Goliath's Decapitated Head and What it Has To Do With Pornography
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In the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 there are many lessons to be learned about standing up to our giants, about our faith in God, and about how you NEVER defy the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. Now besides being an incredible story with some of the most blood pumping dialogue in all of scripture, there is are some intentional things that David does here that can teach us about how to defeat our enemies, namely pornography addiction.
Remember back to when you first learned about this story? Either when you were in Sunday school or later on, the parts of the story that are typically highlighted are how tall Goliath was, how small David was, his five smooth stones, and how God can do big things with small people. Again great lessons there, but what gets left out of the PG version of the story is what happens after David fells Goliath. David climbs atop the giant’s body and cuts off his head with Goliath’s own sword. And what happens next? This is the part that often gets looked over but has a lot to teach us. Let’s look into the text:
“50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”
“54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.”
“57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.”
Right there on the battlefield that day, David cuts off the head of Goliath for all the Philistines to see. He wanted them to see the decapitated head of their champion and it had its desire effect: “they fled.” But David doesn’t leave the head there. He brings Goliath’s head back from the front lines into the very tent of King Saul and later on we see that David actually paraded the head around, all the way back to Jerusalem. Now this is more than just a war trophy here, there is meaning and intentionality behind his actions.
David shows off the decapitated head of Goliath to his enemies, the Philistines, so that they would know that everything he had said before killing their champion was true. That he did come to them in the name of the Lord of Host (v.45), that there was a God in Israel (v.46), and that the Lord saves not with sword or spear because the battle belongs to the Lord (v.47). He resisted the enemy to their face and was and is faithful, and the text says that they fled, but he doesn’t stop there.
Why take the head back to King Saul? I believe he did this to show him that giants can be defeated and not because of David’s strength or prowess but because God is stronger than anyone or anything. Saul needed to see that, Israel needed to see that, and we need to know that.
When we talk about pornography, or really any struggle that we might have, we are constantly mentioning intimacy, or letting people see the real you. The reason for this is because there is true power in intimacy. We know that because of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross that he has brought down any and every giant. He is more powerful than they and through Him we gain this power and victory too.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:35-37)
We can know that and believe that but then what do we do with our past, our sins, and our struggles? We hide them. We brush it under the rug and hope no one ever finds it. By doing this we keep the giants head alive and then these things in our lives come back to life and can haunt us for the rest of our lives. So, what should we do? Do as David did: lift them up and show them off!
We need to show it to the enemy and say with confidence, “You will no longer have power over me for my God is stronger than you and through the death of His Son, you are defeated.” And by doing so we draw a line in the sand and tell our enemy if he crosses it, we are going to fight back, we will resist, and when we fall we will get back up. But we must not stop there…
We need to show it to our allies too. When we conceal sin it gains more power than it ought to have but a confessed sin it loses its power and not only that, but a confessed sin also has the power to empower someone else to do the same. Otherwise we could just settle for sitting in pews every Sunday, pretending to be perfect, and no one ever gets better!
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
So are you dealing with a giant in your life like pornography addiction? Perhaps its time you stop trying to fix this by yourself and start reaching out for help. We are here for you if you need someone to talk to or need accountability. Please let us know if you need help: chris@wheniamweak.org.
