The ultimate mountaintop for David was found in the valley. Specifically in the Valley of Elah; as the key verse reminds him. It was in the Valley of Elah that David conquered his greatest fear and slew his biggest giant. No doubt the legend of this moment is what endeared him to his people for so long. He killed Goliath and was hailed the hero. Now years later he is found fleeing for his life and the Valley of Elah must have seemed a thousand miles away. A distant memory that fades with each turn downward of the current valley he was facing. Realizing he has no weapon David asks the priest Ahimelech if he has anything lying around he could use and the key verse reveals that the only weapon on site is the actual sword of Goliath, whom David had slain in the Valley of Elah so may years before.
It is as if God is speaking directly to David's heart. He is reminding him of the greatest victory He had ever delivered him to. He brought back to his memory a simpler time for David when his faith was purer. David did not fight Goliath because he thought he could beat him; he fought Goliath because he knew that God could beat him:
Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." -- 1Samuel 17: 36-37 (NIV)
Not David's strength and power -- God's. But now years later he is running for his life. Yet as he stops in Nob, in the middle of his lowest valley, God reminds him of another valley he faced. He reminds him of the Valley of Elah; where David must have been scared to death in his humanity to face the nine foot tall Goliath with nothing but a slingshot. God reminds David of how quickly the Valley of Elah can become your greatest victory; your highest mountaintop. David grabs the sword of Goliath in our key verses and exclaims -- there is nothing like it!
There is nothing like the Valley of Elah to make us put things in the proper perspective. Where does this writing find you today? What valley do you find yourself in? How long has it gone on? Is it approaching the territory of Joseph? How deep does it continue to seem to go? Does each new day seem to bring with it only downward momentum? This is what God is saying to us today -- where was your Valley of Elah beloved? Where was the single greatest victory God has ever given you? What was the giant that stood before you that day? Did you watch God take a slingshot to your addiction and slay it with a single shot? Did you watch God take a slingshot to your life of crime, debauchery, or sin and slay it with a single shot? Did you watch God sling a smooth stone through your medical report the doctor said would give you no chance? What was your Valley of Elah beloved? Whatever it was and wherever it occurred, God wants you to remember it today because the same God that saw you through that is going to see you through this. Sometimes we go down further so the Valley of Elah is even more of a pronounced victory. God is not punishing you -- He is refining you. Because the person who comes out of the Valley of Elah is better for having gone through it. Your dependence on God is strengthened. You maturity in Christ is strengthened.
There once was an arrogant King of Aram named Ben-Hadad. He provoked the King of Israel, Ahab into war. He was soundly defeated thanks to God but his arrogance was not stayed. He had a rationale for why he lost and re-attacked the following spring; only to be soundly defeated again. Here was God explaining why:
The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: "Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.'" -- 1Kings 20: 28 (NIV)
That is the Word of the Lord for us today. He is the God of the valley beloved! No matter how far down it seems to go, God wants you to focus on the Valley of Elah in your life. The greatest victory God ever gave you. Hold onto it and cherish it because it reminds you of who God is and what He not only can do -- but will do in your life again!
Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 7, 2012
