by John Almbeck

Created on: April 24, 2008

The David and Goliath story in the Bible demonstrates how God prepares us for future events in our lives. Examining this Biblical story in First Samuel, chapter 17, shows the progression David went through before facing the giant Goliath. We can see how God used an ordinary shepherd boy to achieve His purposes for the nation of Israel.

I believe that studying and analyzing the Bible is necessary to get the full meaning of many of the stories. Several contrasts stand out in this story of David and Goliath. David sees the battle as God's battle where the Israelite solders saw the task from a man's point of view of brute force against brute force. Goliath represents to David another task to confront while the solders saw a very large person. David relies on his faith and his previous experiences that God put him through while the solders rely on their own physical skills and body armor.

Symbolism has an important role in this story as well. Goliath represents a daunting task placed before us. The body armor of the solders represents earthly equipment that people use to protect themselves against dangers. David uses the skills that he acquired as a shepherd. God does not ask us to do things that we are not prepared to do. As David told Saul, he had not "tested" or "proved" his skill with the armor Saul provided him for fighting. Recalling on our previous experience is important when dealing with current events. Sometimes we go through rough times in our lives. I believe it is important that we take the time to reflect upon what we learned, as we never know what future event these experiences may influence.

David's approach to the event in the story is worth noting. David questions the solders several times to check the facts and to determine if the information concerning Goliath was correct. We see here the importance of gathering of facts to get a clear picture of the situation. I witness many times group discussions where everyone is talking and not much listening is occurring. It is imperative that we ask questions to get a good understanding of others review point. On the other hand, David's brother, Elia assumed that David was being curious to see the battle. His brother did not bother to asked questions to determine the reason for David's presence. Note how David dealt with is disrespect from his brother, he simply turned away and went about his task. The anointing of David earlier by the prophet Samuel may have contributed to the brother's anger. Perhaps the

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