The story of David starts out by narrating his adventures as he was encouraged by God to face Saul, the king of Israel. David seems as another savor who is chosen by the Lord, since he is protected and led to war by Him. What will this war bring? Why is it David the one being persuaded by God? However, David had always been interested in participating in war which eventually caused him to fight against the Philistines. "And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines." (Samuel 1 17: 2) "Now David [was] the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name [was] Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men [for] an old man in the days of Saul." (Samuel 1 17: 12) Gosh, I didn't know my English teacher was the Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah! No wonder he makes us read all about him! But wait..Mr. Tangen a cattle man? Actually, it may be possible. Everything is.
I found that the whole setting and scene of the battle is very similar to that of Troy's legend. In Troy, Achilles fight's against another great warrior but successfully wins. I believe that these wars are related in context but furthermore, in its limitations and agreements. "If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us." (Samuel 1 17: 9)
"And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height [was] six cubits and a span. And [he had] an helmet of brass upon his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of brass. And [he had] greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him." (Samuel 1 17: 4 - 7)
So was it really necessary to add all this? Actually, it was. But what I really can't believe that happened is that this tiny guy, know as David or Little Dave came out from one side when there suddenly appears this six cubits and a span giant who is worshipped for his absolute destructive character from another. It's like an ant against a human, or more specifically, against Michelle: feeling innocent, disadvantaged, and inferior. Take a quick guess and just by the obvious, we all know who would win. But guess what? We are all wrong. Well, here it goes:
David is first seen as a weak and fair warrior by his opponents, but when he gets in that field, he proves them all wrong. Appearance and first impression led the Philistines to get over confident about him, and without using any weapons but pure knowledge and strategies, David was able to avoid all the violence produced by the armors. This reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, "Never underestimate your opponent." David never fought with armors, he fought with his heart and let things unfold by themselves without violence.
David had become a legend. The women and warriors in Saul's army started to respect him and honor him much more than how they praised Saul. "And the women answered [one another] as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." (Samuel 1 18: 7) Soon, a tense relationship was created between these two leaders. Rivalry had been established for Saul wanted to out stand and was extremely jealous of David, who had that that he didn't. Saul had always been violent, all the measures he used to be approved were completely the opposite to those used by David, so tender and innocent.
And one more measured did he apply. Saul pursued to kill David several times but since David had something that Saul lacked, he was able to escape death. What is it that he has? If they both have Jonathan, Saul's son, what doesn't Saul have? God. God is this missing element that Saul wants. This means, that all along David had not only the people's approval, but most importantly, the Lord's permission.
All of this rivalry that had been established between David and Saul reminded me of Jacob and Esau in Genesis who competed against who received their fathers' blessing. Both of these stories reflect on jealousness and at the same time on innoce
nce. Saul is envious that David has become superior than him as well as Jacob is jealous that Esau will receive his fathers' blessing instead of him. Those innocent ones always end victorious, and this story is no exception.
Finally, David is named the king of Israel and with no rivals he will govern. Saul committed suicide once he was left alone, with no family members, which allowed David to take total control over the kingdom. The Star of David is a really important symbol for us Jews, but right now the only thing I have to say is that the star is David.
"Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail." (Samuel 1 26: 25) Saul had to accept that his enemy was actually someone to admire.
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