The soldiers were delighted with Da'vid's bravery in proposing to meet the Phi-lis'tine giant, and hastened to report his courageous offer to Saul, who demanded that the young man be sent to him at once. When Da'vid stood before the king, his first words were, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with the Phi-lis'tine." The king tried to dissuade him from meeting the giant in single combat by telling him that he was too young and inexperienced to go against one who had been trained in war for so many years. But Da'vid persisted in his demand, telling Saul of the mighty deeds he had already performed with the help of GOD. The young man closed his appeal with these words: "The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Phi-lis'tine."
The confidence of this young hero, joint as it was with his unfaltering faith in the help of GOD, overcame the hesitancy of Saul. He agreed to Da'vid's request to champion the cause of Is'ra-el before the giant Go-li'ath, but was unwilling to let him enter what seemed to be unequal combat without the benefit of the best armor and weapons which he could have.
Saul then brought out his own armor and sword, and asked Da'vid to use them in the battle soon to come. Da'vid felt however, that he would do better with weapons with which he was more familiar. After putting on the king's armor and taking his sword in hand, he decided that the sling which he had learnt to use with such telling force would serve him better. The man-made armor of an unbelieving and rejected king was only an encumbrance to a youth whose faith was approved by GOD. By using the sling he would not have to come into close grips with a man who was much larger and more powerful than he. As an expert with the sling, he could take sure aim and hurl a stone with the strength of GOD lending force to his arm.
On his way to the field of battle, Da'vid pickt up five smooth stones from the brook which ran through the valley between the two armies. Placing these stones in the shepherd's bag which he carried, and with his staff in hand, Da'vid marcht out between the armies of Phi-lis'ti-a and Is'ra-el to meet the giant warrior. The Is'ra-el-ites looked on with mingled feelings of amazement, hope, and prayer, while the hosts of the Phi-lis'tines gazed at the young man with scorn and ridicule.
