Iran – the Goliath of our time

Nobody likes a bully, but few have the courage to take him out!

On the world’s stage, Iran encapsulates the all-too familiar image of the schoolyard bully, demanding your lunch money by using the threat of his clenched fist.  Hand it over, or get punched! 

Sadly, most kids fear the bully, believing they don’t have what it takes to defend themselves.  Instead, they allow that obnoxious jerk to get away with taking what doesn’t belong to him.

This is Iran – using the international waterway of the Strait of Hormuz to enrich themselves, despite not being their personal property.  But who will fight the bully, armed with drones, missiles and, soon enough, nukes? 

Zvika Klein, editor of the Jerusalem Post, addresses this in his article, “The silent moderate majority must find its voice.”

It was at a recent Washington D.C. conference where he had an opportunity to speak to a wide range of individuals – everyone from moderate Arabs to liberal Jews to residents of countries who have no relations with Israel.  Each one of them expressed their sincere hope to see Iran, the bully taken down by the U.S. 

That’s because all of them know that a nuclear armed Iran will endlessly threaten the entire world, taking whatever they can, as they taunt them and hold over their head the weapons that can finish them off if they so choose to employ them.

Ironically, everyone fears this bully, but no one has the gumption or needed courage to be the David who takes out the Goliath.  But when you think of it in those terms, the story is probably not much different.

Goliath, recorded as a giant – not only metaphorically, but also physically, standing anywhere from 7 to 9 feet, depending on what text is read, is described as the champion from Gath, not far from today’s Judean Hills. Casting himself in the role of the ultimate bully, he dared the Israelites to fight him. 

Decked out in the finest of battle gear, his helmet, coat, leg armor and javelin, all made of bronze, must have been a fearsome sight to behold, making him all the more dreaded figure.

It’s totally understandable why no one was willing to fight him, as he threatened to enslave the losers.  

It wasn’t until a young and small shepherd boy named David, the least likely candidate to do the job, wandered onto the scene, with food for his brothers, that the unimaginable begins to unfold.

Barely able to take in the mocking taunts he was hearing, it mystified David how such a disgraceful bully could be permitted to humiliate and intimidate the children of Israel, causing him to ask, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God.”

And there you have it – the courage and moral clarity needed to see the battle in its spiritual context, placing it in the right perspective of winners and losers. That was really all it took for David – knowing that the God he served was greater than this giant of a man who supposed his power was unbeatable.

We all know how the story ends. David, who seemed the least prepared, lacking the heavy armor, relied upon by the king, refuses to be shielded, knowing that he would be divinely protected. Equipped with five smooth stones, he defeats the bully, by coming in the name of the Lord, whom he knew would fight on his behalf!

Falling facedown on the ground, the 40-day threat came to an immediate end.  Eliav, David’s oldest brother, who had, only a few minutes before, angrily reprimanded his young sibling, for stepping into the fray, surely had to do a double take, realizing that there was so much more to his sheep-tending little brother than met the eye. 

While we can find a lot of similarities in this Biblical account, recorded in 1 Samuel 17, to the world events of today, the role of David, the youngest and weakest, has to represent Israel, the unlikeliest of all candidates to take out the bully known as Iran. Continuing to taunt the world, they mock the strongest fighters, in this case, the U.S., daring them to take their best shot.

But nothing happens. There’s lots of talk, threats and defiance, just as in the story of Goliath, but while the strongest nation on earth is scolding little Israel for daring to think she can defend her people, just as David believed, Iran has succeeded in buying more time, gaining an advantage which can only be to the detriment of those who are being taunted by her endless bullying.

It might be good for the tiny nation of Israel to look back at her history, at this moment in time, recognizing that her Maker is the dreaded warrior who leads the battle. As then, He will grant the victory which can and must be seized by the descendants who are still God’s chosen!

The uncircumcised IRGC, along with their mullahs and leaders, cannot come to a different end than what was ultimately meted out for Goliath, and that is because they have one thing in common. Their hatred for Israel and the Christian world is bound up in the same shared evil spirit, which takes pleasure from threatening the people of God.

This perversion seeks to take what was never intended for them but, nevertheless, the place and position coveted by them. If they can’t have it by divine selection, they will attempt to forcibly take it. 

The Biblical account makes defeating them sound so simple. And that’s because it is, when you know who you are and who the enemy is. The understanding of their real weakness will magnify and enlarge the strength of those who rely upon the hand of God to take down the most powerful enemies of our day.

David knew God was with him by way of the miracles he had personally experienced prior to the incident with Goliath. By receiving supernatural strength to protect his flock, God gave him the ability to fight off a lion and a bear, using his bare hands to kill them.

Similarly, Israel can draw upon the countless miraculous victories over her enemies spanning 77 years. Therein lies the confidence we need -  knowing that the Almighty will continue to take down the bullies who falsely believe they can win?