The Jesse Tree ~ December 12: David

Symbol: slingshot

1 Sam. 17:12-51
¹²David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah whose name was Jesse; Jesse had eight sons and, by Saul’s time, he was old and well on in years. ¹³Jesse’s eldest three sons followed Saul to the war. The names of the three sons who went to the war were: the eldest Eliab, the second Abinadab and the third Shammah. ¹⁴David was the youngest; the eldest three followed Saul.

¹⁵David alternated between serving Saul and looking after his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. ¹⁶Morning and evening, the Philistine advanced, presenting himself thus for forty days. ¹⁷Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves, and hurry to the camp, to your brothers. ¹⁸And take these ten cheeses to their commanding officer; find out how your brothers are and bring some token back from them; ¹⁹they are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of the Terebinth, fighting the Philistines.’ ²⁰David got up early in the morning and, leaving the sheep with someone to guard them, took up his load and went off as Jesse had ordered; he reached the encampment just as the troops were leaving to take up battle stations and shouting the war cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistines drew up their lines facing one another.

²²David left his bundle in charge of the baggage guard and, running to the battle-line, went and asked his brothers how they were.²³While he was talking to them, the champion (Goliath, the Philistine from Gath) came up from the Philistine ranks and made his usual speech, which David heard. ²⁴As soon as the Israelites saw this man, they all ran away from him and were terrified. ²⁵The Israelites said, ‘You saw that man who just came up? He comes to challenge Israel. The king will lavish riches on the man who kills him, he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s family from all taxes in Israel.’ ²⁶David asked the men who were standing near him, ‘What would be the reward for killing this Philistine and saving Israel from disgrace? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, to challenge the armies of the living God?’ ²⁷The people told him what they had been saying, ‘That would be the reward for killing him,’ they said. ²⁸His eldest brother Eliab heard David talking to the men and grew angry with him. ‘Why have you come down here?’ he said. ‘Whom have you left in charge of those few sheep in the desert? I know how impudent and artful you are; you have come to watch the battle!’ ²⁹David retorted, ‘What have I done? May I not even speak?’ ³⁰And he turned away from him to someone else and asked the same question, to which the people replied as before.

³¹David’s words were noted, however, and reported to Saul, who sent for him. ³²David said to Saul, ‘Let no one be discouraged on his account; your servant will go and fight this Philistine.’ ³³Saul said to David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior since his youth.’ ³⁴David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to look after the sheep for his father and whenever a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, ³⁵I used to follow it up, lay into it and snatch the sheep out of its jaws. If it turned on me, I would seize

it by the beard and batter it to death. ³⁶Your servant has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will end up like one of them for having challenged the armies of the living God.’ ³⁷‘Yahweh,’ David went on, ‘who delivered me from the claws of lion and bear, will deliver me from the clutches of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and Yahweh be with you!’ ³⁸Saul dressed David in his own armour; he put a bronze helmet on his head, dressed him in a breastplate ³⁹and buckled his own sword over David’s armour. David tried to walk but, not being used to them, said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk in these; I am not used to them.’ So they took them off again. ⁴⁰He took his stick in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the river bed and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch; then, sling in hand, he walked towards the Philistine. ⁴¹The Philistine, preceded by his shield-bearer, came nearer and nearer to David. ⁴²When the Philistine looked David up and down, what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a lad, with ruddy cheeks and an attractive appearance. ⁴³The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog for you to come after me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the wild beasts!’ ⁴⁵David retorted to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with sword, spear and scimitar, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have challenged.

⁴⁶Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand; I shall kill you, I shall cut off your head; today, I shall give your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts, so that the whole world may know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷and this whole assembly know that Yahweh does not give victory by means of sword and spear — for Yahweh is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’ ⁴⁸No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David darted out of the lines and ran to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell face downwards on the ground. ⁵⁰Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; he hit the Philistine and killed him, though he had no sword in his hand. ⁵¹David ran and stood over the Philistine, seized his sword, pulled it from the scabbard, despatched him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

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