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Five Smooth Stones
by
Josprel
The Apostle John recorded the indispensable difference between a true
shepherd and a hireling (John 10:11-14) - "I am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is
not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming
and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and
scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care
about the sheep. I am the good shepherd . . ."
A good shepherd loves his sheep, but so does a wolf - only in another
fashion. A wolf loves a meal of mutton; it considers such a meal
delicious. So do lions, coyotes, bears, wild dogs, hyenas, and other
predators. These all endanger the sheep and also the shepherd, without whose
protection the flock has no chance of fending off the predators.
No one better human hero exemplifies a true shepherd then King David,
who has been called, "The Shepherd King of Israel." The Prophet Samuel,
whom God sent to David's hometown of Bethlehem, was commissioned by Him
to anoint a new king from among the sons of Jesse, David's father. Upon
Samuel's arrival in Bethlehem, Jesse's eldest son, Eliab, was the first
to appear before him. Apparently, Eliab looked like a king, for so
impressed was the prophet with his appearance that he declared, "Surely
the Lord's anointed is before Him!" (1st Samuel 16:6).
Nonetheless, Eliab's manly proportions did not impress God, who said to
Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature,
because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man
looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. One
by one, David's seven brothers appeared before Samuel, but in turn,each
was rejected, no doubt puzzling the prophet, for he asked Jesse, "The
Lord has not chosen these . . . Are all of the young men here?" (Verses
10 11).
"There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep,"
Jesse informed Samuel, who asked him to send for David and bring him in.
When the shepherd arrived the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this
is the one!" Verse 12).
This account of David teaches three important lessons:
1. God calls busy people into His service: David was obediently tending
his father's flocks when God sent Samuel to anoint him as king of
Israel. Those who desire that God grant them responsible tasks must
first be responsible to the tasks already before them, no matter how
mundane they may seem. Sadly, many refuse the hidden, unglamorous tasks in a
local church because they receive no public acclaim for doing them.
David, however, was faithfully performing his task in a field. And, it was
there from which he was called to receive the anointing as the king of
Israel. God will grant no higher responsibility to one who is
unfaithful to a lesser one.
2. God does not gauge a person by ordinary standards: God applies His
own measure to assess if He may use a person for His glory: Apparently,
all of David's brothers appeared more kinglike than he. Yes, he was
"ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking," but so are many teenagers.
These characteristics do not qualify one to be a king. However, because
of his outward appearance, Eliab impressed Samuel as being kingly
material, yet Eliab was one who cowered with the rest of Saul's army when
Goliath, the Philistine warrior - some nine feet, eight inches in height -
defied the Israelite warriors by challenging them to send
someone to fight one-to-one with him. "He wore bronze armor that
weighed about 125 pounds and a bronze helmet. His legs were also protected by
bronze armor, and he carried a bronze javelin slung over his shoulder.
His spear was a thick as the bar on a weaver's loom and its iron head
weighed about fifteen pounds. A soldier walked in front of him carrying
his shield" (1 Samuel 17: 4-7; Good News Bible; American Bible Society;
New York).
3. God often uses those whom others consider unworthy for a task and,
through them, achieves astounding victories for His name: Samuel
recorded that Goliath "stood and cried out unto the armies of Israel, and said
unto them, 'Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a
Philistine, and ye the servants of Saul? Choose you a man of you, and
let him come down to me. (Literally: 'Why have you come out to line up
for battle? I am also a Philistine and you are Saul's warriors. Choose
one from among you to come down here and battle me.) If he is able to
fight with me and kill me, then we will be your slaves; but if I prevail
against him, and kill him, then you shall be our slaves . . . I defy
the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together'"
(1st Samuel 17:8-10). Eliab, who seemed so kinglike to Samuel, cowered
before the giant with the rest of Saul's army, not daring to accept the
challenge. It required the simple faith of the teen-aged sheph!
erd, David, who had tested his faith in God by killing lions and bears
who dared to endanger his flock. He believed that the God who had given
him victory over the lions and bears would grant him victory over the
blaspheming Goliath.
David answered Goliath, "You are coming against me with a sword, spear,
and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,
the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied. This very day
the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your
head. And I will the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and
animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, and
everyone will see that The Lord does not need swords or spears to save
His people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put you in our
power!" ( Samuel 17: 45-47; Good News Bible).
The young shepherd had picked five smooth stones from a stream;
however, it required the use of only one stone and his faith in God to render
him victorious. As he quickly ran toward the Goliath, he launched a
stone with his sling. It struck his enemy in the only place unprotected by
armor - his forehead, cracking his skull. "Goliath fell face downward
on the ground" (v.49).
What a tremendous lesson for all of us. God frequently uses simple
things to demonstrate His power. He often uses small things to defeat
obstacles that the world considers insurmountable.
Gathering the smooth stones of confidence in God from His stream of
assurance, as did the young shepherd, David, each believer ought to step
forward into the Lord's will, in the knowledge that He ever is with us.
As an anonymous hymnist of yesteryear wrote:
"I've seen the lightning flashing,
And heard the thunder roll;
I've felt sin's breakers dashing,
Trying to conquer my soul;
I've heard the voice of my Savior,
Telling me still to fight on;
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone."
Chorus:
"No, never alone!
No, never alone!
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone!
No, never alone!
No, never alone!
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone."
(Hymn, "Never Alone"; Composer anonymous).
josprel@verizon.net
© Josprel (Joseph Perrello)
About the Author:
A prolific writer, many of Josprel's stories and articles
have appeared in print and on the internet. He is a clergyman who
pastored in Attica, New York, site of the nation's worst prison riot, at the
request of the Attica Prison administration, Josprel sponsored and
conducted three-hour-long weekly Bible studies for the inmates. His account
of that ministry may be read on Christian Article Bank in the story,
"Maximum Security - Attica. Josprel is the author of two novels in
progress, "Beloved Apostate" and "Kanfal."
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