Daily Manna 25 October
KEY VERSE: “And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.” – (1 Samuel 17:23)
TEXT: 1 Samuel 17:12-37
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is[a] there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
A man of God declared: “If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we must not shirk from opportunities where our faith may be tried and therefore through that trial, may be strengthened”. Challenges abound in life from the earliest of times since the fall of man. But the attitude and response of the individual will determine either victory or defeat.
David in obedience to his father’s instruction had gone to see to the welfare of his elder brothers who went with Saul to battle against the Philistines. As he was talking with them, behold, the Philistine champion, Goliath who had been boasting unchallenged for days came up again with the same boasting, insisting that Israel should give him a man to fight with him. David decided to accept the challenge.
Battles come in various forms and shapes. For the children of Israel, Pharaoh with his army and chariots pursued them. Israel reacted in fear but Moses responded in faith; allaying their fears (Exodus 14:13). In the wilderness, ten out of the twelve spies sent to search out the Promised Land reacted in fear to the presence of the sons of Anak in Canaan but Caleb and Joshua responded in faith stating “we are well able to overcome [them]” (Numbers 13:30). Similarly, the storm rose as the disciples and Christ were crossing the lake. The Master was asleep on a pillow and the disciples panicked and reacted in fear thinking they were about to perish but the Lord rose up and responded in faith; rebuked and calmed the storm (Mark 4:37-39).
Life itself is a battlefield with Satan and his agents who are working relentlessly, seeking whom to devour. Many people react or respond in different ways. Some panic and react in fear like Saul and Israel did before Goliath. But all believers must know that “the battle is not [theirs], but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15), and therefore respond in faith.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Challenges and problems are opportunities for believers to exercise their faith in God.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 10-12
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Growing Through Challenges – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 25 October 2021
