VICTORY

He Vanquished Them

"And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 'You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.' Deuteronomy 3:21-22

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.  The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;  My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;  My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;  So shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3

The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe,  Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. Psalm 18:13-14

King David, whom God took from following the sheep be ruler over God’s people, over Israel, knew from first hand experience that the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty belongs to the LORD and all that is in heaven and in earth is His included the kingdom, and He is exalted as head over all. He knew from experience that both riches and honor come from the Lord who reigns over all. And in whose hand is power and might; in His hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Hence David the anointed one, before he became king, told cowardly and fearful king Saul about the mighty Goliath "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

King Saul said to him, "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." 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,  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.  "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."  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!" (1 Kings 17:33-35). David made his confession of faith and put his faith in God and went and took on the Philistine in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom he had defied. The bible records:

And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"  Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, 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 and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.  Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.  Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 1 Samuel 17:44-51

Victory comes from the LORD through the method of His choosing for those who confess and stand on His word. David used one stone, not a sword, and brought the mighty enemy down. He then had to take Philistine’s sword to kill him and cut off his head with it.  David’s vanquish over Goliath was only one of many battles that he was to fight in his life until the  LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around (2 Samuel 7:1); as well Saul's house and Saul's wives into his keeping, and gave him the house of Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 12:8). David discovered the secret of victory for himself. The bible records:

Then the Philistines went and made a raid on the Valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of God, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand." So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water." Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim. And when they left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

 Then the Philistines once again made a raid on the valley. Therefore David inquired again of God, and God said to him, "You shall not go up after them; circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. "And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines." So David did as God commanded him, and they drove back the army of the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer.  Then the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. 1 Chronicles 14:9-17

David secret was that in time of trouble he would inquire of God what to do. And God would tell him what to do to have the victory. As a result of his obedience and faith, something supernatural happened on that battlefield. David described it as the power of God or the anointing of God coming on the scene like the breaking forth of waters. It was like a flood that could not be contained.

And similarly if we will inquire of God what to do in the time of trouble and distress, He will tell us and He will be for us the “God of Breakthrough” for just like Jesus was for others. Jesus told the blind man "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" and to his Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" and they received their needed breakthrough. The bible records for our profit and instruction:

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. John 9:6-7

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:1-7

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:3-8