NO WEAPON FORGED AGAINST YOU WILL PREVAIL

NO WEAPON FORGED AGAINST YOU WILL PREVAIL

“‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me’ declares the Lord” (Is. 54:16,17).

Unbelievers are convinced that the best equipped army will win the war and the best educated person will win the debate. Isaiah knew better. There is a spiritual dimension to everything. “If God be for us, who can be against us” (Rom. 8:31). Young warriors like David can defeat a well armed giant if God wants him to. Uneducated fishermen can win the debate regardless of their opponent. “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord”. Jesus promised those uneducated peasants who were His disciples: “I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Lk. 21:15).

Remember! The things written before were written to teach us (Rom. 15:4). Take, for example, what the Bible teaches us about the Philistines. They were obviously an advanced civilization with great skill in producing military weapons. In their war with Saul, for example, they assembled 3,000 chariots and 6,000 charioteers and soldiers like the sand on the sea shore (1 Sam. 13:5). Sadly, the Hebrews had no chariots at all. The equipment used by Philistine soldiers is revealed in the Bible’s description of their champion Goliath. “He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him” (1 Sam. 17:4-7). David, as you know, wore no armor at all (1 Sam. 17:38-40).

Neither did the Hebrews warriors have any military weapons. “Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, ‘otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!’ So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened . . . so on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them” (1 Sam. 13:19-22). This, however, did not insure a Philistine victory for “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6). Thus we are told “The Lord rescued Israel that day” (1 Sam. 14:23). The Lord has the ability to “rescue” His people and “work havoc” among our enemies so that no weapon forged against us will prevail.

It is bad enough to have your well armed champion defeated by a mere boy with a sling shot, or your vast army destroyed by farmers with pitch forks and shovels, but the height of embarrassment to the Philistines came over a hundred years earlier during the period of the Judges. It was then that a thousand Philistines soldiers were killed by one man. Remarkably, he had no military weapon at all. His only weapon was the jawbone of an ass (Jud. 15:15). That man, as you know, was Samson.

This incident began when Samson caught 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs tail to tail. Then he fastened a torch on each pair and set them loose in the wheat fields, vineyards, and olive groves (Jud. 15:3-5). The devastation caused the fire brought an immediate response. A thousand well armed Philistine soldiers were dispatched with the simple assignment of arresting only one man. Samson was surrounded by 3,000 men from Judah, but they were cowed into submission by their

Philistine masters. They meekly tied up Samson with two new ropes and like cowards turned him over to the Philistines (Jud. 15:9-13).

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with power, he broke the bonds that held him, grabbed the fresh jawbone of an ass, and killed a thousand Philistine soldiers (Jud. 15:14-20).

Can you not imagine the embarrassment experienced by the man who reported this defeat to his commanding officer. Forgive this “speculation” about how this report “might” have been made.

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Officer – where is Samson?

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He is not here.

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Where is he?

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He is over in Judah where we found him.

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Why didn’t you bring him?

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We couldn’t!

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What do you mean you “you couldn’t”? Why not? •

He was too strong for us!

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How is that possible? Where are all my men?

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They are dead!

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What do you mean they are dead?

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I mean what I said. They are all dead!

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We have the best equipped army in the world, what kind of a super weapon did Samson use to kill them?

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You don’t want to know.

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I certainly do want to know. What was it?

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Sir, it was the jaw bone of an ass!

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Don’t insult my intelligence! I will have you hanged for insubordination. •

Sir! I have told you the truth. The only weapon Samson had was the fresh jawbone of an ass! •

Forgive this speculation, but I think you get the point. •

Perhaps this “speculation” will help us understand this “heritage” to the “servants of the Lord”.

“‘See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have create the destroyer to work havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me’ declares the Lord” (Is. 54:16,17).