Pebbles From The Brook

by STANLEY, E. | Category: N/a | Feb 2009

The young widow cradled her little boy, wondering how she would get through this first Christmas without her husband. Recently bereaved and expecting her second child, how would she cope?

Her strong trust in God and her loving family supplied the answer. During the years that followed she proved God's faithful love in so many ways; and some 30 years later she was able to comfort her bereaved daughter-in-law and two young grandchildren. Drawing on the experiences of her own turmoil, she empathized with them as no one else could, helping them to rely on the same loving God.

A similar situation arose when David went to meet Goliath at Elah (1 Sam. 17). Saul attempted to equip David with his own armour, but David quickly realised that it was totally unsuitable for him and discarded it. Instead he went down to the brook and chose five stones, which he placed in his shepherd's bag. One of them became the means by which God used him to overcome the giant.

What would have been considered as totally useless in battle, that is, a sling and a few stones, actually became the means of victory for this young man. David had a very different perspective to the rest of Israel's army! He saw things from God's point of view and knew that, in this battle, only what God supplied would be of any value - exactly the experience of our young widow!

The brook, probably a winter torrent running through a narrow part of the valley (1), contained stones that had been through the confines of dark places, tumbling about in the flood waters getting all the 'rough edges' knocked off. Those stones were smooth and eminently suitable for sling shot.

Winter storms and cold are often a source of discomfort and trial. Not many enjoy the low temperatures and travel difficulties that such conditions bring. Spiritually, such conditions are also disliked; we would much rather have the 'sunshine' and relative ease of blessings and happy times. Yet we should realise that it is these dark places that God has in view in Proverbs 17:3. 'The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts'. Here God sees the perfect conditions for His purposes of refining and strengthening those who belong to Him.

David used what he gleaned from such a place and won a great victory; when we discover the secret store of refined 'nuggets' gleaned from similar testing places, with God, we, too, will overcome 'giants'.

Of course, such equipment has to be used with skill, and we will need the contentment that David had in the solitude of communion and training with our Master. This is what the Holy Spirit seems to have in mind in 1 Timothy 4:7-16, where training in godliness and the practice of using our gifts, both in our churches and in our daily lives, enable us to become proficient in handling the 'weapons of our warfare' (2 Cor. 10:4).

David needed only one of the stones from the brook, but we shouldn't think he had overdone it by taking five. Matthew 12:35 speaks of good treasure, which is stored up in the heart (compare Mat. 13:52). Such a treasure store will stand us in good stead as we counter the attacks of our adversary. This is so graphically portrayed for us in the response of the Lord Jesus throughout His temptations (Mat. 4).

'Five' in Scripture may cause us to think of 'divine grace in the midst of human weakness' (2); David's shepherd's bag was full of such 'grace', and with it he was well armed for the conflict of Elah. It is a small picture of what the Lord Jesus brought to Calvary, as He entered the horrors of that place, overflowing with divine grace (see Rom. 5:20). We need ever increasing supplies of this same grace, as we tackle the hard places of life.

May 'pebbles from the brook' help us to gain the victory too.

References

Bible quotes from ESV

(1) James Strong, The New Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words: Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

(2) A.Naismith, 1200 Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes

STANLEY, E. | Feb 2009
N/a