King David and the Spider – a story of gratitude

King David and the Spider

When King David was still a boy watching over his father’s sheep, he often came upon spiders’ webs strung across tree branches and shining in the sun. David thought the spiders were wonderful to weave such webs, but he could see no use for them.

David decided to ask God about it. Why, O Creator of the world, did you make spiders? You can’t even wear their webs as clothing!

God answered David, “A day will come when you will need the work of this creature. Then you will thank me.”

David grew up and became a courageous warrior. He defeated the giant Goliath and many enemies of the people of Israel. He married King Saul’s daughter and the people adored him as the greatest man in the land.

But King Saul became jealous and afraid of David, and, in a fit of anger, sent his soldiers to kill him. David ran away to the wilderness until it would be safe to return. He hoped King Saul would quickly calm down and call off his soldiers, but they kept chasing him.

At last, the soldiers were very close. David ran into a cave to hide. He heard the footsteps of the men and knew that they would soon find him. David was so afraid his bones shook and hurt.

Then David saw a big spider at the front of the cave. Very quickly, it was spinning a web all the way across the opening. Just before the soldiers came up to the cave, the spider finished the web.

As the men started to enter the cave, they ran straight into it. “Look,” they said, “This web is unbroken. If David were here, he’d have torn the web to pieces. He must be hiding somewhere else. Let’s go!”

So because of the spider, David’s life was saved. David understood that God was wise and thanked God for creating all the creatures, including the spiders.
– traditional Jewish story