Lord's of the Philistines and how to defeat them.

1 Samuel 6:16-18

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁶ And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
¹⁷ These are the golden tumors that the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron, ¹⁸ and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. The great stone beside which they set down the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

Cutting through all of the yip-yap, the Lords of the Philistines (well, the cities they ruled anyway) represent 5 specifically different obstacles or hindrances in our lives that must be overcomes in order to walk in sustained spiritual strength and vigor.

Ashdod 
Gaza
Ashkelon
Gath
Ekron

King David defeated these Lords at the beginning of his reign (bringing the flesh into submission) and Jesus overcame them all on our behalf.  It is these 5 cities/sinful hangups that we will be examining in the next 5 posts.  I'm also producing an original piece of art to illustrate each lesson, so don't stay away.