“Save me from the mouth of the lion!” Psalm 22:21
Goliath
While David was the shepherd of his father’s sheep, his brothers were soldiers in King Saul’s army. David went back and forth from the flock to the army, delivering food and bringing home news. Now one of these times David walked through the camp to the battle line, where he heard the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath, defy Israel. Goliath had intimidated Israel for forty days, morning and evening (1 Sam. 17:16). Every day the Israelite soldiers would rise and go out to the battle line, shouting the war cry, but every day when Goliath would appear they would flee from him, being very much afraid. It was to this scene that David came. The shepherd boy could not believe what he was hearing and seeing.
The Paw of the Lion
David would not stand by as Goliath defied the God of the army of Israel. He would not stand by as the army of the Living God shrank back in fear. David was certain that God could overcome this enemy, and so he approached King Saul and volunteered to fight Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17:34- 37, David described to Saul how God had delivered him before. In fact, David had killed a lion with his bare hands. He had rescued a lamb from the very mouth of its predator. And when the predator would turn on David and attack him, he would take it by the mouth and kill it. David knew what it meant to rescue and to be rescued from the paw of the lion. David knew what it meant to be strengthened by God to fight God’s battles. The shepherd boy fully believed that what he had seen and heard before, God could do again.
The Rescuer
God delivered Goliath into David’s hand and Israel out of the Philistine’s hand. What David had witnessed and done would have a lasting impact. Soon David would be praised for slaying his ten thousands. But later he would be surrounded by thousands (Psalm 3:5-6). David would go to sleep in the mouth of the lion, with enemies on every side, and still God would sustain him, give him sleep, wake him and deliver him. God was David’s great deliverer, from the lion to the bear, from Goliath to King Saul, from a rebellious son to thousands of enemy soldiers. God would never fail to rescue his beloved, his child, his servant. “Save me from the mouth of the lion!” Psalm 22:21
Jesus
Sin is ever crouching, like a lion, waiting and ready to pounce on our hearts to destroy us (Gen. 4:7). The Devil is like a roaring lion, prowling around seeking someone to devour. Because Jesus was hated and persecuted, as his disciples we will be also. In a true sense, we are often found in the mouth of the lion. But there is one who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is also the Lamb of God (Rev. 5:5-6) who has overcome the world, sin, death and Satan. This Lamb of God is Jesus, and he is able to save us from the mouth of the lion. As the ever-living and ever-reigning Lamb of God He stands over us and says, “This one is mine. I love him.” Jesus still delivers the sinner, the helpless lamb, from the mouth of the devourer. Jesus still delivers his people, his precious and blood-bought church, from the hand of the enemy. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and always.
Recent Comments