Sharpening Your Sword At The Enemies’ Forge Part 1
1 Samuel 13:19-23
As I looked at this story of Israel I could not help but think the US is in like state. Let us look for a few minutes at what happened to Israel and what could happen to the US.
In this story Israel have become docile and had been taken captive or was being controlled by the Philistines. They did not have the means or ability to make defensive weapons. There was not one smith in all of Israel. Everyone had to take their farm implements to a Philistine smith to get them sharpened. This condition had made the people afraid and defenseless. So they struggled with dull tools. This is a condition that makes work difficult and dangerous. Productivity drops and people struggle just to stay alive.
How did Israel get in this condition? If you will read 1 Samuel 11 and 12 you will see they stopped trusting God. They asked for a king. Through out the bible we see when a nation stops following God bad things begin to happen.
What is the lesson to be learned from this story? First Israel was threatened by a strong enemy. So controlled they could not even sharpen their own tools or make defensive weapons. 1Samuel 13:19 tells us there was no smith to be found through out all Israel. All of Israel had to go to a Philistine smith to get farming tools made or sharpened.
Only two swords were present, Saul and Jonathan had swords. No one else in all Israel had any weapons. When it came time for battle Israel was in real trouble. Can you imagine what would happen today if the US laid down all her arms and had nothing to defend this country? When we took God out or our lives that is what will happen. Today true Christians and Churches are threatened by a strong enemy---Satan. Your adversary the devil walketh about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
We are being told we cannot pray, cannot display Christian symbols, and cannot openly share our faith for fear of offending a non-christian. A parallel here is like having our tools and weapons taken away. How did this happen? Just like it happened to Israel, we have stopped trusting in God. Can it be said of us today we have no one to sharpen our tools? Is there no one to inspire us to greater mission work? No one to lead us out of captivity. The Lord calls us sheep because we are easily led. Do we sharpen our implements at the enemies forge by conformity to the world? Are we politically correct or are we God correct? The Word like an ax clears the way for conviction of a heart that is lost. The Holy Spirit like a sharp knife cuts deep into the soul exposing hidden sin. Convicting both the lost and saved the need for repentance. As Israel was content with a dull file to sharpen their tools are we content to act likewise.
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