our story is about David the humble shepherd boy who would go on to be a great king loved by all
when he was still just a boy young David defeated the mighty giant Goliath with just his slingshot
and instantly won the love and respect of everyone in Israel
but this love quickly became the cause of jealousy, the king saul could see that everyone in Israel loved David
and feared that this would give David too much power
see saul was a strong and impressive man who looked like the perfect king
but he did not follow God the way he was supposed to
he cared more about himself being king than he cared about following god
as a reward for defeating goliath king, Saul had allowed David to marry his daughter McCall the beautiful princess of Israel
his popularity allowed him to become friends with Jonathan a son of saul and an heir to the throne
the two fought alongside each other in the army and were so close that their friendship was famous throughout Israel
king saul began to fear that David's popularity might threaten his position as king
he decided the only way to protect his throne was to kill David before his power could become a threat
he hatched a plan and summoned his son Jonathan to meet with him
father you summoned me to talk yes my son I have an important task that I need you to do
I believe that David wants to take the throne from me he is planning to kill me and take power
I am sure of it he needs to be stopped father this is impossible
David is a good man a man who follows the way of god he would never hurt you enough
he wants power and he is plotting against me you must kill him before he kills me
if you are truly my son in heir then you will follow my order and kill david now go
Jonathan was deeply upset by his father's orders he wanted to be a good son but he loved David
and knew in his heart that David was a good man he thought about what to do and in the end, decided to protect his friend
David my friend I have something terrible that I need to warn you of
my father the king thinks that you are planning to kill him and has ordered that you be killed first
this cannot be
unfortunately, it's true if you wish to keep living you will need to escape and hide
Jonathan hatched a plan to sneak David and his men out of the city and into the desert where he could hide
here David hide here and you will be safe from any attack that my father is planning
thank you, Jonathan, you have saved my life and are really like a brother to me
the two men said their goodbyes and David hid in the cave as he was supposed to
when king saul could not find David and have him killed he became angry and began to hunt David across the land
after hunting and hunting for David without finding him
king saul and his men eventually decided to take some rest
they stopped in the desert and found a cave that they could use to rest in
it just so happened that this cave was the cave that David and his men were hiding in
David look it's the king now's your chance to defend yourself
you have to take this knife and end his life while he sleeps that way he won't be able to kill you
but David could not bring himself to harm the man that God had made king
instead, he decided that he would simply cut off a piece of saul's robe and hide until he left
saul continued to rest and when he was finished he left the cave to continue his hunt for David
king saul, look!
David decided to come out and tell saul that he had spared him I was there while you slept in that cave
I had the chance to kill you but all I took was this part of your robe
if I ever wanted to hurt you I had the perfect opportunity and refused it, I am not your enemy I will never hurt you
how can this be god put me in a position where you could have killed me
yet you spared me you are a better man than me and I'm ashamed that I tried to hurt you
I am sure that one day you will be king of Israel and lead us to greatness
when you become king I only ask one thing
please do not hurt any of my family make sure you protect them?
David was overjoyed that the king had come to sense, he happily agreed to saul's promise
of course, my king
and so the oath was made and saul lived on as king of Israel for many more years
after many years passed king saul eventually died
when he died it came time for Israel to elect a new leader
Israel was at war with the Philistines and Israel needed a strong leader who could keep its people united
and so all the tribes of Israel came together to approach David
he was strong and brave and exactly the kind of leader they wanted to be their king
even king saul himself knew that David had been promised by God
the heads of the tribe spoke to David and let him know of their desire to elect him to the throne
David as a boy you managed to defeat the giant Goliath with nothing but a slingshot
and you proved yourself to be a more worthy man of God than the king himself
you are the leader that God promised us and we wish for you to rule as our king
God had foretold that David would act as a shepherd to the people of Israel
taking care of them the same way he took care of his father's sheep as a boy
David humbly accepted the offer of the tribe's leaders
in the presence of God he made a promise to guide and protect the people of Israel and he was thrown as the king of Israel
King David had a long and prosperous reign over the kingdom of Israel
he had eight wives and many many children
his family line became known as the line of kings and many important figures are part of this family
Jesus himself was a descendant of King David king David is important because he was a man unto god
and although he was strong and brave he remained humble
he was not a perfect man but he tried his best to serve God
and to lead his people to greatness and is remembered and loved as a mighty king