David Was Anointed and Fought Goliath

Dear Parents,

Today’s story is a pretty familiar one, but do you really know what this story teaches us about God? The story your kids heard today is the story of David being anointed as the next king of Israel and his little battle with a very tall man, Goliath. David was the youngest of eight sons. After God had rejected Saul as king, God sent Samuel to find the next king of Israel. God directed Samuel where to find him and when Samuel came to the family of Jesse, he looked on the eldest son and thought surely this was God’s anointed one. God directed Samuel in the right way and soon it was revealed that David—the shepherd boy out in the field with the sheep—would be the next king.

David was anointed by Samuel, and soon Saul was being tormented by a spirit that could only be calmed by music. It so happened that David was skilled at playing the harp, and he was ushered into the king’s presence to calm his spirit with the harp music. David got to serve in the court of Saul as a young man, and learn the ropes of running a kingdom. Soon David was taking food to his brothers and ran across a battle line with a giant named Goliath. David heard Goliath disrespecting God and decided to battle the giant himself. Saul, who had all but given up on Israel, agreed to let David fight the battle. David took five smooth stones—and the power of the one and only God—and defeated the giant in the name of the Lord!

Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, was quite a formidable opponent. The Philistines had oppressed the Israelites from way back when the judges were leading the nation. (Remember Samson?)  God gave David the power to kill the giant and free the Israelites from the Philistine oppression. David is a reminder to us of Jesus, who came to save us from our greatest enemies: sin and death. Jesus provides not only salvation, but also grants us eternal life.