Messianic Perspectives

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Stay tuned as we talk about Jehovah, God of the Valleys, today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Ayello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayello.

Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick will be talking about how we can trust the Lord, not only when we're enjoying those mountain experiences, but also when we're trying to find our way through the valleys of life. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you. And welcome, listening friend. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on Jehovah, God of the Valleys. And what we're doing in this series of studies is looking at the seven valleys that are mentioned in scripture. And what we're finding out is that each of these seven valleys represents some unique aspect of God's dealings with His people.

For example, so far we've seen the valley of Eshcol, which was a place of plenty where God wanted to bless His people. Then we said the second valley was the valley of Achor, where the sin of Achan was judged. So we called it a place of purging. Then the third valley was the valley of Jezreel, where the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon. So we called it a place of power.

And now today we want to look at valley number four, the valley of Elah, which was a place of protection. It's found in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 17. Verse 2 says, "And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines." The valley of Elah separated the armies of the Israelites and the Philistines.

The Philistine champion was a giant named Goliath. He was almost 10 feet tall and probably weighed four or 500 pounds. We know from the information that's given here in the scriptures that the weight of his armor alone was 125 pounds. And the iron tip of his spear weighed 16 pounds, just the tip of it. Now in ancient times, it was a common practice in warfare for two armies to do battle vicariously through two champions.

That is, each side would send out its best man, and those were the two who would fight. But the idea was to spare the bloodshed and the carnage of two whole armies doing battle out on the battlefield. And whichever champion prevailed, the army he represented was considered the victor. The other army would lay down its weapons. It's actually a remarkably civilized idea.

But anyway, Goliath was the undefeated champion of the Philistines. He was a monster of a man, and he challenged the Israelites to send out their champion so they could do battle. Here's what it says in verse 8: "And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then we will be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us."

Now David was a young shepherd boy, probably in his 20s at this time, and he had been sent by his father Jesse to see how his three older brothers were and to take them some food. Well, when David heard what Goliath was saying, he couldn't understand why no one went out to challenge him. David said, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

Now let's get one thing clear that's often overlooked at this point in the story. The men of Israel were not cowards. There were mighty men of valor among those Israeli troops who would have given their lives at the drop of a hat. They weren't afraid to die. Many of them died in subsequent battles, Saul himself among them.

But it says here in 1 Samuel chapter 17 verse 24, "That all the men of Israel, when they saw Goliath, fled from him, and were sore afraid." So what were they afraid of? They weren't afraid of death, so why were they afraid? What they were afraid of was the possibility that whoever went down there to fight against Goliath, if he lost, would be responsible for the return of the Jewish nation to slavery for the first time since the Exodus.

It was a very, very serious responsibility. Those Jewish people knew what slavery was. Most of those Jews would rather have died than to be enslaved once again. They weren't afraid of death. They were afraid of slavery. But David went to Saul and he said, "Let no man's heart fail because of Goliath. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

Now notice David's humility. He had already been anointed as the next king of Israel, but he calls himself Saul's servant. "Thy servant will go." No wonder the Bible says David was a man after God's own heart. In spite of his other failures, and there were several of them, David was still a man after God's own heart because he had the attitude of a servant.

Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him what? The form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." Servanthood, that was one reason David was a man after God's own heart.

So David volunteered for this job, and notice the response of King Saul and the rest of the army. They let him go. They could have said, "Listen, we're not going to place the destiny of the nation in the hands of a young shepherd boy, and if you lose, we go back into slavery, forget it." They didn't say that. There was something in David's voice, something in his eyes that gave them hope.

He said in verse 37, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said unto David, "Go, and Yahweh be with thee. The Lord be with thee." Now David's victory down there in the valley of Elah was no mere quirk of fate. He followed four specific steps that ensured his victory.

Number one, David regarded God's glory as the prime consideration. David's motivation was his desire that "all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel," 1 Samuel 17:46. He was more concerned about God's reputation than he was even about his own self-preservation. Number two, David recognized the underlying basis of the battle.

He said, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied." Verse 46: "This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee." Verse 47: "And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."

David realized that there was more to this battle than what met the eye. This wasn't just a physical contest of strength between a Philistine giant and a Jewish shepherd boy down in the valley of Elah. It was a spiritual conflict between Jehovah, the God of Israel, and the demonic deities of the Philistines. It's good against evil, light against darkness.

This is the same battle that's been fought ever since Lucifer, the son of the morning, was banished from heaven in the eons of eternity past. So David recognized that there was a spiritual dimension to the drama that was unfolding down there in the valley of Elah. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Number three, David realized the certainty of victory. Apparently the possibility of defeat never even occurred to him. Never considered it. David had the perspective of faith. And you know, so much in life depends on our perspective. You show two people half a glass of water. One says it's half empty, the other says it's half full. The same glass of water, but two different ways of looking at it.

But David was looking through the eyes of faith. When he looked at Goliath, he didn't see a bigger Philistine. He saw a bigger target, easier to hit. How could he miss? What an opportunity. Look at 1 Samuel 17:47 where David tells Goliath, "The Lord will give you into our hand." It's interesting that this Hebrew verb is actually in the past tense. The Lord has given you into our hand.

It's a common literary device in Hebrew, especially in the prophetic writings, but it shows that as far as David was concerned, the outcome of the battle was so certain, it was as though it had already been won. The Lord has already given you into our hand. And then finally, number four, David responded in faith. In the New Testament, James, Ya'akov, says that faith without works is dead.

Biblical faith is more than a mere mental assent. It demands a response. And David demonstrated his faith by his works. It says that he hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine, verse 48. You talk about affirmative action, that was it. You see, God could have caused Goliath just to drop dead of a heart attack, or He could have opened up the earth and swallowed the Philistine army.

But the God of Israel wanted all the world to see what He could do in the valley of Elah through a shepherd boy who was committed to Him unconditionally. And for David, the valley of Elah became a place of protection. Well, that's all of our time for today. We'll start on valley number five next time, and I'll see you then. You take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Ayello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. You've been listening to Messianic Perspectives, the Bible teaching ministry of Dr. Gary Hedrick and CJF Ministries. If you enjoyed today's study, you'll be glad to know that our special offer this week is the CD of this current series of studies on Jehovah: God of the Valleys by our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick.

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And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Ayello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on Jehovah: God of the Valleys, right here on Messianic Perspectives.