Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?"This chapter had a toss-up on which verse to use, but I settled on this one. The thing that caught my attention is how David uses the term "the living God." I don't recall that term being used before, though I could just not be remembering. It is certainly best known for being used by David.
The term shows two things of significance, in my opinion. First, it reveals that David knows that God is not passive or hiding. He is living and active, real and influencing daily life. He is someone David believes and trusts deeply, someone who cared about him.
By contract, there is an implication here that whatever gods the Philistines are serving, they are not living. They are dead, unable to care, and unable to influence anything. The Philistines want them do help, but they can't, because they do not exist. Since God does exist, and does act, His people immediately have the advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment