Posted on 03/16/2015 9:00:33 AM PDT by Sean_Anthony
Powerful narrative of today’s Philistines, the Palestinians, is built without substance. It can be brought down with a handful of stones - Truth, Legitimacy, Courage, Heritage, Values
“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:40.
Two armies faced each other more than two millennium ago. The Israelites were retreating from the advancing Philistines.
The two armies took their last stand on opposing hilltops in readiness for the final decisive battle. The odds favored the Philistines. Dividing them was the Valley of Elah in Judea. Today, some call it part of the West Bank. This is important because, in this tale, you will hear the echoes of history resound in today’s world.
Conditions favored the Philistines. The Israelites were led by a weak king. Strategically, the tailwind seemed to be with the Philistines who taunted the retreating Jewish people who were fearful and unwilling to head into another losing battle that they knew was facing them. Their land, their kingdom, was in jeopardy of being lost forever.
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
I don’t know about this allegorical use of the five stones. I believe David knew that he only needed one stone, but that Goliath had four brothers, one for each of the remaining stones. Eh? This is an unwritten, but literal, practical application of the passage. David did not need to do the killing of the others. His pals did it.
If you read the Old Testament from a military point of view you can see that the Israelites were a bunch of fierce and tactically savvy warriors. They left little to chance and took advantage of technology, terrain, weather and even the season of the year and time of day to launch their offensives. They have forgotten nothing in 3000 years. Sadly, thousands may have to perish to reaffirm this fact.
Hmmm - no stone for Faith? Wasn’t that what gave David his triumph? Faith in the Lord.
IMHO: Truth, Legitimacy, Courage, Heritage, Values were all born from the living God. Ergo, together, they were Faith.
So which was slung?
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