“Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.” The correct answer is “What is H&R Block?” With this correct answer and a $4,401, Nancy Zerg defeated Ken Jennings’ 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy! Jennings incorrect answer was “What is FedEx?”
Jennings shouldn’t feel bad. He left his winning streak with a final total of $2,522,700 which included a $2,000 prize for his second-place finish on the day of his defeat. He went into the game show history books. And, if you are a fan of the show, you know that he is now the host of Jeopardy!, replacing Alex Trebek who died in 2020 from pancreatic cancer.
Zerg was obviously shocked when she realized she had won. So was the audience. An audible gasp was captured by the mics. As the audience rose to give a standing ovation to both contestants, Jennings hugged Zerg, describing her as a “formidable opponent” while Trebek called her “a giant killer.”1
Not a lot was expected of Zerg. She was a real estate agent from Ventura, California. “I never thought beyond just trying to stay in the game,” she said.2 Honestly, that’s probably all most people were expecting. If she can just escape alive, that’s all we can hope for.
The segue to the devotional should almost be painfully obvious!
1 Samuel 17:4-8 tells us about another giant. “And there went out a champion out of the
camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (5) And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (6) And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. (7) And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. (8) And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.”
The Israelites cowered as Goliath bellowed. No one had the bravery to confront him. However, a young boy named David was heading to the camp that day and when he heard Goliath’s bravado, David spoke up.
“And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)
David’s courage wasn’t received well by the other soldiers, including David’s brothers. King Saul’s response to David was “Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33) David’s response was spot on! 1 Samuel 17:37 says, “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”
Curiosity attracted the soldiers to this morbid event just like a crowd gathers to gawk at a house fire or car accident. They knew this was going to be much worse. As the two opponents faced off, Goliath did his best to talk smack. David wasn’t flustered by it, though. Instead, a Godly courage and confidence arose from his heart and professed from his lips that this victory would belong to the Lord.
We know the story. David puts a stone in the sling and sends it on its way. The stone hits Goliath right between the eyes and the big guy goes down. David rushes to the fallen giant, takes the giant’s massive sword, and decapitates him. There wasn’t a calm, standing ovation given to David. David’s victory invigorated the Israelites, infusing them with a holy courage, and they chased the Philistines, killing and wounding many of the enemy.
I am not defaming Ken Jennings, making him out to be some Philistine giant. I’m just using the imagery. Jennings seemed like an invincible foe. But a little lady with one correct answer and a wager took him down. In comparison, David was just a little boy with an even smaller stone. But He had a mighty God and he was able to take down a giant.
You may have some massive giants in your life and you feel inconsequential or incapable to defeat them. If that’s the case, remember the truth found in Matthew 19:26. “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Jennings
2https://nypost.com/2019/06/03/meet-the-woman-who-took-down-jeopardys-last-big-champ/
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
