David's 5 smooth stones.

[GrannyGumbo]

Nothing really earth shattering...well, it might have been, considering it has to do with Goliath;

but Sunday we studied in 1 Samuel 17.

Verse 40 reads:"And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook,..."

Is there a significance to having picked up 5? I know what was said by the one who presented the lesson, but just wondered what ideas others might have.

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts, if any.

 

[tyndale1946]

Granny I don't know if everyone will agree with me on this but this is where I find the five smooth stones... And anyone of them could kill that great giant Goliath. Why were they smooth they were taken from the stream of Gods love.

Romans 8: 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

All of God... Foreknowledge... Predestination... Effectual Calling... Justification... And Glorification... Five Smooth stones... In the Great Shepherds bag... Since they are all tied together either one would have accomplished the purpose of God... Hope this helped and would be interested in other interpretation of these five smooth stones... This is my understanding!... Brother Glen

[ October 16, 2002, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: tyndale1946 ]

 

[donnA]

I can't remember where it is, but theres a verse that either says, or suggests, that Goliath had brothers, so it is believed that David prepared for having to defend himself against the brothers when he killed Goliath.
But who knows for sure.

 

[Me2]

My Take is The Number 5 Stands For Grace....

Heres A Little Something Thats Interesting..Maybe

Eph 4:11 And He Gave some, Apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For The Perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15 But Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Thats 5 Ministries within the plan of Reconciliation of Gods Children

Apostles..Prophets..Evangelists...pastors...teachers

Well..I Though It Was Interesting......

Me2

 

[Helen]

Although I have also heard Goliath had brothers, that may not be the reason why five stones were chosen.

The stones for those slingshots were about the size of baseballs. An expert with a slingshot can send them faster than a baseball can be pitched. David had already defended his father's sheep from at least one lion and one bear. He knew what the slingshot could do, and if he was as expert as young shepherds still are in the Middle East and North Africa, he had deadly aim.

Nevertheless, Goliath was bigger than a bear or lion and he also had a shield bearer who went before him (1 Sam. 17:7). David would have had no more than five stones' worth of time and there was a reasonable chance the shield bearer would try to stop at least one stone. There was also a reasonable chance that David might hit Goliath's armor at first and need another shot.

I think he was just being prudent and figured the top number he would have time for and might need.

It's a more mundane answer, I know....

 

[blackbird]

5 smooth stones!! Have you ever run you hands around and across a bullet? Its smooth--for trajectory! But why five? Above are fine thoughts--ole Blackbird is gonna "sling" a thought your way, too! Ephesians 3: 20 tells us that God Almighty "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."--I believe that all David asked for was the magic number--one!! He asked for one rock!! God gave him 5!! God will always supply us with more than enough to get the job done!! David was "pumped up" ready to go "bear huntin' with a switch!" He was so sure of God's word that he wasn't gonna miss with the first one!!

I believe, too, that the Philistines may have been counting how many rocks David had picked up--(there wasn't any cold war going on!) saw Goliath fall like a house of cards and said to themselves--"Wait a minute! He's got four more where that one came from!!" and they all ran like scalded dogs!!

That's what Blackbird thinks!!

Your friend,
Blackbird

 

[Zebedee]

Originally posted by GrannyGumbo:
Is there a significance to having picked up 5? Thank you all in advance for your thoughts, if any.

RR- Yes. He wanted to have another shot in case he missed.

 

[tyndale1946]

Originally posted by Zebedee:

RR- Yes. He wanted to have another shot in case he missed

"GOD NEVER MISSES"

... Brother Glen

[ October 17, 2002, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: tyndale1946 ]

 

[M Wickens]

The second half of II Samuel 21 states there were four giants, apart from Goliath, that were killed by David and his men. They were all from the same town, Gath. It is likely they were brothers of Goliath, present in the case of this topic and that is why David picked the extra stones.

I realise it is just speculation but it fits. There may be a better passage to illustrate this same point of view.

 

[Paul of Eugene]

I can't imagine David going to this battle with any less than all he could reasonably manage to carry!

 

[blackbird]

5 is the number for God's power---All of God's power was wrapped up inside those stones--David rocked the Giant with all of God's power and might!!

Your friend,
Blackbird

 

[Pete]

And the Israelites said "HE'S TOO BIG TO KILL!"

And David answered "HE'S TOO BIG TO MISS!"

I doubt David would have had the extra stones because of fear of missing. Look at what he says in 1 Samuel 17:45-47.

I must admit I do like the old "Goliath's 4 brothers" story

Pete

 

[Jim1999]

There are some verses of scripture which make reference to the brothers..1 Chronicles 20: 5-8.

Tradition tells us that the user of the sling, an instrument of two strands of rope with a piece of sheepskin attached, spun it round and round until sufficient momentum was reached to send the stone to its victim.

I have never heard the story about the stone being the size of a baseball,,that would be 9 inches round. It was customary for the slinger to carry an extra stone in his left hand. The balance was carried in a small bag,,a lunch bag, as it were.

There have been many sermons about Goliath and his brothers, the sling and the five stones. Much is speculative.

My thought is that David picked 5 stones as a message to Saul who attempted to kill David 5 times: 1 Sam 19:10, 15,20, 21, 23,24.

On the size of the stone, I doubt that it was large. Consider the armour that Goliath was wearing. The only opening in his headgear would be a small slit about the eyes,,,,,the only place the stone could penetrate mortally.

The smooth, round stones would be a better projectile in that resistance is reduced. It is customary for shepherds who carry slings would choose their stones by size rather than shape. Also, the Hebrew speaks of a valley rather than a brook. The stones were probably smoothed by time and sand and wind rather than by water.

It is interesting how far we can go on this battle between David and Goliath.

Cheers,

Jim

[ December 14, 2002, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: Jim1999 ]

 

[Charlie T]

Jim,

You said a coupel of things that made my ears perk up.

My thought is that David picked 5 stones as a message to Saul who attempted to kill David 5 times

But these things had not yet occurred had they?

Consider the armour that Goliath was wearing.

Do we really know much about the Philistine armor at this time in history? The armor you describe seems more consistent with the Middle Ages, in my opinion. Not even the Greek Armor of the early Greeks was this extensive, was it? I am honestly asking, I really have not read much archeological evidence of Philistine armor at this time (1000 BC or so?).

I personally think that David picked up the normal number of stones. I do not know if he thought the first one would kill Goliath or not, nor would the victory be any less than miraculous if it had taken all five. Slings were never considered very good weapons against an armored foe. But, even if David was sure that he would kill the Giant with the first stone, he was the closest Israelite to the rest of the Philistine army. That is a precarious position to be in and it would be wise to be armed for additional foes.

Charlie

 

[Jim1999]

Charlie:

There is archeological evidence about the armour of the time,,,,,then scripture also describes the armour..consider the description of the armour offered to David, which he refused as being too cumbersome and untried by him.

Yes, those five attempts against David were after the fact,,,,I was stretching it a little...I just thought it was interesting,,5 stones,,,,5 attempts......Perhaps he had some foreknowledge, a premonition that Saul would have him in.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Dr. Bob]

Factual: There were FIVE giants and David figured he only needed one stone per. He's not gonna miss. And one stone is sufficient. That's history.

Application: Jesus was confronted by Satan and tempted. Each time He answer the devil by quoting a verse from just one book of the Torah - Deuteronomy. He had 5, but needed just one to defeat the biggest giant.

Brethren, that will preach!

 

[Charlie T]

Brother Bob:

That will preach, but I hope you put in a disclaimer that you are conjecturing.

To say, "David figured he only needed one stone per" makes me a little uncomfortable, since the scripture does not address this at all. See what I mean?

Charlie

 

[Dr. Bob]

I always tell the folks "if you can't find it in the Bible, don't believe it just because I said it." And that works well on the BB too.

You're right, of course, that I took a "fact" and extrapolating and conjectured a bunch. Probably won't be a sermon, but an illustration within a sermon.

Do like the NT application to the temptation of Jesus . . .

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by Jim1999:
Tradition tells us that the user of the sling, an instrument of two strands of rope with a piece of sheepskin attached, spun it round and round until sufficient momentum was reached to send the stone to its victim.

I have never heard the story about the stone being the size of a baseball,,that would be 9 inches round.

Actually on the news here there has been footage of Palestinians using that type of sling against Jews. It was hard to tell from a couple of seconds of image, but it looks like stone they used was maybe just a bit smaller than "a man's fist"....Now that depends on the man in question of course

Pete

 

[Ransom]

The Bible says that David took five stones out of the brook because he took more than four, but less than six.

The Scriptures assign no significance to the number of stones, so assigning any such significance to it is speculation at best.