Samuel anoints David as Israel's new king

In this issue:

Samuel anoints David as Israel’s new king

Bible Accent: David and Goliath

Saint for Today: St. Marianne Cope

Samuel anoints David as Israel’s new king

Reading of Jan. 16, 2018: Sm 16:1-13

One day, the Israelites came to the prophet Samuel and asked for a king to rule over them.

Samuel prayed to God, and God appointed a man named Saul to be king.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, Saul listened to God less and less. God wound up being very unhappy with Saul’s leadership.

God let Samuel know that he had rejected Saul as king and wanted the prophet to appoint a new leader for the people.

“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way,” God told Samuel. “I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me.”

God gave Samuel some instructions to keep him safe.

“Take a heifer along and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you,” God said.

Samuel did what God had commanded and traveled to Bethlehem. The elders of the city, knowing that Samuel was a prophet, nervously greeted him and wanted to know if he was coming in peace.

“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the Lord,” Samuel assured the elders. “So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”

Samuel also invited Jesse and his sons to the banquet.

When Jesse arrived with seven of his sons, he presented each one to Samuel.

But God rejected all of them.

“Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart,” God told Samuel.

The prophet turned to Jesse.

“The Lord has not chosen any one of these,” Samuel said. “Are these all the sons you have?”

Jesse said that his youngest son, David, was out in the fields tending the sheep.

“Send for him,” Samuel replied, “we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”

When David arrived, God spoke to Samuel.

“There — anoint him, for this is he!” God said.

Samuel took his horn of oil and anointed David as the new king of Israel.

From that day on, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

Bible Accent: David and Goliath

After David was anointed as king of Israel, he entered Saul’s service as a harpist and armor-bearer.

During this time, Israel was at war with the Philistines. The two armies were gathering for battle when a Philistine champion named Goliath issued a challenge.

Goliath — who was almost 10 feet tall — wanted one of Israel’s men to fight him to the death.

“I defy the ranks of Israel today,” he said. “Give me a man and let us fight together.”

David was visiting the Israelites’ camp and heard of Goliath’s challenge. He was upset that Goliath had insulted the armies of the living God.

Although he was not a warrior and was armed only with a slingshot, David talked to Saul and offered to kill Goliath.

Since God was with David, Saul agreed.

David then went to meet Goliath. When Goliath saw how small and young David was, he made fun of the boy.

Then the fight began.

David pulled out his slingshot, put a stone in it and aimed at Goliath. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead, killing him.

After this feat, Saul put David in charge of his soldiers, and David’s missions were always successful.

Saint for Today: St. Marianne Cope

St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918) was born in what is now Germany. When she was 2 years old, her family moved to the U.S. and settled in central New York state.

She entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse and worked for 20 years as a hospital administrator and teacher.

In 1883, she and six sisters moved to Hawaii to minister to people with Hansen’s disease, which at that time was called leprosy. In 1888, the sisters founded a home on the island of Molokai for women and children with the disease.

St. Marianne was canonized in 2012, and we remember her on Jan. 23.

Puzzle

Using the hints provided, put a T next to the statements that are true, and an F next to the ones that are false.

____ 1. Jonathan, Saul’s son, was jealous of David. (1 Samuel 18:1)

____ 2. Saul wanted to kill David. (1 Samuel 19:1)

____ 3. The priest Ahimelech gave David holy bread to eat. (1 Samuel 21:7)

____ 4. David married Saul’s daughter, Merob. (1 Samuel 18:27)

Answers: 1. F; 2. T; 3. T; 4. F

Kids’ Club Essay Contest

Kids, enter our essay contest for a chance to win a $25 gift card!

The essay question for January 2018 is: King David’s son, Solomon, asked God for wisdom. If you could ask God for one thing, what would it be?

Send your essay — including name, home address, telephone number, school and grade — to Catholic Courier, PO Box 24379, Rochester, NY 14624.

All entries of 100 words or less must be received by the Catholic Courier no later than 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2018, to be considered for this contest. The winner, whose essay will be published in an upcoming print and online edition of Kids’ Chronicle, will be notified by phone.

Contest Rules

1. Essay content must be original and written by the entrant.

2. Essays cannot exceed 100 words in length.

3. Entrants must be no more than 14 years of age as of the last day of this contest.

4. Only one essay per entrant will be accepted during any given contest period.

5. Winners will be selected at the sole discretion of the Catholic Courier, and all decisions are final.

6. By submitting an essay, the entrant agrees to allow his or her name, grade level, school name and essay submission to be published online and/or in print at the discretion of the Catholic Courier.

7. Submitted essays that do not adhere to these rules, entries that do not include all required information or entries that are deemed inappropriate by the Catholic Courier will be disqualified.

8. At the discretion of the Catholic Courier, this contest may be modified or cancelled without notice at any time.

9. All entries become the property of the Catholic Courier.