Passage to Ponder: 1 Samuel 17:32-50
“He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.” --1 Samuel 17:40 (NLT)
I am confident that if you are reading today’s devotional you are at least a little bit familiar with the Bible story of young David slaying the mighty Philistine giant Goliath with a stone launched from his sling. God has assured David that the taunting tree of a man was going down. David said to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:47, “And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!” If David was so confident that the Lord was going to win the battle that day, why does verse 40 tell us that David took his shepherds staff? Why did he gather five stones instead of just getting one from the creek bed? Was David afraid he might miss and need to reload? Was the staff there as a last resort in case he ran out of ammunition?
Let me assure you that David was not afraid of missing! When the Bible says he took his staff and gathered five stones you are not seeing David’s lack of faith in the promise. What you see is David’s preparation for God’s keeping of His promise. For David, who wrote the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd…”), the staff was a reminder of God’s faithfulness to him all those years tending sheep. Earlier in 1 Samuel 17 David tells King Saul of how God was faithful in protecting the sheep by giving David the strength to take down lions and bears with a club. The staff was symbolic of God’s presence.
But what about those five stones? Again, if you investigate what the Bible reveals, you will find the answer. 1 Chronicles 20 sheds some light on this question. Goliath was not the only one of his kind. Goliath had brothers plus there were other descendants of gigantic men from Gath, the same place from which Goliath had come. David was preparing for God to keep His promise and drop Goliath with the first stone. The other four were ammunition in case Goliath’s giant brothers and cousins joined the battle. David made provisions for the future and was ready for any trouble in advance, but he still relied on and trusted in God to fight the battle for him.
Here is the application for you. As you shelter at home trusting God to remove this pandemic from our land, make provision that the battle may be longer than you expect, and the pandemic might have some “brothers and cousins” join the fight. Some of the pandemic’s kinfolks might be things like unemployment, running out of supplies and medications, personal challenges (body, mind, and emotions), etc. God will give you the victory, just be sure to make preparation for God keeping His promise in ways you don’t expect! Get your shepherd’s staff and your stones ready!
Let me assure you that David was not afraid of missing! When the Bible says he took his staff and gathered five stones you are not seeing David’s lack of faith in the promise. What you see is David’s preparation for God’s keeping of His promise. For David, who wrote the 23rd Psalm (“The Lord is my Shepherd…”), the staff was a reminder of God’s faithfulness to him all those years tending sheep. Earlier in 1 Samuel 17 David tells King Saul of how God was faithful in protecting the sheep by giving David the strength to take down lions and bears with a club. The staff was symbolic of God’s presence.
But what about those five stones? Again, if you investigate what the Bible reveals, you will find the answer. 1 Chronicles 20 sheds some light on this question. Goliath was not the only one of his kind. Goliath had brothers plus there were other descendants of gigantic men from Gath, the same place from which Goliath had come. David was preparing for God to keep His promise and drop Goliath with the first stone. The other four were ammunition in case Goliath’s giant brothers and cousins joined the battle. David made provisions for the future and was ready for any trouble in advance, but he still relied on and trusted in God to fight the battle for him.
Here is the application for you. As you shelter at home trusting God to remove this pandemic from our land, make provision that the battle may be longer than you expect, and the pandemic might have some “brothers and cousins” join the fight. Some of the pandemic’s kinfolks might be things like unemployment, running out of supplies and medications, personal challenges (body, mind, and emotions), etc. God will give you the victory, just be sure to make preparation for God keeping His promise in ways you don’t expect! Get your shepherd’s staff and your stones ready!
Love,
Pastor Larry
Pastor Larry
(This is from a series of devotionals written during our time of restricted meetings and activities due to
the coronavirus.)
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