As a follow-up to the dream I talked about last week, Overtaking and Occupying the Cedars, I felt I should release a post on the power of covenant. In the dream, cedars represented America’s covenant with God. I have taken today’s post from my devotional, Give Him 15: An Appeal To Heaven. (Thank you, by the way, for the wonderful feedback we have received regarding this book. Many have been blessed through the teaching devotionals it contains.)
War With Covenant
The first thing God tells us in the story of David and Goliath is the location of the battle.
“Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 17:1-2)
I realize that doesn’t interest you. You’re like me: Come on, Holy Spirit, get to the good stuff: Goliath’s description; the drama of his taunts; the fear of the Israelites; David, the young sheepherder; the battle; off with the giant’s head. I skipped over those two “boring” verses for the first 50 years of my life.
And missed a nugget.
This location was in the territory of Judah, which was the tribe David came from. Holy Spirit was informing us, right from the start, that this land belonged to David and his tribe. It had been given to them by God generations ago. David had more than squatter’s rights to the property the giant was trying to claim; he had divine rights. These first two verses of the story assured him of victory. The God who created and owns the earth (Psalm 24:1) has the right to give it to whomever He pleases. And He had given it to Judah.
Battle over.
Don’t think so? I’ll give you another reference that reinforces this truth. When Nehemiah was allowed, by the Persian King Artaxerxes, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls, he faced great opposition. The locals despised the Jews and were determined to stop them from building. When Nehemiah faced their threats and opposition, he stated his case for success in one verse:
“I answered by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We, His servants, will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’” (Nehemiah 2:20 NIV)
“We have a historical, God-given right to this city,” Nehemiah declared. “You don’t. Therefore, we win, you lose.” Case closed.
It is beyond doubt that God raised up America for His purposes. He owns America, just as He does the entire earth; in that right of ownership, He delegated stewardship of this nation to followers of Christ, believers who would partner with Him in His great cause of redeeming the world. Do not listen to the liars, revisionists, or those they have influenced that say otherwise. If the body of Christ in America ever fully grasps this revelation, the giants attempting to steal our nation have no chance.
Uncircumcised Philistine
David’s next “history weapon” can be seen in the fact that not once did he call Goliath by name. He referred to him only as the “uncircumcised Philistine.” What is that all about? Imagine two guys about to fight who begin to shout insults at one another.
Jed: “You’re ugly.”
Jethro: “Your mama is ugly.”
Jed: “You’re a wimp.”
Jethro: “You couldn’t beat up a flea.”
I know, these are a little weak. Not exactly Rambo-level insults, but I’m trying to keep it clean here. And you get my point - insults and degrading salvos are flying back and forth. Then, one of them shouts at the other, sealing the deal with the ultimate insult:
“Well, You’re UNCIRCUMCISED!”
Huh? Didn’t see that one coming.
As strange as this seems, there was actually an important reason for David’s choice of names. Circumcision symbolized covenant with God (Genesis 17:13). Since the days of Abraham, this had been the case. David was stating to the giant, I’m in covenant with God; you’re not. Whereas to those in covenant, you’ll be fighting God, not just me. This battle won’t be decided by your size, experience, weaponry, or strength. It was decided long ago when my grandfather cut covenant with God, and I’m going to defeat you through the power of that covenantal history. I win; you lose.
This is confirmed by David’s statement to the “uncircumcised Philistine”: “I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts…the Lord will deliver you into my hand…for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hand,” (1 Samuel 17:45-47).
No wonder secularists want to steal America’s history with God! We shouldn’t be surprised that former President Obama once said we were not a Christian nation, contending that we were also a Muslim nation, a Hindu nation, an atheist nation, and so on. Karl Marx once said, “The first battlefield is to rewrite history.” The demons controlling Marx knew the importance and power of history. And, of course, demons today inspire anti-Christ forces in America to try and rewrite our history for the same reasons. As believers, we must stake our claim on the fact that God birthed America, and that He and our Founders made covenantal agreements/promises to one another.
I’m not suggesting that God and those who came to these shores entered into a covenant carrying the same weight as the Old and New Covenants in Scripture. There are different levels of covenants, however. The biblical word means “a compact, confederacy, league.” The great Brown Driver-Briggs Lexicon defines it not only as covenant, but as “an alliance (of friendship); an alliance (of marriage); a constitution; agreement.” The fact that our Founders covenanted with God when they came to this land is beyond dispute. Consider reading America's Covenant With God, by Dr. Eddie Hyatt, which makes this abundantly clear.
Do not underestimate the importance of this. God put into the hearts of our forefathers to come to this land. He did so to raise up a nation that would form an “alliance,” a sacred “agreement” (the definitions of covenant) to partner with Him for the propagation of the gospel to all the earth, to be a city on a hill shining His light for all to see.
Obviously, God’s intent was not for this to be accomplished through abusing First Nations people. His plan is for all races and ethnicities to share in the privilege of representing Him and enjoying the benefits that come with this.However, in spite of our failures, God redeems, cleanses, and continues to use us, just as He did with Abraham. We must believe this, and do as David did: stake our claim to this land based on our alignment with God and His purposes.
As we mentioned earlier, those joined by covenant share resources and strengths; they also share enemies. If the Ekklesia in America faces the giants of our day armed with the truth that this land belongs to God (“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,” Psalm 24:1); if we stand on the truth that He established our nation to represent Him; and if we now resist the giants in His name - we will defeat them!
War with covenant! War with history!
Pray with me:
Father, America has an important, meaningful history with You. We are humbled by the privilege of partnering with You in Your great cause. You have brought us cleansing and healing at times in our past. We acknowledge that we are in another season that finds us requiring Your mercy, forgiveness, and healing. The powers of darkness have determined to cripple - and ultimately stop - America from being a voice and light for You. A rebellious culture, enabled by a lukewarm church, has allowed those powers to make great progress.
Today we grab hold of our covenant with You, standing on the fact that You keep covenant and mercy to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). We reach back into our history, declare our faith in You, and decree that we will once again be a light to the nations. We will once again be a strong voice of the gospel, and of freedom, to all the nations of the earth.
We exalt You; we honor You. We declare that revival has begun and will intensify. Through it, not only shall America be saved, but all the earth will experience revival. We declare that the “cedar trees,” representing our covenant with You, will be recaptured and restored. In Christ’s name, we ask and declare this, Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that our covenant with Yahweh through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the covenant we made with Him as a nation, will defeat every giant of darkness in America.
Portions of today’s teaching were taken from my newest book, Give Him 15: An Appeal to Heaven. You can find this book on our website (DutchSheets.org) or by going to Amazon.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
1. Obama, Barack. “‘Call to Renewal’ Keynote Address.” Washington, D.C., June 2006.
2. Washington, Ellis. The Progressive Revolution: History of Liberal Fascism Through the Ages, Volume V, 2014-15 Writings. Hamilton Books, 2017, p. 219.
3. Strong, James. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Red-Letter Edition. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001. Reference no. 1285.
4. Brown, Francis. The Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Hendrickson Publishers, 1996.