he story about the Philistines violated the honor of God. In this case Paul to Saul to fight the Philistines. For they had done dishonor to our Lord. In this situation the phrase strong and courageous was used by force but only for the intentions to preserve the honor of God. There is countless stories that deal with the same basic reasoning for violence. It is to hold up honor or respect for ones country. In today’s society you do not have the strong and courageous people fighting to hold up the Lord’s name, for the most part they fight to get respect or popularity amongst peers. Which is not what the bible intended or spoke about. It was based on events like the Philistines and such. In Matthew Henry’s Commentary he deals with the statement of strong and courage or courageous deals with the law of God. Which is correct, God wants people to be willing for him so calls for strength and courage from us. This goes along with my thoughts on standing firm for what you believe. For without the loyalty for something, a person would learn no worth for anything in life. Henry also says “Fear him and serve him, (for, if he be a Master, we must both reverence him and do his work); and swear by his name, that is, they must not upon any occasion appeal to any other, as the discerner of truth and avenger of wrong.” What I believe that he is trying to get across is that if we fear and have so much for respect for God as we are suppose to then we will have no problem being strong and courageous for him. The dictionary meaning for courageous or courage is the quality that enables people to meet dangers without giving way to fear, bravery, spirit. This can be used in a biblical manner, for if we believe that God gives us the strength and power to be courageous then that is what enables us. The meaning for the strong is firm, solid, well fortified, having wealth or resources. This too can be put into Christ...
