1 Samuel 17:1-54
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.
1 Samuel 17:37.
YOU remember who the Philistines were. They were wicked people who lived in some of the cities of Canaan. They often fought against the Israelites.
One day a great number of Philistines came and placed their tents on the top of a hill in Canaan. When Saul heard it, he came with a great number of Israelites, and they placed their tents on another hill. The Philistines and the Israelites could see each other in their tents; and they intended to fight against each other: but they did not choose to fight immediately.
There was one man among the Philistines whose name was Goliath. He was called a giant, because he was very tall indeed. He was ten feet high.
He was very strong and big, and he could fight well. He wore armor. What is armor? Clothes made of iron and brass: people used to wear armor, that arrows, and swords, and spears, might not hurt them easily.
He wore a cap of brass upon his head, and he wore a coat of iron: his legs were covered with brass. He held a great spear in his hand, and he had a great sword in a sheath by his side: and a man went before him with a shield. What is a shield? It is a great piece of iron, or brass, like a large tray, which men used to hold before their faces in battle to prevent the arrows hurting their faces.
The giant Goliath thought that no one could kill him. Every day he used to call out with a loud voice, Will one of the Israelites come and fight with me? If he is able to kill me, then all the Philistines will obey the king of Israel; but if I kill him, then the Israelites must obey the Philistines. Give me a man that will fight with me.'
Would any of the Israelites fight with the giant?
No, not one. When Saul heard the Philistine giant, he was frightened, and all the Israelites were frightened. They all thought they should be killed, if one of them fought with the giant. And do you think that if one of them had fought with him, he would have been killed? Could not God have helped the Israelites to conquer?
Where was David? Was he among the tents of Israel? No: he was feeding his father's sheep, but David's three elder brothers were in the tents.
One day old Jesse said to David, 'Go to the tents of Israel, and see how your brothers are; and take with you some corn, and ten loaves, as a present for your brothers.
So David rose up very early, and left his sheep with another shepherd, and took the corn and bread with him, and went a long way till he came to the hill where the tents of the Israelites were. Then he ran to look for his brothers. As he was talking with his brothers, he heard a man speaking in a very loud voice, saying, 'Who is able to fight with me?' It was the giant Goliath. David had never heard the giant speak these words before, but the people who were near David told him about the giant, and they said, `King Saul has promised to give any man who kills the giant a great many things as a reward.'
David was surprised that people should be afraid of fighting with the giant, because he knew that God could help an Israelite to conquer him, but he knew that the gods of the Philistines could not help them, because they were only idols; so David said, 'Who is this Philistine, that he should speak in this manner to the people of God?' And David felt in his heart that he should not be afraid to fight with the giant.
One of David's brothers heard what David said, and he began to mock David: `Why did you come here? Why did you not stay with your sheep?' But David answered his brother very gently.
Very soon someone went and told Saul that there was a young man come to the tents, and that he said he would fight with the giant. So Saul ordered the young man to be brought before him; and David came to Saul. Saul had seen David before; but Saul had forgotten him. Saul was surprised that David, who was so young, should be willing to fight with the giant; and he said to him, 'You are not able to fight against that Philistine. You are very young, and he has been used to fight.' Then David answered, 'Once when I was keeping my father's sheep, a lion came, and took a lamb out of the flock, and I went after the lion, and met him, and took the lamb out of his mouth, and when the lion tried to kill me, I caught him by his hair, and killed him. And once a bear came, and I killed him too. I shall kill this Philistine, as I killed the lion and the bear. It was God Who delivered me from the paw of the lion and of the bear, and He will deliver me from this Philistine.'
You see, my dear child, that David was not proud of his strength, but he knew that God could help him.
When Saul heard David speak these words, he told him to go and fight the giant. But David had no sword, or coat of iron, so Saul lent him his own armor, and his own sword; he put a cap of brass on David's head, and dressed him in a coat of iron. But David had not been used to wear armor: so he said to Saul, 'I cannot wear this armor,' and he took it off again: neither would he take a sword, or a spear. He went to the brook and chose five smooth stones, and put them in a bag which he had, and took the bag with him, and a cloth, called a sling. You will hear what he did with the bag, and the stones, and the cloth. In the other hand he held a stick. Then David went to meet the giant.
The giant heard that one of the Israelites was ready to fight with him, and he came near to David: a man with a shield went before him.
When the giant looked and saw David, he was surprised: he had expected to see a great man like himself, dressed in armor, and holding a spear in his hand.
But David was very young, and his face was rosy like a child's, and he only wore a shepherd's dress, and he held a stick in his hand.
The Philistine giant was angry when he saw him, and cursed him, and used very wicked words. Then he began to laugh at David, and said, 'Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds and to the beasts to eat.'
But David was not afraid, and he said to the giant, 'You have a sword, and a spear, and a shield: but God will fight for me; and He will help me to kill you, and take your head from you: and the beasts and the birds shall eat up the flesh of all the Philistines, and everybody will see that the God of Israel is the true God, and that He can save whom He pleases.'
Then the Philistine giant came still nearer to David, and David ran towards him quickly, and put his hand in his bag, and took out a stone, and put it in the cloth that he had: then holding one end of the cloth, he threw the stone out of it with all his strength, and the stone hit the giant in the forehead, and it sank into it, and the giant fell upon the ground on his face.
Then David ran to the giant, and taking the giant's sword out of its sheath, he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw what a great wonder God had done, they were frightened: and the Israelites shouted, for they saw that their God fought for them, and they ran after the Philistines, and the Philistines tried to run away: but the Israelites overtook a great many of them, and killed them. David took the head of the Philistine, and he kept the armor that the Philistine had worn.
Did David thank God for helping him to conquer the giant? O yes, he sang God's praises and played upon his harp. David did not wish people to praise him; he wished everybody to praise God. He wished all the people to say, 'How great God is! He helped the poor young shepherd to conquer the great giant.'
Proud people wish to be praised: but people who love God wish people to praise God. If God helps you to be good, my dear children, you ought to praise God for helping you to be good: if you remember things you are taught, you ought to praise God for helping you to remember. What do you say in the Lord's Prayer about praising God? You say, 'Hallowed be Thy name;' which means, `Let God's name be praised.'
Upon those hills two armies stand
A conflict to behold:
The shepherd youth hath raised his hand
Against the giant bold.
A stone which from the brook he fetch'd,
Now gives the deadly wound;
Ah! see the great Philistine stretch'd
Expiring on the ground!
It was the power of God alone
Made David's arm so strong;
And now he wakes the harp's sweet tone
And pours a grateful song.
Those armies too, that waiting stood,
The wondrous vict'ry see;
While Israel triumphs in his God,
The trembling heathen flee.
O that all nations now would own
That God can save from death!
O that all idols now were thrown
In darkest caves beneath!
Questions on Lesson 9
Where did the Philistines live?
Who was Goliath?
Why would none of the Israelites fight against Goliath?
Why did David think that he could conquer Goliath?
What had God helped David to do, when he was watching his sheep?
How did David kill the giant?
What became of the rest of the Philistine soldiers, after Goliath was dead?
Did David wish to be praised for killing the giant?
Whom did he wish to be praised?
Why ought we always to wish God to be praised?
What is the meaning of 'Hallowed be Thy name'?