You Are NOT David!
“With pride as the root of all sin, it seems reasonable that the enemy will puff up our hearts even when using Scripture as a weapon against God’s truth and against our well-being (Matthew 4:8-10). That is why hearing “The Bible isn’t about you!” is not an easily received truth, while it is thoroughly true…”
Misinterpreting the Story
We often hear sermons full of strengthening encouragements which align us with King David at the moment of triumph in his youthful victory against Goliath, the gigantic enemy warrior. This Phillistine giant stood in successful opposition to Israel, the chosen people of God, and there seemed to be no hope for Israel to prevail. Along comes David, a young shepherd, completely out of his element, and he overhears the abusive mockery coming forth from this enemy. Out of love and reverence for his God and county, David leaps out in battle and attains unimaginable success over the massive opponent. This imagery is used when referring to individuals listening to teachings or sermons about fighting spiritual or circumstantial battles, no matter how gigantic they may be. It is used metaphorically for us to apply the spiritual content of the story to ourselves, and we as the audience grow confident in God’s ability to supernaturally tilt the scales in our favor. Some preacher may even go as far as to say that there is victory over everything that seems out of whack for us, even relationships that we have no reason being in, and financial pursuits we have no business setting our hearts on. This historic account of King David, an account alluding to Christ and no one less, is often used as a direct reference to everyone in any emotional, spiritual, or physical battle they encounter.
So, here is the problem: You are NOT David!
It may come as a shock, but the story isn’t about spiritual victory for everyday scenarios. It also isn’t about overcoming doubt, or self-confidence issues. It is a story that talks about the victory that Israel is able to have over their enemy by the power of God, leading up to the fulfillment in time with Jesus’ victorious cross-bearing, and to the eventual future fulfillment with the defeat of Satan and sin. Very many preachers emphasize the all-inclusive nature of this text, and so much so, that they completely dismiss that the whole Bible is’t about you, or me, or anyone else in specific other than Christ.
It was Jesus Christ that was able to reference the entirety of the Scriptures to Himself accordingly when the time came (see Joh 5:39 and Luke 24:27). We, on the other hand, are never more aligned to the worthy and faithful servants of Christ than we are to the thief on the cross next to Jesus during His crucifixion. It is our helplessness and inability to save ourselves from certain doom and from deserved wrath that identifies us with the criminal suffering due punishment for his sins. As incapable as the thief was in affecting his certain eternal destruction while hanging on the cross and awaiting death, we too are completely incapable of doing anything more than sincerely lifting our eyes unto Jesus Christ and trustfully begging for mercy (John 3:14-16). With pride as the root of all sin, it seems reasonable that the enemy will puff up our hearts even when using Scripture as a weapon against God’s truth and against our well-being (Matthew 4:8-10). That is why hearing “The Bible isn’t about you!” is not an easily received truth, while it is thoroughly true, and we’ll go into some detail about it now.
What is the Bible really about?
Is it a collection of stories that are up for reinterpretation as we see fit?
Would it be right or appropriate to do that - to change the common meaning as we please?
Is there a right way to view the Bible, or is it based solely on the reader’s preference?
Can the reader be wrong in how they approach the Word of God, or would that be an un-Christlike gesture - to accuse someone of being wrong for holding the beliefs they do?
The Bible Is…
The Bible is a historic account of God’s revelation to mankind concerning the creation of the world, the sin that entered it through disobedience, the damage that sin has done, and God’s promise to one day extinguish that sin through punishment and justice. It points to a future judgement that will fall on the Chosen/Anointed one (Jesus Christ) as a substitutionary payment made on behalf of the people of God (Isaiah 53). Although the chosen people seemed to be of a specific nationality, through time and revelation, God showed that those people were actually a multicultural group of people that would genuinely believe the message of the Gospel (good news). Only those that believe the message and follow in repentant obedience to God’s Word can consider themselves followers and obeyers of God, able to claim the promises of forgiveness and eventual blessing for themselves. Since the Bible was brought about by God in the special way that it was, to be written down and recorded for our sake and His glory, we must understand what the Author meant by what He said. There is no ambiguity to the Word of God, and that is because God isn’t uncertain about Himself and He doesn’t change His plan or intentions (Psalm 33:11 and Numbers 23:19).
Now, here is where we begin to see the problem. God’s revelation of Himself isn’t up for discussion as to its truthfulness. It is true, and all evidence continues to support the things spoken of in His Word. Therefore, we do not see is a flimsy interpretation of what is covered in the Text as being reasonable or acceptable forms of approaching the Scriptures. With so many topics covered, all of which speak forth an agreeable message in whole and parts, we cannot change the meaning of one text without making severe changes to the views held concerning other texts, specifically the overarching theme of the whole.
Why does it matter?
So, to make the story of David and Goliath about us, we would need to be able to make every story about us, and to assume that we will have those same outcomes in real time. That would mean that if God wouldn’t work it out victoriously for us in a certain situation, then we have a legitimate right to complain against Him, and to demand better results (see how that went for Job when God finally answered his complaints in Job 38:1-40:2).
But, that is more manipulative than anything, and as this life isn’t about us, neither are the stories we find in the Bible. This, of course, doesn’t mean that we cannot find ourselves in the stories and try to apply those principles and perspective to ourselves, because we really can do that (see 1 Corinthians 10:11). Although, we cannot superimpose ourselves into the Scripture and take Christ completely out of it without creating a damaging view of Scripture and an exalted view of ourselves.
There is therefore a necessity to comprehend the message, because it is a message that comes from God and is able to save a soul (2 Timothy 3:15). It is a message that speaks volumes concerning Christ, yet rightly damns us to hell without any other hope than the successful life and death of Christ on our behalf (Romans 3:23-24).
For while we were still helpless,
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
-Romans 5:6
We are called helpless, ungodly, wicked, evil, and slaves of sin. We aren’t called victorious anywhere apart from Christ, and everywhere we do find victory in Christ, it is always a praise given to us by another, and specifically for the purposes of accomplishing the work of God in our lives. It is never for self-boasting (Romans 3:27 & Ephesians 2:8-9), but is a proper self-abasement (Jeremiah 3:25) and a more proper exaltation of God (Jeremiah 9:24).
So, What do we do with Scripture?
In order to righty read Scripture, we must read the whole section that is being made available for us, and also consider how it applies to the rest of the Bible. If the Bible tells us that we will suffer all sorts of harassment and indignation from the people around us for bearing the name Christ (see Matthew 10:22 and 24:9), but the way we read some Scripture makes it seem as though we will have favor with all people and a comfortable life, then we are not reading Scripture correctly. Scripture verifies Scripture, so one section can be seen as truthful if it doesn’t violate the integrity of any other section. It is important to care about the whole message so that we don’t distort any one part thinking ourselves to be doing justice to a certain issue. In fact, with that method, we might be creating bigger problems by creating rifts in the continuous dialogue of Scripture, and it will affect the way we see God, ourselves, and everything in between.
Let us not position ourselves proudly into every text, thinking it to be about us, because that is an unbiblical and very self-centered way of approaching the Word of God. He has written about Himself and the history and future of this world in such a way that we can grasp and administer it to ourselves meaningfully, while still appropriately and reverently. So then, we ought to learn how to carry out what each text has for us into our own lives (Psalm 119:11), and it is our responsibility to apply our hearts to the learning and discerning of God’s Word so that the focus of our minds and thoughts will be pleasing to God (Psalm 19:14).
