Note: I have included Chapter 18 of Samuel (which was included in the original assignment) in my assignment because I have some thoughts that rely heavily on that chapter (we did not have to include it; it is the aftermath of David defeating Goliath).
Summary:
God tells Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons is going to be the King of Israel. Samuel determines that it’s the shepherd David, the youngest son. David receives the Spirit of the Lord, but the current king, Saul, loses it. Saul hires David to play the lyre for him, which protects him from the harmful spirit. Right now, Israel is at war with the Philistines. As the armies prepare, the Philistines offer an alternative: Goliath, their champion, will fight a single one to …show more content…
This conflict is not only a simple war: it is the conflict between believers in God and nonbelievers. The triumph of the Israelites represents the perpetual triumph of God, or, on a baser level, good over evil. The most clear conflict is that between David and Goliath. It arises when David volunteers to save the Israelite army against the Philistines. He agrees to fight Goliath, the Philistine champion, so that the Israelite and Philistine armies do not have to spill unnecessary blood. The losers will be enslaved to the winners. David defeats Goliath, thus ending the conflict and winning the war for the Israelites, and for God. Another conflict arises after David defeats Goliath. King Saul is angry at David for being more loved by the people and more favored by God. He says, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” (Samuel 18, 8). His jealousy and fear drive him to try to destroy David by sending him up against the Philistines in hope he will either embarrass himself or die: “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him” (Samuel 18, 17). This conflict is not resolved within Samuel 18, for David continues to defeat all