Day 148: The God of Heaven's Armies 1 (with Liam)

May 28

Today's Connected Passages: 

• Psalm 20 
• Judges 7:1-8:21 
• 1 Samuel 17:1-58 
• 2 Kings 18:1-8, 18:13-19:37 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to the Canon Connected, where we read the connections, see the connections, and study the connections of the Bible. Thank you so much for joining us here on day number 148 of the Canon Connected. And I have a very special guest with me today. Would you like to introduce yourself, sir?

SPEAKER_01 0:27

My name is Liam Erasmus Cannon.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Yes, and Liam is my son. I have him on here today because he is very interested in helping us to understand the story of David and Goliath. And that's part of today's readings because we're starting a new series, a sub-series, but this because a continuation of what we've already been studying. You know, how God is sovereign and how he is almighty. We've studied God's providential protection from death. We've studied that God and Christ are I am and all that that means, the powerful connections there between the Father and the Son. And then we've studied that God and Christ are both described often in the Bible as warriors. I mean, they are army generals and they are fighters. And so that leads into today, it's a perfect compliment to follow God and Christ are warriors and all those connected readings with the God of Heaven's armies. And that is one of God's names. Some translations say the Lord God of hosts, but that could easily be rendered, and the NLT does it. God of heaven's armies. And so a lot of passages that prove this and say it outright. And one of them is the story of David and Goliath, and Liam is on here to help me with that. But first I want to read Psalm 20. That's your first reading today. This is going to be like the theme or the foundation, like a thesis, like a repeated passage for these next few days, next four days. In Psalm 20, verse 6, it says, Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. That's like a military term for God in the Bible. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. Save us, O Lord. May the King answer us in the day we call. So this is the echo that we see through all of these passages. And one of them, it's a very famous story that my son has loved for years, is David and Goliath. Would you say that's your favorite story, Liam?

SPEAKER_01 2:16

It's David and Goliath.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yeah, so what is your favorite part of the David and Goliath story?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

When Goliath dies.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Yeah, and uh do you remember whenever you were younger how we used to play David and Goliath? Do you remember that? Can you tell the the audience what happened one time whenever you were David and I was Goliath and you hit me with the rock?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

I hit him with the rock so hard that it that blood went down.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Yes, he hit me with the rock pretending to be we had real rocks and we had the pretend sword and shield. I'll get him to explain that in a second. But he hit me with the rock so hard he actually broke the skin on my forehead and I had I had a s I had a cut there for how long do you think it was there, Liam?

SPEAKER_01 3:04

I think two weeks.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yes, it w it was a while. I had to preach with it a couple of Sundays, I remember that. Can you tell them what we used whenever the person, whoever was Goliath, had to have a sword and shield. Do you remember what we used for that?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

We used the trash can lid and uh and this thing that that kept our shed um closed.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yes. Yes, it was like a little tiny pole, and it was uh it was it was the perfect size for uh for a for a child's sword. And the the thing that we would do whenever we would play David and Goliath, it wasn't just David throwing the rock at Goliath, or in our case is walking up and just hitting it because we didn't throw rocks at each other. But uh the thing that we always did though, because this was in Liam's children's Bible, was we would say two quotes, one from Goliath and one from David, that set up the actual throwing of the rock. So do you remember what what Goliath said to David, Liam in that story, in the story?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

You're a dog that comes at me with sticks.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yes, and what does David say in response?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

You come at me with this with spear, sword, and javelin, but I come at you at the name of the Lord who rules over all.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yes, that's exactly right. And the reason why this reading appears with all of these others, because I truly think the other stories we're gonna study, God, the God of Heaven's army, shows up in an even more majestic and even more you know overt and powerful way, in the sense of not needing, you know, human human skill, because David actually does have to throw a rock in which he was very skilled at. And we if we have we have a sling and we found out how hard it is to use. But the reason why this story appears with all the others is because when David says, I come at you in the name of the Lord who rules over all, that's how we always said it. That was the quote from the children's Bible. That is literally, I come at you in the Lord God of heaven's armies, whom you have defied, is what he says. But he's saying again, the Lord God of hosts, the God of heaven's armies, the same refrain we are going to see in all of these stories. And it is proof again that even though both of these things can be true, David had to be good with the with the sling. He had to practice, he had to be, you know, skilled and even in a very you know dangerous way. I mean, he could kill with it, he could kill lions with it. And at the same time, when you read the story, David's courage is not truly founded in his ability to fire a sling. It's founded in God is gonna he even tells Goliath that God is going to deliver me. God is gonna deliver you into my hands, I think is how he says it. But is there any other part of David's story in general, Liam, that you really like?

SPEAKER_01 5:36

David's the rock.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Okay, it hits Goliath, but even like after Goliath, we saw the David movie this year and we read other stories of David. Are there any other parts of David's story that you really like? Do you remember the one you were telling me yesterday about whenever he went to the Philistines?

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Uh uh oh yeah. They go in the movie they go to the Philistines title because they ran away because um Because when the life got defeated um a few years past, and then it got all dusty and like broken, and yes, yeah, and uh and that is truly a part of David's story as well.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

David's story takes a lot of twists and turns, and it really is, you know, a case where we see God's hand, you know, move in his life, and we see the God of heaven's armies, you know, and numerous David's victories. And even whenever David wasn't victorious in battle, he still obviously had the hand of the sovereign God with him. But this story, even though it's you know so often a kid's story, there's so many adult lessons in it. And one of them is that David was not standing out there on that battlefield with Goliath alone. He had the God of heaven's armies invisible for sure behind him. And that's what we're seeing in all of these readings. And this is what Psalm 20 is trying to communicate. We don't trust in chariots and horses. Other armies do. You know, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, trusts in that. You know, the Midianites trusted in that, um, the Moabites trusted in that, and and everybody was defeated by God. The Assyrians were defeated by God because they have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright. And it is truly in the nature of our God to be a warrior, yes, but also the God of heaven's armies. And the story of David and Goliath absolutely teaches us that crystal clear. And we're gonna see it numerous times over these next several days. So is there anything else you want to tell the canon connected audience, Liam? Okay, alright.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

A few months ago, um, our Pa was told in a barn, and he had a friend named David, and both thought that it that that it was like David from the movie. From the Bible? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yes, our Paul has a friend named David, and that's that's really funny. I didn't even know that until just now, but both thought it was it was David from the Bible. Well, we love David for all sorts of reasons, but uh today we're loving David because he knew who was fighting for him, the God of heaven's armies. Um I come you come at me with spear and sword and javelin, but I come at you in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord God of Heaven's armies, who rules over all, whom you have defied. I love that part of the story. The action is great, but the dialogue is great as well, because it communicates these ideas. So this is just day number one of this. We have several of these, and I'm I'm very excited about studying all these stories because God's power and his might, his sovereignty, his undefeatedness, you know, he's the all-time undisputed, undefeated champion. Um, he cannot be defeated, and the these stories will teach us that so well. So thank you so much for coming on, Liam.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

And I'm sure we'll have Liam come again when it's another topic that he uh that he's interested in. We have some readings on on child leaders in the Bible, and I think Liam can probably come on then and help us talk through that a little bit, I think. But thank you so much for tuning in. Come back and be with us again tomorrow on day number 149 as we continue to study, you know, the God of heaven's armies, and we continue to read the connections, see the connections, and study the connections. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

I'll probably be here tomorrow.