I am writing about David and Goliath right now. I have located the Elah Valley in Israel and will be on location with sling and stone and other props to tell the story of the heroic moment when young David singlehandedly killed the looming beast of a man Goliath.
Did you know that Goliath's spearhead alone weighed about 15 pounds — nearly as much as two gallons of milk. The shaft of the spear weighed another 50 pounds oe moew and was about 2.5 inches thick. His armor weighed 125 pounds. Goliath was HUGE measuring in at 9 feet 6 inces tall — and yes, archaeology demonstrates that there were such giants back then.
David used a simple sling and sling stone to kill the giant but a sling was not so simple. It was a common weapon in Israel. Around the base of ancient fortifications there are usually hundreds of rounded sling stones. Enemies used them when attacking a fortress. The tribe of Benjamin has 700 left-handed slingers that could sling a stone over 100 miles an hour and aim for a hair and never miss.
I have grown to love David more and more as I work on this project. The excitement in my soul builds as I prepare to share all this excitement and salvation history with the world. And ahhh, the Catholic Church is so marvelous in her understanding and her teaching. And David is such a marvelous type of Christ and his Church. Just wait!!
By the way, what appears to be wrong with the picture above? See 1 Samuel 17:49. You can check it by typing the reference into the “search box” in the Bible Search on my Home page.