"The Valley Of Elah" Part 3

It is not a mistake that this valley was named the Valley of Elah. Don't forget that Elah means strength; strong like and oak, powerful, etc. Also, remember, it isn't named Elah because of Goliath either. Goliath was just a very large man. The strength that shines through and shows itself strong here is God's and God's alone.  When I started the first Valley of Elah message I had no idea that it was going to turn into more than the one message. I thought I was done at the first one and then the Lord showed me Goliath's challenge about 'choosing a man' to fight. He showed me that while everyone else was focusing on man's ability, David's only focus was on God's.

So, today there is a part three because He showed me something else that shows just how David knew that God was going to show Himself strong and it is found in verses 40-41 where it says, "Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand.  And he drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him."  There are two things here that once again reveal who God is in David's life. Two more clues that tell us us that he sees God as His strong and mighty God and that He is more than able. Both clues are right here in these two verse . The first we will look at today in part three as we look at the actions he took as he headed into the Valley of Elah.

I've often been asked over the years, Why? Why did he pick up five smooth stones to put in his shepherds pouch. Five? You would think that if he was so sure he would have only picked up one. After all, God would only need one. Right?  But here is the thing. God did only need one and one is the exact amount that he planned on using to defeat Goliath. He picked up five because he needed five. One stone for Goliath. One for Ishbi-Benob. One for Saph. One for Goliath's brother, and one for the giant with six fingers and six toes. Five, the exact number of giants that David and his mighty men defeated in battle as the Lord's servants. Accounts that can be found in Samuel 21:15-22 and 1 Chronicles 20:4-8. When he picked up five stones it was David, prophetically declaring the strength of his God, not only over this particular giant, this particular battle, but over the other four giants and all the battles to come as well.

David knew Him as God. He knew He was the God who helped him with the lion and the bear. He knew that He was the God who was with him to defeat Goliath, and he knew He was the God who would be God in the battles to come. He knew Him as his God. He knew that God is God plain and simple.

He is God. He doesn't change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is God and He said that, "He will not leave us or forsake us." Joshua 1:5  David knew that. He didn't pickup extra stones because he thought he might need more, but because prophetically and personally he knew God as his God both in the here and now, but also for what was to come as well.

David said,

 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? 

The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1 

 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; 

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and my with song I will praise Him.  Psalm 28:7

I say again, "David knew God to be his God. His God! He knew Him personally! Notice how often he uses the word my! My light, My salvation, My strength, My shield etc. He knew Him as the strength of his life. Is it any wonder that he had a stone in his pouch with Goliath's name on it when he knew, he knew that God was his God?