1 Chronicles 20 Devotional

Giants Fall to Servants Too

“So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.”1 Chronicles 20:8 (BSB)

Chapter 20 moves quickly. Joab besieges and demolishes Rabbah while David remains in Jerusalem, and the Ammonite king's heavy gold crown is placed on David's head (20:1-2). Then come three short reports of war with the Philistines. Sibbecai kills a descendant of the Rephaim. Elhanan kills the brother of Goliath. Jonathan, the son of David's brother, kills a huge man with six fingers on each hand who had taunted Israel (20:4-7).

The summary is telling: these descendants of Rapha fell at the hands of David and his servants (20:8). David had once faced Goliath as a young man. Now men whose names are barely remembered bring down giants too. The God who gave the first victory shares it with ordinary servants. Paul writes that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under the feet of believers (Romans 16:20). The decisive victory belongs to Christ, yet he gives his people a share in it. Whatever opposes you today has already met its match in the King who fights for his servants.

To think about: What opposition in your life feels overwhelming, and how does knowing Christ shares his victory with his servants change how you face it?