Chapter V

_SAUL AND THE AMALEKITES. DAVID AND GOLIATH._
1 SAM. XV.–XVII. B.C. 1079–1063.

THIS signal victory materially confirmed Saul’s supremacy. Acting no longer merely on the defensive, he now directed expeditions against Moab, Ammon, Edom, and even the king of Zobah, a region east of Cœle-Syria and extending towards the Euphrates. While in the full tide of his success he received a visit from Samuel, who on the strength of a Divine command, entrusted him with a commission, which he was to execute to the very letter. The treacherous hostility of the powerful tribe of Amalek, when they fell upon the exhausted rear of the Israelites at their departure from Egypt, had not been forgotten by God (Ex. xvii. 8, 14; Num. xxiv. 20). Since then they had on more than one occasion evinced the same hostility[243]. They were now devoted to utter destruction. _Go and smite Amalek_, ran the Divine commission; _utterly destroy all that they have; spare them not; slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass_ (1 Sam. xv. 2, 3).

Thereupon Saul mustered a force of 210,000 at Telaim in southern Judah, and after warning the Kenites to betake themselves to a place of safety, he attacked the Amalekites and smote them from Havilah to Shur. All the people he utterly destroyed, but, in direct violation of the express instructions he had received, spared all the best of the spoil and Agag the Amalekite king. Returning from this expedition he set up a _place_, or, probably, a _monument_ of his victory, at Carmel in the mountainous country of Judah, and thence repaired to Gilgal. A Divine intimation had already made known to Samuel how imperfectly the king had executed his commission, and with a heavy heart he went forth to meet him. With a haste which betrayed the misgivings of his conscience, Saul no sooner saw the Prophet than he boasted of his execution of the Divine mandate. But Samuel was not thus to be deceived. _The bleating of the sheep and the lowing of oxen_ on all sides revealed but too clearly the lax interpretation which Saul had chosen to put upon his instructions, and he only increased his condemnation by trying to throw the blame of his own shortcomings upon the people, who, he declared, _had spared the best of the spoil to sacrifice to Jehovah_. The Prophet sternly reminded him that Jehovah had far more delight in obedience to His commands than in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and for the second time intimated that the continuance of his dynasty was forfeited; he had _rejected the Word of the Lord, and the Lord had rejected him from being king_ (1 Sam. xv. 12–23).

With much contrition Saul then confessed his error, and as the Prophet turned to depart, grasped the skirt of his mantle to induce him to stay. The mantle rent, and Samuel interpreted the omen; the Lord had _rent the kingdom_ from its unworthy head, and designed it for _a neighbour of his_, who was better than he. Without denying the justice of the sentence, Saul entreated the granting of one concession, imploring Samuel to _honour him before the elders of his people, and turn with him and worship Jehovah_. The prophet yielded, and for the last time the two offered sacrifice together. But if Saul had neglected his duty, Samuel could not forget the captive king, whom the Divine decree had devoted to death. He ordered Agag to be brought before him. The king came forward _delicately_, remarking, as if to disarm hostility, _surely the bitterness of death is past_. _As thy sword_, rejoined the Prophet, _hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women_; and he hewed him in pieces before the Lord. The commission of Jehovah thus vindicated, Saul returned to Gibeah, and Samuel to Ramah, there to mourn for one, whose career, once so hopeful, was now obscured with such dark forebodings of coming doom (1 Sam. xv. 24–35).

The sorrow of Samuel for Saul’s shortcomings was real. But he was before long roused from his grief by a Divine commission to take a horn of oil and go to Bethlehem, there to anoint another king. Fear lest the purport of his errand should reach Saul’s ears would have deterred him from venturing on the journey, but he was bidden to take a heifer and invite the elders of the town to a sacrificial feast. In obedience to this command he left Ramah, and proceeded on his way. As he ascended the long gray hill leading to the village, his approach was discerned by the elders, who trembled when they saw the venerable Prophet. _Comest thou peaceably?_ they enquired anxiously. _Peaceably_, was the reply, and they were bidden to prepare to accompany him to the feast.

Amongst those invited on this occasion was JESSE, sprung from one of the oldest families[244] in the place, the son of OBED, and grandson of the Moabitess RUTH. He was an aged man at this time, and the father of eight sons, of whom seven now accompanied him to the feast (1 Sam. xvii. 12). When they were all assembled, and waiting to commence, the Prophet looked upon the eldest, the tall Eliab, and thought that of a surety he beheld the Lord’s anointed. But the Divine Voice bade him not look upon _his countenance_, or _the height of his stature_, for the Lord, _who looketh not upon the outward appearance but upon the heart_, had refused him. Then the old man’s second son Abinadab passed before him, and his third son Shammah, and after them four other sons, but the Lord had chosen none of them. _Are here all thy children?_ enquired Samuel. _There remaineth yet the youngest_, said Jesse, _and, behold, he keepeth the sheep_. _Send and fetch him_, rejoined the Prophet; _till he come hither, we cannot sit round_ (1 Sam. xvi. 11, _margin_).

Accordingly a messenger was sent to the sheepfolds, and brought in the youngest, DAVID (_the beloved_, _the darling_), the Benjamin of Jesse’s house. With his shepherd’s staff in his hand, his scrip or wallet round his neck (1 Sam. xvii. 40), a mere stripling beside the tall Eliab, ruddy or auburn-haired, with fair bright eyes[245], _comely and goodly to look to_ (1 Sam. xvi. 12, 18), he stood before the Prophet. _Arise, anoint him, for this is he_, whispered the Divine Voice, and there in the midst of his brethren and the assembled elders, Samuel poured upon him the consecrated oil, on which the feast so long delayed was celebrated, and Samuel rose up and returned to Ramah. (See Ps. lxxviii. 70–72.)

Meanwhile the Spirit of God, which came upon David from that day forward, departed from Saul, and _an evil spirit troubled him_ (1 Sam. xvi. 14). He became moody and liable to fits of sudden phrensy. To rouse him from this distressing state, his servants advised that a clever player on the harp should be sent for, that by the charms of his music he might soothe his spirit. When enquiry was made for such a minstrel, one of the royal servants mentioned the name of the son of Jesse as not only cunning in playing, but of tried valour, prudent in speech, comely in person, and prospered with the blessing of the Lord (1 Sam. xvi. 18). Saul thereupon sent for him, and Jesse dispatched him with a humble offering. Even the troubled spirit of the king was soothed by the music of the future Psalmist of Israel; he loved him, and made him not only his minstrel but his armour-bearer, and retained him about his person (1 Sam. xvi. 21).

When the paroxysms of Saul’s malady abated, David would seem to have returned to his old occupations on the bleak downs of Bethlehem, where his faithfulness _in a few things_ fitted him to become a ruler _over many things_. His shepherd life called into action some of the best qualities in human nature. Firmness, nerve, energy and constancy were all required of him, who would in true devotion to this calling, endure the heat by day and the frost by night (Gen. xxxi. 40), climb narrow ledges and scale lofty precipices in quest of pasture for his flocks, and defend them against wild beasts, such as lions and wolves, bears and panthers, or robbers of the desert. All these tests David had stood. His strength and courage were well known beyond the boundaries of his native village. Once during his solitary shepherd life a lion, and at another time a bear attacked his father’s flock. He fled not like a “hireling shepherd,” but put his life in his hand, and went after them and slew them (1 Sam. xvii. 34–37).

Meanwhile the ever active Philistines had once more risen in arms against the Israelites. Gathering together their forces they took up a position on a height, which, probably from being the scene of frequent sanguinary encounters, was known as Ephes-dammim (_the boundary of blood_), situated on the frontier hills of Judah between Socoh and Azekah. Separated from their foes by a deep ravine or glen, Saul and his followers pitched on the north side of the Valley of Elah[246] (_the terebinth_). For forty mornings and evenings there descended into this valley from the camp of the Philistines a giant named GOLIATH of Gath. Of enormous height and clad in complete armour, he openly defied any one of the Hebrew host to mortal combat, and offered to stake the supremacy of either people on the issue. Even the tall majestic Saul declined the challenge, and, like his people, _was dismayed and greatly afraid_ (1 Sam. xvii. 11).

While the two armies thus stood confronting each other, early one morning David entered the camp, having been bidden by his father to visit his three eldest brothers, then serving in the army. As he drew near the outskirts of the camp, the host with the well-known war-cry was advancing to take up its daily position in battle-array. Hastily leaving with the keeper of the baggage the provisions which his father had sent as a present to their captain, he hurried within the lines, and was in the act of saluting his brethren, when the voice of the giant was audible calling across the ravine his morning challenge. David heard his words of haughty defiance, and lost in wonder at the despondency of the people, listened eagerly to the bystanders, as they recounted the reward, which the king had promised to bestow on any one who was willing to accept the giant’s challenge, and slew him in the fight. Heeding nothing the taunts of his eldest brother ELIAB, who would have had him mind the few sheep he had left amidst the pastures of Bethlehem, instead of coming thither to see the battle, he went from soldier to soldier listening again and again to the account of the king’s promised reward, till at length his bold defiance of the giant reached the ears of Saul (1 Sam. xvii. 31).

Summoned into the royal presence, David declared his readiness to go forth and encounter his gigantic foe, and at Saul’s request tried on his armour, which, however, did not fit him, and he speedily put it off again. Then, choosing five smooth stones from the dry torrent-bed which ran through the ravine, he placed them in his shepherd’s script, and with his staff in one hand, and a sling[247] in the other, drew near the Philistine. The latter enraged at the youthful appearance of his assailant cursed him by his gods, and threatened _to give his flesh to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field_. Undismayed David returned threat for threat, and as his foe drew near, put his hand into his bag and took thence a stone, which he slang with all his might, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, _that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth_. Then without delay he stood upon the prostrate body, and drawing the giant’s huge sword from its sheath, finished the work by cutting off his head. The sight of their champion lying weltering in his blood filled the Philistines with consternation, and they commenced a precipitate flight. Raising their well-known war-cry, the Israelites then rushed across the ravine and up the opposite heights, and chased their foes to the gates of Ekron and Gath, and spoiled their tents. On their return the youthful warrior, who had in so signal a manner proved that the Lord saved not with sword and spear, bearing the head of his gigantic enemy in his hand, was conducted to Saul’s tent by Abner the king’s uncle and captain of the host. Some two or three years had probably elapsed since the days when David soothed Saul’s melancholy with the strains of his harp, and in his altered visage the king did not recognise his former minstrel[248]. But he now took him permanently into his service, and would let him no more return to his father’s house (1 Sam. xviii. 2).