Nov.12, 2023: Family Worship Service: Old Testament (7-3) : "The Boy David""　

We discussed about Saul, the first king of Israel.

The prophet Samuel was so sad because Saul had been anointed as king by Samuel and had been deposed.

But God said, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I will send you to Jesse in Bethlehem. Because I have found a king among his sons.”

You've heard of “Jesse” right? Do you know who he is?

Ruth and Boaz got married, and Obed was born, and then Obed got married, and Jesse was born.

Jesse had eight sons. The youngest one was David.

That's right. Let's see a picture-story show about the boy David.

King Saul began to have frequent nightmares. So he called Samuel. I have nightmares and a headache. Is there anyone who can play some soothing music for me?

Samuel said, “I have heard that a shepherd named David, a child of Jesse, plays a harp very well.”

Samuel brought the boy David to the royal palace.

The king liked David's harp so much that he felt at home listening to his music.

The Philistines had been attacking Israel for a long time, and they sent hordes. A giant soldier named Goliath from the Philistine army oppressed the Israelite army.

The sons of Jesse were also in the battle.

One day, Jesse told his son, David, to take his brothers a meal and let him know what was happening.

When David went to the battlefield, he found that the Israeli army was scared, some soldiers were running away, and all the soldiers were trembling. Seeing this, David told his brothers that he would fight against Goliath and defend Israel. However, his older brothers immediately scolded him and told him to go home because he was still a child and could never win against Goliath.

Despite their opposition, David was eager to convey his will to the king, so he went to the royal palace and asked King Saul to send David as a soldier. However, King Saul would not allow such a thing. David replied, “I believe that God will help me. I am sure that I will not be defeated by Goliath because I have fought against bears and lions to protect my sheep and have not sacrificed even a single sheep.” King Saul gave his permission to go ahead at last.

When David went to the battlefield, Goliath shouted, “Isn't there anyone who can fight me? If I lose, the Philistines will retreat from here!”

David took a pebble from the river and confronted Goliath with a slingshot. He threw it at Goliath. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead, he fell, and died.

The Israeli soldiers took David on their shoulders and marched through the town.

These two stories are very famous.

By the way, David was anointed by Samuel even in his childhood.

But it was the era of King Saul. So, Samuel could not announce publicly that David would be the future king of Israel. If King Saul knew it, he would kill Samuel.

King Saul had a migraine and was always irritable. King Saul must have been very relieved when David played the harp for him. It was a kind of music therapy, right?

Wow! Sophia knows about music therapy.

Hospices often use music therapy for their patients, and Animal therapy too.

It is a different topic, but I wonder if Samuel thought good looks was an important element for the king. Saul was tall and handsome, right?　

Jesse's eldest son was the same as Saul, too. Therefore, Samuel believed the eldest son would be the next king. I guess it means that even a man as good as Samuel had a weakness of being obsessed with appearances.

 Well, we can say that good-looking is also one of God's blessings, so it is not bad at all, and we should be thankful to God. God did not choose seven sons as the result of looks though.

Then, why was it David? David may have been smaller than his elder brothers, but I think he was a cute boy because it says that he looked wise and had clear, beautiful eyes. God's choice is mysterious to us.

Let's learn more about David's story next time. Grace, Would you please pray for us?

Yes, I will. Dear Heavenly Father, we learned the story of David today.

We are still small children, but you gave us a mission. Please guide us so that we can grow up to be brave like David without fear.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!