Powerless Idols

1 Samuel 8:19-20, 1 Samuel 16:7

The story of David and Goliath is a very compelling story of the power of God.  One that God carefully orchestrates to show the Israelites just how wrong they are about how God should protect them.  Taking a step back from 1 Samuel 17, we see in 1 Samuel 8 that the people are being told by God how they should elect a king if they are to have one at all.  The people are scared by all of these other nations that have kings and see how powerful they are.  They don't trust that God will protect them, and they seek to make their own "Goliath."
Israel received just what they desired. Saul, Israel's "Goliath," was magnificent in appearance and in size, being a foot taller than all the people. Israel’s choice of Saul to be their king exposed their idolatry, for the Lord would tell Samuel that the proper selection of a king has nothing to do with appearance, since “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). With Saul, Israel got their dream king in the place of the Lord.

What Israel desired most in their rejection of the Lord had now failed them in the worst way. Israel specifically asked Samuel for a king so that he would “go out before [them] and fight [their] battles” (1 Sam. 8:20). Saul, the powerful king of Israel’s choosing, should have gone “out before them,” as Goliath did, onto the battlefield to fight. Instead, he cowers before the strength of the Philistine.
Instead of Saul, God puts David on the battlefield and protects Israel from the Philistines.  A man with the heart to protect the people, but not the body.

Questions for further thought:
1. Have you ever created your own "Goliath?"
2. How has God shown you that He is the one you should rely on?

Challenge: It's very easy to create feelings of safety for ourselves.  "I don't have to worry anymore; I have money saved up in the bank."  Or "I finally got that job/promotion/house/car/etc. and now I'm good."  It's not a bad thing to have these things when we need them.  The problem comes when we put our faith in the "things" and not God.  "When we try out idolatry, God has a remarkable way of making our idols powerless before the very fears that created them in the first place." - Christopher Gordon.  As you go through your day, try to find places in your life that you aren't putting your full trust in God to save you, but the thing itself that he has provided to you.  Ask God to help you rely on Him.