Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 127
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S am u el – K I N G S
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Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and
he had eight sons. Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shim
ea—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. David was the
youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, but
David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in
Bethlehem.
For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion
strutted in front of the Israelite army.
One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these
ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And give
these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting
along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” David’s brothers
were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against
the Philistines.
So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next
morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp
just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and
battle cries. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other,
army against army. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and
hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them,
Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine
ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
“Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy
Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will
give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family
will be exempted from paying taxes!”
David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan
Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the
reward for killing him.”
But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men,
he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded.
“What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know
about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”
“What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. Then David’s question was reported to King Saul,
and the king sent for him.
“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this