1 Samuel 17-18

1. David and Goliath
In this passage, the Philistines and the Israelites prepare for battle.  One of the Philistines, Goliath, happens to be a giant; for 40 consecutive days, he challenges the Israelites to choose one of their soldiers to engage him in single combat.  None of the Israelites are willing to accept his challenge...until Jesse has his youngest son, David, bring some food to his three oldest brothers, who are in the Israelite army.  On that day, David witnesses Goliath's challenge to the Israelites, and he asks Saul for permission to engage Goliath in single combat; while Saul is initially hesitant, he eventually grants David's request.  David then approaches Goliath, and despite the giant's taunts, he uses a slingshot to kill him.  This spurs the rest of the Israelites to rout the Philistine army; after the battle, David brings Goliath's head to Saul.

Perhaps the high point of this passage arrives in verses 45-47, where David declares to Goliath that he is fighting with the strength of the Lord; thus, he will defeat him, and his victory will proclaim God's greatness to others.  We must not forget these verses when we think about this familiar story.

2. Saul's Jealousy of David
In this passage, Jonathan makes a covenant with David, since "he loved him as himself."  David enlists in the Israelite army, and he successfully carries out the missions that Saul assigns him.  The women of Israel extol David's victories, which causes Saul to become quite jealous of him.  He later tries to kill David - twice - by hurling his spear at him while David plays the harp, yet David escapes on both occasions.  Saul later concocts the following plan to get rid of David: he promises to allow David to marry his older daughter, Merab, if he continues to serve in the Israelite army (he hopes that the Philistines will kill David in a subsequent mission).  David declines this request, and so Saul promises to allow him to marry his younger daughter, Michal, if David presents him with the foreskins of 100 Philistines; David actually delights in this request, and he kills 200 Philistines and presents their foreskins to Saul.  Saul then allows him to marry Michal.

Did the Holy Spirit inspire Jonathan to make his covenant with David?  Did David give any of his possessions to Jonathan when they established their covenant?