This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in 1 Samuel 18:9-30, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
Once upon a time, there was a man named Saul who was king of Israel. Saul didn’t like a young man named David, even though David had done nothing wrong. Saul’s jealousy grew every day, and one day, he tried to hurt David by throwing a spear at him! But David was quick and dodged the spear.
Saul was scared of David because he knew that God was with him. So Saul sent David away to be a commander of a thousand soldiers. David was very successful in all he did because God was with him.
Later on, Saul promised to give David his daughter Merab as a wife. But Saul went back on his promise and gave Merab to someone else instead. However, Saul’s other daughter Michal loved David, and Saul saw this as an opportunity to hurt David. So he promised to let David marry Michal if he brought back the foreskins of 100 Philistines, who were the enemies of Israel.
David accepted the challenge and went with his soldiers to fight the Philistines. With God’s help, David was able to defeat 200 Philistines and bring back their foreskins. Saul had to keep his promise and gave Michal to David as his wife.
Even though David was successful and had many victories, Saul continued to be jealous and afraid of him. But God was with David, and he continued to prosper.
Biblical Lessons
- Jealousy and envy can cause people to do bad things.
- God’s favor is worth more than any earthly success.
- Keeping promises is important.