Give Me A Man

On the way to church this morning I prayed for a marriage post idea, which I usually do, and I got one, albeit from an unusual place! 1 Samuel 17 tells the story of David and Goliath. I wouldn’t have expected parallels to marriage to be there, but they are!

David has gone to the battlefield as his dad instructed, and sees Goliath taunting the Israeli army. He is huge; he wears 120 pounds of gleaming bronze armor and carries a spear weighing in at about 23 pounds!

He seems unbeatable.

He makes fun of the men. “Why did you even bother putting on your battle gear? … Choose a man for yourselves, and if he can beat me, then all the Philistines will be your servants!” Can’t you just hear the sarcasm dripping off his tongue? Then he adds what looks to me to be the Old Testament equivalent of a double-dog dare: “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together!” As soon as our pastor shouted those words, I knew they were a battle cry, from God, for marriages! “Give me a man, that we may fight together!” Our enemy puts giants of temptation in our paths all the time in our modern world: incessant advertising to tempt our greed; sexual images literally everywhere you look to feed our insecurities and stir up lust in our husbands; perpetual distractions that can easily take our focus off the most important things. It’s a constant battle– however, when we feel defeated it’s because we haven’t used all the weapons at our disposal. Our pastor brought out how, oftentimes, we are so AFRAID of criticism or failure that we are paralyzed and do nothing. Look at the couples who don’t marry, but give in to the myth that love can’t last and marriage is foolish.

What can a young man learn about being God’s man and leading in marriage?

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

David was young and inexperienced in war. His brothers tried to shush him, and the King discouraged him. But he was confident in God.  The battle against marriage is between our enemy and our Father. We are just little soldiers. God is FOR marriage, and He will fight the enemy for it. We just have to realize what is really going on, and follow His rules.

Don’t be stupid. (My loose translation of Ecclesiastes 10:3–  …the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is.)

David wasn’t foolish– he took 5 rocks, not just one, and he did have experience using a sling. Don’t rush in and marry the first person you are attracted to. Take some time. Have a plan. Have some resources at your disposal. Get counsel from older, godly people whose judgment you trust.

The battle is the Lord’s.  1 Samuel 17:47

David knew he wasn’t fighting in his own strength. Neither are we, if we will surrender our will to God’s, and take orders from Him. He’s offering to lead our battalion!

The difference in David’s battle and marriage is that David’s  was just one battle, and marriage is More like Whack-a-Mole– Any “giant” might rear up again, and when you do finally kill it, another one might take its place! When you take a stand for God, be prepared for war. That’s why we are given a full set of armor in Ephesians 6, and are warned the the devil is like a roaring lion, looking for a meal. Girls, we need to do our part in encouraging our husbands and raising our sons to be strong, godly leaders. Listen– do you hear it? God is calling– “Give me a man, that we may fight together!”

Source David and Goliath  Source Bride and Groom 

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