| Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of the brethren: And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. 1Sam 16:13 David was a warrior. Yet he didn't enter into the battle until after the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. From that day forward, he engaged in physical and spiritual warfare. The parallel with Christ is unmistakable. Only after Jesus was filled with the Spirit did the Spirit lead Jesus into the desert to be tempted of the devil. (Math. 4:1) The New Testament is replete with examples of references to Christian warfare. "Fight the good fight of faith."(2Timothy) "Put on the full armor of God that ye might stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians) "Our weapons are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds." (2Corinthians) so in looking to David we might learn some truths with respect to spiritual warfare. The first thing that happens to David after his anointing is to be put next to Saul. It is Saul who will become David’s enemy and try to kill him until he himself dies and it is David who must be faithful to the word of the Lord and not harm his anointed who must protect both his life and Saul’s. The first truth is this. 'God does not remove us from the battle when we are filled with the Spirit rather He puts us in the thick of it.' David’s battle with Goliath is not David’s first battle. David said moreover, the Lord that delivers 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 the Philistine. 1Sam.17:37 Truth two is this: 'God prepares us for the victory in the big battles by giving us the opportunity to gain victory in lesser ones first.' It is that experience of victory which nourishes our faith in the nature of God to believe for the bigger victories. Now David was victorious over Goliath. He was victorious with Saul. He was victorious with the Philistines. But he fails to see the enemy within. Truth three is: "When we fail to be obedient to the voice of God, God allows us to taste the plague of our own heart." And it came to pass, after the year was expired at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eventide, that David arose off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful. 2Sam.11:1-2 Had David remained faithful to his duty to battle and not 'tarried' in Jerusalem, he would not have been in the situation to be tempted by Bathsheba, nor would he have had her husband, Uriah, killed which resulted in great grief for David. David did not recognize his own weakness, the enemy within. His weakness for women became his downfall. When the enemy was from without, his faith was strong, he was determined and single-minded. When there was no obvious enemy, then his unguarded strength proved to be his demise. We find in the book of Samuel that Saul lost his kingship by being disobedient to the voice of the Lord. Then we find David succumbs to temptation by being disobedient to his duty as king. In Joshua we read: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous; and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua 1:8 Truth four is: 'Meditate on the word and observe it and you will prosper and have good success.' He is wise who hears the word of God and puts it into practice. To listen and not obey has serious repercussions in the spiritual realm as well as the temporal one. David and Saul are witnesses to this truth. Amen |