David and Goliath- Part 1

We are all familiar with the story of David and Goliath. We learned it as children, but it is much more than a children’s story. As with any story or event in the Bible, underlying it are principles we should understand and apply. In this series of postings I want to discuss some of those principles and how they apply to you and me 3,000 years later. This discussion is based on 1 Samuel 17-18.

Background

Before discussing these important principles, let me provide a little background to this familiar story.

1. Chronology

This story appears in the Bible in the chapter following David’s anointing by Samuel to be Israel’s next king. Therefore, we can assume that this confrontation with Goliath took place shortly after Samuel’s visit – but we don’t know how long after. I think we can also assume that King Saul was unaware of the anointing, and David’s brothers didn’t appear to understand what it meant. Otherwise, the brothers would have treated David with a little more respect.

More about the story of David and Goliath in a future post.