Five Smooth Stones

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth

stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his

shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:40

Children love the story of David and Goliath - the classic tale of the underdog overcoming his huge opponent. In my cache of children's musical repertoire, I have a wonderful song about the slaying of the giant that builds up to a mighty climax as Goliath hits the ground.  We have sung it with human illustration (much to the delight of the kids), and we have sung it without - the children go for it either way.  

The story is one of my favorites as well, but to be bluntly honest, I have always quietly wondered in the back of my mind about those stones.  Who of us has not reached down to pick up a smooth stone to skip across a creek or pond.  Of course, for that purpose, we are searching for flat stones.  I have always imagined that David was searching for rounded rocks - something with at least a little heft.  Yes, yes - I know that God was with him, giving him courage, guiding his aim...but I've still always wondered about those stones.

Saturday I had the privilege to see the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the Disney Pavilion in New York City.  When my daughter and I arrived there, I was delighted to discover that, besides the Scroll fragments, the exhibit also displayed a sizeable number of biblical artifacts from the many on-going excavations in ancient biblical lands.  As we moved through the various displays, we came to a framed exhibit on the wall of 10-12 surprisingly similar rounded rocks about the size of a modern-day hardball baseball.  As the line inched forward and the display plaque came into view, I stopped in my tracks, a huge grin spreading across my face.  The title of the exhibit?  Slingshot stones!  Gazing at those rocks, it was instantly clear that any one of them thrown with the velocity of a shepherd boy's iron-muscled arm would easily cause the collapse of any man.

I'm grinning even now as I write - not so much about the stones, but about me!   I am a firm believer in the veracity of the Bible - all stories included - but that doesn't mean that I never have any questions.  Too often, however, we use modern standards from our own culture to judge the truth of biblical stories.  Jesus commended those who believe without seeing.  I, for one, am grateful that occasionally He gives us glimpses of our own doubt along with the truth we have been to blind to see.

Photo of similar stones found on the Internet.  These stones 

are much smoother than the stones 

on display at the Disney Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition.