FOCAL Read Together 1 Samuel 17:40 And he took
his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones
Five Smooth Stones
1 Samuel 17:40
Rock Hill Baptist Church
605 Rock Hill Road
Lexington, Tennessee 38351
Pastor David Buffaloe
731-845-6104
online at bibleteacher.org
out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag
which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his
hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
The Word of God, our Holy Bible, is not a "man written
book". The Bible is different from any other book you'll
ever read. It is the very breath of God. The Scripture says
of itself that:
2 Timothy 3:16 Every Scripture is God-breathed
(Amplified Version)
This is a "God breathed" Book. If it were "man breathed"
then it would always show God's people in a positive
light. The Bible doesn't do that. It is an honest Book, for
it is written by an honest God. The Bible tells us that "all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23). The Bible says "we are all as an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses as filthy
rags" (Isaiah 64:6). The Bible shows man in his evil,
and God in His goodness.
The Bible shows Israel - God's people - cowering before
a bully named Goliath. It shows their king, a hand picked
and powerful man named Saul, hiding in trenches from
this unbelieving idolater. Humans would hide this from
the gaze of other humans. Churches wouldn't want to
publish the cowardice of their people to the unbelieving
world - and they certainly wouldn't write it down in a
Book. Humanly speaking we would say
2 Samuel 1:20 Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the
streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines
rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised
triumph.
Don't let the unbelievers know. But God is honest, and
He records every blemish and every fault for a purpose.
The Bible says "all these things happened unto our
forefather as examples for us, and they are written
for our admonition and our instruction" (1
Corinthians 10:11). ALL that happened was WRITTEN
for OUR instruction. There is not a word written in this
Sacred Scripture that is there by accident. God wrote the
text. The same God - holy and complete - Who wrote of
Israel cowering before Goliath is the same God Who
wrote about a young shepherd named David. When Israel
saw Goliath the Bible says:
1 Samuel 17:24... they saw the man, fled from him,
and were sore afraid.
But when David saw Goliath he didn't see a nine foot
nine inch tall man carrying a spear whose head alone
weighed eighteen pounds and twelve ounces. David
wasn't looking at Goliath, but at God. The Bible says
that he said:
1 Samuel 17:26 ... who is this uncircumcised
Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living
God?
God is ALIVE, and He is certainly greater than this
unbeliever. Why are God's people cowering when they
should be standing. He may be big, but my God is
bigger!
Everybody tried to talk David out of what the Lord put
on his heart to do. His own brothers - cowering and
hiding from Goliath - accused David of being prideful.
King Saul tried his best to talk David out of fighting
Goliath. "You're too young and inexperienced, and
this Goliath was trained from the earliest age to be a
fighter". David was quick to reply. "I am only your
servant, King Saul, but I have guarded my father's
flock my whole life. A lion and a bear attacked my
flock, but the Eternal God gave me power to go and
kill these wild beasts. The LORD will guide me now".
King Saul then tried to talk David into using his own
armor. Have you ever noticed that there's always people
who DO, and then the others who love to TALK
ABOUT doing. There's leaders, and followers, and
yammerers. There's people who are experts on
everything but they don't even know the question! Saul
wasn't man enough to handle Goliath himself, but he was
quick to offer his useless help. David humored him, and
tried to put on Saul's offered armor, but to wear that mess
would guarantee death. Dear friends, tell your well
intentioned friends you don't need their unused opinions
and unused armor. Do what David did. David put them
off of him (1 Samuel 17:39). If it's not from God don't
use it against Goliath.
The Bible says that David "took his staff in his hand".
Oh, how I could preach a sermon on how God uses a
simple stick in the hands of His obedient servants. God
turned Moses' stick into a snake and told him to "pick
it up by the tail" (Exodus 4:4) to turn it back into a
staff. I heard a preacher say one time "that's the end I'd
have picked it up by". Moses used that same staff to turn
the Nile to blood, and to part the Red Sea. A judge by the
name of Shamgar (Judges 3:31) killed 600 Philistines
with a sharpened stick. God can bless a stick in the hands
of a believer and make it more effective than any tool
man can develop. But I'm not going to talk about the
staff today.
FOCAL 1 Samuel 17:40 And he took his staff in his
hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the
brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he
had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand:
and he drew near to the Philistine.
Let's talk about those five smooth stones. These were
stones that were taken out of living water. They came
from a brook, not from still water.
Why did David take five smooth stones? Why not
just one?
I have read several commentaries that suggest that
Goliath had four other brothers, and that David thought
he might have to kill them, too. That's very possible. But
the number five has a greater significance. Warren
Wiersbe wrote in his Expository Outline of the New
Testament that "five in the Bible is the number of
grace. That's true. Jesus fed five thousand men with two
fish and five barley loaves (John 6:13). God told His
Israel that - as long as they were obedient to Him - then
Leviticus 26:8 .... five of you shall chase a hundred,
and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to
flight ...
When God had Israel make the Tabernacle the curtains
were made by fives (Exodus 26:3). There were five
porches around Bethesda (John 5:2), a place where
Jesus made a crippled man whole. There are "five
sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them
is forgotten before God" (Luke 12:6).
Five is the mark of grace, the free gift of God.
David knew that the battle was God's, not his. This is
why he told Goliath "this day will the Lord deliver
thee into mine hand" (1 Samuel 17:46). The battle was
God's.
Why is it that, in our day, so many people are so defeated
by the giants of this age? America has lost its moral
compass. We are silent when the giant of
postmodernism - which is "every man doing that
which is right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6) - rears its
ugly head. Many - both in and out of the Church - live
as servants to the giant of hopelessness. Young people
everywhere are following the giant of promiscuity,
seeking love in the physical and temporal rather than
turning to the Lord Who loves them so. Many people
have allowed the giant of depression to convince them
that life just isn't worth living.
The Grace of God offers each and every person five
smooth stones - Scripture, Prayer, the Holy Spirit,
Service, and Worship - by which we can overcome this
present evil world. May God lead each and every one of
you to examine your lives in the light of these "smooth
stones".
Are you reading and meditating on His Word?
Are you speaking to God in prayer frequently?
Are you living the "Spirit Filled" life?
Do you put the things that God teaches you into practice
in your daily lives?
Do you meet with other believers to worship the Lord on
a regular basis?
No one can live a victorious life apart from God. May
God your hearts to turn to Him fully, and to begin to live
in Christ.
1. The Smooth Stones of Scripture and Prayer
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:26 And David spoke to the
men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to
the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away
the reproach from Israel? for who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the
armies of the living God?
What gave David the courage to stand when all others
cowered? Because David knew the Word of God. He
knew what God said. David spoke in another place:
David's Song 2 Samuel 22:31-36 As for God, his way
is perfect; THE WORD OF THE LORD IS TRIED:
he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. {32} For
who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save
our God? {33} God is my strength and power: and
he maketh my way perfect. {34} He maketh my feet
like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
{35} He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of
steel is broken by mine arms. {36} Thou hast also
given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy
gentleness hath made me great.
That which directed David's life was not a bellowing and
arrogant giant, but the gentle and sure Word of God. The
Word of God came to Abraham, the forefather of David,
and made a covenant with him. The Lord promised
Abraham:
Genesis 17:6-8 And I will make thee exceeding
fruitful, and I WILL MAKE NATIONS OF THEE,
AND KINGS SHALL COME OUT OF THEE. {7}
And I will establish my covenant between me and
thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for
an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee. {8} And I will give unto thee, and
to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God.
God does not break His Word. What He has promised
that He will do. It was the Word of God to Abraham that
established the nation Israel, and the Word of God to
Abraham that offered salvation to all who believe in
Jesus Christ.

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the
heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath
of his mouth.
The God Who spoke creation into existence is the same
God Who spoke this Book into existence. The same God
Who made all things "by the breath of His mouth" is
not a liar. He Who is thrice holy cannot speak a lie. The
Scripture says:
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?
When Goliath stood bellowing that which shocked
David wasn't the size of the giant, but the cowering of
God's people.
He said "what shall be given the man who takes away
the reproach from Israel?" Israel is God's nation - not
because they are perfect or good. Israel is God's nation
because He set His love upon them. Israel is God's
nation because God made a promise to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. God told Israel just before they went
into the land of Canaan:
Deuteronomy 7:7-8 The LORD did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in
number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all
people: {8} But because the LORD loved you, and
because he would keep the oath which he had sworn
unto your fathers ....
God is faithful! David understood the faithfulness of
God. David trusted the Word of God as his salvation and
his promise. David cleansed his way by taking heed to
the Word of the Lord (Psalm 119:9). He hid the Word
of God in his heart, so that he would not sin against
God (Psalm 119:11).
David prayerfully meditated on the Word of God
and delighted in studying it and applying it to his
life (Psalm 119:15-16).
The Word of God was alive and powerful, sharper
than any two edged sword, piercing even unto the
dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and was a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of his heart (Hebrews 4:12). The
Bible says of itself:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is GOD
BREATHED, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: {17} That the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
If you do not heed the Word of God for salvation, you
cannot be saved. If you do not - in faith - claim its
promises for yourself - you cannot be strong against the
giant. David knew who he was because of the Word of
the Lord. David knew what Israel was because of the
Word of the Lord. David knew who this uncircumcised
Philistine was because of the Word of the Lord.
Great men and women of God learn the practice of
prayerfully meditating on the Word of God (Psalm
119:78; 119:148). The early Church Apostles
understood the necessity of prayer and the ministry of
the Word of God. They said:
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to
prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
You MUST - on a daily basis - prayerfully read the
Word of God. These two smooth stones are vital for
both salvation and preservation!
2. The Smooth Stones Of
Holy Spirit Empowered Service
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:32-33 And David said to
Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
servant will go and fight with this Philistine. {33}
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art
but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
King Saul's first objection to David fighting the giant
was that he had no experience in giant fighting. "This
man Goliath has trained since he was a youth in the
art of war. You are but a young boy. What hope
would you have against this man".
The reason why many people - often good Christians and
faithful members of the local Church - are defeated by
life's giants is because they do not serve the Lord. Dear
friends, the Bible tells us that those who have believed in
Jesus Christ for salvation that we have redemption:
Ephesians 1:6-7 {God the Father} hath made us
accepted in the Beloved {Son of God}. {7} In whom
{Christ} WE HAVE REDEMPTION through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace;
The Bible doesn't say that we will have redemption. It
says that the true believer, a person who came to God by
faith in Christ has redemption. Believers are redeemed
from sin and redeemed from this world. When you
hear the Gospel and believe on this Gospel:
That you are a sinner in need of salvation
That Christ came to die for your sins
That Christ did indeed die for your sins
That Jesus rose again on the third day for your sins
That you must repent and turn from your old life
That when you do, believing sola Christa,
in Christ alone
Then God the Holy Spirit moves on you,
giving you new life
And that God the Holy Spirit indwells every believer
The believer has redemption, and has obtained the
inheritance. Not will obtain but has obtained. Every
believer is indwelt by the Precious Spirit of God. Paul
went on to tell the Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:11-14 In whom also WE HAVE
OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
{12} That we should be to the praise of his glory, who
first trusted in Christ. {13} In whom ye also trusted,
after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, {14}
WHICH IS THE EARNEST OF OUR
INHERITANCE UNTIL THE REDEMPTION OF
THE PURCHASED POSSESSION, unto the praise of
his glory.
The Holy Spirit - having cleansed the believer...
Titus 3:5-6 Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy {God} SAVED
US, BY THE WASHING OF REGENERATION,
AND RENEWING OF THE HOLY GHOST; {6}
WHICH {GOD} SHED ON US ABUNDANTLY
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR;
You are Heirs of God if you are believers of Christ! God
lives in you! God lives in you so that He can live
THROUGH you. Every experience, every thing that
comes your way in this life comes under the loving gaze
of God.
Dear friends, if you are a Christian God could have taken
you home the day He saved you. He left you on this earth
to be His hands and His feet. He left you here to learn to
walk IN THE SPIRIT guided by your prayerful
obedience to the Word of God.
When Saul told David "thanks for your application,
but I'll have to turn it down because of lack of
experience" notice how David replied:
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:34 And David said unto
Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there
came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the
flock:
Now let me explain something. The shepherd's job is the
absolute worst job you could have in all of Israel. Sheep
are hard headed. There are times when sheep will wander
away from the shepherd while they are feeding. They
will step in places they shouldn't step in. Sheep have no
natural defenses outside of the shepherd, so the shepherd
has to stay on guard at all times. Sheep are tasty, so
bears, lions, wolves, and other critters like to eat them.
Sheep graze out in open pastures, immune to the high
winds of the desert while the shepherd shivers all night.
The shepherd may periodically light a campfire, but he
can't huddle around the fire all night long, lest it destroy
his night vision. For this reason the shepherd's job is the
least desirable of any jobs.
Was the shepherd's job a "choice job"? Why or why
not?
David was given this job because he was the youngest
child of eight sons. When David was put in charge of the
sheep he could have done like many of us would do. He
could have kicked the ground, stuck out his lower lip,
and got an attitude. When the lion and the bear attacked
the flock David could have curled up around the
campfire saying "let them eat! I didn't want this
miserable job, anyway. Serves dad right for putting
me out in this place." Did David do that. Look what he
said:
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:35-36 And I went out after
him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his
mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him
by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. {36} Thy
servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them,
seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
David literally took the sheep out of the lion's mouth.
He went out without delay, trusting in the Lord Who
saved him. David put his faith IN ACTION. Look what
he says:
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:37 David said moreover,
The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the
lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver
me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said
unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
GOD DID IT. The reason we have such a sickly breed of
Christian wandering the world today is because so few
put their faith in action. If you are heirs of God by faith
in Christ then God the Holy Spirit lives in you. This is
according to the promise of Jesus, Who said:
John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide
with you forever; {17} Even the Spirit of truth;
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him
not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
God lives in the believer! The Spirit of God lives in us
(Galatians 3:14). The Spirit lives in us and we live
through Him (Galatians 5:5). Every believer is
commanded of God to walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:1,
4; Galatians 5:16, 25).
What does it mean to "walk in the Spirit"?
David went after the lion and the bear by faith and killed
both, knowing that it was God Who worked in him.
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.
God is greater than the lion or the bear, and He is greater
than Goliath or all the Philistines Canaan could bear.
David went toward Goliath with the same faith that he
went toward a miserable shepherd's job.
He lived his life for the Lord. David later wrote:
Psalms 103:17-18 But the mercy of the LORD is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear
him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
{18} To such as keep his covenant, and to those
THAT REMEMBER HIS COMMANDMENTS TO
DO THEM.
The believer is called to serve the Lord. We are to
serve the Lord with our money. We are to serve the
Lord with our possessions. We are to serve the Lord
with every bit of our lives.
David did not fear Goliath for God proved Himself
faithful in the sheepscote. What God did with the lion
and the bear, He would do with Goliath.
When you find yourselves in a less than desirable
situation do not murmur, but do the will of God. He is
your Lord:
Romans 14:7-9 For none of us liveth to himself, and
no man dieth to himself. {8} For whether we live, we
live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto
the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are
the Lord's. {9} For to this end Christ both died, and
rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the
dead and living.
Live for God. Do it because God's Word said do it.
David let God use him while he was in the field tending
sheep. Now that he faced a greater giant than any lion or
bear, he did so trusting God. David could confidently say
to Goliath:
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:45-46 ... Thou comest to me
with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but
I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the
God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
{46} THIS DAY WILL THE LORD DELIVER
THEE INTO MINE HAND; AND I WILL SMITE
THEE, and take thine head from thee...
3. The Smooth Stone of Worship
CONTEXT 1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly
shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and
spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give
you into our hands.
We live in a very self centered, do it yourself society.
Our own seeking after self draws us away from Him
Who would bless us. Everywhere I go I see people who
claim to be Christians who are as miserable and hard as
the lost of this world. Christians are consumed by the
poor economy, though the Scripture says of the believer:
Psalms 37:23-25 The steps of a good man are ordered
by the LORD: and {God} delighteth in his way. {24}
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for
the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. {25} I have
been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
There is nothing in this world that can take God's people.
Nothing!
Isaiah 40:21-23 Have ye not known? have ye not
heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning?
have ye not understood from the foundations of the
earth? {22} It is {God} that sitteth upon the circle of
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a
curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
{23} That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh
the judges of the earth as vanity.
God is in control! And God loves those who belong to
Him. The Apostle Paul - on his way to being beheaded -
said:
Psalms 150:1-6 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in
his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his
power. {2} Praise him for his mighty acts: praise
him according to his excellent greatness. {3} Praise
him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with
the psaltery and harp. {4} Praise him with the
timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed
instruments and organs. {5} Praise him upon the
loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding
cymbals. {6} Let every thing that hath breath praise
the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither If God be for us, who then can be against us? May God
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor touch your hearts with His Word!
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39}
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is nothing that can separate the believer from God!

David knew that Goliath was dead before his body ever
hit the ground.

Daniel knew that the lions would be his pillows before

he was ever cast into that pit.

and dear one, you should know that God will never let
those He purchased at such great a price be cast
down with the unbeliever.

If you belong to God, praise Him. When you come

together, praise Him. Live your lives in praise to Him.
FOCAL Read Together 1 Samuel 17:40 And
he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five
smooth stones out of the brook, and put them
in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a
scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he
drew near to the Philistine.
Samuel 17:37; John 14:16-17; Galatians 3:14;
Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:1, 4; Galatians 5:16, 25; 1
John 4:4; Psalms 103:17-18; Romans 14:7-9; 1
Samuel 17:45-46
- Was the shepherd's job a "choice job"? Why or why
not?

- Why did David take five smooth stones? Why not just
one? - What does it mean to "walk in the Spirit"?

3. The Smooth Stone of Worship

- Five is the mark of , the free gift of God.
1 Samuel 17:47; Psalms 37:23-25; Isaiah 40:21-23;
1. The Smooth Stones of Scripture and Prayer Romans 8:38-39; Psalms 150:1-6

1 Samuel 17:26; 2 Samuel 22:31-36; Genesis 17:6-8;

Psalms 33:6; Numbers 23:19; Deuteronomy 7:7-8;
Psalm 119:9; Psalm 119:11; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy
3:16-17; Psalm 119:78; 119:148; Acts 6:4

- When Goliath stood bellowing that which shocked

David wasn't the size of the giant, but

- David and
delighted in studying it and applying it to his life (Psalm
119:15-16).
2. The Smooth Stones Of
Holy Spirit Empowered Service

1 Samuel 17:32-33; Ephesians 1:6-7; Ephesians 1:11-

14; Titus 3:5-6; 1 Samuel 17:34; 1 Samuel 17:35-36; 1