When Samuel grew old, and it became obvious that his sons fell far short of the integrity of their father (just as had happened with Eli), the people demanded a king "such as all the other nations have.". They foolishly ignored the fact that they already had a King, Almighty God, guiding and protecting them. Reluctantly, but in obedience to The Lord's instruction Samuel then found himself as Israel's "king maker" - he anointed Saul as Israel's first king, and after Saul proved himself to be unstable and unwise, Samuel anointed Israel's second king, David .... When Samuel died, he was buried in Ramah. It was a very big funeral "all Israel assembled and mourned for him." .... After Samuel's death, Saul, by then corrupt and insane, used the witch of Endor to attempt to consult the spirit of Samuel.
David slays Goliath of Gath, the Philistine giant - 1029 B.C.

David was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, from Bethlehem. He was a strong, healthy lad, apparently with an uncommon characteristic among his people of the time - red hair. He was a Shepherd from an early age, and developed his courage and fighting skills by defending the flocks from the wild animals, including lions and bears, that preyed upon them. The free time that being a shepherd provided also allowed him to develop two other skills, that of music and poetry. David was a warrior, and a writer of psalms. .... When the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, the two armies faced each other from opposite hills with the Valley of Elah between them. Every morning for forty days, the mighty Goliath (who stood over 9 feet tall) challenged the Israelites for someone to come out and fight him, but none would go out. One day, David, who was then too young for the army, arrived with some deliveries for his older brothers. He heard Goliath and immediately volunteered to fight him.

When David explained to King Saul that he had been fighting fierce animals all his life, he convinced the king that he could defeat the Philistine. .... After turning down an offer of the king's own armor, which was too big for him, David went down to the creek and got five suitable stones The rest of the story is famous. He killed Goliath with a single perfectly-accurate shot.. The stone didn't just rebound off the giant man's thick skull as would naturally be expected, but actually penetrated with the power of a modern high-velocity bullet. Upon seeing their hero defeated, the Philistine army made a disorderly retreat (i.e. they just dropped everything and ran), giving the Israelites, then in hot pursuit, the victory. The success made David very popular in Israel.

 

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