David and Goliath — The Morgan Picture Bible

Parisian illuminators (13th century) — c. 1244–1254 · Illumination on vellum · Morgan Library & Museum, New York

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” — 1 Samuel 17:45 (KJV)

About

The Morgan Picture Bible (Paris, about 1244–1254) tells Scripture in pictures alone, page after page. Here David — a medieval shepherd-boy in thirteenth-century dress — faces the giant Goliath armoured like a great knight, sling in hand.

The Meaning

The book was made for a king who could read pictures better than Latin — likely Saint Louis — and it puts Bible heroes in the armour of its own day: every age must learn to see the ancient fight as its own.

For Us Today

The battle is the LORD's (1 Samuel 17:47). Your giant is not beaten by matching its size but by trusting the God whose name it has defied — take your five smooth stones and go in His name.

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.