AUGUST  26

OUR COVENANT GIVES US THE ADVANTAGE

I SAMUEL 17:17-51



“And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”(1 Sam. 17:26)

David saw Goliath differently than all the other Israelites. They looked at his height, which was between nine and a half and eleven and a half feet, while David looked on him in the light of his covenant with God. That’s what David was referring to when he called Goliath “this uncircumcised Philistine.”

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God had with the Jews. The covenant wasn’t only about Jehovah being their God, but it promised them victory over their enemies. God was on their side. Goliath didn’t have a covenant. He was the one that God had promised the Jews He’d utterly destroy before them. Therefore, David’s mention of Goliath being uncircumcised was really David declaring, “I’m the one with God on my side!” God plus anyone or anything is superior to anyone or anything without Him!

It was David’s confidence in God – as expressed in the covenant He made with His people – that was the basis of David’s faith. It’s the same for us. God’s Word and promises, which are recorded therein, must be the foundation of our faith. Those who aren’t controlled by God’s Word will be controlled by what they see. As believers, everyone of us faces giants, but we also have a covenant that places God on our side. It’s just a matter of what we focus our attention on.

Where is your focus? Are you looking at the bigness of your problems or at the awesomeness of your God? The choice is yours, and the victory is the Lord’s! (AW)