“45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
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In part 1 we met a young man, Jonathan, son of the current king of Israel. He was very wise and courageous, a man who loved and trusted the LORD of Hosts. Young David is about to meet him. They will go on to be very close, life long friends. Just like Jonathan, David was also a man of great wisdom and courage. He also trusted in the LORD of Hosts to deliver him.
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Bold Statement!
In the opening scripture is a very BOLD statement by young David, especially when you consider that he was only 17 years old at the time! 😮 He was absolutely dwarfed by Goliath, this giant of a man, this great champion of the Philistines. But he didn’t stand there in defiance of him in his own strength. No. He stood before him in the name of the LORD of Hosts. Big difference! 🙌🏻 His words, far from being mere bragging, were in fact a statement of great humility.
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Multi-Layered Storehouse.
The Bible is a multi-layered storehouse of treasures from the Parshah (i.e., the surface story) to the Sod (the lowest layer.) It is a wonderful book that is all about ONE person: our Lord Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, over and over in various offices, types, and shadows, there are stories and snapshots of Him, His Jewish brethren, and US, Church. All these things act as visual aids to teach us more about Him.
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The Holy Spirit loves to tell us about Jesus in the stories themselves. But He also loves to hide these beautiful pictures that can be found in the meanings of the names of people and places, in numbers, and even individual Hebrew letters. Many times, there is a story within a story within a story.
(There four layers of study as identified by the rabbis. If you’d like to learn more about them, you may follow the link below for a more in-depth discussion:
https://emmausroadministries.international/2016/06/26/eutychus-the-story-behind-the-words/)
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Gematria: Meanings In Numbers.
As you read above, numbers in the Bible have hidden meanings. David was only 17 when he killed Goliath. This story, you’ll notice, was recorded in the 17th chapter of the book of 1 Samuel. The Holy Spirit placed it here long before there were chapter designations. 😮 This is no coincidence!
The number, “17,” in Bible numerics, means, “Victory.” It is also the day that Jesus rose from the dead, triumphing over the death itself: “The 17th day of the month of Nissan!” 🙌🏻💖 It is the MOST SIGNIFICANT DAY OF ALL TIME!
Anyone interested in more on the meaning of numbers in the Bible, which is NOT numerology by the way, may follow the link below:
https://emmausroadministries.interntional/2016/03/20/bible-numerics/
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Defeating Wrong Mentalities.
God loves us so much! He wants to help us defeat wrong mentalities in our lives. He knows that as a man thinks in his heart, SO IS HE. Our Father shows us how to do it in this account of David and Goliath.
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The Philistines and the Israelites were facing each other on hills opposite one another on either side of the Valley of Elah as this timeless tale begins. Let’s follow the story.
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Impenetrable Boundary.
1 Samuel 17:1
“Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim…..”.
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What you see in the picture above is the valley of Elah as it exists in Israel today. Azekah was a town on border between Israel and Philistia. The meaning of “Ephes Dammim is particularly illuminating.
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The Hebrew word for blood is “Dam.” In order to make a word plural in Hebrew, the letters “im” appear on the end which functions like our letter “s” in English. “Dammim” is the plural of “dam.” It literally means, “Bloods.” You see, in Hebrew when they want to either emphasize or, in this case, portray a very violent death or a very bloody affair, they will use the plural form of the word. The account of this battle certainly qualifies as a very bloody affair. Ephes Dammim literally means “the boundary of the bloods (plural.)”
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Is there anything more efficacious than the blood of our Lord Jesus? NO! Church, there is a boundary of the blood(s) of Jesus that the devil CANNOT CROSS. It protects you and I, our families, our homes and our earth from ALL his attacks.
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Enemy Tactics.
Here’s how he attacks: He tries to call you out by using his so-called “weapons.” They are lies and webs of deceit in an attempt to trick YOU into coming down from YOUR HIGH POSITION SEATED NEXT TO JESUS. He tries to get you to cross over your protective boundary, out of your place of protection, and DOWN into the area of defeat because he knows he cannot cross that boundary line.
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He whispers things like: “Oh, wow! You really screwed up again!” “You are totally out of control.” “What a terrible parent you are.” “Call yourself a Christian when you act like that?”
OR:
“You know, so and so reads their Bible for two hours EVERY day. You only read fifteen minutes; and you didn’t even take time to pray! Shame, shame, shame!….and you didn’t take time for your Bible study lesson, either. God must be very displeased with you.”
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Here’s one of his favorites:
“What’s the use of even trying? Evil is too strong. There’s no hope.”
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And my favorite………”You never do anything right!” BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!
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However, instead of actually saying, “You” are this or “you” are that, he substitutes the personal pronoun, “I:” What you hear in your head is, “I” am a terrible parent, “I” am a terrible person; “I” am a poor excuse for a Christian,” etc., etc., making you think you those thoughts are your. YUK! On and on he drones; negative, destructive, self-condemning thoughts. It never ends.
Don’t listen to him. HE IS LYING.
Here’s the key: In order for him to win, you have to listen to, believe, and buy into his lies.
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Not A Mind-Reader.
News flash: THE DEVIL CANNOT READ YOUR MIND, CHURCH. HE ONLY KNOWS HE’S GOT YOU BY WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. That’s why it is so critical that you confess God’s word instead. His holy angels, who also can’t read your mind, will do your bidding. They respond to the spoken word of God and work FOR us!
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(For more on our overwhelming angelic protection, you may follow the link below:
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HOWEVER…..In order for his puny little plan to succeed, you have to stand up, come DOWN from your high place seated next to Jesus, and go DOWN into the valley; DOWN into defeat. YOU HAVE TO DO IT. YOU have to agree to it. He doesn’t make you; but he tries to do everything he can to convince YOU to come down.
This is how you “fall” from grace. We “fall” because we come DOWN from our high place DOWN to the LOWER place; DOWN into the VALLEY of fear and defeat.
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Are you sensing a pattern here? 🤔 😁
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Secrets And Typologies In The Hebrew Language.
Elah, in Hebrew, means “Awesome, fearful One,” from the root word for fear. Goliath–a typology of the devil–tries to get you to come down into that valley of fear. This is what “Falling from grace”actually means. It does NOT mean you lose your salvation. NO! THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE, thank God! It simply means you voluntarily come“DOWN” from your high place, seated next to Jesus (grace personified), to the “Lower” place, i.e., to the valley of fear, meaning the law.”
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Each army was on a mountain on either side of the valley of Elah (fear). A champion from the Philistines went out from the camp…..the giant, GOLIATH…..whose name means “Stripped, exile.” He is a “type” of THE enemy…..the devil…..whom Jesus stripped of power and exiled! 🙌🏻💖 He was from the town of Gath which, in Hebrew, means “Winepress.”
It says of Jesus in Rev.19:15 that “Jesus Himself treads out the WINEPRESS of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” “Having stripped principalities and powers; He spoiled them!…….
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David’s name is also very telling: It means, “Beloved.” He is a picture of Jesus but also a picture of you and I. We are beloved of our Father, too.
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Under Our Feet.
In those days after a battle, the defeated commander was very publicly stripped of everything in front of all his men and humiliated. The winning commander used this defeated commander as his foot stool in front of all the people and the captured army. It demonstrates to everyone present that all power and authority had been transferred into the hands of the conqueror. 🙌🏻
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So you see, the devil is a “stripped exile because of the wrath of God.” When he {satan} comes against you, that’s how he wants to make you feel: Like you have nothing, that you are nothing, and that God is angry with you. He will never remind you that you’re wearing the robe of righteousness, never tell you God cares for you, and NEVER remind you that you are God’s beloved.
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NO! He tells you a pack of lies like the ones above. DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM! You are NOT under God’s wrath. You are NOT an exile. You are NOT an orphan. You are NOT on God’s naughty list. God is not angry at you. In fact, He’s not even mildly disappointed. YOU ARE GOD’S BELOVED SON OR DAUGHTER.
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Unfortunate Preaching.
Whenever you hear any preaching or teaching that makes you feel like you have not quite arrived or measured up to some standard, in other words, has you looking at you instead of at Jesus, or makes feel condemned and ashamed, you have just heard the booming voice of Goliath in your ears. 😡
I say again: DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM.
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Stay right where you already are: Safe with Jesus, THE GREATER DAVID, whose name means “Beloved.” Stay safe on THIS SIDE of the Ephes Dammin.
You may follow the link below to part 3 if you wish to continue this series:
Emmaus Road Ministries 