Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and 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. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47 ESV)
Many of us know this account as one of our earliest and best-known Bible stories as a child. Yet we often fail to get the import of this event in history and the call it makes on our lives. As the passage begins, we find the giant coming out and standing there, mocking the Israelites and their God. We find the army of Israel standing around listening, complaining, and getting on edge. And we now have David, taking a stand against the giant. When he suggests taking a stand, even his brothers and fellow Israelites mock the idea. Standing around saying your God is the greatest is okay; taking a stand in His name is taboo. But David does. The tide of war against the Philistines is turned. David becomes a household name. The Fear of the Lord spreads. It happens when God's people take a stand.
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