Goliath had a cap of brass on his head, and his body was well protected with a covering of iron and brass, while he carried a monstrous spear and sword, and a heavy shield.  As he came before the two camps, he cried out:  “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together!”

When David came up and heard the story, he said:  “Who is this Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And David offered to go forth against Goliath.

So he went out in his shepherd’s dress, with only his staff and sling; and Goliath, who was very angry at this, cried out:  “Am I a dog, that thou comest against me with a staff?” Then he began to make fun of David.  But David answered:  “Thou comest against me with a sword and a shield; but I come against thee trusting in the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

[Illustration:  Saul angry with David.]

Then, as Goliath came nearer, David took a stone from the bag at his side, and putting it into his sling, he took good aim, and it struck Goliath in the middle of the forehead and stunned him.  As the giant fell, David ran up to him, and taking the mighty sword, cut off his head with it.

This act of David’s brought a great victory to Saul’s army, and the king was delighted with his courage; while Jonathan, Saul’s eldest son, loved the boy from that time, and they became like brothers.  David also married the daughter of Saul, and was placed over his men of war.

[Illustration:  The death of Saul.]

[Illustration:  The death of ahab.]

But when all the people praised David, and Saul knew how much they loved him, he grew jealous, and David was obliged to fly for his life and hide himself from the king.  During these wanderings, he wrote some of his most beautiful psalms.

Saul, however, was finally killed, and at last David became king.  He ruled Israel for nearly forty years, making it a great and powerful nation; and when he died he was buried at Jerusalem, which was called “The City of David,” because he had caused it to be taken from the enemy.

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

The sons of Noah were named Shem, Ham and Japheth.  These sons in turn became the fathers of children so that the descendants of Noah were very numerous.

One of these descendants, named Nimrod, was a mighty hunter and a man of power and authority in the land, and it has even been said that the people worshiped him as a god.

In those days men liked to build high towers reaching away up toward the heavens.  Perhaps they were afraid of another flood, and perhaps they simply wished to show what they could do; but however that may be, ruins of towers can still be seen in various parts of the world, one of the most noted of which is that of the “Tower of Nimrod.”  It is forty feet high and stands on the top of a hill near the River Euphrates in Asia.