"choose you a man..."

“...choose you a man for you,
and let him come down to me..."
― Goliath of Gath


Oh my...
did you hear his
giant's voice...

calling,
taunting...

he wants us
to choose a man

but
none
want to be chosen

we are not
prepared for this...

we are not strong,
battle-ready,
or well-equipped enough for
an enemy of this
weight...

we are afraid...

did you see his height?

six cubits...and a span!

and his weapons?

the head of his spear alone
weighs one thousand
shekels of iron.

he is a giant.

and we are but men...

simple
soldiers,
husbands,
fathers...

wait,
who is that?

what is a child doing here on
the edge of a battlefield...

don't you see him...the boy

there...

the boy with the shepherd's tunic
walking through
our troops,
passing generals,
on his way to
the king

what is he doing here...

he has no idea what
he is up against...

does he even know the difference
between six cubits and a span...and
the height of his brothers?

what does he know about
the weight of a spear head...has he
ever,
even,
held one?

what will he use to mark
his progress,
assess his odds,
defend his position,
promote his success...

we were supposed to choose
a man...

not a boy...

but who was it
that asked for a man?

the enemy!

he knows he can frighten,
impress,
intimidate
a man...educated in
theories of
war,
strategies of
defense...

but,

innnocence is not afraid
it is oblivious to threat of a
man whose height means nothing to him...
we are all tall to a child.

and if the heaviest thing he's
lifted is a stone...a spear of iron
weighing a thousand shekels
is irrelevant,
without consequence,
and
unimpressive.

choose you a man
was just a
bully's
taunting...

we'll send a boy...

fearless,
pure,
good....

with five smooth
stones...

"and,
I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
'Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?'
Then said I,
'Here am I, send me...'”
- David