The Old Testament is made up largely of the stories of the kings and prophets of the people of Israel, including Saul, the first king, Solomon, the richest, David, the most famous, among others. The Bible also tells us about the fight of David against Goliathconsidered one of the most emblematic battles in the history of the people of God: the young shepherd faced the giant goliath to honor his God and his people. On the other hand we see that God referred to David saying that he was “a man after his heart” (Acts 13:22), even though he was only a shepherd when he anointed him as king through the prophet Samuel. We invite you to discover below the extraordinary story that relates this great battle between David and Goliat.
19853 members
The story of David in the Old Testament
“31 Those who had heard the words that David said reported them to Saul, and he sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “You must not lose heart because of him; your servant will go to fight the Philistine.”
33 But Saul replied to David, “You cannot fight with that Philistine, because you are only a boy, and he is a man of war from his youth.”
34 David said to Saul, “Your servant tends his father’s flock, and whenever a lion or a bear comes and takes a sheep from the flock,
35 I chase him, hit him and rip it out of his mouth; and if he attacks me, I grab him by the jaw and beat him to death.
36 So I have killed lions and bears, and that uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the hosts of the living God.”
37 And David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the clutches of the lion and the bear, will also deliver me from the hand of that Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
David’s fight with Goliath
38 Saul dressed David in his own clothing, put a bronze helmet on his head, and covered him with a breastplate.
39 Afterwards, David strapped on Saul’s sword over his clothing, and made an effort to be able to walk, because he was not trained. So David said to Saul, “I can’t walk with all these things because I’m not trained.” And David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five very smooth stones from the stream, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his knapsack, and with the sling in his hand he advanced towards the Philistine.
41 The Philistine approached David little by little, preceded by his armor bearer.
42 And when he fixed his eyes on David, the Philistine despised him, because he saw that he was just a boy, fair-skinned and handsome.
43 Then he said to David, “Am I a dog that you come to me armed with sticks?” And she cursed David by calling on his gods.
44 Then he said to him, “Come here, and I will give your meat to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the field.”
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You advance against me armed with sword, spear, and javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the hosts of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 Today the Lord will deliver you into my hands; I will defeat you, cut off your head, and give your carcass and the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the animals of the field. Then all the earth will know that there is a God for Israel.
47 And all this assembly will recognize that the Lord gives victory without sword or spear. Because this is a war of the Lord, and he will deliver them into our hands.
48 As the Philistine began to move and came closer and closer to confront David, David quickly headed toward the Philistine.
49 Immediately he reached into his bag, took out a stone, and hurled it with his sling, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone slammed into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 Thus David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he struck him a deadly blow, without having a sword in his hand.
51 David ran and stood next to the Philistine; he seized his sword, drew it from its scabbard and killed him, lopping off his head. Seeing that his hero was dead, the Philistines fled.
52 Immediately the men of Israel and Judah raised a war cry and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Many Philistines fell mortally wounded on the road from Two Gates, to Gath and Ekron.
53 Afterward, the Israelites returned from their fierce pursuit of the Philistines and plundered their camp.
54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he left the weapons in his own tent.” (1 Samuel 17.31-54).
24446 members
Fight the good fight of faith!
David is a great example of courage! In fact, the young man did not hesitate to face this giant when he was just a child with no military experience. But have you ever wondered why he wanted to wage this seemingly pointless battle? The answer is simple: because he had grounded faith in his God. With his example David shows us that faith is not only in the heart or thoughts, but must be accompanied by our actions. The Bible shows us that, on that occasion, all the people prayed to God and proclaimed his great and mighty name, but when they received Goliath’s threats, they abandoned their faith and did not dare to manifest it. In the same way, we can also face giants, that is, difficulties humanly impossible to solve, however, it is there that we must affirm our faith and act with full confidence in the Lord. In this regard, the Bible tells us: “Now, without faith it is impossible to please God, because he who approaches God believes that he exists and is the just rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6). When we trust in God and step forward to fight, he rewards us and exceeds our expectations!