14
David and Goliath
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Scripture
Focus
David trusted in God's power.
Faith Nurture Goals
- Tell who kept David safe and helped him fight Goliath.
- Realize that God loves and protects us.
- Express thanks for God’s power and care for us.
Session Outline
Leader Reflection
Preparing to Tell God's Story
You're probably eager to tell this story. And why not? No matter how many times we hear it, the courage, suspense, and adventure always grab us. But don't miss the even more exciting and deeper story of faith that underlies it all.
Just before this story begins, we learn that "the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul." When the leader is "Spiritless" all his followers become dispirited as well. Mighty King Saul is camped on one side of the Valley of Elah, with the Philistines on the other side. The valley between is a no-man's-land because the giant Goliath has challenged Israel to settle the battle one-on-one. He shouts, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other" (v. 10). And the whole army of Israel, from Saul on down to the lowliest soldier, cowers in fear.
Along comes David. His older brothers are all in the army of Saul, but David was evidently deemed too young and too inexperienced. His father has sent him to bring food to his soldier brothers. While he is there, Goliath yells out his challenge again. David's curiosity is piqued, but he's less interested in defending the reputation of the God of Israel than in his own advancement. "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?" he asks (v. 26). The Bible is honest about people. David is not all courage and pious talk. He also wants to get ahead; he's got ambition. Then he expresses his scorn for Goliath: "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
David's defiance gets him an audience with the king himself, who is astounded and skeptical that this mere boy might go against Goliath. But David convinces Saul to give him a try. "Go, and the Lord be with you" (v. 37). Was that an expression of faith or of desperation?
Next, we see David stumbling out of the camp under the weight of Saul's full armor. He looks ridiculous and feels useless. As soon as he gets far enough from the Israelite camp, he dumps the armor and takes his staff in hand. He stoops down to choose five smooth stones from a nearby brook, and sets off to meet Goliath. The fact that David is so young, so small, and so ill-equipped seems to enrage Goliath all the more. But David only grows in faith and courage. He names his true champion: "the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (v. 45). Now we know what this is really all about: the reputation of God's covenant name and the well being of God's people.
David's very lack of the typical pieces of armor makes clear the real point. "It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's . . ." (v. 47).
It's a case of faith in God, combined with stealth, cunning, and skill. David sneaks up on Goliath, who hadn't seen David's sling, but only his staff. With a practiced shepherd's skill, David swirls the sling, lets the stone fly, and lands it right on Goliath's exposed head. Goliath drops dead on the spot, "facedown on the ground" (v. 49). Facedown is the attitude of slavery. Goliath, who had vowed to make slaves of the Israelites, now lies facedown before this kid, this young shepherd boy. David takes Goliath's enormous sword and slices off the giant's head.
As God's story continues, we will hear a lot more about David. It's not all good, to be sure. An unfaithful husband and a poor father, David will fail. But, the Bible seems to tell us, when he's at his best David shows what we human beings can be---at least until the Son of David comes, who will give humanity a whole new start and wrestle with the powers of hell on the cross.
Wondering
What motivates David to stand against Goliath?
What’s wrong with Saul and his armies?
What do you think of David’s apparently complex motivation?
How do faith and skill operate together in your life?
Teaching
Young children can be fearful . . . of monsters, big dogs, the dark, and so forth. Invite your little ones to name their fears, then help them see that David trusted God to keep him safe as he went face-to-face with a giant, and we can trust God too.
This is a story of faith, but as we’ve seen, it’s faith in combination with courage, skill, and cunning. Faith is central, but if it’s the only thing emphasized, our calling as human beings gets diminished.
Steps
Materials
Special (tall!) guest
Invite a very, very tall person—preferably a good storyteller too—to class today and seat him in your gathering circle before the children arrive (so they can’t yet see how big he is!). After introducing your guest to the group, begin your time together with the prayer you introduced a few weeks ago:
Loving God, to you we to say: (fold hands)
We’re glad you hear us when we pray. (bow head)
We love you, Lord. We need your care (hands over heart)
every day—and everywhere. (hold hands out wide)
Amen.
Introduce your guest; then spend a few minutes inviting the children to tell each other about some of the special places they’ve been during the past week. Talk about what they did in each place—especially the unusual places they mention. With each contribution, remind your little ones that God was with [name] in that place—God is everywhere! And God is always watching over us.
Ask the children if, in all of the places they went this past week, they ever saw a giant. (Listen to their stories if they did.) Tell them you wanted to invite a giant to visit your class this week, and you searched everywhere until you found someone. He’s not a giant, but he’s very tall! Ask your guest to slowly stand up as you remark about his great height. Give each child a chance to come stand beside him, comparing heights. (You could even mark everyone’s height on a long strip of paper attached to the wall.)
Explain that you’ve invited your guest to tell the Bible story today—and as they listen, they’ll discover why you looked for a giant storyteller.
Show the children where today’s story is found in your Bible and say your usual story call together:
This is the Bible, let’s open it wide. (hands together, palms up, like a book)
Listen to God’s story that’s told inside! (hands behind ears, listening)
Re
formed
formedIt’s important to look at this story with a holistic worldview. If we only see it as a story of faith, we will miss the complexities of how faith operates in real life. On the other hand, if it’s just about David’s skill and courage, we will inspire a kind of hero-worship mentality in which the strongest and brightest can get the job done. God is at work through all of us.
Materials
None needed
The story follows:
There once lived a HUGE giant named Goliath. He was VERY tall and strong, and he bragged a lot. He hated God and God’s people. He was sure that he and his soldiers could beat God’s soldiers in a battle—and he was eager to fight. Every day he stood on the other side of the valley and yelled across at God’s people and their king: “I dare you to choose someone to fight me! If you win, I’ll give up. If I win, you will become my servants!”
Nobody dared to fight Goliath. God’s people watched him. They listened to his loud, braggy voice. And they shook with fear!
Then along came David. He was just a shepherd boy who took care of his father’s sheep. He had come to visit his brothers who were soldiers in God’s army. David watched giant Goliath. He listened to Goliath’s loud, braggy voice say, “Come on! Fight me if you dare!”
Little David went to find the king of God’s people. “I dare to fight this giant,” he said. “Goliath does not scare me. Once I killed a lion and a bear who tried to steal my sheep. God protected me then—and God will protect me against this braggy giant,” David said to the king.
The king wasn’t so sure. David was just a boy. How could he fight such a strong giant? Perhaps he could use the king’s helmet and sword. But when David tried to wear the king’s armor, it was way too big for him. “No thanks!” he said. “I’ll be OK without them. God will protect me!”
So David took off the king’s battle things, and put his shepherd’s coat on again. He picked up his slingshot and went to a creek, where he gathered five small, smooth stones.
“Who does he think he is?” thought the giant. “Why, he’s just a kid!” Goliath was angry. He yelled at David as David walked toward him: “Don’t you know I can kill you?”
I wonder if that stopped David? I wonder if David turned around and went back home? (Give children time to respond.) No! You see, David was sure that God was with him and God would protect him.
When David got just close enough to braggy Goliath, he put a stone into his sling and swung it around and around. That small stone flew through the air, straight toward Goliath’s giant forehead! Down went Goliath— down forever.
When Goliath’s soldiers saw that David had killed their giant leader, they turned around and ran away. The king and all of God’s army cheered. They chased the enemy soldiers out of their land. And everyone learned what David already knew: Our God is greater than the biggest giant!
Sit quietly with the children for a short time; then wonder about the story together:
- I wonder if David felt a little bit scared as he walked toward Goliath.
- I wonder how David felt when he remembered that God was with him.
- I wonder who didn’t know that our great God is powerful.
- I wonder if you know that God is with you in all the places you go each week.
Materials
Smooth stones, one per child, plus one for the leader
Acrylic paints, brushes
Paint shirts
Newspapers
Black permanent marker
Remain in your story circle for a few minutes. Invite the children to mention things other than giants that frighten them. For each scary thing mentioned (dark places, big dogs, doctors, shots, being lost or alone, thunderstorms, and so forth), remind the children that God is more powerful. God loves us, goes with us, and watches over us—especially when we’re feeling scared.
Before your session, prepare a painted stone as an example of what the children will do in this step. Paint your stone any color you like, and add designs if you wish. When the paint is dry, write the words “God is here” on your stone with a permanent marker.
During your session, pass the stone around for the children to hold. Read the words you’ve written on it, and tell the children that you’re going to keep the stone to help you remember its message—wherever you are.
Move to your activity table and ask the children to help you spread newspapers and put on their paint shirts. Pass around the stones you’ve brought and ask each child to pick one to paint. Make paints and brushes available and help the children paint their stones. Let the stones dry until the end of your session. Then print “God is here!” on each one and return them to their little artists.
Faith Modeling
Share with the group something that frightens you too, but don’t elaborate in great detail. Focus on your assurance and trust that God is always with you. (And be sensitive to those children in your group who might hesitate to speak about specific things that frighten them.)
Materials
Song: “Only a Boy Named David”
Song: “My God Is So Great”
Song: “God Is Watching over You”
Marker
Show and Share cards, session 14
Save time to listen to the song “Only a Boy Named David” (CD track 12) with the children. Listen to the words as you play the song, then play it through a second time and add the motions. You might also want to sing “My God Is So Great” (CD track 10) and “God Is Watching over You” (CD track 11) as reminders of God’s greatness and goodness.
Ask the children to reclaim their painted stones and bring them to you for adding the message “God is here!” Talk about where at home they might keep their stones as reminders that God is watching over them—all the time, everywhere they go.
Close with a brief prayer, thanking God for loving each child in the group (mention them by name) and for always being with them, especially in scary situations (mention some of the frightening things the children have shared with you today).
Send the children home with their stones and Show and Share cards.
Easy Extras
Time
10 minutes
Materials
big/little pairs of common objects
This activity can be substituted for step 1.
If you’re unable to find a very tall guest to join you today, here’s a game you could use to introduce the story of David and Goliath. Bring to class several pairs of big/little objects and place them in a bag the children can’t see through. Some ideas: spoons (one big, one little), balls, books, shoes, dolls, toy cars, boxes, and so forth. Show the children your mystery bag and pass it around the circle so each child can reach into it and draw out one object to place in the middle of your circle. (For added fun, ask the children to guess what their object is before it’s out of the bag.)
When the bag is empty, look at all the things that were in it, and see if the children can match them. Talk about the pairs of objects—how they’re the same, how they’re different. If the kids don’t notice that each pair has a big item and a matching small item, point it out. Tell everyone that in today’s Bible story there is a person who’s very big—and a person who’s small.
Time
10 minutes
Materials
printable page (print one set of puppets per child), crayons, tape, story rhyme from Show and Share card #14
Here’s an activity you could do in place of (or in addition to) painting the “God is here!” stones. Cut out a set of David and Goliath finger puppets for each child in your group. If you wish, give the children time to color their puppets before taping them to fit their fingers. Then use your puppets to add the motions to the story rhyme of David and Goliath found on the back of today’s Show and Share card.
Time
10 minutes
Materials
three large pieces of paper, markers, tape
Here’s a way to introduce the concept of giants to your group. Before class draw a giant face on one sheet of paper and a big shoe on each of the other sheets. Color them and cut them out; have them ready with a roll of tape for use when the children arrive. After talking together about giants, ask the children how tall they think giants might be. Show everyone your face and feet cutouts and find a space on your wall or classroom door to which you can tape them. After the children help you tape the feet at floor level, decide where to tape your giant’s head. Stand on a chair and move it up, up, up the wall until the children tell you to stop. Tape the giant’s face in place; then step back and marvel together at his great height.
Time
10 minutes
Materials
prayer poster, marker
If you began a prayer list poster in the last week or two, revisit it today. Pray for the needs you’ve pictured—and add more as the children suggest them.