1 Samuel 17:17-40.
1 Samuel 17:17-40
One day, Jesse told David, "Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain
and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. And
here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding
officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something
that shows that they're all right. They're with Saul's army, fighting
the Philistines in Elah Valley." David obeyed his father. He got up
early the next morning and left someone else in charge of the sheep;
then he loaded the supplies and started off. He reached the army camp
just as the soldiers were taking their places and shouting the battle
cry. The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing
each other. David left his things with the man in charge of supplies
and ran up to the battle line to ask his brothers if they were well.
While David was talking with them, Goliath came out from the line of
Philistines and started boasting as usual. David heard him. When the
Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off. They
said to each other, "Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The
king is offering a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man
will even get to marry the king's daughter, and no one in his family
will ever have to pay taxes again." David asked some soldiers standing
nearby, "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping
him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine
think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!"The
soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed
Goliath. David's oldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the
soldiers. Eliab was angry at him and said, "What are you doing here,
anyway? Who's taking care of that little flock of sheep out in the
desert? You spoiled brat! You came here just to watch the fighting,
didn't you?" "Now what have I done?" David answered. "Can't I even ask
a question?" Then he turned and asked another soldier the same thing
he had asked the others, and he got the same answer. Some soldiers
overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul
sent for David, and David came. "Your Majesty," he said, "this
Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him
myself!" "You don't have a chance against him," Saul replied. "You're
only a boy, and he's been a soldier all his life."
But David told him:
Your Majesty, I take care of my father's sheep. And when one of them
is dragged off by a lion or a bear, I go after it and beat the wild
animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and
attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it. Sir, I have killed
lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He
shouldn't have made fun of the army of the living God! The Lord has
rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe
from the hands of this Philistine. "All right," Saul answered, "go
ahead and fight him. And I hope the Lord will help you." Saul had his
own military clothes and armor put on David, and he gave David a
bronze helmet to wear. David strapped on a sword and tried to walk
around, but he was not used to wearing those things. "I can't move
with all this stuff on," David said. "I'm just not used to it." David
took off the armor and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to
a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather
bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward
Goliath."
God bless you.
One day, Jesse told David, "Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain
and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. And
here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding
officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something
that shows that they're all right. They're with Saul's army, fighting
the Philistines in Elah Valley." David obeyed his father. He got up
early the next morning and left someone else in charge of the sheep;
then he loaded the supplies and started off. He reached the army camp
just as the soldiers were taking their places and shouting the battle
cry. The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing
each other. David left his things with the man in charge of supplies
and ran up to the battle line to ask his brothers if they were well.
While David was talking with them, Goliath came out from the line of
Philistines and started boasting as usual. David heard him. When the
Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off. They
said to each other, "Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The
king is offering a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man
will even get to marry the king's daughter, and no one in his family
will ever have to pay taxes again." David asked some soldiers standing
nearby, "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping
him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine
think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!"The
soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed
Goliath. David's oldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the
soldiers. Eliab was angry at him and said, "What are you doing here,
anyway? Who's taking care of that little flock of sheep out in the
desert? You spoiled brat! You came here just to watch the fighting,
didn't you?" "Now what have I done?" David answered. "Can't I even ask
a question?" Then he turned and asked another soldier the same thing
he had asked the others, and he got the same answer. Some soldiers
overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul
sent for David, and David came. "Your Majesty," he said, "this
Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him
myself!" "You don't have a chance against him," Saul replied. "You're
only a boy, and he's been a soldier all his life."
But David told him:
Your Majesty, I take care of my father's sheep. And when one of them
is dragged off by a lion or a bear, I go after it and beat the wild
animal until it lets the sheep go. If the wild animal turns and
attacks me, I grab it by the throat and kill it. Sir, I have killed
lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He
shouldn't have made fun of the army of the living God! The Lord has
rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe
from the hands of this Philistine. "All right," Saul answered, "go
ahead and fight him. And I hope the Lord will help you." Saul had his
own military clothes and armor put on David, and he gave David a
bronze helmet to wear. David strapped on a sword and tried to walk
around, but he was not used to wearing those things. "I can't move
with all this stuff on," David said. "I'm just not used to it." David
took off the armor and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to
a stream and picked up five smooth rocks and put them in his leather
bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight toward
Goliath."
God bless you.
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