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David Defeated Goliath by Faith

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(I Samuel 17:45-46)

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

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There was a boy named David. He was a boy who guarded a flock of sheep.
This boy worked very hard to protect his sheep.

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Sometimes wild animals would come. They would bite and carry away the sheep.
So David used a slingshot well to protect the sheep from the attacks from wild animals. David killed bears or lions with his sling.

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David was also eager in praising and worshiping God.
He especially enjoyed writing poems to sing praises.
He was also very good in playing musical instruments.

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Israel, where David lived, had many wars.
This time, the Philistines attacked the country and had a war with Israel.
David’s three brothers also joined the war as soldiers.

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David’s father Jesse was worried about his sons so he called David and sent him on an errand. "Bring this food to your brothers and see if your brothers are alright and healthy."David followed his father's instructions.
David got another shepherd and went to the battlefield to run his father's errand.

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David arrived at the battle field. While David was asking the people where his brothers were, he heard an enemy general, named Goliath, shouting in a very loud voice.“Hey, Israel, you cowards! I am a Philistine and you are servants of Saul. Pick and send one person to me to fight with me. If anyone can kill me, we will become your slaves. But if I kill that person, you must become our slaves. Today, I have defied the Israelite army like this yet there is no one who will fight me?”

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Hearing that, the Israelite army became even more afraid.
They hid and trembled in fear. Seeing that, David got very angry.

“Who is this uncircumcised man that he should defy the army of our Living God?” David thought that he must fight Goliath.

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Saul, the first king of Israel, was there. David went to Saul.

“I, the king’s servant, was a shepherd guarding a flock of sheep. When a lion or a bear would bit and carry away my sheep, I attacked it and saved the sheep. If that animal would try to attack me, I held its jaw and killed it.”

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David continued.

“I, the king’s servant, killed lions and bears. That uncircumcised Goliath will also become like the lions and bears that I have killed. He has dared to defy our Living God’s army so I can’t leave him like that. God protected me from the lions and bears; just like that, God will also protect me from that man.”

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The king allowed David to fight. David did not wear any helmet nor a coat of armor. He just brought a stick and went down to the bank of a stream. There, he picked up 5 smooth stones and he put them into his shepherd’s bag. In his hands, he held his sling. Then, he went to Goliath.

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When Goliath saw David, he looked down at David and said,
 “Hey kid, do I look like a dog to you? Why are you bringing a stick to fight me?

Come here. I will give your body as food to the birds and the wild animals.”

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David said to Goliath. “You have come against me by sword and spear and javelin but I have come against you in the name of God of the Israelites' army. You have dared to defy our God. Today, I will cut off your head and show that our God is the Living God.”

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David spun the sling and ran towards Goliath.

Then, David threw the sling at Goliath with all his strength.
The stone that left the sling struck the forehead of Goliath and sank into his forehead.

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Goliath fell facedown to the ground. David ran to Goliath and took his sword.
Then, David cut off the head of Goliath.

God protected David and made David win Goliath.

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The faith of David won over the power of Goliath.

David believed that God would protect him and by that faith, David defeated Goliath, who had defied God.
Later, God raised this faithful David to become the great king of Israel.

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There is nothing stronger than faith in believing God. Just like David, if you live by faith, God will solve any of your difficult problems and God will make everything possible. So, dear faithful friends; have brave faith believing in God like David and become great friends who will win over any difficult problems courageously.