Shield of faith: David & Goliath
It’s time to dig into the fourth element of God’s Armor!
Ephesians 6:13-17 | Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
To understand how to put on or use the shield of faith, we have to first understand faith-
Hebrews 11:1 | Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
In other words, faith is the confident hope believers have, even without being able to see God. Faith is a requirement for salvation-
Ephesians 2:8 NASB | For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
This is because even though God gives us evidence of His existence (Romans 1:20) and reveals Himself to us in various ways, we can’t see Him. We must have faith in His existence as Creator to believe there is a penalty for sin and need for a Savior. Then, we have to put our faith in Jesus as the sufficient Savior, rather than our own efforts or some other route to salvation. Faith is crucial for God’s followers!
Once a person puts their faith in Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) who plays an active role in their everyday life (John 16:8). This personal experience with God should build the believer’s faith. As faith grows, the believer becomes more steadfast against the attacks of the enemy, even when those attacks increase in scale.
What better example of this than young David, the shepherd boy?!
In 1st Samuel 17, the Philistines gathered for a battle against God’s people, the Israelites. Each army has a mountain at their back and a valley stretches between them. Then, the Philistine army sends out an actual giant, named Goliath from Gath. His armor alone weighed 125 pounds (vs. 5)! This Philistine giant issues a challenge to the Israelites-
1st Samuel 17:8b-9 | “Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!”
King Saul and all the Israelites are faithless– without hope and very afraid (vs. 11). For forty days, Goliath challenges the Israelites and the Israelites don’t send anyone forward to fight.
Then, there’s David. The youngest of four boys, David was a shepherd, left home to care for the sheep while his older brothers went to battle. His dad sends him to check on his brothers and to give them some food. When he gets there, Goliath comes out and recites the same challenge he always did, and everyone runs and hides (vs. 24). But David asks,
1st Samuel 17:26b | “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
In other words, why is this guy still talking? He’s speaking against the One True God! Someone needs to take him out!
Even though his brothers get angry at David for his boldness, David isn’t deterred. Saul hears of David’s words and sends for him. David goes in before the king -
1st Samuel 17:32 | “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
When Saul doubts David ability, we find out the source of David’s confidence-
1st Samuel 17:33-37a | “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
David is carrying the shield of faith! His faith has been strengthened over time as He watched the Lord work in His life. He is certain God can do it again, not because David is amazing, but because the Lord is amazing.
Saul finally permits David to fight. He offers David his armor, but David refuses. Instead, the young boy heads to fight the Philistine with just five smooth stones and a sling (vs. 37b-40).
Facing the giant, Goliath tries to shake David’s faith, belittling David, his weapons, and His God. But his efforts are useless-
1st Samuel 17:45-46a | David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you.
David is full of faith because he knows the battle is the Lord’s!
1st Samuel 17:47 | And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
Sure enough, through God’s power, David defeats Goliath and the Israelites are delivered from the Philistines. While everyone else in the valley was terrified by the physical weapons of Goliath and the Philistines, David had put on the shield of faith. He was certain that his spiritual ally would prevail.
When we face our enemy’s attacks, we are instructed to hold up the shield of faith. We learn from David that remembering all that the Lord has already done builds our faith and gives us the strength to hold up our shield without wavering. God used Moses to tell the same thing to his chosen people long before David fought Goliath-
Deuteronomy 7:18 | But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.
While our ability to stand firm holding up our shield grows as our faith in God grows, the power of our shield is always the same – all powerful and undefeatable. This is because the shield isn’t our faith or our own ability, it is the Lord-
2nd Samuel 22:31 | God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
To be Battle Ready, hold up the shield of faith, putting your trust in God’s strength and His ability to prevail.
What is faith?
Who is our shield?
What battle did David face?
Why wasn’t David afraid? How did his faith show in his actions?
What experiences had strengthened David’s faith?
What can you learn (and apply!) from David’s story?