“Do you have everything, son?”
Wren stood next to David’s father, Jesse, and watched the young man finish arranging the supplies on a large piece of fabric that looked like a very uncomfortable bedsheet.
“Yes, Father.”
Jesse regarded his son’s work. “Tell me what you have, so we can be sure.”
“Yes, Father. I packed the ephah of roasted grain and ten loaves of bread for my brothers. I also gathered these ten cheeses for their commander. Anything else?”
The older man considered his son’s question. “No, that should be all. Remember, please ask how they are doing, and come back quickly with an update. By the Father’s grace, I pray they are all okay.”
David gathered the four corners of the sheet and pulled up, keeping the supplies from falling out. He lifted the whole makeshift backpack over his shoulder and set out toward the field where the sheep were still grazing.
“Come on, Wren. I need to have the shepherd next door watch my flock while we are away.”
Her mind was still blown. How was it possible that she could be in this amazing place with the great Bible character David? She didn’t have time to think about it, because David had already set off toward the field where she had first met him.
She looked at David and still couldn’t believe that someone his size could fight against those two powerful wild animals. How could that be? None of this made sense, but she’d witnessed him saving the sheep, not once but twice! She shook her head and caught up to him.
Wren saw an older man holding a wooden staff, standing in the middle of the path. He smiled when he saw David.
“Ah, my friend. What can I do for you?”
“Reuben, this is my friend Wren.”
“Hello, Wren. That’s a beautiful name I’ve never heard before.”
She smiled. “My mother loved birds.”
The old shepherd smiled.
David put his sack of supplies down on the ground in front of his feet. “I need your help watching my flock while I take these supplies to my brothers.”
“No worries,” said Reuben. “How is your father?”
“He’s fine.”
The old shepherd nodded. “Go. Your sheep are safe with me.”
“Thank you.” David gathered the corners of the sheet and lifted it up over his shoulder again. He set off down the path. Wren followed.
Every now and then she checked her watch out of habit.
“What is that on your arm?” David asked.
“It’s called a watch.”
“A watch?”
“Yes. It tells me what time it is.”
David looked confused. “Wren, I haven’t heard that thing talk. Yet, you say it tells you something. I don’t understand.”
“It’s a figure of speech. The watch doesn’t really talk.”
David kept his eyes on the path and a tight grip on the supply sack. “What’s a figure of speech?”
She chuckled and thought about the best way to explain the concept. David interrupted her.
“Please tell me later. We’ve arrived. This is Sokoh.”
The path led to the top of a very wide hill. In front of them, the grass-covered land descended into a massive bowl-shaped valley. On either end of the bowl, on her right and on her left, hundreds of men in various forms of armor were huddled together, moving around in random patterns. Wren thought it looked like the result of two human-sized ant piles that had been disturbed. She could hear the men yelling as they moved.
“The voices are shouting the war cry. We must hurry!”
David started jogging toward one end of the valley, and Wren followed on his heels.
As they got closer, she felt the intensity in the air.
“To your battle positions!”
She had gone from a peaceful pasture filled with sheep to the middle of a battlefield filled with hundreds of soldiers carrying scary swords.
When they reached the camp, David worked his way through the sea of armed men, waving a greeting to some and ignoring others. Wren stayed as close to him as physically possible.
After a while, he stopped in front of a man who looked frazzled, with gray hair sticking out in every direction and a weathered face covered in wrinkles.
David handed his bedsheet backpack to the man.
“Wren, this is Malec, keeper of supplies for the Israelite army.”
Wren put a hand out to greet the man, but he ignored her and started going through the food that David had carried all the way from Bethlehem.
“The bread and grain are for my brothers, the sons of Jesse. The cheese is for the commander.” David didn’t wait for a reply. “Come on, Wren. Let’s find my brothers!”
He ran out to the battle lines, and she followed, secretly wishing she didn’t have to experience this part of the Bible story. But as soon as she felt the fear, a new thought entered her mind that took away most of the worry. She knew how this story ended! She chuckled again, glad that David wasn’t looking. He might think she was weird.
Wren saw her new friend stop in front of a young man who was much taller than David. He was very muscular and had long brown hair. The two talked for a minute before David walked away and threaded a path through the crowd of soldiers.
“WHY DO YOU COME OUT AND LINE UP FOR BATTLE?”
The voice sounded like it was coming out of speakers at a rock concert rather than one man’s mouth. She jumped and turned to see where the voice came from. Her brain couldn’t process what her eyes saw. A super giant soldier stood on the opposite side of the valley, glaring at her and the Israelites.
The soldiers closest to Wren began running. Not toward the giant, but away from him. Their eyes were wide with fear.
“That’s the giant from Gath!” one of the men yelled as he ran past.
“Is that Goliath?” She shouted the question to be heard over the scurrying of troops.
“Yes,” one of the soldiers said. “The man is over nine feet tall!”
Wren couldn’t believe that a human could be that massive. Bigger than Hulk. More intimidating than Thor. He had a bronze helmet on his enormous head and a coat of gigantic bronze fish scales around his chest and stomach.
A different soldier standing nearby offered another observation about the superhuman. “The word around camp is that his armor weighs over a hundred pounds!”
“AM I NOT A PHILISTINE, AND ARE YOU NOT THE SERVANTS OF SAUL?”
She also noticed the giant wore bronze armor that covered his legs, from his knees down to his ankles. He had a bronze javelin slung on his back, the same way that Captain America wore his circular patriotic shield. Wren figured that was to throw at someone running at him, but who on earth would want to run toward that guy?
Wren saw David walking back to her, a new soldier at his side.
“Wren, this is my oldest brother, Eliab. Eliab this is my new friend, Wren.”
Eliab pointed back to the giant. “That creature of a man points his long wooden spear at us as he issues his taunts, morning and night. Our men figure that the huge iron point at its tip must weigh a hefty amount. He’s been at it for forty days now!”
“CHOOSE A MAN, AND HAVE HIM COME DOWN TO ME. IF HE IS ABLE TO FIGHT AND KILL ME, WE WILL BECOME YOUR SUBJECTS.”
The giant’s voice was so loud and powerful, the ground shook. The Israelites retreated like a buffalo stampede. Wren felt like she was standing in the middle of a big earthquake. How could anyone beat that guy in a fight? Impossible. But, again, she remembered how all of this ended and wasn’t as afraid as she would have been.
“IF I OVERCOME HIM, YOU WILL BECOME OUR SUBJECTS AND SERVE US.”
Some of the soldiers who hadn’t retreated gathered around them. One spoke directly to David. “The giant is a problem that won’t go away. There is no solution. Despite the size and will of our people, Goliath is the one thing we cannot overcome.”
Wren watched David as he stared at the giant from Gath. The young shepherd had a confident look on his face that was different than the apprehensive looks on the Israelites’ faces.
“This giant is a disgrace!” David shouted. “Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
Eliab grabbed his little brother’s arm and yanked him around so that the two siblings were face-to-face. She was confused. Why would David’s brother do that?
The roar of the Philistine army rose up around the giant. They cheered on their champion and mighty warrior.
Why would the Israelites run away and fear this giant? If they had God on their side, why would they ever worry about this superhuman…or anything else for that matter?
The same reason you feel like God didn’t do anything to keep your sweet mother from passing away. The same reason you feel like a God who really cared wouldn’t let your house burn down. The same reason you feel like a God who is supposed to love His children would have kept your manuscript from being destroyed in the flames.
She shut her eyes and hoped that when she opened them again, all this Bible story stuff would be nothing more than a dream.