David and Goliath

Every morning and every evening, a giant walked out into the valley. His name was Goliath, and he was taller than any man God’s people had ever seen. His armour shone in the sun, and his spear was as thick as a tree. “Send someone out to fight me!” he roared across the valley. And every morning and every evening, nobody moved. The soldiers of Israel were afraid, and King Saul was afraid too.

This went on for forty days.

David was the youngest of eight brothers. He was too young to be a soldier, so he stayed home and looked after his father’s sheep. One day his father sent him to the army camp with bread and cheese for his brothers. David arrived just in time to hear Goliath shout.

He looked around at all the frightened soldiers and could not understand it. “Who is this giant,” he said, “that he should stand against the army of the living God?”

David’s oldest brother told him to go home. But King Saul heard what David had said and sent for him. “You are only a boy,” said the king. “This man has been a fighter all his life.”

“I look after my father’s sheep,” David answered. “When a lion or a bear came to take a lamb, God helped me chase it off and rescue the lamb. The God who saved me from the lion and the bear will save me from this giant too.”

So the king said, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” He tried to dress David in his own armour and helmet, but they were far too heavy. David could hardly walk. “I can’t wear these,” he said, and he took them off. Then he went down to the stream, chose five smooth stones, and put them in his shepherd’s bag. He picked up his sling, and he walked out to meet the giant.

Goliath looked down at the boy with a stick and laughed. He shouted terrible things. But David was not looking at the giant’s size. He was thinking about how big God is.

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel.”

1 Samuel 17:45

David ran towards the giant. He put a stone in his sling, swung it round, and let it fly. The stone hit Goliath right on the forehead, and the great giant fell face down on the ground.

The whole valley went quiet. Then the army of Israel gave a mighty shout. God had used a shepherd boy, a sling and one small stone to do what a whole army was afraid to try. Everyone knew that day that the battle belongs to the Lord.