II Samuel 21:15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint
If I were to ask you to name the Philistine giant that David killed, the obvious answer would be Goliath of Gath, but we read of a second giant who wanted to battle David in II Samuel 21. A couple of things about this story are a little different. In II Samuel 21 David is not a young shepherd boy, not even a king in his prime; he is an old man. We don’t often think about that, but the Bible says more than a little about David in his older years.
Verse 15 says, “Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.” So, the battling that would have been part of David’s life when he was a young warrior wore him out. He became weary. Verse 16 tells us that a giant was thought to have killed David, so Abishai killed that giant. Then his men said to David, “Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.” They were saying, “David, we need you more as a king than we need another warrior when we are fighting the Philistines.”
Now, you will always have giants, challenges and opposition, at various times in your life, but you can respond to giants in one of two ways. First, you could always have youth. The problem is that you won’t. David didn’t and you and I will not. It is funny; probably more now than ever before entertainers in general and actors in particular seem to maintain the status quo on their age for thirty years at a time. Maybe there was an actor you first were introduced to thirty years ago and this actor looks essentially the same now.
Even if you have a lot of money, take care of yourself, or pay servants to make you look younger, at some point your age is going to catch up with you. You can’t maintain that forever. So, how do you respond to giants and problems in your life? You could always have youth, but even David the giant-slayer didn’t always have youth. He became faint and had to be protected by his men.
You can always have youth, or you can always have God. In II Samuel 22 is a psalm of David. We find it again largely in Psalm 18. II Samuel 22:1 says, “And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.” So, I won’t always be young, but I will always have God if I will acknowledge Him. Verses 2-3 say, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer…my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour…I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” These were the words of a man who was once a shepherd, once a warrior, once the king in his prime, and eventually an old man, but he still had God. God is not diminished. Your capacities mentally, socially, and physically will diminish, but God never does. God is the same now as ever He was.
There are three question you might ask yourself when you are contemplating the giants in your life. One, whom do I trust? Verse 7 David says, “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice…” If you read the psalm, over and again the context is “in my trouble” and “in my distress.” People without problems do not pray, and people who are not sinners cannot be saved. All of us are born sinners and all of us have problems. Unless we acknowledge our need and God’s sufficiency, we will not live the life of victory that otherwise we could live. So, whom do you trust?
Two, whom do you credit? Verse 1 says that David spoke these words to the Lord “in the day that LORD had delivered him.” So, whom do you credit? The way you know who you are trusting today is to see who you give credit to tomorrow. You may see an old man or an elderly lady talking about how great they were back in the day, as if the older they become, the better they were. If we are giving credit to self, it is an indication that we are not trusting God. So, whom do you credit?
Third, whom do you thank? Verse 50 says, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD.” He says earlier, “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock…it is God that avengeth me.” So, it is God who lives and God who is powerful, so thanks ought to be given to God. Start now, whether you are young or old. In verse 19 David had enemies, but he says, “The LORD was my stay.” He was my stay-bility, my stability, my ability to be consistent to stay. God was David’s stability and strength. David had youth at one time and had old age eventually. In both cases God was the power that David needed.
So, you can respond one of two ways to the giants in your life today. You can always have youth, or you can always have the timeless God who stands ready and willing to give aid to those who acknowledge their need and trust Him.