“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” – 1 Samuel 17:39b-40
The Saul here is the King of Israel. The ‘he’ is the shepherd boy, David, who would one day be king and what he took off was the king’s armor in order to reach down to pick up five smooth stones just before approaching the Philistine whose name was Goliath… and whether we know much about the Bible or not… most people I know have heard the story about David and Goliath even if the only instance is a sports metaphor about the team which has no chance of beating their opponent.
This is a moment of one-on-one combat while two mighty armies stood by to watch. God’s chosen people, the Israelites were in a battle for land rights and power fighting against the Philistines and in ancient days one of the ways kings and generals decided in order to not decimate their troops and keep from leaving thousands of dead soldiers on the ground… was to have one representative fight to the death one representative of the opposing army… and the soldiers approved of this method!
No one in Saul’s army wanted to fight Goliath. Even King Saul refused to engage. He was huge… like Andre’ the Giant of studio wrestling and ‘Princess Bride’ movie fame. But there’s an interesting twist here. Goliath was ‘infantry’… one big piece of many in the Philistine militia. David was ‘artillery’… armed with a sling shot, familiar with targeting from a distance and with a lifetime of practice fending off lions and bears while tending his father’s sheep… he actually had the upper hand!
And when David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…“ and … ‘even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” late in his life… he knew what he was talking about. God was with him. Faith matters…
And… artillery always triumphs over infantry…
Goliath chided the Hebrew King about sending a dog to do his bidding… David reeled back with the words, “you come out to fight with a sword, javelin and shield… but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel who you have defied.”
There it is. Goliath defied the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… and that’s when I ask… “why then did David pick up five smooth stones? Did he doubt his own ability? What if he missed? One stone was enough according to the story.
Maybe there was some murmuring amongst the soldiers there were four other Goliaths… maybe four more brothers or maybe a brother and three sons… or maybe it wasn’t that at all… maybe David picked up those five smooth stones to remind him of God’s faithfulness and his own need of faith, obedience, prayer, and service all the while recognizing the presence of God’s Spirit within…
When was the last time you felt like you were up against Goliath?
Did you ask for the king’s armor? Did you go looking for five smooth stones? Maybe you saw Goliath looking back at you in the mirror in your bedroom. Did you go looking for someone else to fight the battle for you? I hope not.
God has given each of us five smooth stones and probably more than we can count… actually… to tend to the battles that come our way. Remember… David didn’t go looking for a fight… God’s justice reigns… God’s will is done… and one large stone was rolled away for me and you!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
