Five __What Kind__ of Stones?

 

Reading the story of David and Goliath, we may notice several things.

1 Samuel 17 tells us Goliath was a champion, which means he was a stand-in for an entire army and could challenge one man from among his opponents to a single battle that would determine the outcome of the war. Goliath was nine feet, nine inches tall, and because King Saul stood head and shoulders above his countrymen, he would be the obvious Israelite to take the giant on. 

We're told that Goliath challenged the Israelites for forty days, and, to a man, they cowered in fright.

When David arrived to bring supplies to his brothers in Saul's army, we see that his oldest brother scorned him and accused him of just coming to see the battle.

We learn that David, as a shepherd, gained fighting experience when he killed the lion and bear that had attacked his flock, and that Saul, agreeing to let David face Goliath, tried to put his own armor on David. But the boy couldn't even walk in it.

Maybe most important, we find that David came to the battle in a different spirit than any grown man in Israel's army, including the king. He called Goliath an uncircumcised Philistine, and wrapped up in that one word uncircumcised is this statement: "We are the covenant people of God. This man is not. What more needs to be said?"  

But you know what aspect of this story hit me between the eyes--if you'll pardon the pun--the other day, as never before? 

That the stones David picked up to put in his sling were smooth stones.

Why do we need this detail? Why do we need to know the stones were smooth? Why did David choose smooth stones?

Because he wasn't trusting in stones (chariots, if you will). He didn't need jagged rocks to get the job done, and he knew it. David knew the battle was the Lord's, that God empowers us when we fight in his will, and because of that he sank a smooth stone into a nine-foot-nine warrior's forehead in one try. 

We learn that we can fight the enemy just as we are, with what God has provided, as long as we fully trust in Him. Saul's armor, however strong, wasn't right for David. The shepherd's sling and the shepherd's experience were, and when we are smack in the center of God's will, our preparation and equipping from God, and our complete reliance on him, are enough to win our battles, too.