In my personal study time I recently came across one of the most well-known stories in the Bible, a story I’ve known since I was just a little girl in Sunday School class looking at flannelgraphs. Before I read this story I prayed for fresh eyes, because if God brought me here, to the story of David and Goliath, He surely had something new for me to learn.
There were two things that became very important details as I studied 1 Samuel chapter 17. I blame those flannelgraphs from the ‘80s for some of my skewed understanding. First, Goliath’s armor weighed somewhere between 150-200 pounds. Give or take 15 pounds, that’s about one of me! This behemoth of a man was carrying my weight around like it was nothing. Second, David was somewhere between 10 and 15 years old. I always imagined him closer to 17-18, like my almost 19-year-old son, strong and athletic.
But he wasn’t. He was just a shepherd boy, the little brother. It was his conversation with his oldest brother, Eliab, that first caught my attention. It’s found in 1 Samuel 17:28-29. “But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. ‘What are you doing around here anyway?’ he demanded. ‘What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!’ ‘What have I done now?’ David replied. ‘I was only asking a question!’”
In this moment the battle was won. In this moment David showed his concern wasn’t for himself or for his own reputation; it was only for God and God’s reputation. He put aside any fleshly desires to defend his own reputation and was only focused on defending God’s reputation. Later in the passage I came across the moment that impacted me most. “Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. ‘I can’t go in these,’ he protested to Saul. ‘I’m not used to them.’ So David took them off again” (1 Samuel 17:38-40).
The reason it impacted me so much was because I’m reading through all of 1 Saumel, so I have learned much about the kind of man Saul was. He was a man who was concerned with himself. He was full of pride, full of self, full of a desire to gain glory for himself alone. So when he offered David his armor, not only was it ill-fitting on the young boy, it was a fleshly armor that David wasn’t “used to.” As I read this, I thought, “My goodness, if someone offers me fleshly armor, I sure hope I can say I’m not used to it.” What about you?
The belt is the piece that everything else connects to, the foundational piece. So if we’re offered a belt of deception—whether we deceive or we are deceived—I sure hope we can say: “I can’t wear this. I’m not used to it.”
The body armor covers the chest. It’s the piece that keeps the vital organs safe. The fleshly armor offers indulgence as protection. It claims you just need more: more money, more status, more stuff, and then you’ll be safe. When indulgence is offered as armor, may we be able to say: “I can’t wear this. I’m not used to it.”
The shoes cover the feet and are what carries us into battle. When someone comes to us with shoes bearing gossip, let’s pray we can confidently say: “I can’t wear these. I’m not used to them.“
The shield. The thing we hold up to protect us from the enemy’s attack. The fleshly armor offers a shield of blame. “It’s not my fault; she did it!” “He hurt me, so it’s not my fault I hurt him.” It’s not very effective in the end, so may we never use it! Let’s say: “I can’t use this. I’m not used to it.”
The helmet protects the head, where our most vital organ lives. The helmet of the flesh is lies – lies we believe for so long we allow them to become truths. The lies of the helmet can be something like “You’re not worthy of this so don’t even try.” “People don’t like you so don’t try to make friends.” This is not our helmet anymore, so when it is offered again, may we say with confidence: “I can’t use this. I’m not used to it.”
But most of all, the sword. For David, the sword of Saul’s fleshly armor weighed so much, how could he even begin to swing it? But stay tuned, we’re coming back to that thought! The sword of the fleshly armor is division. The number one goal of the enemy of our souls is to cause division amongst God’s people. If this sword is offered to us, pray we never take it up, saying: “I can’t use this. I’m not used to it!”
We should desire the armor that David had, God’s very own armor as described in Isaiah 59 and Ephesians 6. I encourage you to read both chapters and learn about God’s armor.
Remember the flannelgraphs I mentioned? They didn’t tell the full story. I always thought Goliath died by the stone. I imagined it sunk deep into his brain, shutting him off. But in reality, it was a tool God used to take him down, because the last verse in 1 Samuel 17 says that David took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head, killing him. That little boy took a sword that weighed possibly as much as he did and decapitated a giant with it.
Don’t miss this: Goliath intended to kill David with his sword. The very thing the enemy intended to use to conquer will be the thing God will use to give us victory.
My prayer is that you will consider and ask God to reveal to you if there are any pieces of fleshly armor that you have been trying to wear. If so, my friend, trade it in! Trade it for God’s own armor. We are His, and that’s the only armor that will fit. That’s the only armor that will feel right and comfortable, because you will be used to it!