Daily Devotions
March 1st, 2016 by Pastor Solley1 Sam 13:19-23 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock.
21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
KJV
One way the Philistines thought to keep Israel under their domination was to take away the “Smith” out of the land. No black smith, no man to run the forge to make weapons, to sharpen weapons of war. If Israel had no weapons or the ones they did have were dull, they would be easier to control, so no “Smith” was to be found in the land. Satan has used that same tactic in the spiritual warfare that we are involved in as believers in Christ. Think for a moment how Satan has attacked the Word of God, presenting many perversions of His Word to man today. All of these Bible versions are presented as works of scholarship by learned men, yet they are none of that. They are instead works of men of corrupt minds, men who may be intelligent as far as people are concerned, men who may have a long list of degrees behind their names, who have been to established colleges, but not men of God. With the weapon of God’s Word dulled Satan has gained an upper hand. God’s Word is to be sharp and powerful, men have made it weak and powerless by diluting it. We need as Christians to sharpen the Word of God in our hearts by reading it, believing it, and obeying it. We need this by the way in the King James Bible. Begin today to sharpen the Word of God in your heart.