What if I said that the Lord God wants us to be killers?  Our first response would be to think there is no way that is His desire.  I would agree with you for the most part.  Yet there is an aspect of the spiritual life that calls for such a mentality.  This does not negate the idea of God as love or mercy but reminds us how harrowing is our spiritual life.  We read in the Old Testament of tales of death under the direction of God.  That bothers many of us in trying to figure out what in the world was going on?  There is obviously no way we can deal with all of these matters in a simple blog post that primarily goes unread.  But we can give it a try.

There is one God revealed in scripture.  He is the centerpiece of our entire Bible.  What happens in the Old Testament is to move us to the New Testament.  Begin by remembering that those stories happen in a time and place many years removed from now.  Then notice that those God sends to defeat are not just enemies of His people but of Him.  Many if not all of these war stories include time for these opponents to repent or recognize Him as God.  Sodom does not fall before a time of grace.  Moses offers the leaders of Egypt multiple opportunities to repent.  Joshua allows one who does repent to escape Jericho.  Maybe you begin to see a pattern.  Even the great prophets of old such as Jeremiah or Amos will preach the invitation to be saved prior to judgment.  God is willing to do the drastic to gain attention but it is not without mercy.

Our study today revolved around the contest between David and Goliath.  Perhaps contest is not the best word to use here.  The giant never stood a chance.  Goliath knew only his talent and skill.  David knew God.  I can only hope that people will discover again the many wonders of that account.  What is funny is how the army of Israel got dressed for battle.  They shouted for victory.  Maybe they even had lots of strategy sessions on facing Goliath.  They just never actually go to war.  David will stand up for God by slaying the giant.  His most prized tool is knowing God in such a way as knowing He will deliver David.  The future king realizes that controlling or managing the giant simply will not do.  The enemy must die.

We all have giants in our life.  Some are spiritual.  Others are physical. There is no end to how they affect us and not for the best.  We become like some of the characters in this biblical drama by losing hope we can ever get past it.  We can even try to help others deal with giants in negative ways without facing our own.  The best advice from this tale is that giants are to be killed and not tolerated.  They simply will not do if we are to reach our highest purpose for God.  Being a victim to the onslaught of the enemy was never God's intent for our life.  God will put an end to those things that our ultimate enemy attempts to keep us from growth.  Our task is to build the relationship with Him so our confidence is not in our power but His.  Keep your focus on God and not the Goliaths of our being.  You will soon find their power lessens as we trust more in Him.  That type of death is one we don't have to grieve.

Bro. Trey