You Uncircumcised Philistine!

Well, I figured I'd get your attention with a blog title like that!  Last week, I was in Oklahoma and something I heard got me really stirred up.  The speaker said that David never called Goliath by name.  I had to re-read the story just to make sure that was true  The writer of the book of Kings names him.  The soldiers named him but David never did.  The only name he called Goliath was an uncircumcised Philistine.  At first glance, it just seems like David started a fight with an insult.  I've been called some ugly names but no one every called me uncircumcised.  And if they did, it would really be a rather lame insult.  So what was David saying?

David was circumcised.  Goliath was not. But, why was David circumcised?  He was circumcised because he was an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham.  Circumcision was not just a "Jewish" thing.  It was a covenant thing!  Circumcision was simply the physical proof that the person had entered into a covenant agreement with God.  So, what David was saying is, "I am in covenant with Almighty God.... and you are not!     When David spoke to Goliath, it was from a position of covenant and that gave David the authority and the power to overcome his enemy.  Here's what he said, 1 Samuel 17:45 (NIV)  David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  David knew he was not fighting Goliath alone.  He was confidant the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would defeat the enemy.

So let's apply that same thinking to our lives.  When we accept Christ, we enter into a covenant relationship with Him.  The New Testament is really the New Covenant.  There is no one more faithful to covenant that God.  He never breaks covenant.  So, we can face trials, temptations and outright attacks of the enemy with the knowledge that our Covenant God will back us up.  So the next time the giant of fianances or sickness or despair or hopelessness arises in your life, just remember your covenant and shout, "Get away you uncircumcised Philistine!"  

It might raise some eyebrows if you're in Wal-Mart or at the doctor's office.  But, it will cause you to think about your covenental right as a child of God.

Pastor Dale & Debi