On Thursday, Greg S. Baker, author of “Anointed, A David and Goliath Novel,” discussed his book via a Zoom meeting with local residents.

Robyn Lea and Lisa Longfellow organized the gathering at the Martha Vick House. Invited guests who had already read the book, the first of a series, were ready to discuss the work, which is based on the life of King David from the Old Testament in the Bible.

Baker is an author, preacher, husband and father who lives in Arizona. Baker has authored the books “Davidic Chronicles,” and described them as “Biblical fiction.”

“For example, David mentions to King Saul that he had killed a lion and a bear,” Baker said. “The Bible does not describe those events, so in a Biblical fiction novel, I might write the scenes surrounding those events as it might have happened while staying true to the Biblical account. It is not to be Scripture or to replace Scripture. Instead, it is meant to bring to life to a possible fuller picture of the characters and events that the Bible describes. I want to make connections for people that they would not normally have made just by reading the Bible.”

Baker said a fuller understanding of the Bible’s message is what he aims to achieve through his writing.

“The goal is pretty simple for me. I want people to read my books and think, ‘Wow, that’s all in the Bible?’ And obviously, some of the fictional part isn’t, but I want them to go back to the Bible and read the Bible for themselves and have a more vivid picture of what it might have been like,” he said. “I want people to go back to the Bible and enjoy it more. In a nutshell, that’s why I wrote the books.”

The first of the “Anointed” series was published in 2018 and is a series of five books. Many in the group said they found the books so intriguing that they read them in quick succession.

For those not familiar with the story of David and Goliath, David, a young shepherd boy, slays the giant, Goliath, in a battle setting with only a sling and a stone. The story serves as an example that with courage and faith, any obstacle can be overcome.

One point that was discussed Thursday was why David had five stones in his pouch when he slew Goliath.

“Is it scriptural that Goliath had five brothers?” Lea asked.

“Yes, the Bible states that he did, but there is no evidence that they were present at the battle of the valley of Elah,” Baker responded.

The group speculated as to the reason for five stones and came up with reasons spanning everything from random selection to the size of David’s pouch.

“God took it a step further, I think, and even surprised David and did it in one shot,” Baker said. “It was almost as if God put his hand on the back of Goliath’s head and said ‘Goliath, meet rock,’ because he fell forward.”

Lea asked how old David was at the time he slew Goliath and Baker said it is thought he was around age 17.

“Back then, you had to be 20 to be counted as part of the army, to be considered a man,” Baker said. “So, David was considered a youth. He wasn’t qualified. His brothers told him . . . to go home. They may have been trying to protect him because he wasn’t trained. He was too young to be there.”

Subsequent books continue to tell the story of David as he navigates his destiny to become a king, his role as a warrior among men, his time as a fugitive and his failings before God.

“David shows us how we can approach a holy God when we’re not holy ourselves,” Baker said. “David took responsibility when he messed up.”

Baker’s books can be bought in both Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon.