The Sheer Sweetness of Severed Heads: Why I Marvel at God's Chosen Victory
Okay, friends, let’s just talk about it, shall we? Heads rolling. Gruesome, right? I mean, in the movies it's all jump scares and fake blood. But in the Bible? It’s… well, it's still gruesome. But, and this is a big but, there’s a real sweetness to it when you look at it through the lens of God’s chosen victory. I’ve been really wrestling with this lately, you know, and I’ve found so much peace in seeing it this way.
Let’s be real – the Old Testament can be *intense*. We’re talking about armies clashing, and yeah, sometimes that means heads coming off. Take Goliath, for example. 1 Samuel 17:51 says, “Then David ran and stood over him and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.” Bam! David. Little shepherd boy. Big, giant-slaying, head-chopping victory. It's so graphic, but when I really sit with it, it’s about so much more than the violence. It's about God’s power being revealed through the most unlikely person. I think about my own life, where I often feel like that little shepherd boy – totally outmatched by the Goliaths of my day – bills, relationships, even just getting out of bed some mornings. But then I remember David and his victory, and it reminds me that God can use *anyone* to do amazing things, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem.
I was feeling really defeated last week because my car broke down. It was such a dumb thing – a flat tire. But it was the last straw in a long line of things going wrong. I felt like I was being attacked on every front, just like the Israelites in their battles. I was grumbling, I admit it. I wanted to throw in the towel. Then, in the midst of my mini-breakdown, I remembered David standing over Goliath’s headless body, and I had a moment of clarity. It wasn't the actual beheading that meant anything, it was the symbol of God’s complete and utter victory over impossible odds. So I popped my head up, grabbed my jack, and started changing that tire, humming a little worship song to myself. God really does show up in the weirdest ways, doesn't He?
And it’s not just about the individual victories like David. Think about the stories of the Israelites taking over the Promised Land, or even the judgment of the wicked in the Old Testament. Sometimes, it involved the utter destruction of entire groups, and yes, that likely included some severed heads. It’s tough to swallow at first glance. But I've been learning that God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes, His victory looks very different than what we’d expect (Isaiah 55:8-9). It makes me remember that as humans, we have a finite understanding of these things, but God sees the whole picture – the victory over evil, the restoration of justice. That’s what I hold on to.
Even in my own struggles with sin – the little battles I face each day – it feels like there’s a spiritual “head-chopping” happening. Like, when I finally confess something to God or choose to resist temptation, it feels like a beheading of that old part of me. It's a brutal and immediate end. A victory over my own stubborn will. And that gives me so much joy. It doesn’t come easy, but it’s so sweet when I allow God to take control.
There’s something incredibly powerful and freeing about letting go of the discomfort and seeing the overarching narrative of God’s triumph. It’s not about glorifying the act of violence, it’s about recognizing the significance behind it. When we understand that God's battles are spiritual as much as they are literal, we find a new appreciation for the lengths He goes to to achieve victory for us. It reminds me daily to turn my gaze heavenward in any moment that life looks chaotic or grim.
So, friends, I encourage you to dig deep into those stories. Don't shy away from the tough parts. Don't just skim over the more…*visceral* descriptions. Instead, ask God to show you the true meaning behind them, the victory He’s working towards. What do those “severed heads” symbolize for you in your own life?