The Bible Story Part 163

And David said, "What have I done now? I have only asked a question."

And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again in the same way. And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehea.r.s.ed them before Saul; and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, "Let no {391} man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

And Saul said to David, "Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

And David said to Saul, "Thy servant kept his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living G.o.d." And David said, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."

And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord shall be with thee."

And Saul clad David with his own garments, and he put an helmet of bra.s.s upon his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail. And David girded on his sword. But David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them."

And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man that bore the shield went before him. And when {392} the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he despised him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?"

And the Philistine cursed David by his G.o.ds. And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field."

Then said David to the Philistine, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the G.o.d of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from off thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a G.o.d in Israel: and that all this host may know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."

And it came to pa.s.s, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Then {393} David ran, and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, "Abner, whose son is this youth?"

And Abner said, "As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell."

And the king said, "Inquire thou whose son the stripling is."

And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, "Whose son art thou, young man?"

And David answered, "I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite."

And it came to pa.s.s, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and {394} David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his apparel, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

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SAUL AND DAVID

Deep was the furrow in the royal brow, When David's hand, lightly as vernal gales Rippling the brook of Kedron, skimm'd the lyre: He sung of Jacob's youngest born,--the child Of his old age,--sold to the Ishmaelite; His exaltation to the second power In Pharaoh's realm; his brethren thither sent; Suppliant they stood before his face, well known, Unknowing,--till Joseph fell upon the neck Of Benjamin, his mother's son, and wept.

Unconsciously the warlike shepherd paused; But when he saw, down the yet quivering string, The tear-drop trembling glide, abash'd, he check'd, Indignant at himself, the bursting flood, And, with a sweep impetuous, struck the chords: From side to side his hands transversely glance, Like lightning 'thwart a stormy sea; his voice Arises 'mid the clang, and straightway calms Th' harmonious tempest, to a solemn swell Majestical, triumphant; for he sings Of Arad's mighty host by Israel's arm Subdued; of Israel through the desert led He sings; of him who was their leader, call'd By G.o.d himself, from keeping Jethro's flock, To be a ruler o'er the chosen race.

Kindles the eye of Saul; his arm is poised, Harmless the javelin quivers in the wall.

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THE JEALOUSY OF SAUL.

_How Saul Was Jealous of David and Hated Him, and How Jonathan Loved Him_.

And it came to pa.s.s as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women sang one to another in their play, and said,--

"Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."

And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?"

And Saul eyed David jealously from that day and forward.

And it came to pa.s.s on the morrow, that an evil spirit from G.o.d came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house: and David played upon his harp, as he did day by day: and Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul cast the spear; for he said, "I will smite David even to the wall."

And David escaped from his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul.

Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him.

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE VALLEY OF THE KIDRON, IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDEA.

The building on the left is the convent of Mar Saba.

Used by special permission of the Palestine Exploration Fund

The "Wilderness of Judaea" is a wonderful place. Much of it is not a wilderness at all in our understanding of the term. It is, on its western edge at least, just a wild pasture land. But it was a very wild, desolate, and solitary place. The shepherd who kept his flocks there was in danger from the wild beasts and from raids of fierce robbers. Below the pasture land it is wilderness indeed. The land breaks off abruptly and falls in crag and precipice down to the very sh.o.r.es of the Dead Sea. "You cannot live in Judaea without being daily aware of the presence of the awful deep which bounds it on the east. From Beth-lehem and other points you look down into that deep, and you feel Judaea rising from it about you almost as a sailor feels his narrow deck."

[End ill.u.s.tration]

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And when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David; for he went out and came in before them.

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David.

And Jonathan told David, saying, "Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will talk with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee."

And Jonathan spoke good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been very good toward thee; for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?"

And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul swore, "As the Lord liveth, he shall not be put to death."

And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things.

And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as before.

And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great {400} slaughter; and they fled before him. And an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David played upon his harp. And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he struck the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

And David came and said to Jonathan, "What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?"

And he said, "G.o.d forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so."

And David swore moreover, and said, "Thy father knoweth well that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, 'Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved': but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death."

Then said Jonathan to David, "Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee."