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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. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you
down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine
army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world
will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know
that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the
Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.’”
“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the
battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he
slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his
forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over
the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck
down the Philistine and killed him.”
(1 Samuel 17:22–50)
In part, prophecy was fulfilled concerning Jesse’s root, but the root pertains
to human lineage; it is intended that a man will accept the task as reflected
in the book of Isaiah, where it states: “A shoot will come up from the
stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The spirit of the
L
ORD
will rest upon him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the L
ORD
—
and he will delight in the fear of the L
ORD
.”
“He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, or decide by what he hears
with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he
will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the
rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the
goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child shall
lead them.”
(Isaiah 11:1-6)
Life really does not change all that much, and Israel—God’s chosen—
continued to thrive in the land, for man is prepared by the struggles of life.
Bloodshed and every kind of evil occur in the historic and scriptural
records. Again and again, God interceded through those anointed, and the
message is always the same. God always chooses the lowly, seemingly
weakest, and the unrecognized. Those in dire need are humbled, while the
rich and supposedly wise of the world do not humble themselves. Flattered
and seduced by the evils of the world, they proceed forward as successful in
