Sooner or later in every Church School curriculum, it comes time to talk about King David. David was the second king of Israel (after Saul) and is probably the most charismatic political leader in the entire Bible. As with most powerful politicians, there's a lot of good with David, and a lot of not-so-good. Far from the cool and calculating Joseph or the faithful and steady Moses, David was full of passion and energy, an artist and a risk-taker, a devoted friend and wandering lover.
The 5th grade this week will explore David and his friendship with Jonathan (an interesting comparison to the "female friendship" of Naomi and Ruth in last week's lesson). However the K-4th grades will be focusing on a much simpler story from David's life BEFORE he became the king: David and Goliath.
The story of David and Goliath is so well known that it has become a fixture in modern English for any conflict in which the odds are terribly lopsided. This is the story of a young, small (even puny!), under-resourced, weak but spirited teenager able to conquer brute force with cunning and agility. While we often think of a strong, muscular, large-fisted David (thanks to Michaelangelo's famous sculpture), I think it is Donatello's 3-D representation that best captures how small and young David was. Donatello's work is an important visual reminder that the odds were indeed, heavily against the young David.
And this leads to two important questions: 1) Why was David willing to engage in such an unfair fight?; and 2) How did he possibly win?
Like Moses before he was called to leadership, David's previous occupation was as a shepherd. He tended the flock and protected them from predators and thieves. Having spent several years developing his instincts as a protector of vulnerable sheep, this act of bravery was in some way an extension of a character trait he had already been developing. If Goliath had not been challenged, he would have taken the Israelites as his slaves. David chose to take responsibility for the safety not just of himself, but of his people. The world of the Old Testament was all about protection, and it was David's willingness to protect those who were defenseless, to consider himself responsible for others, even at great risk, that led to his popularity and fame.
But of course, the weak confront the strong all the time -- and usually the strong win! Part of the reason why this story was put in the Bible is because the underdog pulled it out, against the odds. By making this piece of David's history part of the Biblical account of his coming into kingship, the writers of this book of the Bible were trying to show that God's blessing is always on the side of the weak against the strong. When we teach this story to young children, we often reinforce this theological point by saying that God guided the stone from David's slingshot. This does not mean that the weak will always overcome through force, but it does mean that God honors those who stand up to evil, even if they fail to stop it.
The childhood analogies of Goliath to a bully are reasonable ones, but when teaching this story on Sunday I wouldn't venture too far down that path. The story should not be read as justifying violence against bullies, but rather should remind us of the importance of standing up for others -- especially when it can be done without violence (as it usually can in a school setting!).
Encouraging kids to stand up to evil is an important spiritual lesson. There are always so many reasons not to do it: danger of being hurt, fear that you will not succeed, hope that someone else will do it, not wanting to look uncool to others. Unfortunately, the lesson of today's story is NOT that God will save us from suffering for the sake of protecting the weak or resisting evil. But nevertheless, the ability to stand up to evil is one of the fruits of a strong spiritual life, that grows from confidence that even when we do not succeed in such pursuits, God's blessing remains with us.
Chris +
