The story of “David and Goliath” was written by the prophet Samuel, and is found in the old testament. During the time of this great battle in late 11th century (BCE), a superpower had yet to rise in the area now similar to the Middle East. Egypt, the last major superpower in the region, had fallen into a state of weakness and the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires had both yet to gain strength. During this slow period, smaller states began to emerge and organize around different kings with the hopes to become the next major superpower. Two of the mentioned nation-states that were striving to gain power were Israel and the Philistine. The Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people who inhabited the the modern day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestinian Territories, during the 11th to 7th centuries BCE. The name “Israelites” has many meanings including; descendants of the patriarch Jacob/Israel, a member of the Twelve Tribes, Children of Israel, and a follower of the God of Israel. The Philistines occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the 1175 BCE. They ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with no fixed border to the East. This land, together, was known as the
In our time, Goliaths come in the forms of addiction, fear, financial hardship, resentment, or sin. However God calls us to defeat the Goliaths in our lives which separates us from Him. Just like the biblical story of David, we must be confident in knowing that God will give us the necessary strength and weapons to fight our battles. Like David, we must look our own Goliaths in the eye and stand up for what we know is right, trusting that God has not brought us into this life to fail, but instead prevail against
In early fifth century BC Greece, the Greeks consistently suffered from the threat of being conquered by the Persian Empire. Between the years 500-479 BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought two wars. Although the Persian power vastly surpassed the Greeks, the Greeks unexpectedly triumphed. In this Goliath versus David scenario, the Greeks as the underdog, defeated the Persians due to their heroic action, divine support, and Greek unity. The threat of the Persian Empire's expansion into Greece and the imminent possibility that they would lose their freedom and become subservient to the Persians, so horrified the Greeks that they united together and risked their lives in order to preserve the one thing they all shared in common, their "Greekness".
David was the youngest of seven brothers and was in charge of tending to his father’s sheep while his father and three of his brothers went to war. The Israelites were at a standstill with the Philistines, but were too scared to fight because the Philistine army had a huge giant, named Goliath. David was a scrawny, young boy, but he told Saul that he wished to kill Goliath. He had never killed another human before, but his strength was in his faith that God would protect him. Even though he was offered armor and a sword, he took only what he was used to: a staff, a sling, and five smooth stones. In the end, David hit Goliath with a rock and then cut his head off with Goliath’s own sword. The rest of the Philistine army ran away in fear, leaving the Israelites
Throughout history, tyrants have ruled most of the populated world. These were people who held executive power in their community, and ruled with a fierce and rapacious grip, doing their will without paying their dues. These rulers can be seen through time in many different times and nations: Fidel Castro, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin (“Dictators and Tyrants in World History”). All of these tyrants ruled as the gods did, with an iron grip, holding the promise of demise over them in the case of insurgency. In Greek and Roman myths, their gods are painted as impeccable examples of a tyrant, commanding of the humans that they do there will at threat of death. For this purpose the gods were worshipped as Stalin was, through acute fear of their
This continued conflict would take off between Amnon (David’s firstborn and primary heir) and Absalom (David’s third son). 2 Samuel 13 tells the grisly tale that reads almost like a disturbed soap opera. Amnon raped Absalom’s sister, Tamar and, in revenge, Absalom kills Amnon. Once Absalom returned to Jerusalem, the ticking time bomb was set. Everything exploded when Absalom formed a coalition and turned it into a coup against King David. The Bible says, “And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy with the king for judgement, then Absalom called unto him… and Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.” Eventually, Absalom’s coalitions (forces) reached Jerusalem causing David to
Judah & Israel are the two kingdoms of Israel: Judah-South and Israel-North. The tribe of Judah located themselves in Jerusalem and the Israelites in Samaria. Both kingdoms had a rich abundance of corrupt kings who would disobey God. The kingdoms are very complicated.
The story of the state of Israel began with a man named Abraham, and a promise that God made to him. God told him to leave his homeland, promising Abraham and his descendants a new home in the land of Canaan, known as present day Israel(Rich, 1). Abraham was a firm believer in God, and decided to carry out his commands, since he knew God would be able to fulfill His promise to him. It was here, that God gave Abraham a unique homeland for his descendents to form a model nation. In the Torah, The Land of Israel was claimed to be the only place on the earth where the Jewish people could create the model nation(Spiro, 1). Jews desired to fulfill God’s plan to create the model nation, forming a strong connection between the land and the people for all eternity. Nonetheless, the Jews have not always been in political control of Israel; foreign nations had always been attacking the land...
The Israelite cult is set apart from other cults in that the people were bound together to worship one God. “The distinctiveness of the Israelite cult is nothing other than the limitation of cultic activity to one particular patron deity” (Anderson, 1987;3). The cult’s foundation of worship centered on those sacrificial gifts and offerings that were given to Yahweh. In addition, the Israelite cults were village centered. In the beginning of the 12th century BC, settlements on the hill country of Judea and Ephraim began to increase in number and density. The farming that took place on these hills allowed Israelites to gain an independent economy from surrounding cult economies (Anderson, 1987;23).
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own sight” (Judg. 21:25). This quote at the end of Judges sets up an optimistic view of kings for the rest of the Deuteronomistic History. King David is considered perhaps the greatest king over all of Israel, whereas King Hezekiah is praised for never turning away from God and being the greatest king among all the kings of Judah (2 Kgs. 5). However, despite the high need for a praise of kings throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Solomon is viewed with a skeptical eye and is the cause of the demise of Israel. Unlike the positive view of kings portrayed throughout the Deuteronomistic history, King Solomon is framed in a negative light in 1 Kings 11: 1-13, which
The Jewish religion probably received the most attention out of any other religion throughout time because they have fought over a specific piece of land that they call Canaan (modern day Israel) and believe that it is their land because God gave it to them. One of the most popular stories of the Old Testament explains the history behind the land of the Israelites, which is referred to as the story of Moses. The story of Moses parting the Red Sea is one of the most famous stories in the Old Testament. The Israelites had escaped slavery in Egypt and focused on reaching Canaan (Israel) the land that God had promised them. Before the escape, however, the Egyptians carried
Historically, the term Palestine has been used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Its exact borders have changed over the years as the region has fallen under rule of many leaders. Remains in the region date back to 1.5 million years ago, near the Sea of Galilee in the Jordan Rift Valley . From the early Caraanite Period to present time, the region of Palestine has been a place of importance in world history.
David is the first king that God chooses to lead His people (Saul was chosen by the Israelites). God makes a covenant with him that there will always be a descendant of his on the
word here is obey, we need to keep our side of the covenant and follow
entrapped in a world of evil that is not of his own creation. He must oppose
Jericho was an important city in the Old Testament. The city was overtaken and devastated several times. However, it was always reoccupied -- sometimes quickly and other times very slowly. Herod the Great, Cleopatra, and Augustus are some of the mighty rulers that once took claim of some or all of Jericho. Many Galileans would travel through the Jordan valley and go by Jericho on their route to Jerusalem. By taking this course, they could avoid passing through Samaritan territory (Metzger and Coogan, 1993).
The Bible takes a unique turn in the book of 1 Samuel, Israel requests the appointment of an earthly king. The prophet Samuel warned them against trading their Divine King for an earthy one. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus told us, “..For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction..,” cautioning believers not to long to be like everyone else.