The Arrival of a Victor

Devotion: The Arrival of A Victor

By: Feston Konzani

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You’re my all, you’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord
Now my heart’s desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness
Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die
Graham Kendrick
Copyright © 1993 Make Way Music

20 And David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and got up and went, as Jesse commanded him. And he came to the barricade, and to the army which was going out to the battle array. And they were shouting for battle.
21 And Israel and the Philistines set up in battle array for rank to meet rank.
22 And David left the goods on him into the hands of the keeper of the goods, and he ran to the army. And he came and asked his brothers of their welfare.
23 And as he was speaking to them, even, behold! The man between the two, Goliath the Philistine was his name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines. And he spoke according to these words. And David heard.
24 And when they saw the man, all the men of Israel ran from him, and were very much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who comes up? For he has come to defy Israel. And it shall be, the man who strikes him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and he will give his daughter to him. And he will make his father’s house free in Israel.
26 And David spoke to the men who were standing with him, saying, What shall be done to the man who strikes this Philistine, and turns aside reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should reproach the armies of the living Elohim?
27 And the people spoke to him according to this word, saying, So shall it be done to the man who strikes him.
28 And his eldest brother, Eliab, heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger glowed against David. And he said, Why is it you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I done now? Was it not only a word? 1 Samuel 17:20-29 (Hebraic Roots Bible)

Was it not only a WORD? Asked the Victor. John 1:1 the redeemer of all mankind is described as the WORD and here is the arrival of a Victor who but asks ‘What have I done now, was not only a WORD? But before he arrives onto the scene there had to be Goliath of Gath. But where was he all along? Where was he when this Goliath taunted the armies of the Most High God?

Where was God when this Goliath was still taunting the armies of the Most High Elohim? Was he simply watching and probably excited about the whole thing? By no means NO it had to be so so that the arrival of a Shepherd (not a soldier) could bring an end to the misery.
There had to be A Goliath in order for there to be a victor – David. His (David) story could not have been poignant if this Goliath was not there. The greater the enemy the greater the Victor. Reading the story which is a well known Sunday school most told story, we see that this Goliath of whom it is written:

10 And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, and we will fight together.
11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine. And they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 1 Samuel 17:10-11 (Hebraic Roots Bible)

Defying the armies of the Most High God is as good as defying God Himself. But God (Elohim) had a man somewhere who he was preparing to defeat this Goliath. When answers to our everyday problems seem to be shortcoming GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE and He is still watching over His word to perform it. He who started the good work shall bring it to the end without fail.

Now when David arrives onto the scene, his own brother was a stumbling block to the great mission for which he was to accomplish. The above quoted Scripture introduces us to Eliab of whom it is written:

28 And his eldest brother, Eliab, heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger glowed against David. And he said, Why is it you have come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I done now? Was it not only a word?

Obviously, Eliab looked at his younger brother as inferior, unable and unfit to go to war not the least against such a man as Goliath, so powerful and seemingly undefeatable. A man of intense experience in battle that even King Saul cowered at his (Goliath) very appearance. But there had to be a man who could come and not only stand up against Goliath but defeat him. Such a man had no military training or experience because he was a shepherd named David.

Such a young boy on the field of battle had more experience in victories than all the armies of Israel combined. He was trained in the desert looking after his father’s sheep. He fought the lion and the bear just to rescue ‘a sheep’ and he would do the same to rescue the entire army of Israel as well as Israel as a country.

He was such a man though overlooked by his very brother Eliab, he had something that neither Saul, the entire Israel army nor his older brother Eliab had ever experienced. Here was the arrival of a Victor but not a military man, a soldier but a shepherd.

Eliab reminded David of who or what he was but David reminded himself of what he was before Elohim by these sayings:

33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go to this Philistine, to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said to Saul, Your servant has been a shepherd among sheep for his father. And the lion came, and the bear, and took away a sheep out of the flock.
35 And I went out after him and struck him, and delivered out of his mouth. And he rose against me, and I took hold of his beard and struck him, and killed him.
36 Your servant has struck both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, for he has taunted the armies of the living Elohim.
37 And David said, YAHWEH, who has delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He shall deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and YAHWEH be with you.

Boldly, David declares war on the Philistines but mainly on Goliath, the one and only foe who stood up taunting the armies of the most High God.
God rescued his people using a Shepherd not a mighty man of war. Has He not done the same in our day? Jesus did not come as a mighty man of war but as a Shepherd.

11 I am the Good Shepherd! The Good Shepherd lays down His life on behalf of the sheep.
14 I am the Good Shepherd, and I know those that are Mine, and I am known by the ones that are Mine4 John 10:11 &14 (Hebraic Roots Bible)

David came as a shepherd to rescue the entire nation of Israel and he became the King. When there are so many obstacles in life, a human way of thinking is to use an intellectual approach to solve things but God works differently. His answers come from unexpected sources because He uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise

The greater war on humanity was won by the arrival of not a man of war but a ‘Shepherd’ who did not arrive with all the military regalia but humility. He was there from the beginning and He created all things. He knew the end from the beginning yet He allowed the enemy to come first in person to wage war on humanity against Yahweh only to have the Shepherd come, diffuse and restore all that he (the enemy) thought was already destroyed.

This Good shepherd in His own words said:

10 The thief does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly. John 10:10 (Hebraic Roots Bible)
14 But the material man rejects the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (Hebraic Roots Bible)

We have a shepherd warrior and it is through Him that we are more than conquerors. The war was fought from before the foundation of the world. It was won there and although it may seem that the answers may be shortcoming in our everyday lives and our expectations do not seem to match the reality of what we can expect to see, He is not slow nor rush to our rescue because He is still on the throne.

Goliath defied the armies of the Most High God but when he thought he was on the peak of his defiance, a shepherd comes to defeat him. Friend you have a Shepherd and His name is Jesus. For a long time, the enemy may have taunted you but there is a Shepherd warrior who came into the the world and is willing to come into your situation to declare you a winner not because you can fight but because He is a VICTOR.

Realising this reality, Paul the Apostle wrote:

28 But we know that to the ones loving Elohim all things work together for good, to those being called according to purpose; 29 And He knew them in advance; and He sealed them with the likeness of the image of His Son; that He might be the first-born of many brothers.
30 But whom He marked in advance, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. (Rev 17:14)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If YAHWEH be for us, who can be against us? 32 Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up on behalf of us all, how will He not freely give all things to us with Him?
33 Who will bring any charge against the elect of Elohim? YAHWEH is the One justifying!
34 Who is he condemning? It is Messiah who has died, but rather also is raised, who also is at the right hand2 of YAHWEH, who also makes intercession on our behalf.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 Even as it has been written, “For Your sake we are killed all the day; we are counted as lambs for the slaughter.” (Psa. 44:22)
37 But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him loving us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor cherubs, nor rulers, nor armies, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other thing created will be able to separate us from the love of YAHWEH in Messiah, Yahshua, our Master. Romans 8:28-38 (Hebraic Roots Bible)

We have an advocate, a conqueror, a Mighty warrior and His name is Jesus. We may be despised but our Mighty Victor from the root and offspring of David is still on the throne, ready to come to our rescue.