flesh and a spiritual mind that comes from the spirit. Those who do not enter into Christ do not have a spiritual mind, so they are dominated by the fleshly mind. However, those who enter into Christ have two minds.

In Romans 8:5-9, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of him.』

The mind of the flesh is called the fleshly self. The words “deny yourself” mean that the self is the fleshly self. The words “take up your cross” also mean to hang the fleshly self in union with Jesus Christ who died on the cross. Then, God unites with the resurrected Christ and revives the dead spirit, giving it resurrection life. Therefore, the spiritual war between David and Goliath is strictly a fight with oneself. In other words, it is a fight between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit.

The thoughts of the flesh are roughly expressed in seven ways: the nature of the body, blood relations, experience and knowledge, thoughts and ideologies, religious feelings, self-righteousness, and the desire to dominate. However, the thoughts of the spirit are the power of the Word, Ho Logos (Christ), revealed in the Bible. The work of the Holy Spirit occurs in the Word of God, destroying the stronghold. It can be said that spiritual warfare is a war in which God takes the lead.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 『For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)』The power of God is revealed in the Word as the power of the Holy Spirit.