1 Samuel 17 David’s staff and five stones 1/26/17
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David said to Saul…“I am not used to them,” and 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. 45 David said to him, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty…48 David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
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Almost everyone loves the story of David, a young boy, killing the Philistine giant Goliath. He was carrying a simple shepherd’s staff, a sling, and 5 smooth stones in the battlefield. Goliath looked David over and saw that he was a cute little boy with a glowing face, who was not carrying a warrior’s weapons. He didn’t see the 5 smooth stones in the boy’s pouch. David seemed foolish for rejecting a coat of armor and helmet for the battle. What do David’s weapons mean to us? How can those weapons help us in our time?
David had a shepherd’s staff, just like the one Moses used so God could show His great power to Pharaoh in Egypt. Moses raised the staff to God, and God helped Israel defeat the Amalekites in the wilderness (Exd 17). A simple staff, a simple walking stick used by a shepherd to defend against predators, in David’s hand was used to bring the power of God to David. God’s given “prayer” seems is a very simple staff we can carry any time; it is God’s given weapon, easy and simple, to channel His Mighty power for us when we encounter an enemy like Goliath.
What about the 5 stones David carried in his pouch? They are the Word of God, Moses’ 5 books that David had studied since he was a young Hebrew child. Jesus also had knowledge of the Word of God, when He was defeating the devil, the tempter in the desert right after His 40 days fasting (Matt 4). David picked 5 smooth, fresh stones and he picked a specific one to hit Goliath. We need to carry the word of God in our hearts all the time, and whenever we are facing our own ‘Goliath,’ we must pick specific words to hit a specific target.
What about the sling? David needed the sling to hurl the stone and hit Goliath with all of his power. The sling takes the word out of our hearts and activates its power in the world by our practice.
I pray that we all pick many stones from the Bible through our daily reading, to carry the word in our hearts all the time. Amen. (Rev Insook Do)