For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. Nehemiah 4:18
During recent flooding that threatened many homes in Manitoba, the federal government ordered in the military to help. Several hundred soldiers, members of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based out of CFB Shilo, were rushed to the scene. Their task was to fill half a million sandbags and to help place the sandbags around threatened homes. The soldiers moved into the area with their equipment and vehicles, and joined with the local people to battle the rising flow of water. They were fighting men and women engaged in a peacetime mission that, unlike the folks mentioned in our text today, did not involve the use of any weapons.
The builders of Jerusalem’s walls and gates were in constant peril. Their enemies would try to take advantage of their preoccupation with the construction work and sneak up on them. To counter this threat, Nehemiah instructed the builders to wear their swords even as they swung the hammers and chisels. In the future, the rebuilt wall would provide them protection from such enemies. But until it was rebuilt, the builders needed to protect themselves. Their vigilance paid off, and the enemies stayed at a distance, knowing that they would not be able to catch unarmed people by surprise anymore. Today, the enemy should not be able to catch us by surprise if we are always ready with the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Scriptures are always the best weapon against the devil’s attacks. The Scriptures were what the Lord Jesus used to thwart the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. The Scriptures were what the apostles used in the days immediately following Pentecost as they preached and testified concerning the Gospel. The Scriptures were what the martyrs quoted as they faced the lions and the burning stake. The Scriptures were what the missionaries proclaimed as they carried out our Lord’s great commission to reach the far corners of the earth. The Scriptures have been the light and strength for untold millions of saints down through the centuries. The Sword of the Spirit has enabled them all to overcome the worst attacks of the enemy. But its effectiveness lay in its use.
A Bible on a shelf might look pretty, but it provides no benefit to its owner until its covers are opened and its pages perused. Like a sword of steel, the Sword of the Spirit must be used by someone familiar with its use or else it is only a decoration. No weapon in the world is more powerful than the Word of God in the hands of someone who knows the Book and understands its great truths. Just as a swordsman needs daily practice to hone his skills, so a Christian needs daily reading and meditation on the Word of God. Study of the Scriptures is the most valuable use to which any mind can be put. Because knowledge of the Scriptures is the most powerful protection against the wiles of the devil. -Jim MacIntosh