"24 All the men of Israel, "WHEN THEY SAW" the man (Goliath), fled from him and were much afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."
26 And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living GOD?"
27 And the people answered him in the same way, "So shall it be done to the man who kills him."
Most of us are familiar with the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel. Goliath was reportedly over 9 feet tall, and I'm sure was no bean pole! King Saul and the Israelites were fearful of Goliath and the damage they perceived he could do to them. They could not "see" anyone one of themselves having a chance against an enemy that they all feared so greatly.
Goliath had told Saul and his followers if you send a man to fight me and he wins, then the Philistines will SERVE you. But if Goliath were to win the battle then Israel would SERVE the Philistines! But GOD doesn't abide by earthly dictates. In Exodus 23:24-25 GOD lets the children of Israel know that "you shall not worship their gods, nor SERVE them, nor do according to their deeds", and "but you shall SERVE the LORD your GOD"!
David was a very young man (reportedly 15 years old) who had been mostly assigned to guarding his fathers sheep while they grazed. As for Saul and all Israel, when they heard the voice Goliath they were in great fear. But David said "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." David didn't "see" Goliath as formidable foe nearly as much as he "saw" his GOD being able to overcome any challenge! Of course we know that David slew Goliath with a sling and stones and GOD GOT GLORY from it.
When the enemy, the master deceiver, presents himself to us as a formidable foe his biggest asset is intimidation. David was able to "see" Goliath being defeated because Goliath was defying the living GOD! As for Saul and the Israeli army, "WHEN THEY SAW" Goliath they could only see defeat!
HEAVENLY FATHER, cause me to "see" with the vision of David when the enemy presents himself to me and realize that YOU defeated the enemy at Calvary. Remind me that "WHEN THEY SAW" is a scheme of the devil attempting to prevent a victory in my life!
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