1 Samuel 17:46

"This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."

This verse is a part of the proclamation that David made before he took up the battle with Goliath. Goliath had challenged the armies of Israel to a duel. His offer was simple, he would fight any one man they selected. And whoever won that fight would be the winner of the battle. The army of the victorious champion would win the right to subjugate the other army, to make them slaves. On the face of it this seems like a good deal. There would be only the loss of one life. But the problem was that Goliath was 9' 9" tall! Nobody in Israel stood that tall. Also, the account tells us that Goliath was a man of war from his youth. The fact was that Israel had no champion to go up against such a man. It was certain that Israel would lose. For forty days Goliath challenged Israel. For forty days Goliath cursed the God of Israel. And for forty days nobody took up the fight.

But David happened into the camp, and heard the blasphemy of the giant. He determined to take up the fight because of his care for God’s great name. As he approached, the giant mocked him. But David did not let his own stature or lack of warfare experience get in the way of honoring God’s name. Bringing honor to God’s name was his great desire.

The last phrase is the thing, "... that all the earth may know that there is a God in heaven." God had staked His reputation on Israel, doing for them things that were astounding. When the Israelites arrived at Jericho, Rahab told the spies that they had heard what God had done for them in bringing them out of Egypt, and they were afraid. Interestingly, the events to which she referred had happened at least 40 years before. Perhaps she had not even been bon when these things had happened in Egypt. She was nonetheless familiar with them, and threw herself upon the mercy of the spies, and the God of Israel.

So now, here was this big mouth Philistine. Certainly the God who divided the Red Sea was well able to deal with him. But more often than not God works through humans. Moses had to lift up his rod over the Red Sea before God acted. So David, moved with jealousy for the name of the LORD God Almighty, determined to take action. And God used him to defeat Goliath. Having seen their champion defeated, the Philistines turned and ran (they didn’t surrender, which was the deal). And in pursuing them Israel won a great victory.

The question that arises is, Who is the person today through whom God can prove that there is a God in the universe? Certainly, He has staked His reputation on His church. Those who are truly His are blessed with a great salvation. Shouldn’t it be one of them? Can the world around us look at our lives and say, "There IS a God in the universe!"? Or, are we doing our best to blend. Through David God did mighty things. Through Moses He did mighty things. Through us He desires to do mighty things.

A definition of faith is "trust in God’s faithfulness" (thanks to a dear brother who recently spoke at chapel). Indeed, trust in God’s faithfulness is a mighty firm place to stand. For He has proven countless times that He is trustworthy, not only in the exploits of the saints that have gone before, but even in our own lives. The reason that we balk at trusting God like David did must be that we are not really sure He is faithful. There are many things that God wants the world to know about Himself. Among them is His faithfulness. We need to be willing to be Exhibit A. He will not force, but when we truly look to Him, and act in honor to His name, He will act mightily.

Is there a God in the universe? Can the world see Him through us?

HJK