Day Twelve: Fear And Despair Has Been Destroyed.

 

 

This is the last day of this bible plan and I trust that I have planted a seed of hope into your life and that you have received practical things you can do. You can have the victory if you follow the Word.

If there is one thing that stands out from the story of David, it is that he had a relationship with God. From that relationship, he could do mighty exploits. He became the champion of the nation of Israel in this momentous event, and later on, he became the king of Israel. But it all began when he had to shepherd his father’s sheep. Never despise the small beginnings because you don’t know where it will lead.

Every part of the Bible is for our edification and growth. It is also a very practical book that gives us the how and the what. A manual to govern our lives and receive the victory in Christ.

Twelve is the number of government; it is the number of completeness and wholeness. God wants us to walk in wholeness every day of our lives. He wants us to have dominion in our sphere of influence. Therefore, it is important to understand that when you take action in the right way, fear can be completely overcome.

Let’s look at the last four scriptures in I Sam 17.

51And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

• Because the mindset of despair and fear was broken, Israel could attack the Philistines. The battle has shifted from a victim to dominion. When Goliath’s head was cut off, the rulership returned to the nation.· 
• Then they pursued the Philistines to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Ekron means barrenness and to be torn up by the roots. It is a place where many battles had taken place. It was also the last resting place of the ark before it returned to Jerusalem. The Philistines had to be torn up by their roots in the valley for Israel to take back what God has demanded and in its later years, Ekron was totally demolished. The roles were now switched. Israel was no longer in the valley, but the Philistines were.

·      The other point here is that they were chased to the gates of Ekron. Gates plays a vital part within the scriptures. God loves the gates of Zion. It is a place of victory. But in the case of Philistine, they had to be chased back into the gates, where they could be completely stripped from their arrogance. They had to return to the place of barrenness to be torn up by the root. Gates is a place of dominion and rulership and they understood that they were now totally stripped from their dominion. This was the final nail in the coffin.

• David took the head back to Jerusalem. The head is significant because it is the place where dominion is birthed. It is the place of rulership. By removing the head and taking it back to Saul, David demonstrated that the Philistines were defeated. Remember, on day two of this plan, we learned that Goliath was the champion of the Philistines. So, David showed them that this champion is now the defeated foe. David removed the head from his body.
• He placed Goliath’s armour in his tent. Goliath’s armour would have been valuable and useful. Up to this event, the Philistines had the upper hand over Israel. At that time in history, they didn’t allow blacksmiths to operate in Israel. The Israelites were virtually devoid of weapons because of the oppression of the Philistines. Again, we see David’s intelligence. He looked into the future. He knew this would not be his last battle. He prepared himself.

 

1 Samuel 13:19-22:

Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.”  (20)  But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, (21) and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. (22)  So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.

Whose son is this?

In the last few scriptures, we learn a few significant truths.

· You will be unrecognizable to the people you know.

· A new leader was born.

· It changed how people looked at David.

· Saul didn’t recognize him.

· He was not judged by his looks or age any longer.

55When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”

And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”

56So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”

57Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”

So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

There is a lot more to say about this last piece of scripture, but I will stop here for now and recapture what we have learned.

The story of David and Goliath gives us valuable insight into the hearts of Saul and Israel. And into the hearts of the enemies of Israel, and into the hearts of the enemies of God. There is a distinct difference in these enemies. Again, this is a lesson for another day.

And most importantly, it gives us valuable insight into the heart of a leader.

When we know who we are in Christ and who the battle belongs to, we can overcome the enemy of our minds and the enemies of God.

We don’t have to stay in despair or fear. We can overcome this mental blockage or blind spots by the same way David did.

The story of David doesn’t stop here and is a great resource for our walk as believers. David is the template we can follow. Once we understand the application, we can overcome whatever the enemy throws at us.

But let us recap what we have learned over the last twelve days:

1. We must choose our place of battle correctly.

2. We must understand who we fight against.

3. God doesn’t use the ordinary but the extraordinary to defeat the enemy.

4. We must understand our mandate.

5. We must not rely on our own armour.

6. We must stay connected to the Living water.

7. Our stones must be smooth before they can be used.

8. Our future is secure in Christ.

9. We must be an exact representation of Christ.

10. We must know in whose name we fight.

11. We must know what the practical things are to overcome.

12. Fear and despair can be defeated.

As you continue your day, test where you are and align yourself with the Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth and walk in the victory you were meant to do.

 

Grace and peace to you.

 

Thanks for reading along. I trust that this Bible plan has convinced you to pick up the Bible and read it again. There are so many precious things in it that are useful for our daily life. Things that prepare us for the battle and give us the victory.

Please visit my blog for more studies like this.

Lynelle

Blogger https://authorlynelleclark.blogspot.com/

 

Day One / Day Two / Day Three / Day Four / Day Five/ Day Six / 

Day Seven / Day Eight / Day Nine / Day Ten / Day Eleven / Day Twelve